Sherlocked report #9. Had a lovely time at the cocktail party. Our group got to speak to Sue Vertue and I asked in a sly way about S5 by asking whether it was up to the BBC to commission another series and she said no, the beeb would love to have more series made as, (my words not hers) it’s quite a money spinner for them. It really is down to Mark and Steven getting time to write it first of all. She said that hopefully she’d like to get them together early next year to discuss things like what the plot would be etc. Then they’d have to write a draft plot line and see if primarily Ben and Martin would be up for doing it with that plot. Then she’d have to send Mark and Steven away on holiday together to write as it worked so well for s4. Then they’d have to sort out the logistics of Ben n Martins schedules. Ben has been working pretty much non stop for a year and Martins not far behind in the constant workloads. So in short she herself is hopeful that a S5 will happen but even if she pushed them to write super speed they have Dracula to get through its first season first and then they’d have to work out when B & M could film. She said that they hope that Dracula will film next year for a possible 2019 release (they’ve not started writing it properly at all, just a draft plot.) So Sherlocked wouldn’t be able to start to film at the earliest until a few months after Dracula has wrapped. So I’m figuring that would mean a very late 2019 or mid 2020 release at its best possible. I’m so sorry I can’t relay any better news than that, but at least we know now that the BBC and Hartswood are both keen to do it. Let’s face it, the Sherlock fandom is used to long hiatuses! !
Sherlocked report #4 just finished the talk with Una and the Holmes kids. Great story by Indica, she was shooting and had to go to the toilet at a random house with her Mum. She asked her mum who’s house it was and a deep scary voice said ‘IT’S MMMMMYYYY HOUSE!!!!’ Turned out it was Benedict hiding behind a door and he came out with wonky eyes and a funny face to scare her! Bless him. Indica was So sweet, Tom was a delight and Aaron was very funny.
Sherlocked report #1. Because my morphine has kicked in at 2am and I can’t sleep here’s a report from the Sherlocked friday drinks party. It was in quite a large room and there were deffo more platinum tickets sold than last year. There was free booze and soft drinks and we were encouraged to drink as much as we could. I found a table of fellow group G people and chatted whilst we waited for the guests to arrive. First we got Gordon Kennedy and he was an utter delight he said hello to everyone at our table in person and admitted that this was his second ever convention! The other one being a red dwarf con which was a signing cattle market (his words). I asked him about filming Sherlock and he said he had great fun as he knew Clive Mantle from years back and that they had both played Little John in Robin Hoods! He said that he wasn’t a very tall John and that Richard Armitage had to film some stuff standing on a box or crouching or with his legs wide open so that Gordon looked taller! Oh the joys of filming! Then we had Lisa Mcallister who plays Anthea. She said that she’d recently taken a bit of time off acting to have kids and S4 was the only thing she’s done recently and has no other jobs in line. She said she had no idea that she’d ever get asked back for S4 but was so glad that she was because it really made the character of Anthea much more fleshed out. That she was much more than just a secretary to Mycroft and that the character was really utterly his ‘Right hand man’. She said we need to start a campaign for a season 5 because she thinks the show is so marvelous and needs more stories done yet! Sadly we couldn’t take pic’s but she is gorgeous in person and has a short bobbed hairdo atm and her perfume was lovely! Then we got Sian Brooke and she was an utter delight. She said that her audition was initially just for the bus stop lady and then got a call back for the therapist and she thought they were just undecided as to what role to give her. It wasn’t until she’d actually signed the contract that she was told she’d be playing Sherlock sister and even up until filming the Lying Detective she still hadn’t read the ladst episode and had no idea how nuts Eurus would be and how it would all play out! She said she actually liked it that way because she could play the 3 other characters without any of Eurus showing through and thinks that if she had read all 3 episodes before filming that she’d’ve played it differently and not so well. She hugely enjoyed working with Benediction as shed done Hamlet with him. She’s not been to see Hamlet at the cinema yet because she thinks it would alter her memories of the experience but when she’s old she’ll drag her kids to see it to show them what thier mum looked like years ago!!! Then we got Una Stubbs who said she adores playing Hudders and loves being with Benedict and Martin and Andrew the most and was sad when told that none of them would be here this weekend. She said she had a grand time on S4 with the car but sadly she wasn’t allowed to drive it at all because of insurance and mostly it was a stunt bloke in her wig!! She says that Hudders always has rock music on to do the hoovering! She was utterly lovely and so smiley and laughed when someone said they loved watching her in Worzel Gummidge as a kid! Though she couldn’t belive I was old enough to have watched it (sadly I am!). I’m afraid I was too pooped from travelling to go to the disco afterwards so went to bed after that. The hotel is lovely though a very confusing layout and all the crew have been gorgeously helpful so far. I’ll try to post more stuff tomorrow, sadly I didn’t get a chance to look at the museum or photos yet, but I did see that they have the portrait of mycrofts ancestors and costumes I’ve not seen before so will try to get lots of pics of those for you to see. If you’re at sherlocked and you see a lady in a tardis wheelchair with purple hair – that’s me, come up and say hello!
Thank you for the report! Hope you are having a great time!
This is the letter I have sent today to the organisers of the Sherlocked UK con which is being held this weekend. Although I won’t get a refund I felt it was important that my concerns were on record. Not that they will pay the slightest attention I am sure. It will be interesting to see whether they reply.
To the organisers :
This is to explain the reason for my absence from the Sherlocked event this weekend. I realise no refunds will be given, but I wish to put on record my disappointment that so little is on offer to attendees who have paid for Platinum packages. I booked my £595 ticket in January to be sure of getting an early number and also paid for the hotel in advance. I attended Sherlocked UK in 2015 and 2016 and had a great time.
But this year there are some major issues. First and foremost , I attend a Sherlock event to enjoy meeting major cast members for autographs and photos. I am not interested in spending a large amount of money to meet minor cast members who have had very little input into the show. Using people like single episode actors like Debbie Chazan, Gordon Kennedy, Marcia Warren and Sacha Dhawan, plus using a number of minors like Louis Moffat, and very young children like Aaron Richards, Indica Watson and Tom Stoughton is not acceptable when the event has cost a great deal of money for participants. None of the major cast are scheduled . No Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman , Wanda Ventham, Timothy Carlton, Mark Gatiss, Andrew Scott, or Amanda Abbingdon. Yet this is one of the big draws of buying a Platinum ticket since it entitles the holder to meet and be photographed with these major actors and attend their talks. I had hoped my Platinum meet and greet ( Group B) would be with Arwel or Steven Moffat . It turns out it will be with Louis Moffat , a junior cast member who I have met before . Louis is a typical teenager, rather shy and lacking in confidence . This will not be a meaningful opportunity to discuss the filming choices made in Series 4.
Worse, to attend many of the meet and greets you are auctioning them to the highest 15 bidders. Having already spent £600 to buy my original ticket , I am definitely NOT prepared to spend hundreds more to win a place in Steve Moffat and Sue Vertue’s group.
None of the talks hold any appeal. I love Una Stubbs but her panel with three very young kids will inevitably be undemanding . And why have all questions got to be submitted in advance? Hardly conducive to spontaneity or a good atmosphere!
In the last two days I have been informed that the two set opportunities specifically for Platinum holders ( the tilting set and Mycroft’s office) are now not available. Apparantly the Tilting set got burnt during filming, and the Mycroft office set is too incomplete to use it. So now I have been offered alternatives – a photo on the Victorian 221b set ( which I paid extra for last year to be photographed with Louise Brearley and Rupert Graves, as well as the Holmes family) or a photo in front of the 221b smiley wallpaper .
Having gone carefully through all the activities on offer I have regretfully decided NOT to attend since I would still have to travel and pay my live in dog sitter for the weekend .
To say I am disappointed is an understatement. Having discussed this with other Sherlock fans who are NOT attending it is clear there is a perception that the organisers of Sherlocked are only interested in wringing every last penny from the fans and that it has become a rip off. It leaves a very nasty taste .
On the subject of evening parties, I think holding a Culverton Smith hospital party is unbelievably crass , considering this Sherlock scene with Smith and a large group of children was meant to be a mock up of Jimmy Saville’s appalling behaviour at the hospitals he attended. Great subject for a party! Also, a bouncy castle??? Really ??
It may have escaped your attention that Sherlock fans are incredibly articulate, intelligent and mature people. We love to discuss with actors and creators all aspects of how the series was made, why choices were made, and are often a step ahead of the writers!
I would appreciate a reply from an organiser to at least indicate that they have read my concerns and will act on them . Next year If there is another Sherlocked event, I shall definitely wait to see just who and what is being offered before parting with my hard earned money.
Of course, there’s never a guarantee that major cast members will attend. But the line-up this year looks very thin, especially regarding the ticket prices, though I’m sure they are all lovely people.
A special thank you for mentioning the Culverton-Smith hospital party. The connection to Jimmy Saville was only thinly veilled in the show. I’d really like to hear a comment from the BBC, how on earth at a Con for one of their biggest shows the largest child abuse scandal in their history could bei turned into the motto of a funny fete! Especially in times when sexual abuse in the entertainment industry is front page news and child actors are present at the Con.
The presence of so many child actors disturbes me on many levels. Am I the only one feeling uncomfortable with that?
I really don’t want to spoil people’s fun, but I wouldn’t want my children being “sold” in photo ops to adult strangers. I just don’t think this should be done with minors.
More of my photoshoots at Sherlocked today. I got to have tea with Hudders in 221B! And at the group shoot with Steven Moffat he actually fangirled over my Tardis/WhoLocked wheelchair. It was so cool!!
The fruit of hundreds of hours of research, tramping London, photographing, screencapping and cursing PowerPoint, it is here!
The guide contains maps showing how to find every known BBC Sherlock location in London, with screencaps and text identifying where it featured, and contemporary photos to show what it looks like now. There are also some special sections such as how to follow the ASIP taxi chase in order, and area maps to help you devise local mini-tours if you like.
I (@pennypaperbrain) have lived in London for 20 years, and this guide grew out of showing fandom friends around, first the obvious places and then some not so obvious. Photography is by the indispensable @sincerely-chaos.
This is version 1 so I’m sure there are many improvements and refinements that can be made. Please email londonsherlocktour at gmail dot com if you have feedback, or squee. (You can also use tumblr of course, but tumblr eats asks). If you end up using the guide in London, it would also be particularly cool to have stories/photos to feature on this tumblr.
With the Queerbait Con I mean Mofftass Back Patting Con oops I mean Sherlocked Con only a week away I feel like me and my Salty Crew need to mentally prepare ourselves for whatever new horrible bullshit Mofftiss are going to spew out of their mouths this go round.
Sherlock Fandom Archive 