Sherlock - BBC [4]

cant wait, this could be great.

Its an interesting thing to do. They have a one off special and seem to have thought bugger it, lets do something totally different form the ain series with it.
But it also strikes me as a bit of a risk. They have done so well setting it in the modern world and bringing it up to date, but what if the special is even better and people prefer the original setting with those actors once they have such a direct comparison.

yes that is an interesting question. I have a sneaking suspicion I may prefer the Victorian setting too. Mrs H in a bustle.

I think that's very much it, Petty. It can be great, but it can also be terrible. I dunno. For some reason I feel a lot of the series appeal was tied up in it's modernity. The quick cuts, the close up. I don't know how that will translate in a period piece.  

Either way it will be interesting.

Mrs Watson in a bustle too! And I wonder if that means Sherlock and Watson will smoke pipes too.
Cant get round it in a Victorian setting with tobacco patches.


Blue- I think you can do period with modern shooting. Wolf Hall is largely shot on a hand held steady cam and it relies on close ups to tell the characters thoughts. It was paced like an older style drama, but it wasnt shot like one.

Hm, yes. That's an interesting point certainly. But I guess Sherlock kind of goes to the extreme in that regard? And Wolf Hall at least was a bit more contained? They might also just tone it down, and let it be carried by the series other strenghts.

I dont think they will drastically alter how its shot. Though I cant seem to find who has directed this special.

Yeah, it would kind of not be Sherlock then I guess.

Mmm not 100% certain but Den of Geek, before the filming started, seemed to think it would directed by Douglas Mackinnon.
He directed three episodes of series 8 of Who - 3 of the most visual as it turns out - Listen, Time Heist and Flatline.
Previously he directed the Sontaran Strategem under RTD. Cold War and the Power of Three were also two of his episodes.

He tweeted about directing Sherlock certainly.

https://twitter.com/drmuig/status/529950263059435520

It's interesting that he hasn't worked on the show before. But looking it up they did have three new directors for season 3 too. I guess it's made kind of in a house style.

Not working on a show and being drafted in to direct is common practice in the UK- most UK directors cut their teeth moving from job to job for the main networks big dramas- looking at Mackinnons previous work he has directed - 5 episodes of Line of Duty spread across two series, 2 two-parters for Silent Witness, 2 eps of Taggart, 2 eps of Robin Hood, 3 of Jekyll, and 8 episodes of the Bill among other less well known shows.

Almost all of these are/were long running, well established shows he came into direct episodes of without ever having worked on any of the shows before.

In this case Moffat of course knows his work well, Mackinnon having directed 9 episodes or something of Who across three series, so its not like he doesn't know what he is getting. I wouldn't be surprised therefore in this case if Moffat got him because he felt Mackinnons direction style would suit the material.

Yes, that must definitely have played into his hiering.

I don't know. You are probably more aware of his Who work than me. Would you say it plays into your statement that he might have been hired as his style suited the material?

His style is very modern- heres some clips for the recent episodes he directed-


Time Heist-



Flatline



Listen

I am wondering about the house style too. For example the music and the words superimposed on the screen. it will be interesting how they do this without it looking like a pastiche of themselves, I mean if they use an old fashioned text it would look a bit naff. or they might just go the full monty because its a one off. I just hope its not full of self referential in-jokes. but it probably will be. I would prefer a good detective story but it could end up style over substance like series 3.

I still say episode 3 of series 3 is a good episode, as good as the majority of series 1 and 2. Its the first two Im not keen on.

the only thing I remember from season 3 is the pub crawl where they both get hilariously drunk. The acting was superb, but the actual detective storylines were missing imo.

Third one was the creepy blackmailer- loosely based off an original story- he had all the info in a Sherlock like mind palace.

I'm not sure I would say season 3 was bad. Self indulgent? Definitely.

I think they thought the Mary moment in episode 3 would have a lot more impact, and in hindsight justify a lot of the wedding nonsense for many, but I'm not sure it really worked out that way.

And if the bachelor party was fanfiction-ee.. Well, good.

Because that was great.

I agree about the wedding bits, they were pretty dull imo. Didnt remember the creepy villain guy, I wasn't that impressed by him to be honest.

Bluebottle wrote:I'm not sure I would say season 3 was bad. Self indulgent? Definitely.

How about "boring as shit" and "cringe-inducing"? For the first two episodes, anyway.

hmm diplomacy out the window, yep it was boring as shit.

I still don't see what makes Moffat so much greater than RTD. Hack writers; frauds the lot of them!

he isn't greater than RTD

RTD SUCKS!~!!!!!!!!!!#@%U