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The Adventure of Transmedia Sherlock-Part Three

The narration in BBC Sherlock approximates Sherlock Holmes’ mind, unlike the multiple re-incarnations of the character-through adaptation and re-adaptation, over the century. The new generation of spectators draw their pleasure from identifying with Sherlock Holmes directly. As Henry Jenkins predicts,

Audiences, empowered by these new technologies, occupying a space at the intersection between old and new media, are demanding the right to participate within the culture. (Jenkins 2006)

In this series Sherlock Holmes gains an agency over his articulation. He does not have to capitulate to the hero-like status that Watson weaves around him. The series even become discursive of this point which it articulates through Holmes dialogue in the episode The Great Game. When John wonders what the serial bomber is up to, Holmes suggests that he is looking for a distraction. Watson snaps at Holmes for his indifferent attitude, but Holmes insists that caring won’t help solve the case, so he doesn’t waste time on it. He warns Watson not to make him into a hero. Holmes thus being directly communicative remains open to fannish interpretation.

This also distances Watson from the audience. Holmes mental process and deductions are made available to the audience even when it remains unavailable to Watson. Thus information flows directly, without being filtered by narrativistic tendencies of Watson. Instead of awe inspired appreciative understanding, this series address the shift is viewer’s position in the digital era. The new media consumers at the alter of convergence culture is not satisfied with simple passive reception only. As Henry Jenkins puts it,

Transmedia storytelling is the art of world making. To fully experience any fictional world, consumers must assume the role of hunters and gatherers, chasing down bits of the story across media channels, comparing notes with each other via online discussion groups, and collaborating to ensure that everyone who invests time and effort will come away with a richer entertainment experience. (Jenkins 2006)

The fictional world of the series spills over into the digital arena through official transmedia extensions. “Industry insiders use the term "extension" to refer to their efforts to expand the potential markets by moving content across different delivery systems” (Jenkins 2006). In Conan Doyle stories Sherlock Holmes was known to have published his scientific works as monographs which shows again that the canon stories were written in Watson’s version. But these texts did not exist publicly. This series makes those texts available to audience through digital extension. John Watson maintains a blog where he recounts his everyday experience with Sherlock Holmes which is non existent in the body of the text itself. This series therefore gives Holmes directly to the audience by removing Watson’s intervention. Thus the blog that Watson maintains corresponds to the role of Watson in the canon stories. Sherlock also maintains a website as a digital home for his consulting services and for publishing results of his knowledge and discovery. That which was only hinted at in the canon, is being made available to the public by the producers of the series. Through these extensions, particularly, the series provide yet another interface to the fictional world of Sherlock Holmes’s mind.

These additional narrative threads are not essentially non-diegetic and they enrich the story world. For example, in the episode The Great Game, Holmes complains that in John’s blog of their first adventure, A Study in Pink, Watson described him as ignorant in certain areas, and insists he does not need knowledge of astronomy to solve crimes. Again in The Hounds of Baskerville, when Sherlock complains that he is bored now, that he has no case and needs some kind of diversion, he mentions the case of missing rabbit which is posted in his website by a little girl.

The increased emphasis on character’s accessibility can also be realised in the series move of naming the character from Holmes to Sherlock. The whole series is pronounced Sherlock as a more humane presentation of the character. Thus the increased accessibility of Sherlock, along with his character’s re-imagination as contemporary digital being puts in perspective the current debates concerning participatory culture. BBC Sherlock brings together active participants of Holmesian fandom and new community fandom that emerged with the digital age. Hence this series addresses the convergence of different generations and modes of fandom activities.

BBC Sherlock is a transformative text that incorporates the fannish understanding of Sherlock Holmes canon that evolved across media, culture and diverse fan traditions. New millennium Sherlock still uses the standard processes of deduction made famous by Conan Doyle. Along with that he unravels crimes using digital tools as aid to his analysis.

 The homoerotic dimension of the archetypical relationship between Holmes and Watson is explored here. It addresses fanfic’s favourite genre, Slash, which deals with the issue of same sex pairing. Doing so, this series for the first time, comments on the ambiguous nature of Sherlock’s sexuality, which was not dealt with, in the 19th century canon. In Study in Pink, Holmes and Watson walk to a small restaurant overlooking 22 Northumberland Street where the owner, an old “friend” of Holmes, insists on serving him and his “date” a nice free dinner. Watson tries unsuccessfully to explain that he is not Holmes’ date but eats the dinner anyway while Holmes ignores the food and watches the street. Watson profits for the moment to ask some questions on Holmes’ private life. Sherlock states that girlfriends are not really his area and it is fine to be homosexual. Sherlock also mention that he is flattered by Watson’s advances but he is completely committed to his work.

The series also deals with the problem of presenting a rational modern mind in a post-rational, post-modern, post-empirical world. The question of a Victorian source in contemporary context in relation to the issues of identity and representation is also attended to here. In Study in Pink, Holmes asks Watson, if he deduced anything wrong about Watson’s relationship with his drunkard brother whose wife left him. Watson confirms the bad sibling relationship, the divorce and the drinking, but points to just one little error. Harry is short for Harriet and Watson’s brother is in fact his sister whose wife left her.

The Adventure of Transmedia Sherlock-Part Two

Talking about BBC’s Sherlock: while contemporising Sherlock Holmes in the age of informationalization, the series foregrounds the digitized new media expressions. This is infused in this series not only visually, but also into its form. Thus Sherlock Holmes’ famous “brain attic” becomes “digital cloud” memory. The internal perfection and monumental memory that was well respected and prized by 19^th century intellectuals is, in this series, replaced by the ability to navigate through the rapidity of access and networking of knowledge in 21^st century’s digitized platform.

Not only updating characters, the series adapts the digital paradigm in its televisuality as well. Contemporised Sherlock, is thus, necessarily saturated by the presence of digital display. The first encounter with Sherlock Holmes in series took place through text layered on images. These text messages, authored and signed by Sherlock Holmes, give the audience an intimation of his existence.

Not just text  messages, this series, by its technique of layering text over images makes Sherlock Holmes’ thought process perceptible to the audience. The audience can see the event and experience Sherlock’s thoughts about the event simultaneously and directly. For example, in Study in Pink while studying the woman in pink, these texts layered over images guide the audience through Holmes’ thought process even when Watson remains oblivious of it. Holmes approaches the body and notices the message “Rache” scratched by the dying woman’s fingernails. The text layer on image show him translating it first into “Revenge” in German, then completing the word into “Rachel”. He notices the coat and the text states it is wet, even the inside of the collar, but the pocket umbrella is dry. While noticing her jewellery, texts declare they are clean except for the well worn wedding ring which is polished on the inside. Holmes deduction of unhappy marriage for 10+ years and that of serial adulterer from the fact the ring was frequently removed is made known to the audience through text layering even before he explains himself. The police doctor Anderson appears and tries to show off by pointing out that the victim must be German. Holmes closes the door on his nose while browsing on his Smartphone and says that she is not German but from Cardiff and was in town for one night. This he does by a quick search through the current weather report from few kilometres around London.

Arthur Conan Doyle framed Sherlock Holmes’ voice through John Watson’s writing. A reader comes to know about the event and their meaning as they unfold to Dr. Watson’s understanding. Film and television adaptation of Conan Doyle stories provided a chance to witness Sherlock Holmes himself explaining his reasoning and deduction through his own articulation in conversation with Watson. But BBC Sherlock makes Holmes thought process visible through multilayered images and texts. Thus it can be said that for the first time the narrative in this series is structured by Sherlock’s thoughts.