There's a very easy to way to tell whether a show knows it's a success or not and that's by the nods it makes (or doesn't make) to previous episodes in its canon. This is not the same as ending a series on a cliffhanger and then resolving it, nor is it the same as dropping in little touches from the different Holmes stories; both are things the show does really well. The problem comes when the show uses past footage to actively celebrate how clever it is - or at least, how clever it thinks it is. The Empty Hearse has me sitting on the fence with this matter. It's nice that the writers wanted to acknowledge the different fan theories, rather than just dispelling all our thoughts in two minutes with something disappointingly straightforward. But by continually going back to the rooftop scene, the episode becomes more about showing off how good and complex the ending of The Reichenbach Fall was. It was a great episode with a great ending, but having the writers continually telling us that ultimately devalues it. This also applies to the brief cameo by Irene Adler in The Sign of Three. I really like A Scandal in Belgravia, but bringing back "the woman" into Sherlock's mind palace distracted us from the inquiry rather than furthering it. It wasn't even set up as a plausible red herring; it was just dumped on screen for five seconds and then gone again. Sherlock is a smart show, but it could be smarter still if it didn't stop to think and shout about how clever it is. Holmes may a show-off, but the show around him doesn't have to be.
Freelance copywriter, film buff, community radio presenter. Former host of The Movie Hour podcast (http://www.lionheartradio.com/ and click 'Interviews'), currently presenting on Phonic FM in Exeter (http://www.phonic.fm/). Other loves include theatre, music and test cricket.
