Sherlock: 7 Predictions For The Christmas Special

6. Lots Of Meta-Humour

Sherlock is an extremely modern show, not just in the fact that it has updated the detective story to fit in the 21st century, but with the way it connects to its audience online. It€™s one of the most talked about and commented on shows around, and probably the most €˜Tumblr-ed€™ show in existence. The fanbase, basically, is a rabid one.

It€™s that fact that led to divisions of opinion on series 3 of the show. It really tapped into the fandom, but for a lot of viewers, especially those outside that online community, it went too far with this, existing purely to provide fan-pleasing self-referential moments destined to be turned into gifs and memes, rather than a solid coherent story.

While it can€™t be said how the story is going to go for the special, it does seem like there€™ll certainly be no dialling-down on all of the meta-humour in the show. Just in the brief 90-second teaser we have a wink to the fact that Sherlock is in a different era, references to The Hound of the Baskervilles and the detective€™s role in it, the purpose of Mrs Hudson, and Watson€™s moustache.

That€™s clearly setting the tone for the episode, which is surely going to once more have people scurrying to their (smartphone) keyboards, ready to build the episode up or tear it down, and set Tumblr alight.

Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.