20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About Sherlock

7. Using First Names Is New For John And Sherlock

In Arthur Conan Doyle's books the characters rarely called each other by the first names - it was all Holmes and Watson, thank you very much. In fact, John's name is only mentioned a handful of times across all of Doyle's work, with Mary even getting it wrong (she called it James). That heroin kicking in again, Arthur? This was completely changed for the show, where the duo consistently use the first names, something rather new in terms of the characters (see Guy Ritchie's film version, where it's more in line with the books). This was obviously essential to give the show a fully modern feel, but it did have the effect of shifting the dynamic a little; it helps foster an immediate sense of friendship between the two, often offsetting Sherlock's coldness.