Sherlock Series 4: 5 Stories Moffat And Gatiss Should Avoid

5. The Blue Carbuncle

The Blue Carbuncle is by no means a bad story €“ in fact, it's largely considered a classic among Sherlock Holmes elitists. But while it works wonderfully within the confines of the formulaic Doyle canon, there are several things about the story that wouldn't translate very well to Moffat and Gatiss' modernised retelling. The story runs as follows: At Christmastime, Holmes and Watson learn of the disappearance of the eponyomous Carbuncle €“ a lavish blue gem belonging to the countess of Morcar. They happen upon the carbuncle after a police officer finds it in the throat of a goose he was tucking into for Christmas dinner. The detectives then learn that the jewel was stolen and hidden inside a living goose for safekeeping by the thief €“ who then promptly forgets which goose he put it in. Once the thief is discovered, Holmes lets the grovelling man go free due to it being Christmas, a time for forgiveness. Quintessentially Doyle, The Blue Carbuncle is a very eccentric little story and its core elements would hardly fit well in the slick, 21st century reimagining of the great detective's adventures. Furthermore, its most celebrated moment €“ Holmes' exploitation of a man's addiction to gambling in his quest to gather information €“ has already been brought to the show in series two's Hounds of Baskerville episode. Add to that Sherlock has already delivered two episodes set in part at Christmas so using this particular story as a platform for a festive episode may be rather redundant anyway. Perhaps it could serve as one of the series' now traditional 'throwaway cases' €“ the briefly recounted, more light-hearted adventures set within the grander, more serious story of the week.