1. I was 3/4 convinced that they were portraying Moriarty with Gatiss which was going to disappoint me to no end. I think had they followed that pathway I wouldn't be here now. He was too 'nice' to be Moriarty, certainly nothing like the canon description. There were no signs of evil madness in him, no hate/nastiness at any time really. The aristocratic smugness shown by Gatiss just didn't sit well with me if he was really Moriarty.

2. I could see no reason to think that at all. There were many villains & stories in the canon besides ones with Moriarty in them.

3. Sherlock & Mycroft trying to outsmart each other over little things. Perhaps verbally dissecting the Christmas turkey, arguing the validity of the Bible story of Christmas.

4. It is?

For me 1 and 2 same as Wholocked. Just did not have a clue who Mycroft was.
Christmas dinners. Imagine them with their parents around a very large table in a very large dining room perhaps in some country retreat somewhere. The 'boys' trying to put each other down at every opportunity. Somehow I can imagine, perhaps, a servant bringing in the food because the impression I get it that they have a privileged upbringing. I think that they would spend the entire meal disagreeing with what the other would say. Also when 'mummy' and perhaps 'daddy' would ask each one what they had been up to, work-wise etc. they would make sniping comments under their breath whilst the other was talking. I can then imagine their poor mother asking them to, 'Please behave yourselves. Can you two just be nice to each other for one day. It is Christmas after all.' To which she would probably receive a whole barrage of why that is not really important from Sherlock in particular and Mycroft saying that Sherlock started it anyway because he is the irritating little brother.

After the meal they would probably try to settle down to 'a nice board game'...and we all know where that would probably end, don't we!

Did you think that Mycroft was Moriarty in the beginning or where you not fooled?

I was 50/50 on the whole affair. I suspected it could be Moriarty but having access to all CCTV and public telephones made me suspicious that he'd be an overpowered Moriarty and quite impossible to 'outdo'. I wasn't certain it was Mycroft either due to Gatiss's excellent acting and Moff's brilliant writing. If John's opening was the hook, Sherlock's dealing with Molly the line, then Mycroft's first scene was the sinker for me.

Did you anticipate that Moriarty had something to do with the murders even after seeing Mycroft?

I didn't expect Moriarty to be in the first series at all, perhaps a hint at the end of it but certainly not a reoccurring element. 'A Study in Pink'  was an establishing piece to my mind and overwhelmed the fanboy in me with how much it delivered in one fell swoop.

What do you think those Christmas dinners have got to be like?

I don't think we'll ever get to know. This is one for the fans imaginings and not really my game.

Why is that umbrella so incredibly sexy?

Whilst the bumbershoot has made appearances all over the world there is something inherently British about it. It could be from colonial days when parasols and brollies had a very useful function or it could be as simple as John Steed from The Avengers using it as a dandy weapon during the 60's. I immediately thought of an incident I read about where a Bulgarian writer was killed by an injection of ricin whilst working for the BBC in London - there's just something of the spy and British to an umbrella and I think that's why Mycroft carries one. Also it's a great prop.

-m0r

I have it on good authority that I was born around that time.

Out of curiosity do we have any other mid-30's males on this board?

-m0r

I think Sherlock probably told Mycroft at an early age that Santa does not exist (by the way any young members of the forum who believe...he does exist really, I'm only joking!)

1. Did you think that Mycroft was Moriarty in the beginning or where you not fooled?
Yes, I thought he was. There was something strange about him, though, but I just assumed he was Moriarty because he is the most famous and recognizable villain in the canon and really, I hadn't read the canon in a long time...

2. Did you anticipate that Moriarty had something to do with the murders even after seeing Mycroft?
No, I didn't. I was distracted just thinking how absolutely amazing was what I was watching and how great were Freeman and Cumberbatch.

3. What do you think those Christmas dinners have got to be like?
Akward, at the very least. Little Sherlock pissing off everyone with his observations, Mycroft rolling eyes while eating a big piece of cake and correcting his little brother, Mummy Holmes wondering what she had done to have that couple of sons...

4. Why is that umbrella so incredibly sexy?
Oh, I wish I knew... I've never found Mr Gatiss specially attractive, I must say, but in Mycroft's skin... well he is absolutely magnetic.

1) Yes, I thought it was Moriarty.  I hadn't read the canon before watching the show but I did know Moriarty was Sherlock's archenemy--that was the red herring for me, when Mycroft used that word.  And since I wasn't familiar with the backstory, I had no idea Sherlock had a brother.

2) No, I was totally surprised when Moriarty's name was mentioned at the end.  But I really enjoyed hearing it as I assumed it meant the shadowy presence that was Moriarty would run through the succeeding episodes and somehow be a connecting thread.

3) Not being Christian, I don't know what a normal Christmas dinner is like so I can hardly imagine what the Holmes' family one would be like!

4) I, too, thought of John Steed right away and, later, the Markov case when I saw the umbrella.  I see it as the quintessential item characterizing "Britishness"!

Some more questions about Mycroft's drama.  About the CCTV cameras he manipulates during his conversation with John in the phone booth:

a) Is there some central location from which they are all controlled?  Which ministry is in charge of them?
b) In real life, would there be so many cameras so near each other?  Is that common throughout the city or just in heavily trafficked areas?  I read somewhere a figure for how many cameras there actually are, and I was stunned by the number, but I can't remember what it is now.
c) Those of you who live in London, or wherever else they exist, doesn't it weird you out to know you're under the constant scrutiny of security cameras?

London has 1 million CCTV cameras installed for digital observation.
The UK altogether has 4 million installed.
These were all installed by the UK Police, that's who monitors them also.

The scene with Mycroft & John in the basement is my all time most favourite scene - not just in this episode, but in the whole series

I watched the episodes out of order (HOUND, Scandal, Study in Pink, etc...) so I already knew that the mystery man was Mycroft - but even coming into the scene the wrong way around, I could see that they were trying to make him look like Moriarty.

This is a scene where Martin really gets to shine as John. Most of the time, Sherlock takes centre stage & John is added as an after thought but here, all eyes are on him & he holds himself beautifully. Him & Lestrade are very well acted but under appreciated due to the nature of the characters.