I'm thinking that Watson, finally accepting the fact that his best friend is dead, moves on with his life and gets married to Mary. At the beginning of  Season 3, Watson finds out Sherlock is still alive - almost passing out, then crying with relief, then hitting Sherlock so hard with a right jab that Sherlock sees stars.
As the story progresses, during course of avoiding Moran and his sniper bullets, the unfortunate Mrs. Watson gets caught in the crossfire and dies. <cue solomn violin music..>  The grieving Watson joins with Sherlock to bring Moran to justice.

Davina wrote:

The bond between John and Sherlock is likely to be a unique case for Sherlock but may ell not be quinquennial for John. The incredibly strong bonds between men, which are certainly not necessarily sexual, can be seen in the armed forces. The armed forces of which John until recently was a member. Not just a member sitting behind a desk in an office somewhere away from a war zone but a combatant. A combatant who would undoubtedly have had comrades he was very, very close to. After all, that is the motivation that soldiers fight for, the protection of their close comrades, their buddies. These men love their comrades. (The Spartans took this a step further but that is for another day).

Having been traumatised in action in Afghanistan and now out of the army environment John is actually missing the action that being in the Army gave him. I would contend that it is not just the military action he misses but also everything else that entails, especially the close bond with a comrade/s. Meeting Sherlock, with all his foibles, allows John back into a world of 'combat' albeit of a different kind and also provides him with a comrade, a buddy, someone to watch his back and someone he can help protect too. Very like serving in the Army, really.

Exactly so. Soldiers who have been on the battleline will tell you that they are/were closer to their fellow soldiers than to their brothers/sibling, and in some respects, their spouse. The link with Sherlock not only brought Watson 'back into combat', but also gave him some relief from the PTSD he was obviously suffering from. I hate to think what kind of emotional state Watson would have been in after seeing his closest friend commit suicide in such a horrible manner right in front of him. I can't help but think the writers would be spot-on if they have Watson dealing with severe PTSD symptoms (in EP 1 Season 3)

kazza474 wrote:

HoosierPhD wrote:

Hello All;

Been a serious Sherlock Holmes Geek for a very very long time. I got my first SH book at 14 at Christmas, and I remember my Mother yelling at me to "put that book down and go out and play!"  I usually don't (= NEVER) reply or blog or Facebook or Twitter, but fighting against my Luddite tendencies to log in to this forum. When I heard about his 'updated' version coming out, I was against like so many like me. How could you improve upon Jeremy Brett? But 5 gold stars to the writers and actors - I really did not think it could be pulled it off, but the series is excellent in almost every way. The series music is even outstanding! Bravo. Leave it to the Brits to show us Americans how good TV is done.

Doc

Hi Hoosier, as an American long time follower of Sherlock Holmes do you consider yourself a Sherlockian or a Holmesian?
I recall reading a long time ago that Americans called themselves Holmesians.
I know it's a trivial thing but I've always wondered how much those 'titles' still rang true these days.

Hum.Good question. I've always called myself a 'Sherlock Nut'. It's only recently that the average person understood the meaning....   

While "The Fandom That Waits" waits until the next episides, I'm hoping that everyone who hasn't read the original stories does so.

There was a major British scandal involving John Poulson involving bribery of high level political officials, but I don't quite see a connection with the scene though. Must be something to do with discussions of government officials, maybe a spy case? I'm confused about this reference also..

I would like to know more about Mycroft and Sherlocks early childhood together and what are their issues with each other?  NIcking Smurfs?
Mycroft isn't mentioned too many times in the books (other than being rather heavy and far more intelligent than Sherlock) so the writers are trying to fill in between the lines. So far, Mycroft indicates a great deal of concern for his brother.  Sherlock indicates a distant respect ("..the most dangerous man...") but also sarcasm (..here to see the Queen? Apparently yes [in reference to Mycroft]).
Also, the interaction in SiB: Mycroft: "I'll be mother."  Sherlock: "And there is a whole childhood in a nutshell ."  I'd love to know the history behind that remark!

Yep. That's correct. I checked with a British fellow even though as we all know, Wiki is NEVER wrong. . He says that it use to mean 'scientist' but now maybe a slight slur on 'scientist'.

Hum. I don't know a lot of 'head-in-the-clouds' scientists. As a whole they've become far far more practical with real world relevance and applications. Unless you like not being funded.... But he SH does appreciate scientific techniques he can apply to answer his 'questions'. Notice he asks Molly for the results of an analysis (TRF). I'm sure he's having her use some of the state-of-the-art analytical equipment  (LC/MS perhaps). After all, you really can't determine the presence of glycerol molecule structure using a microscope.

You know you're obsessed with SHERLOCK when you google "Boffin" and then go around proudly telling your colleagues what it means... (go ahead Americans - google it! Doesn't mean what you think it means.).

This is the height of scientific Sherlock Holmes geekdome.

I've replayed the DVD (more times than I will admit on line) and I swear that when Watson is on the ground, after being hit by the bike, I hear a phone ring. Twice. I don't know if this is meant to indicate 'ringing in the head', backgound music, or is this really his phone ringing? Anyone else notice this? If so, any thoughts?

"Dear me, Mr Holmes, dear me" from "The Reichenback Fall" and sent via text to Mycroft is taken directly from "The Valley of Fear", but directed to SH himself from Moriarty. Gave me goose pimples to see it in SHERLOCK BBC. 

Hoosiers are from Indiana (USA), although we don't really know where the nickname developed. And, no, I did NOT attend Indiana University! (Important that I make that qualifier to my use of the name..others from the Midwest will understand). Good question - who is my favorite SH character.  Most likely Irene Adler, just because she beat SH and did it in such a nice way (in the books, anyway).