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[[File:sherlock2010_7921.jpg|frame|"The game, Mrs. Hudson, is on!"]]
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'''Three 90-minute dramas form the initial run, starting July 2010 on [[BBC 1]]:'''
* [[Sherlock/Recap/S01
* [[Sherlock/Recap/S01
* [[Sherlock/Recap/S01
'''Due to the high ratings and critical response, [[BBC 1]] commissioned a second series which aired in January 2012:'''
* [[Sherlock/Recap/S02
* [[Sherlock/Recap/S02
* [[Sherlock/Recap/S02
[http://twitter.com/#!/steven_moffat/status/158680970130751488 A third series was commissioned at the same time as the second]. It is scheduled to begin filming in [http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a382427/steven-moffat-on-doctor-who-sherlock-and-his-bafta-special-award.html January 2013], and is expected to air in the UK later that year. Both series aired on PBS in the United States as a part of their ''[[Masterpiece Theatre|Masterpiece]]'' programming block, and it is expected that the 3rd series will be run in the same fashion.
A similar concept to ''[[Jekyll]]'', another [[Steven Moffat]] written television series based around setting a classic Victorian story in the 21st century. Not to be confused with [[Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century|Sherlock Holmes of the]] ''[[Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century|22nd]]'' [[Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century|century]] or its [[Dueling Shows|rival]] ''[[Elementary (TV Series)]].''
{{tropelist}}
== A-E ==
* [[
** Sherlock and John. Mycroft and "Anthea".
*** Justified, as it's not her real name.
* [[Ambiguous Disorder]]: Sherlock. He does show many classic signs of [[
** Most of those are also indications of being a sociopath, which Sherlock out-and-out says he is.
* [[Answer Cut]]: In yet another situation where John ends up being the butt of a joke.
{{quote|
'''John:''' Right. Good. ...Who is that?
* [[Arc Words]]: In Series 2, it's {{spoiler|[[Ironic Echo|Stayin' Alive]]}}.
* [[Artistic License Geography]]: Over a tiny area no less; if you know Central London, occasionally things don't quite match up how they should. One egregious example occurs in
* [[Artistic License Gun Safety]]: Every scene where Sherlock holds a gun during
* [[Ascended Extra]]: Molly goes from That Girl at the Morgue (not a promising start for a character) in the first episode to being invited to Sherlock's Christmas party in the next series {{spoiler|to having some involvement in faking his death in
* [[Awesome By Analysis]]: C'mon, it's ''Sherlock Holmes''. It's practically a given.
* [[Awesome McCoolname]]:
** Obviously, Sherlock Holmes, but also his actor, ''Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch.'' Just say it out loud.
** Then there's his brother Mycroft Holmes and his PA, 'Anthea'. We cannot be sure that this is her real name, however, since she changes it when she's bored, especially considering that in "A Study
** Carl Powers.
* [[Badass]]: The series has so much.
** [[Badass Adorable|Badass]] [[Adorkable]]: John Watson, as played by [[Martin Freeman]] with his Cuddly Jumpers.
** [[Badass Baritone]]: Sherlock (and Cumberbatch) have this one down to an art.
** [[Badass Bureaucrat]]: Mycroft.
** [[Badass Bookworm]]: Sherlock, naturally.
** [[Badass
{{quote|'''John''': (To Sherlock) [[Discussed Trope|You...]] [[Lampshade Hanging|turning your coat collar up]] [[Rule of Cool|so you look cool.]]}}
** [[Badass Nickname]]:
*** The Golem, a notorious Czech hitman hired to kill gallery attendants and astronomy professors.
*** The Woman, Irene Adler.
*** The Whip Hand, Adler's Twitter name.
*** The Iceman, Moriarty's code name for Mycroft.
*** Totally subverted when it's revealed that Moriarty's code name for Sherlock is "The Virgin
**** Between "The Iceman" and "The Virgin", I'd prefer the latter. It's not as mean, and if you believe in [[Virgin Power]]
* [[Battle of Wits]]: Well, when one's a psychopath and one's a [[Insistent Terminology|"high-functioning sociopath"]]...
* [[Bavarian Fire Drill]]: Sherlock is prone to these to get himself into places he isn't supposed to be, but the absolute apex has to be "The Hounds of Baskerville
* [[Beneath Suspicion]]: In one case, the murderer was {{spoiler|[[They Look Just Like Everyone Else|a taxi driver]]. Sherlock even mentions that the killer has to be someone the victims trusted and was in plain sight}}.
{{quote|
'''John:''' I dunno, who?
'''Sherlock:'''...I haven't the faintest. Hungry?
* [[Berserk Button]]: Sherlock might claim to be a sociopath... but if you value your own well-being, ''do not mess with his landlady''.
** Do not threaten John with harm in front of Sherlock. It rarely ends well.
** And don't diss Sherlock in front of John, for that matter.
* [[Bland-Name Product]]:
** MePhone.org.uk standing in for Apple's MobileMe service and as a pun on the iPhone.
** Surprisingly averted in "The Hounds of Baskerville" — the bartender tells the pub owner that they're out of "WKD", which is the actual brand-name of an alcoholic beverage.
** There's also very conspicuous product placements for, among others, Samsung and Land Rover. In
*** Except Sherlock's a BBC funded series, where deliberate product placement is not allowed (and often the reason for Bland Name anything). While trademark use is permissable in some situations (usually genericised and well known ones), they won't have been paid for them. Also paid product placement was against broadcasting regulations even for commercial TV until either just after the first series was completed or during it's filming.
* [[Book Ends]]:
** Also,
* [[Brief Accent Imitation]]:
** Sherlock does a dead-on impersonation of a metrosexual yuppie to fool a woman into thinking that he lived at a posh apartment complex and let him in.
** And then again in the third episode, he abandons his usual upper-crust tones for a more cockney accent, pretending to be a grief-stricken friend of the departed, but intentionally getting things wrong. He knows that people will automatically contradict any mistakes made by a stranger pretending to be a friend or relative, which means that she'll expose things that she wouldn't if he was actually an old friend of her husband.
** In "A Scandal in Belgravia
** Toward the end of "A Scandal in Belgravia
** {{spoiler|Moriarty}} seems to be putting on a generic English accent in the scene in "The Great Game" where he {{spoiler|meets Sherlock while pretending to be "Jim from I.T."}}, but then reverts back to the actor's natural Irish brogue when he reveals himself.
** He does it again in the "The Reichenbach Fall
** "Doncaster" in Baskerville.
* [[Brilliant but Lazy]]: Sherlock hacks his way into John's laptop because he doesn't feel like getting up and fetching his own laptop from his bedroom.
* [[British Brevity]]: Three 90-minute episodes equals one season. The original plan was 6 sixty minute stories, of which "A Study in Pink" was filmed as the first episode. This turned into a 60-minute pilot instead, with the 90-minute version being substantially different.
** Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss remark upon this in the
* [[Buffy-Speak]]: About as close as you are ever going to get, since this ''is'' Sherlock. But upon being given a cigarette: "Smoking indoors... isn't this one of those... law things?"
* [[Bullying a Dragon]]:
** All Sherlock has to do is ''sniff'' Anderson and he was able to deduce he is having an affair (which people will get divorced over) with a co-worker (which many places will fire employees over). He probably has similar ammo against most of the people he knows, and yet, he's still the freak.
** It works both ways, however, since he arrogantly and blithely
* [[Call Back]]:
** John's psychosomatic limp returns for a few seconds at the end of "The Great Game", when the same leg buckles at the swimming pool.
*** And again, very slightly, affecting his stiff military bearing as he
** Sherlock's {{spoiler|last minute appearance with a sword in a turban}} in "A Scandal
* [[The Cameo]]:
** The voice of the kid {{spoiler|strapped to the bomb jacket}} in "The Great Game" is [[Steven Moffat]]'s son.
** The lover of one of the victims in "The Blind Banker" is Olivia Poulet, Benedict Cumberbatch's former girlfriend.
** Moriarty's defense attorney in "The Reichenbach Fall" is Ian Hallard, Mark Gatiss' husband.
* [[Canon Foreigner]]: Anderson, Donovan, and Molly Hooper.
* [[Carnival of Killers]]: In "The Reichenbach Fall", a group of international assassins appear around Sherlock, although initially they appear to be keeping Holmes alive. Ultimately, it is revealed
* [[Casual Danger Dialogue]]:
** Everybody involved in the last scene in "The Great Game". Most notably, of course,
** Picked back up again at the beginning of "A Scandal in Belgravia
* [[Catch Phrase]]:
** Sherlock: "Obviously."
** John: "It's fine. It's all fine."
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* [[Celebrity Paradox]]: The series is set in a 21st century where the [[Sherlock Holmes]] stories were never written and never made their significant impact on popular culture. This was actually something of a roadblock to filming the Baker Street scenes at the actual Baker Street, due to the plethora of Holmesian landmarks on the street today, leading the production to use North Gower Street to fill in instead.
** A newspaper [[Easter Egg]] in "The Reichenbach Fall" reveals that [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] exists in the ''Sherlock'' universe as a well-known writer. Presumably this means that in-universe, [[Steven Moffat]] and [[Mark Gatiss]] are hard at work on a modern-day version of ''[[Professor Challenger|George]]''.
* [[Character Blog]]: See [[Logging Onto the Fourth Wall]] below.
* [[Character Development]]:
** Starting in
** Mycroft gets a lot in "A Scandal in Belgravia", getting significant character focus despite having not much more than a cameo appearance in the first series..
** Both Molly and Mrs. Hudson prove they're tougher than they look in "A Scandal in Belgravia".
* [[Chekhov's Gag]]: During a scene in "A Scandal in Belgravia", there is a Cluedo board randomly pinned to the wall with a dagger, which goes completely unacknowledged. In the next episode, John and Sherlock have an argument about Cluedo, with John vehemently refusing to ever play the game with Sherlock again (because according to Sherlock, the only possible solution is for the victim to also be the killer and the rules are clearly wrong). John must have gotten a bit worked up last time they played...
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]:
** John Watson's handgun, particularly in "A Study
** Also in "A Study in Pink", Sergeant Donovan explains why none of the police (except Lestrade) like Sherlock: they figure one day he's going to grow tired of solving murders and start committing them. In "The Reichenbach Fall", {{spoiler|this suspicion contributes directly to Sherlock's downfall}}.
** "The Hounds of Baskerville": {{spoiler|The Grimpen Minefield}}, which is prominently introduced soon after Sherlock and Watson {{spoiler|arrive on Dartmoor (like the original story's Grimpen Mire)}}, then forgotten about until {{spoiler|the climax, when Dr. Frankland runs into it trying to escape... with [[Land Mine Goes Click|predictable results]]. There is a question as to whether he forgot it was there, or decided to take his chances, like the culprit in the original story
* [[Chekhov's Skill]]:
** Nearly inverted in "The Great Game": {{spoiler|Sherlock's ''lack'' of knowledge about the solar system (because he doesn't consider it necessary) nearly causes him to lose the fourth 'round' with Moriarty. It's only a [[Chekhov's Classroom|convenient slideshow at the planetarium]] that clues him in on the answer he needs
** "A Scandal in Belgravia" makes Sherlock's
* [[The Chessmaster]]: {{spoiler|Moriarty. Being Sherlock's greatest fan, he is able to predict his actions and exploit his curiosity
* [[Chew Toy]]: Poor Molly.
* [[Cigarette of Anxiety]]: You know a situation is bad if Mycroft lights up.
* [[Comically Missing the Point]]: The entire exchange between Sherlock and Molly in "A Study in Pink" revolving around coffee and Sherlock noticing her lipstick (not because she looks nice, but because it "makes [her] mouth look smaller").
* [[Companion Cube]]: Sherlock's skull, so much so that he apparently needs a replacement for it when Mrs. Hudson takes it from him. {{spoiler|[[The Chew Toy|It's John
** Mycroft is very rarely without his brolly.
** Irene's phone is her life.
* [[Continuity Nod]]: In "The Great Game", Sherlock rips John's clothes off in a darkened swimming pool <ref>okay, pulls off the Semtex-strapped jacket if you're into details</ref>, to which he responds, "I'm glad no one saw that. People might talk." In "The Reichenbach Fall", Sherlock asks John to take his hand while they're on the run.
{{quote|'''John:'''Now people will definitely talk.}}
* [[Contrast Montage]]: Used in "A Scandal in Belgravia" to compare Sherlock and Irene. Thoroughly. First they see each other's pictures, then they [[Lipstick and Load Montage|prepare to meet each other]], and when they finally end up in the same room {{spoiler|one is dressed as a vicar, and the other is not dressed at all}}.
* [[Cool Old Lady]]: Mrs. Hudson, full stop. She has to be one just to tolerate Sherlock, but {{spoiler|getting one over on the CIA via [[Victoria's Secret Compartment]]}}? Sherlock puts it best: "Mrs. Hudson, leave Baker Street? England would fall!"
* [[Criminal Mind Games]]
* [[Curse Cut Short]]: John. Frequently. He gets in an epic one in "The Great Game":
{{quote|
** John also, in
** In "The Hounds
* [[Cypher Language]]: The code from "The Blind Banker".
** Also played with in the Hidden Messages on Sherlock's website, although the second — while being a grid cipher — can also be treated as an anagram. The third is {{spoiler|a pigpen cipher. It spells out: "Sherlock I have found you
** A plot point in "The Reichenbach Fall". Nothing Moriarty could steal could ever be worth more than {{spoiler|the key that lets him steal it. That is, if it ''existed''}}.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: All over the place.
** Sherlock. And how.
** John, given [[Martin Freeman|the actor who plays him]], is also a candidate, especially in his first meeting with Mycroft. See [[Hypocritical Humor]].
** Lestrade, Mycroft and some of the criminal fraternity also get in on the act. You might say the series is [[World of Snark|rife with Deadpan Snarkiness]].
** While Sherlock probably snarks more ''often
{{quote|
'''Harry Watson 28 March 15:02'''
Bit busy right now but I'm sure we'll do drinks soon.
'''John Watson 28 March 15:05'''
*** Perfectly civil, normal thing to say- except for the bit where {{spoiler|Harry is his sister, by his own admission he's never gotten along with her, and she's a ''freaking alcoholic.'' Damn, John
* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: It doesn't happen all at once, and he still has [[Jerkass]] moments, but over the first two seasons Sherlock's friendship with John helps him slowly learn to open up to the other people in his life. His priorities at the end of the second season are wildly different from those in the pilot, or even the end of the first season.
* [[Destination Defenestration]]: Sherlock captures a CIA [[Mook]] who had attempted to beat Mrs. Hudson for information. He then calls Lestrade about having a break-in, and tells him to bring an ambulance because the man fell out of the window — and promptly throws the man out the window. Repeatedly.
* [[Diagonal Billing]]:
* [[Distracted by the Sexy]]: What Sherlock lacks or hides, John makes up for in spades. Most clearly seen in "A Scandal
** Also in "The Hounds of Baskerville
{{quote|
** Irene Adler continuously with Sherlock, to the point where
** Sherlock
*** Also seems like he fumbles his sentence once
* [[Dogged Nice Guy|Dogged Nice Girl]]: Poor, poor Molly Hooper can't get over her attraction to Sherlock no matter how poorly he treats her.
* [[Early Installment Weirdness]]: The one-hour pilot is very different from the full 90-minute first episode. 221B is an entirely different apartment;
** In addition to that, the pilot doesn't have the super creative, lightning-fast montage style of cinematography the later episodes would adopt. It also lacks the superimposed text messages.
** While in the pilot, Sherlock has his iconic scarf and [[Badass Longcoat]], he isn't sporting the elegantly simple suits of the proper episodes.
* [[Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette]]: Sherlock (only because Benedict Cumberbatch [[Dyeing for Your Art|dyed for his art]]) and Irene.
* [[Emotions vs. Stoicism]]: Sherlock's lack of emotion (and also that of his brother, Mycroft) is often shown in comparison the the more emotional Watson. Whilst Sherlock's lack of emotion helps him to solve crimes, it doesn't always endear him to people.
* [[Establishing Character Moment]]: Done to present each character in a way suitable to his or her personality.
** John is shown to wake up from a rather violent dream about the war, before starting to cry. Everything about his introduction — the barren apartment, his cane, the empty blog — just screams loneliness. There's also the fact that Watson keeps a gun in his drawer, meaning either he's paranoid or (as it turns out) he misses the action.
** Sherlock is first seen peering into a body bag at the morgue. He then proceeds to [[Whip It Good|beat the body with a riding crop]], rather... ''passionately
{{quote|
** Not to mention Sherlock's immortal line: "We've got ourselves a serial killer, I ''love'' those, [[Sociopathic Hero|there's always something to look forward to!]]"
** Mycroft gets a bait-and-switch moment when he
** Molly Hooper's first appearance consisted of her awkwardly attempting to [[Dogged Nice Guy|ask Sherlock on a date, only to be completely misunderstood and dismissed]].
** Lestrade walks into Sherlock's flat asking for his help on a case and admitting he doesn't want to ask, but he needs Sherlock.
** Irene Adler. The very first shot is of the infamous phone in her hand; she has blood-red, claw-like fingernails and is wearing a sheer black lace body-suit and thong. With a whip in her hand, she goes into a bedroom where a young woman is apparently tied up on the bed and asks "Well then, have you been wicked, your highness?" It's pretty much the most concise introduction to a character in the whole series. (Yet.)
* [[Everything Is Online]]: Subverted in "The Reichenbach Fall", in which {{spoiler|Moriarty's big bluff is that his crimes involve hacking and cracking, exploiting this trope. In fact they simply rely on accomplices with inside access}}.
* [[Evil Plan]]: Basically the entirety of "The Great Game". {{spoiler|Every case Sherlock has to solve ends up having been orchestrated by Moriarty, looking for a fun challenge. It's implied that he, as a consulting criminal, has been arranging a vast array of crimes all over the place
** {{spoiler|Subverted in that the [[Kansas City Shuffle|whole thing was to distract Sherlock from the plans]]. Revealed that the plans were a [[MacGuffin]], and double-subverted, when Moriarty tosses them away
== F-J ==
* [[Face Palm]]:
** John in Episode 3, after finding a head inside the fridge.
** John again, during the intensely awkward meeting between Molly, Sherlock and Jim at the beginning of "The Great Game
** Lestrade gives us a classic double facepalm in "The Reichenbach Fall", when Sherlock and John go on the lam.
* [[Faking the Dead]]: {{spoiler|Irene Adler
** Although it's never explained or shown how it was done, {{spoiler|Sherlock himself manages to do it in "The Reichenbach Fall"
*** There is one hint given:
*** The real question isn't who was buried, it's
**** Visit Tumblr, they have innumerable theories, most of which involve a lorry carrying rubbish.
* [[Famed in Story]]: Sherlock eventually becomes this. John lampshades it.
* [[Famous-Named Foreigner]]: Czech Miss Wenceslas, presumably named for Wenceslaus of Bohemia.
** Unfortunately [[Did Not Do the Research|violating Czech 101]], as that name would be Václav in Czech, would be exclusively male, and would only be used as a first name.
* [[Fan Service]]: "A Scandal in Belgravia" might as well be called "[[Fan Service]]: The Episode" as it includes Holmes naked, Adler naked, and some [[Absolute Cleavage]] thrown in to boot.
** A lot of fans have noted that Sherlock's shirts are always very tight.
* [[Fire-Forged Friends]]: Sherlock and John. They spend most of "A Study in Pink" being pretty standoffish, but once the case has been solved they're chatting and joking like old friends.
* [[First-Name Basis]]: As part of the setting update, the men who would have been almost exclusively called Holmes and Watson in their original incarnations are now called [[Aerith and Bob|Sherlock and John]]. Oh, and {{spoiler|Jim}}.
** Lestrade's first name — Greg — makes its first in-universe appearance in "The Hounds of Baskerville
*** Giving Lestrade the first name Greg, which is not Canonical, is most likely a reference to Inspector Gregson, a character from the original stories who often competed with Lestrade and shows up in very few, if any, of the recent retellings.
* [[Footnote Fever]]
* [[Foregone Conclusion]]: As anyone remotely familiar with Holmes canon is well aware, John and Sherlock {{spoiler|''will'' be reunited after the events of "The Reichenbach Fall"
* [[Foreign Money Is Proof of Guilt]]: Justified. Sherlock suspects a car dealer of having lied about travelling overseas. He sneaks a peek in the man's wallet and sees a Colombian banknote, the final clue he needs to solve the case.
* [[Foreshadowing]]: In
* [[Friendly Enemy]]: Moriarty and Sherlock. Each has the other in their line of sight, ready to kill each other, when {{spoiler|Moriarty asks to answer his phone. While he's talking
{{quote|
'''Sherlock''': {{spoiler|*mouths* It's fine
* [[Friends Rent Control]]: Mrs Hudson is apparently letting Sherlock and John rent 221B at a discount as a favour to Sherlock. Since Mrs Hudson lives alone in 221A and cannot rent out 221C because of the damp, one wonders how she can afford to pay the dues on what is clearly expensive prime London real-estate when her only tenants are strongly suggested to be getting an audaciously cheap ride of it. It's worth noting that Sherlock's bedroom is roughly the size of an Olympic stadium.<ref>Of course, this is no doubt because the space is much easier for a film crew to set up and film in; also, at one point, there needed to be enough space for Cumberbatch to stage a fall on the floor without braining himself on the furniture.</ref>
** Mrs. Hudson's late husband was executed in Florida (and apparently deserved it). It's a popular retirement state; presumably she inherited his savings.
* [[Geek Physique]]: Sherlock. In the pilot, Watson discovers during the dinner stakeout that Holmes [[Forgets to Eat|does not eat]] when he's on the job and the pilot ends with him getting Holmes to eat an actual meal.
** Cumberbatch mentioned in one interview that one thing he did to prepare for the role was to [[Dyeing for Your Art|lose a small amount of weight]] to get that "so focused I forget to eat" look. Since it gave us those cheekbones, no one's complaining.
** In "The Blind Banker", Sherlock tells Molly he doesn't eat when he's working, as digestion only slows him down.
** Cumberbatch appears to have put on those same few pounds he lost for the role between seasons to represent the fact that Sherlock now basically has a live-in physician. It also seems to track with the character becoming a bit warmer and more human-like, so the trope is currently [[Playing with a Trope|being employed in reverse]].
* [[Gender Blender Name]]: John's lesbian sister Harry, short for Harriet.
* [[Gender Flip]]: Harry is based on the original Watson's brother, "H.W.".
* [[Genre Savvy]]: Moriarty is able to get one over on Sherlock largely by being more [[Genre Savvy]] than him.
* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: A staple of [[Steven Moffat]].
{{quote|
** Not to mention: "''I'm not hungry. Let's have dinner.''"
* [[Gibberish of Love]]: Sherlock did this when Irene said brainy being the new sexy. John's face after Sherlock's verbal keyboardsmash is priceless.
* [[Gilligan Cut]]:
{{quote|
'''Watson:''' Uh, cinema.
'''Sherlock:''' Dull, boring, predictable. Why don't you try this [the circus that pertains to the case]? In London for one night only.
'''Watson:''' Thanks, but I don't come to you for dating advice.
[cut to:]
'''Sarah:''' It's years since anyone took me to the circus.
** Also, from "The Reichenbach Fall":
{{quote|
'''Sherlock:''' (opens his mouth, prepares to speak...)
''[cut to Sherlock being led into a holding cell.]''
** And a second instance, also from "The Reichenbach Fall", where John gets rather... protective of Sherlock being called a "weirdo" by Lestrade's boss. [[Discretion Shot|It ends poorly for the boss's nose.]]
* [[The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry|The Glorious War of Brotherly Rivalry]]: Oh, ''guess''. Between Mycroft's constant meddling in Sherlock's life and Sherlock's constant needling about Mycroft's weight, they come off as a couple of schoolgirls. Escalated to 11 in "A Scandal in Belgravia" with their tug-of-war over Sherlock's [[Modesty Bedsheet]].
{{quote|
'''Sherlock:''' ''Get off my sheet!''
'''Mycroft:''' Or what?
'''Sherlock:''' Or I'll just walk away!
'''Mycroft:''' I'll let you.
'''John:''' Boys, please. Not here.
** Not to mention, shortly after:
{{quote|
'''Sherlock:''' Oh, and there's our whole childhood in a nutshell.
* [[Good Is Not Nice]]: ''I may be on the side of the angels, but don't think for one ''second'' that I am one of them.''
** Another Moffat staple, as both the tenth and eleventh Doctor have practically said this verbatim on prior occasion.
* [[Guys Are Slobs]]: Co-creator [[Steven Moffat]] has remarked that beyond being a crime show, a great deal of what ''Sherlock'' is about is two bachelors living together, behaving badly, being slobs, and "putting [[It Came From the Fridge|horrible things]] in the fridge". Sherlock, of course, is the main culprit, especially when his depredations extend to leaving human body parts around the homestead. By
** Seeing as John has a military background and his reaction of "it'll look good once we clean out the mess" in
* [[Hannibal Lecture]]: [[Subverted]] in "A Study in Pink". Played Straight in "The Great Game".
* [[Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?]]: John to Irene in "A Scandal in Belgravia
* [[He Is Not My Boyfriend]]: When the pair have a stakeout at a restaurant (in "A Study in Pink") while waiting for {{spoiler|the murderer to appear}}, the waiter refers to John as Sherlock's 'date', which he immediately denies. [[Shipper on Deck|The waiter pays no attention to this and brings a romantic candle for the table.]]
** This happens so frequently to John that by "The Hounds of Baskerville", he seems to have given up on correcting people.
** In "The Reichenbach Fall", Sherlock walks out on an investigative reporter badgering him for an interview. As he heads for the door she shouts "So, you and John Watson, just platonic? Shall I put you down for a no on that too--" and that's when Sherlock rounds on her.
* [[Held Gaze]]: Sherlock and Irene Adler share intense, passionate gazes with each other at least twice in under five seconds, causing John Watson to snark out baby names to remind them of his presence.
{{quote|'''John:''' Hamish. John [[Mythology Gag|Hamish]] Watson. In case you were looking for baby names.}}
** Sherlock and John share one in "A Study in Pink", when John is disbelieving of the fact that Sherlock uses drugs, and Sherlock is trying to shut him up.
* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: Sherlock and John. It's a [[Sherlock Holmes]] adaptation, after all, although the title character is likely just [[Asexuality|asexual]].
* [[He Who Fights Monsters]]: Donovan worries that Sherlock will become this; one day he'll get bored with solving crimes and start committing his own.
** Becomes a [[Chekhov's Gun]] in {{spoiler|"The Reichenbach Fall": Moriarty uses Donovan's suspicion of Sherlock to change everyone's perception of him from genius detective to sociopathic murderer and fraud}}.
* [[Hidden Depths]]: Mrs. Hudson turns out to be quite impressive in her own right...
* [[Hollywood Hacking]]: {{spoiler|Subverted in "The Reichenbach Fall". Moriarty appears to have written a small string of computer code (ridiculously small, if he can give it to Sherlock by tapping his fingers) that can hack any system on the planet. He demonstrates this at the beginning of the episode by breaking into the three most secure spots in London simultaneously, using a few smartphone apps. However, it is revealed at the end that Moriarty was making it all up: the mobile apps merely alerted his men on the inside, and there is no code. Which is good, because if this had been played straight, it would have been one of the most egregious examples out there}}.
* [[Hope Spot]]: See [[Mood Whiplash]].
* [[Hypocritical Heartwarming]]:
{{quote|
'''Sherlock:''' ''Mycroft!''
[John and Sherlock glare]
'''Mycroft:''' [reluctantly] Apologies.
'''Mrs. Hudson:''' Thank you.
'''Sherlock:''' Though do in fact shut up.
* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: John's first meeting with Mycroft.
{{quote|
'''John Watson:''' Well, [[Sarcasm Mode|thank God you're above all that]].
* [[Idiot Ball]]:
** The plot of
** Not to mention John and Sherlock {{spoiler|leaving Soo Lin ''by herself'' in a museum with a hired assassin on the loose who only came there to ''kill her''. Naturally, the assassin succeeds in killing her
** In
*** The best part about this is that if it were true, and Sherlock was a fraud, then he would be some sort of absolutely terrifying monstrous genius that got off on poisoning people, murdering children, stealing things, and then had an army of stalkers watching the police and all his acquaintances to report back to him. Him being a fraud makes him even more brilliant and terrifying than merely being a good detective. This never seems to dawn on anyone.
** Also in
*** One assumes Moriarty {{spoiler|wouldn't have let himself be thrown into a secret government prison without being able to pull the strings to get himself released; as long as Moriarty didn't crack under torture Mycroft would have had to release him eventually
* [[Idiot Hero]]: Played with. Sherlock gets off on solving unusual criminal cases and always wants a good challenge. It's what he lives for. He ''will'' place himself in dangerous situations which would [[Violation of Common Sense|violate common sense.]] Then again, this is Sherlock Holmes we're talking about. [[Insufferable Genius|Since when did he have "common" sense?]]
{{quote|
'''Sherlock:''' Why would I do that?
'''John:''' Because you're an idiot.
* [[If It's You It's Okay]]: "A Scandal in Belgravia" runs on this. Not only are these explicitly the feelings of {{spoiler|self-identified lesbian Irene Adler toward Sherlock Holmes}}, there's also the insinuation that
* [[Improvised Weapon]]
** He uses another aerosol can as an impromptu weapon in "A Scandal in Belgravia".
* [[Incompatible Orientation]]
Line 304 ⟶ 286:
* [[An Insert]]: Often used during [[Sherlock Scan|Sherlock's Scans]].
* [[Insistent Terminology]]: Doubles as [[I Resemble That Remark]].
{{quote|
** John's insistence that he's Sherlock's "colleague" when referred to as a "friend" in "The Blind Banker". This is a [[Call Back]] to "A Study in Pink", where Sherlock introduces John to Sally Donovan as a "colleague".
* [[Inspector Lestrade]]: [[Trope Namer]] Inspector Lestrade goes to Sherlock Holmes when he has cases that he is unable to solve himself.
* [[Irony]]: In the opening of the third episode, Sherlock expressed his disdain for astronomy because it is useless as a forensic tool, only to find that one of Moriarty's puzzles revolves entirely around historical astronomy.
* [[It Always Rains At Funerals]]: We don't see the funeral itself in "The Reichenbach Fall", but it's pouring down buckets outside the window while John is pouring out his grief to his therapist. The next scene is at the graveside, and the sky is overcast.
* [[It Came From the Fridge]]:
** "A severed head!"
** "Well, where else was I supposed to put it?"
Line 320 ⟶ 302:
== K-O ==
* [[Kick the Dog]]: Sherlock does this with Molly a few times.
* [[Kink Meme]]: [http://sherlockbbc-fic.livejournal.com/ Oh, yes]. With ''at least'' eight new pages of prompts ''every day'', as well, ambiguous [[asexuality]] notwithstanding!
* [[Knighting]]:
** In
** In
* [[Land Mine Goes Click]]: In "The Hounds of Baskerville", the eponymous Baskerville research station is surrounded by land mines of this type.
* [[Large Ham]]:
** [[Mark Gatiss]] as Mycroft.
** Moriarty. Could be the explanation for his seemingly ever-shifting accent.
** Sherlock himself. Check out his flouncing and pouting during "The Great Game". Made better by the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch is fairly good at subtlety, as actors go.
* [[Laser Sight]]: In "The Great Game
* [[Late Arrival Spoiler]]: The promos for
* [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall]]:
** Moriarty seems to be able to see the text messages superimposed on the screen in "A Scandal in Belgravia".
** In
** The first series ended on a massive cliffhanger and the fans had to wait forever for the second series to reveal what happened; then this shows up on John's [[Logging Onto the Fourth Wall|writeup of the incident on his blog]]: "I held my breath for what seemed like months."
** This exchange in "A Scandal in Belgravia" seems to reference that particular episode's emphasis on Sherlock's more human, fallible side:
{{quote|
'''Sherlock:''' Why?
'''John:''' 'Cause they're interested.
'''Sherlock:''' No they're not, why are they?
* [[Lipstick and Load Montage]]: Irene Adler goes through one as she is waiting for Sherlock to arrive in "A Scandal in Belgravia". Juxtaposed with Sherlock's own, more unorthodox, preparations, which involve getting Watson to punch him in the face.
* [[Living in a Furniture Store]]: Averted with 221B Baker Street, which is strewn with so many utterly realistic items — everything from magazines stacked on the floor to grungy coffee cups left on the table to bills piling up near the phone — that you'd swear blind that people actually lived there.
** Irene's house, on the other hand, invokes this trope, especially when she and Sherlock find themselves in an enormous pristine room, with what seems to be very little other than a posh sofa and a fireplace/mirror.
*** The chances are that it's her workplace, not her actual home.
*** Mycroft says of her "She's in London, apparently, staying at..." indicating that she spends a lot of time abroad and the house is a rental.
* [[Logging Onto the Fourth Wall]]: Most notably, [https://web.archive.org/web/20180622153038/http://www.thescienceofdeduction.co.uk/ Sherlock's website], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20180728071642/http://www.johnwatsonblog.co.uk/ John's blog].
** Molly Hooper has [http://www.mollyhooper.co.uk/ her own blog], and there's a [http://www.connieprince.co.uk/ a fansite for a murder victim] from "The Great Game".
** There's some absolute ''gold'' on Sherlock's forums.
** John Watson's blog has some expansions on character that are priceless, and all three — John's blog, Sherlock's website and Molly Hooper's blog — hold some clues as to the outcome of {{spoiler|the [[Mexican Standoff]] ending of "The Great Game"}}.
** As of "The Reichenbach Fall
*** ....did I just email a serial killer?
*** Don't forget to check out [https://web.archive.org/web/20131023024621/http://r-brook.co.uk/ the site, too].
*** Oh, and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20140819162926/http://ibelieveinrichardbrook.tumblr.com/ "I Believe in Richard Brook" Tumblr]. And [https://web.archive.org/web/20120902083312/http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/i-believe-in-sherlock-holmes "I Believe in Sherlock Holmes"].
* [[Love Is a Weakness]]: One of the running themes in
{{quote|
'''Mycroft:''' All lives end. All hearts are broken. Caring is not an advantage, Sherlock.
* [[Mad Bomber]]: The plot of the third episode, although it ends up being less mad and more part of a [[Evil Plan]].
* [[The Man Behind the Man]]: In "A Study In Pink
* [[Manipulative Bastard]]:
** Sherlock, like many sociopaths, is a skilled manipulator. He's a very good actor (he can cry on cue) and he knows what parts he needs to play in order to get someone to do what he wants. This includes rather shamelessly exploiting Molly's crush on him in "The Blind Banker" to prove a point to Lestrade's replacement for the episode.
** Also the serial killer in the first episode. {{spoiler|He first talks Holmes into his [[Xanatos Gambit]] without even using his gun by manipulating Holmes's arrogance and curiosity. Then, once Holmes reveals that the gun is a fake in any case and he has no need to take a pill at all, he gets him to take it anyway to prove that he's really the smartest. He's only stopped by a well-placed shot from John
*** Interestingly, the serial killer in the pilot version of the story was not this way at all: {{spoiler|the cabbie simply drugs Sherlock in public (with everyone around assuming thanks to his acting that he's simply drunk), drags him back to his home, and presents him with the pill game when Sherlock is still too drugged to really fight him off. He even threatens to simply force the pill down his throat if Sherlock refuses. The cabbie only tries manipulating him after the police have arrived outside, thanks to John noticing something was off
** Moriarty is also a master manipulator. He's particularly good at playing Sherlock himself -- as illustrated to a devastating effect in "The Reichenbach Fall".
* [[Memetic Outfit]]: Played for laughs. Sherlock picks up the iconic deerstalker completely at random, intending to hide his face from reporters who have gotten wind of his existence. The public assumes it's his usual look; cue an exasperated Sherlock having to fend of compliments from people about his [[Nice Hat]]. In "The Reichenbach Fall", he rants at length at a deerstalker he received as a gift about how it's a hat that makes no sense.
{{quote|
** Plus John [[Discussed Trope|saying that]], because of peoples' association of him with the hat, "this is now no longer a deerstalker; it's a 'Sherlock Holmes hat.'" (Come on, admit it--you called it a Sherlock-Holmes hat long before you knew there was a real name for it.)
* [[Mexican Standoff]]: The
* [[Mistaken for Gay]]: Guess who. It's a running gag.
** In one conversation, Sherlock and John both seem convinced the other is gay. The waiter of the restaurant they go to also thinks this, calling John a date and bringing them a romantic candle. Mycroft and Mrs. Hudson also get in on it, too.
*** Although Mrs. Hudson and the waiter seem to genuinely believe John and Sherlock to be dating and are happy for them, Mycroft's comments are probably more to needle John. Apart from the comment "might we expect a happy announcement by the end of the week?" in "A Study in Pink
** Also happens to {{spoiler|Moriarty}} by Sherlock, of all people. Granted, {{spoiler|Moriarty was trying to trick him}}, and it's not clear [[Camp Gay|just how much of it was an act to begin with]].
** Played with in the first episode of the second season — as Irene hints, John can be as straight as he likes, he and Sherlock are still a couple.
** John seems to have given up denying it by "The Hounds of Baskerville
* [[Mood Whiplash]]:
** The ending of the third episode does this quite spectacularly, starting with {{spoiler|Jim Moriarty leaving in quite an overdramatic fashion as Sherlock points a gun at him
** Done ''again'' at the beginning of "A Scandal in Belgravia
** Moriarty, as a character, is prone to this. Even when you know it's coming, his sudden changes in temperament can be genuinely scary.
** Even done at {{spoiler|Sherlock's grave}} when Mrs. Hudson begins ranting about Sherlock's odd habits, the body parts in the fridge and shooting in the flat at one in the morning. Bonus points for {{spoiler|John's plea for Sherlock not to be dead immediately afterwards
** During arguably the most tense, depressing part of the entire series we get this:
{{quote|
'''Moriarty''': You're just getting this ''now?''
** Also rather [[Mood Whiplash|Mood Whiplashy]], "The Reichenbach Fall" starts with {{spoiler|John telling his therapist that Sherlock is dead}} and then immediately cuts to the upbeat title sequence.
* [[Morality Pet]]: {{spoiler|Moriarty}} calls John this for Sherlock.
{{quote|
** Molly also appears to be one for Sherlock. After making some scathing comments by deducing Molly's got herself a new paramour because she is dressed to the nines and has one fancily-wrapped gift amongst messy ones, he then discovers that the present is ''[[Oblivious to Love|actually for him]]''. Molly calls him on his repeated hurtful comments to her and Sherlock [[Pet the Dog|actually offers a genuine apology for his behaviour]].
** Mrs. Hudson as well. Sherlock even apparently agreed that he ''has'' to be nice to her at Christmas.
* [[Must Have Nicotine]]: Sherlock. In Series
** Possibly because he's got his fix of crime and mystery, which he'd been complaining about craving at the same time.
* [[My Sensors Indicate You Want to Tap That]]: In "A Scandal in Belgravia
* [[Mythology Gag]]: Has [[Mythology Gag/Live-Action TV/Sherlock|its own page]].
* [[Naked First Impression]]: Irene Adler does this ''on purpose''. It [[Distracted by the Sexy|throws off John]], and completely flummoxes [[Sherlock Scan|Sherlock's scan]] because he's got nothing to read. {{spoiler|Except her measurements. Which wind up coming in handy}}.
* [[The Nameless]]: Mycroft's [[Sexy Secretary]]/PA, who introduces herself as "Anthea" to John, but later, tells him that isn't her name. It's implied she changes it when she gets bored.
* [[Narrowed It Down to The Guy I Recognise]]/[[Not-So-Small Role]]: Some viewers saw the identity of Moriarty coming due to this trope.
* [[Never Suicide]]:
** What look like suicides in "A Study In Pink" turn out to be the work of a [[Serial Killer]], {{spoiler|albeit one that makes his victims kill themselves (by telling them they will be shot, unless they take the 50:50 chance on survival by choosing between a poisoned and harmless pill) rather than killing them himself
** And in "The Blind Banker
** Again in "The Great Game
** And of course in "The Reichenbach Fall"
* [[Never Trust a Trailer]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFR_Z30d5nQ The Korean advert]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN4xBm44KH0&feature=related The second one, too.]
* [[Nerves of Steel]]: Both John and Sherlock display this. {{spoiler|in "A Study in Pink", Sherlock actually uses the phrase 'nerves of steel' to describe the person who shot the cabbie, just as he realises it was John}}.
* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]:
** The elusive graffiti artist, spraying a black and white stencil of a policeman on a London wall, is in no way [[Banksy]]. Because there's a guy who would sue your arse off for illegal use of his image.
** "A Scandal in Belgravia" drops hints that one of Irene Adler's clients was a young, prominent and married female royal.
* [[Noodle Incident]]:
** The Science of Deduction website includes [https://web.archive.org/web/20131030064850/http://www.thescienceofdeduction.co.uk/casefiles a dummy archive of Sherlock's past cases], which all have intriguing titles (some of them referencing John's untold stories from the canon, such as Isadora Persano and the worm unknown to science, or "the dreadful business of the Abernetty family").
** What led up to Sherlock being attacked in his flat by a guy with a sword?
** This was started at the very beginning, when Watson looked up Sherlock online and said, "You said you could identify a software designer by his tie, and an airline pilot by his left thumb?"
** Not to mention the real human skull on the mantlepiece at 221B. Sherlock sheepishly explains to John that it belongs to a friend- "... When I say 'friend'..." And that's it.
** The criminal in Belarus is either this, a [[What Happened to the Mouse?]], or maybe a [[Batman Cold Open]].
** At the beginning of "The Hounds of Baskerville", Sherlock returns to the flat wearing blood-spattered clothing and carrying a harpoon longer than he is tall. Apparently there was a pig involved? And that's all we get...
*** Presumably alluding to the Doyle story "The Adventure of Black Peter
** 1972 at The Diogenes Club, wild times. Apparently.
* [[No Smoking]]: Updated, considering the character in question had a notorious pipe smoking habit. It's lampshaded that "it's impossible to sustain a smoking habit in London these days." This leads both Sherlock and Lestrade to use nicotine patches instead.
** Both "A Scandal in Belgravia" and "The Hounds of Baskerville" address Sherlock's struggles with his smoking habit; in "A Scandal in Belgravia", he and brother Mycroft are seen lighting up a cigarette during moments of high stress (Mycroft tells John that his own smoking habit is more or less a secret between the two of them). In "The Hounds of Baskerville", Sherlock is on a major detox downswing and outright begs John for a cigarette.
** Lampshaded when Mycroft hands Sherlock a cigarette in the morgue corridor:
{{quote|'''Sherlock:''' Smoking indoors... isn't that... [[Buffy-Speak|isn't that one of those... law things?]]
'''Mycroft:''' We're in a morgue. There's only so much damage you can do.}}
* [[Not a Date]]: John is ''not'' Sherlock's date, thank you. See also [[Mistaken for Gay]] above.
* [[Not Now, Kiddo]]: Sherlock to Mrs. Hudson, regarding the {{spoiler|taxi}}.
* [[Not So Different]]:
** Part of the supervillain-cliche interchange between
**
** Sherlock and John. Sherlock gets off on the ''mystery'' of the crime. John gets off on the ''danger''.
* [[Not So Stoic]]: Sherlock; see [[Post Dramatic Stress Disorder]] below.
** Mycroft gets this combined with [[Break the Haughty]] in "A Scandal in Belgravia". He's actually shown ''shaking'' in fear and despair after realizing
** Sherlock a few times in the
* [[Not That There's Anything Wrong with That]]: After Sherlock declines having a girlfriend, John asks him "[[Mistaken for Gay|Do you have a boyfriend?]] Which is fine by the way." Sherlock answers simply "I know it's fine." and keeps staring unmovingly at John, needing another repeated prompt to actually answer "No." to the question.
* [[No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine]]: A partial inversion: Sherlock knows Moriarty is coming to find him, so he makes tea for two and settles in with his violin to wait. The confrontation ends peacefully, albeit creepily.
* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: {{spoiler|Moriarty}}, with a side of obfuscating sexuality thrown in. His obfuscating stupid/gay fake persona makes a seemingly pitiful attempt at obfuscating clumsiness. Which may make this a very rare case of ObfuscatingObfuscation.
* [[Oh Crap]]:
** In "A Study in Pink", when John realises that {{spoiler|the phone must have been on the taxi driver Sherlock left with
** The look on Sherlock's face when {{spoiler|John steps out in the swimming pool}}.
** In "The Blind Banker", when {{spoiler|he sees the cipher on the windows and realizes that John and Sarah are gone
** "Of course. Obvious. He's still here."
** Sherlock, John and Lestrade in "The Great Game", when {{spoiler|the child's voice is first heard over the phone at the art gallery, giving a ten second countdown
** In "A Scandal in Belgravia
** Also in "A Scandal in Belgravia
** In "The Hounds of Baskerville
** Sherlock gets several in "The Reichenbach Fall". To be a ''little'' more specific, his reaction when {{spoiler|Jim Moriarty commits suicide, totally unexpectedly and ''inches away from his face
*** Second only to that, earlier in the episode when Sherlock Holmes and Richard Brook {{spoiler|(aka Jim Moriarty)}} meet unexpectedly. The sense of panic in the room is ''palpable'', and the look on their faces is priceless.
** Also in "The Reichenbach Fall", when Sherlock catches a taxi, at the end of
** In "The Reichenbach Fall", {{spoiler|there's also John's very quiet ''"oh no"'' when he turns around to see Sherlock standing at the edge of the roof. The look on his face gets worse as the scene goes on, culminating in Sherlock's jump
* [[One Head Taller]]: [[media:one_head_taller_crop_6549.jpg|Sherlock and John]].
** In "A Scandal in Belgravia
*** Or like the thought had suddenly struck him that Sherlock only asked him to hang around in the first place because he would make him look tall and imposing by comparison.
* [[Only One Name]]:
** Lestrade, whose first initial ("G") was given in the canon but never his full name. Worth noting since the shift to [[First-Name Basis]] is one of the most striking aspects of this adaptation. However, we find out in "The Hounds of Baskerville" is that this iteration of Lestrade is named "Greg", which might be ''yet another'' [[Mythology Gag]], referencing Inspector Gregson (the "other" detective from ''A Study
** Mrs. Hudson. We never learn her first name, and Sherlock never deviates from addressing her as "Mrs. Hudson", though in the Christmas scene in
** Obnoxious crime scene tech Anderson's first name isn't ever mentioned either.
*** [[Word of God]] says his name is Gillian.
*** ...
*** Word of [[Steven Moffat|Moff]] says his name is Sylvia.
* [[OOC Is Serious Business]]:
** Many of Sherlock's uncharacteristic moments are signs of affection, and consequently are listed on the [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] page, but one example that doesn't fit there is during Sherlock's first meeting with Irene in "A Scandal in Belgravia". When she says "Brainy's the new sexy" his normally perfect enunciation fails for a second and he mumbles his next sentence. John's expression shows how big a deal this is. Sherlock might have done it intentionally, suspecting that Irene might have feelings for him and wanting to draw her in by pretending to reciprocate so that he could manipulate her later if need be. It's hard to tell with Sherlock.
** His apology to Molly was also OOC, but probably ''not'' an act; John reacts with shock to that, as well.
** In
** And then in
** In
{{quote|
** Sherlock lets the audience know that shit just got ''really'' real with this [[Wham! Line|line]] from
{{quote|
** Then the ultimate example of this trope occurs when Sherlock is standing on the hospital roof, saying goodbye to John on the phone and ''tears are running down his cheeks''. The breakdown in
* [[Open Mouth, Insert Foot]]:
{{quote|
'''Mrs. Hudson''': Oh, it's atrocious. But thanks for asking.
'''Molly''': I've seen much worse. But then I do [[Squick|post-mortems]].
** Then there's this, from
{{quote|
'''John:''' ...
* [[Overshadowed by Awesome]]:
** Sherlock's uncanny abilities and intelligence lead people to forget that Watson is both tough enough to be a soldier and smart enough to be a doctor.
** In "A Scandal
*** This is on par with the books, where he is described as Holmes' much [[Brilliant but Lazy|smarter]] brother.
== P-T ==
* [[Passive-Aggressive Kombat]]: Between Mycroft and John, in four of six episodes so far. They're rarely downright rude to one another, and usually resign themselves to working together for Sherlock's good, but they're not friends and things can get awfully snarky and hostile at times. {{spoiler|And that isn't counting their last showdown in
* [[Phone-in Detective]]: Well, Skype-In Detective, anyway. After achieving internet fame via John's blog, Sherlock decides he isn't leaving the flat for "anything less than a seven
* [[Ping-Pong Naivete]]:
** Sherlock in particular. In
** In
* [[Please Put Some Clothes On]]:
** John to Irene, understandably. Even a napkin would do.
** And Mycroft to Sherlock, when the latter turns up at the official residence of the British monarch clad only in a bedsheet.
{{quote|
* [[Poisoned Chalice Switcheroo]]: The serial killer has two identical bottles of pills, one poisonous and one completely harmless, and forces his victims at gunpoint to choose one while he takes the other. {{spoiler|Sherlock realizes the gun is fake and is about to simply walk away, but the killer challenges him into playing anyway. However, before they can actually take the pills, Watson shoots him, and we never do find out which was which
* [[Porn Stash]]: Sherlock claims John has pictures of "naked women" on his laptop; it's pretty heavily implied that they aren't artistic nudes either.
* [[Post Dramatic Stress Disorder]]: John almost collapses on the spot after {{spoiler|Sherlock rips the bomb vest off him in "The Great Game"}}. Perfectly understandable reaction, though, and it doesn't diminish the moment.
** I would say it ''makes'' the moment. {{spoiler|It makes John's stoic command of himself during the stand-off all the more impressive. It's clear that he's not unafraid or unaware of the danger -- he just manages to hold himself together until Moriarty leaves
** Also a rare moment of vulnerability from Sherlock: His panicked "Are you all right? ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!" to John after his "Catch
{{quote|
* [[Preemptive Declaration]]: Sherlock informs Lestrade over the phone that the robber fell out the window. ''Crash
* [[Preemptive "Shut Up"]]:
{{quote|
'''Sherlock:''' Shut up.
'''Lestrade:''' I didn't say anything.
'''Sherlock:''' You were thinking. It's annoying.
* [[Reckless Gun Usage]]: Sherlock has ''no'' concept of gun safety.
** The way Sherlock was swinging John's gun around at the end of "The Great Game
*** He also waves it at John as a careless gesture {{spoiler|as he's trying to blurt out a thank you to him
** Another example can be found at the beginning of the same episode where Sherlock is so bored he's using a handgun to shoot holes into the wall forming a smiley face. This is incredibly reckless and dangerous because it would only take one resilient bullet to make it through that wall and hit someone on the other side — one of the reasons you are not allowed to practice shooting in a residential area outside of a shooting range.<ref>This was, of course, a call back to the original Sherlock Holmes stories, in which a bored Sherlock used his pistol to spell out "VR", meaning "Victoria Regina", on his wall.</ref>
** He does it ''again'' in "A Scandal in Belgravia", randomly firing shots into the air in a residential neighbourhood to attract the attention of police.
** In
** The climactic scene of "The Hounds of Baskerville" combines loaded guns with a group of men
** Not to mention when they run out of the hollow and through the dark forest after
** In
* [[Red Herring]]:
** The first episode
** And the "Rache" red-herring in "A Study in Pink", as mentioned above (see [[Fandom Nod]] in the Trivia section for the full details).
** "The Hounds of Baskerville" throws one at John in the form of {{spoiler|the Morse code he picks up}}. Given the way this series has loaded up on [[Chekhov's Gun]], people probably weren't expecting it to turn out to lead him to {{spoiler|a dogging site}}.
**
*** {{spoiler|Barrymore}} isn't actually up to anything, either.
* [[Refuge in Audacity]]: Moriarty's "Crime of the Century" in "The Reichenbach Fall" -- he breaks into the Tower of London, the Bank of England and Pentonville prison, three of the most secure locations in England, in one day, then is apprehended wearing the crown jewels. He's then acquitted, despite being caught red-handed and offering literally no evidence in his favour. This actually has very little to do with his endgame in the episode; it's almost entirely about showing off and making Sherlock look foolish.
* [[Reinventing the Telephone]]: Mycroft does this in the pilot, to get in touch with John.
Line 574 ⟶ 500:
** Everyone assuming Sherlock and John are gay... and being okay with it.
** Mycroft inconveniencing or confusing John to get his attention, only for his car to pull up moments later.
** Sherlock's disdain for [[Nice Hat|that hat]].
** The orgasmic moan that Irene Adler programs onto Sherlock's phone as her personalized text alert in "A Scandal in Belgravia". Doubles as a [[Chekhov's Gun]].
* [[Samus Is a Girl]]:
** {{spoiler|General Shan}}.
** And John's ''sister'' Harry.
* [[Sarcasm Mode]]: Holmes is prone to doing this quite often, usually when confronted with an explanation he dislikes. Watson engages in it from time to time when he's upset.
* [[Say My Name]]:
** A fairly panicked yell of "SHERLOCK!" once {{spoiler|John}} sees that {{spoiler|Sherlock is with the murderer and looks as though he's about to take a pill
** In the unaired pilot, {{spoiler|when the cabbie drugs and stuffs Sherlock in the cab, Sherlock makes an attempt at calling for help with a slurred "John!". It seems to pass unheard as John doesn't realize the full extent of the situation until the cab takes off
** In the second episode, when {{spoiler|Sherlock is being strangled in Soo Lin's flat, you can hear him choking out "John" a few times, before passing out for a few moments
** Near the end of "The Reichenbach Fall", John screams Sherlock's name as {{spoiler|Sherlock steps off the roof}}.
* [[Scarf of Asskicking]]: Sherlock, of course.
* [[Scenery Censor]]: Done in "A Scandal in Belgravia", when Irene Adler decides to recieve Holmes and Watson totally naked.
* [[Scenery Porn]]: Steven Moffat commented on a DVD commentary that the adventures worked best when contrasted against an almost fetishised picture of modern London.
* [[Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!|Screw Discretion I'm A Senior]]:
* [[Screw the Money, I Have Rules]]: Mycroft tries to bribe John into spying on Sherlock. In true sociopathic fashion, Sherlock doesn't see a problem with this.
{{quote|
* [[Selective Obliviousness]]:
** Sherlock, as of the end of
** Lestrade does a lot of this. In
** Sherlock, until
* [[Self
* [[Setting Update]]: To 21st century London.
* [[Sexy Secretary]]:
** Mycroft's PA, Anthea. Not that that's her real name.
** And Irene Adler's PA Kate.
* [[Sharp-Dressed Man]]: Both of the Holmes brothers qualify, Lestrade as well. While John is no slob, the former three are always in suits.
** Amusingly, in the commentary for "The Great Game", Benedict Cumberbatch bemoans the fact that he can't talk about the designer clothes he wears in the show since the names haven't been cleared.
** Moriarty in his Westwood is quite an appearance.
* [[She Cleans Up Nicely]]: Molly at the Christmas party in "A Scandal in Belgravia". You can clearly see Lestrade ''ogling''.
* [[Shell-Shocked Veteran]]: John {{spoiler|subverts and inverts this trope. You'd expect him to be traumatized given his situation, but he actually [[In Harm's Way|misses the danger]]. His hand shakes when he's ''not'' thinking about the war! Hence his enthusiasm to help Holmes. Even an exploding mine barely fazes him
* [[Sherlock Scan]]: With visual aids to help the audience follow Sherlock's thought processes, even!
** Discussed when Sherlock meets with an old friend, after Sherlock appears to scan him. Seems initially to be subverted, since Sherlock tells him that he actually knew about the guy travelling from talking to his secretary. John later questions this, resulting in it becoming double subverted when Sherlock admits that yes, that was a lie, and he really did deduce the travelling from the man's watch.
**
** Irene Adler is able to foil Sherlock's scan as well, but rather than doing so by placing him red herrings (''à la'' Jim), she simply gives Sherlock [[Naked First Impression|no clues at all]].
* [[Shipper on Deck]]: Almost everyone ships John/Sherlock apart from Sherlock and John themselves. Mrs. Hudson falls just short of having a "Hi, [[Yaoi Fangirl|Slash Fans]]!" sign above her head.
{{quote|
** Even ''Mycroft'' likes to insinuate, and he knows Sherlock better than anyone / has cameras in the flat.
** In "A Scandal in Belgravia", Irene Adler {{spoiler|teases John about being jealous of Sherlock's apparent interest in her, although it's implied she knows that John and Sherlock aren't sleeping together
* [[Shoot the Dog]]: Very much so, especially in "A Study
* [[Short Distance Phone Call]]: Sherlock is fond of these, just to show off and make an impression. He calls Eddie Van Coon's mistress in "The Blind Banker" as he's walking up to her desk, and calls the cabbie in the unaired pilot from about ''three feet away
* [[Shout-Out]]:
** In the third episode, a shout out to [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A490420 ''Jim'll Fix It''].
** Both the [[Establishing Shot]] of Baker Street in the first episode and the layout of Sherlock's flat are essentially a modern day versions of their counterparts in the Jeremy Brett series. In the case of the apartment it's right down to the arrangement of the furniture.
** In the pilot, while Sherlock checks his e-mail, he responds in regards to a church bell theft that "[[Russell T. Davies|Davies is your man]]". Also possibly one to [[Mark Gatiss]] who starred in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode, "The Lazarus Experiment", where he played a scientist-turned-monster that was defeated by church bells.
** In "A Scandal in Belgravia
** At one point in "A Scandal in Belgravia", John Sherlock and Irene are in 221B, and Sherlock says that he put her phone into a safe-deposit box. John's suggestion that "Molly can get it, and then have one of your homeless network members bring it here" is reminiscent of the final act of ''[[The Maltese Falcon]]'', when Sam Spade leaves the titular artifact in a safe-deposit box, mails the ticket to another box, and then calls his secretary to get first one than the other, and bring it to his office, where he and the other principal characters are waiting.
*** And then Sherlock immediately subverts the whole situation by [[Playing with a Trope|pulling the phone out of his pocket.]]
** Mycroft's three-piece suit and ever-present malacca-handled umbrella could be a nod to [[The Avengers (TV series)|John Steed]]. Mycroft often strikes a similar pose to Steed's, leaning on the umbrella with one hand, and with one leg crossed behind the other.
** At the beginning of "The Reichenbach Fall
** Moriarty's claim to be an actor hired by Holmes echoes ''[[Without a Clue]]''. Moriarty's so [[Genre Savvy]], he's probably [[Celebrity Paradox|seen it]].
** During "The Hounds of Baskerville", Sherlock (while under the effect of a fear-inducing drug) explains his usual disregards to sentiments. Watson calls him [[Star Trek|Spock]] as a response. Bonus points for the nickname coming a few lines after Sherlock reminds us of his famous phrase, "when you have eliminated the impossible", a line also used by Spock during ''Star Trek VI''. It's a [[Celebrity Paradox|Mobius strip shout-out]] !
*** Another ''[[Star Trek]]'' reference is {{spoiler|when Captain John Watson, at Sherlock's 'grave' in "The Reichenbach Fall", makes a speech calling him the "Most human human being that [he's] ever known." This bears a striking resemblance to Captain Jim Kirk's speech at Spock's funeral at the end of ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'', saying that "of all the souls [he] have encountered in all of [his] travels, [Spock's] was the most human
** Also in "The Hounds of Baskerville", Sherlock analyzes words like John Anderton analyzed dreams in ''[[Minority Report]]''.
** In "A Study
** One of newspapers on screen after Moriarty's trial in
* [[Shown Their Work]]: It has been pointed out by Moffat and Gatiss that, save for the actual setting, you will ''never'' see a more faithful adaptation of [[Sherlock Holmes]] put to screen, because the showrunners are [[One of Us|a couple of]] [[Running the Asylum|Holmes fanboys]] themselves. Even the setting update itself is more authentic than fans think; at the time the stories were written, Sherlock Holmes was a modern man on the cutting edge of science and technology, as he is in this series. ''Sherlock'' viewers are getting essentially the same experience the original readers did when the stories were first published.
* [[Sibling Rivalry]]: Sherlock and Mycroft.
{{quote|
'''Mycroft''': Mmmm, you can imagine the Christmas dinners.
* [[Silver Fox]]: Lestrade.
* [[Single Tear]]: Irene in "A Scandal in Belgravia" after Sherlock finally figures her out.
* [[Speak Friend and Enter]]:
** John discovers the code that Sherlock has been searching for. He runs back, fetches his pal and... finds that the code has been painted over. Sherlock starts spinning John around in a circle in some odd attempt to sharpen his memory, ignoring John's protests that he can remember all of the code and [[The Philosopher|waxing lyrical]] about the limitations of the (non-Sherlockian) human memory. John, meanwhile, is trying to get the detective to stop messing him around so that he can reach his phone, on which is stored a photo he had taken of the entire wall.
** Also in "A Scandal in Belgravia
* [[Squick]]: [[Invoked]]. The reaction to Sherlock's experiments by pretty much everyone but Sherlock. For example, Donovan finding human eyes in the microwave in
* [[Sticky Fingers]]:
** Sherlock mentions in "A Study in Pink" that he regularly pickpockets Lestrade when he gets annoying, hence why he has Lestrade's badge to flash. He also apparently has several more back at his flat that he's nicked .
** In "A Scandal in Belgravia
** Sherlock is not even above pickpocketing his own brother! In "The Hounds of Baskerville
* [[Take a Third Option]]: The serial killer in the first episode {{spoiler|forces people at gunpoint to choose one of two pills, identical but one deadly and one safe
** And then subverted: {{spoiler|having admitted that the gun was a fake, the serial killer [[Manipulative Bastard|talks Holmes into taking the pill anyway
* [[Taking You with Me]]: Carried over from the original story "The Final Problem" where Holmes decides that killing Moriarty is worth his own death.
* [[Tall, Dark and Snarky]]: The Holmes brothers. It devolves into a hysterical genderflip of [[The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry]].
* [[Tan Lines]]: Used in Sherlock's deductions on a couple of occasions, particularly in Sherlock's initial scan of John.
* [[Technicolor Science]]: Narrowly averted. There are colorful liquids, but none all too unusual for a laboratory.
* [[They Look Just Like Everyone Else]]: Played straight {{spoiler|in the first and, to an extent, third episode
* [[A Tragedy of Impulsiveness]]: {{spoiler|Watson ditching Soo Lin, who knew the code, in the dark museum, [[Idiot Ball|knowing she was marked for death by trained assassins who were most likely in the building.]] May have been to protect his [[Heterosexual Life Partners|Asexual Life Partner]] or serve his own [[Blood Knight]] tendencies
** More than likely, the first option. He does not hesitate to {{spoiler|get Soo Lin to as safe a place as possible and remain with her. Then he hears Sherlock being shot at, and tells Soo Lin, "I have to go and help
* [[Tranquil Fury]]: When
* [[TV Telephone Etiquette]]: Whether they're talking to a terrified hostage, or talking to the villain, or ''are'' the villain, people in this show are terribly polite and almost invariably answer the phone with "hello". Saying something along the lines of "goodbye" at the end, not so much.
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== U-Z ==
* [[Understatement]]: Mrs. Hudson's reaction when she finds out that Irene changed Sherlock's ringtone to an orgasmic moan:
{{quote|
* [[Victoria's Secret Compartment]]: Mrs. Hudson was keeping Irene Adler's phone there '''while being interrogated by CIA thugs.''' Sherlock said it best: Mrs. Hudson leave Baker street? England would fall!
* [[Visual Pun]]: After John berates Mycroft,
* [[The War on Terror]]:
** John Watson, like the original, was invalided out of the Army after being injured in Afghanistan. The more things change...
**
** The researcher in "The Hounds of Baskerville" mentioned that a lot of their study is to allow the country to be prepared for an event of biological warfare.
* [[Wasn't That Fun?]]: Sherlock and John have an important one of these after a chase, as John realizes his limp actually is psychosomatic and going on Sherlock's little adventures makes him forget the pain. The moment doesn't last long.
* [[We All Die Someday]]: Used often. From "The Great Game":
{{quote|'''John:''' Try to remember there's a woman in there dying.
'''Sherlock:''' What for? This hospital is full of people dying, doctor. Try crying by their bedsides, see what good it does them.}}
** Later, by the pool:
{{quote|
'''Jim:''' That's what people DO!
** And again in "A Scandal in Belgravia
{{quote|
'''Mycroft:''' All lives end. All hearts are broken.
* [[Wham! Episode]]:
** The [[Cliff Hanger]] ending of "The Great Game" with
** The only reason "The Reichenbach Fall" hadn't been added to this thread yet is because everyone else in the fandom was too busy reeling.
* [[Wham! Line]]: When Sherlock arranges to meet Moriarty:
{{quote|'''{{spoiler|Watson:}}''' Evening. This is a turn-up, isn't it, Sherlock?
'''Holmes:''' {{spoiler|John!}} What the hell --
'''
** {{spoiler|But no, he's been rigged with a bomb vest. And then the real Moriarty announces himself:}}
{{quote|'''{{spoiler|Jim Moriarty}}:''' {{spoiler|I gave you my number. I thought you might call!}}}}
** At the beginning of "The Reichenbach Fall":
{{quote|'''John:''' {{spoiler|My best friend, Sherlock Holmes, is dead}}.}}
** When Sherlock and John are at Kitty Riley's flat to ask who Richard Brook is and out steps {{spoiler|Moriarty}}.
{{quote|
** In "A Scandal in Belgravia", this one from Sherlock, who has just returned home to Baker Street to find {{spoiler|Mrs. Hudson has been taken hostage by some CIA agents, who have beaten her up and now have a gun to her head. She sobs his name on seeing him, and he responds}}:
{{quote|'''Sherlock:''' ''Don't'' snivel, Mrs Hudson.}}
*** Of course, this is {{spoiler|evidently all part of his [[Tranquil Fury|act,]] since after taking out the perpetrator, Sherlock kneels down in front of her, caresses her face and asks gently if she's all right}}.
** Mycroft and John are discussing Irene {{spoiler|being in witness protection}} when this happens:
{{quote|''(John comments to the effect that Sherlock will be okay with {{spoiler|never seeing Irene again, as she's in witness protection)}}''
'''Mycroft:''' I agree. {{spoiler|Which is why I've decided to tell him that}}.
'''John:''' Instead of...?
'''
** And then, we get the Wham Text-Alert.
* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]:
{{quote|'''Mycroft''': Either way, we'd better upgrade their surveillance status. Grade 3 active.
'''Anthea:''' Sorry, sir -- whose status?
'''
** The taxi chase in "A Study in Pink", somewhat.
** Sherlock can't understand why John's blog is more popular than his website, with its description of 240 types of tobacco ash.
*** "243." ''Lights blowtorch''.
** Also, Shan's "From the moonlit shores of NW1..." speech can come across as this.
** {{spoiler|The fight in the planetarium}}, what with the garbled recordings in the background accompanied by Mars from "The Planets" and the flashing colourful lights and all. Then again, the fact that {{spoiler|the lights are also flickering when The Golem sneaks up behind Sherlock}} makes it somewhat Nightmare Fuelish.
** ''Sherlock makes a pot of tea
* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: Though some of them are [[You Do NOT Want to Know|probably better left unexplained.]]
** Watson's ASBO is unheard of after the second episode, though Inspector Lestrade and/or Mycroft probably have enough experience working with Sherlock to guess what really happened and quietly get it overturned.
** What was up with that head in the fridge in "The Great Game
*** Sherlock explained that he was experimenting on some effects of saliva from the deceased head. Probably how long cold saliva takes to break down, considering most of his knowledge comes from body farm style exhibits.
** Also from "The Great Game
** We never did find out what kind of experiment involved Sherlock keeping human eyes in the microwave.
** A minor one. In "The Great Game", Sherlock and John exit the garage, lights closing dramatically behind them as they walk off. Only thing is, Lestrade is still in there.
*** [[Doctor Who|"Hey, who turned out the lights?"]]
** In "The Reichenbach Fall
*** {{spoiler|It can be deduced from a scene near the end of "The Hounds of Baskerville" that Moriarty used the HOUND gas for instilling a fear of Sherlock into them
* [[With Friends Like These...]]: There's probably a reason John keeps insisting he's Sherlock's "colleague" and not his "friend" -- friends aren't supposed to leave you standing holding objects used in a crime and then leave you explaining yourself to the police.
** Or {{spoiler|test hallucinogens on you because they wanted to see the effect on an "average mind
** Despite the [[Insistent Terminology]] of "colleague" instead of "friend", when {{spoiler|Sherlock jumps from the hospital roof, John shouts, "Let me through, I'm a doctor, ''he's my friend...''"}}. More [[Tear Jerker]].
* [[X Meets Y]]: An advance review of the show described it as "''[[The Bourne Series|The Bourne Ultimatum]]'' meets ''[[Withnail and I]]''".
* [[You Just Told Me]]: How Sherlock learns where the photos Irene Adler keeps in "A Scandal in Belgravia" are.
* [[Zero-Approval Gambit]]:
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