BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » Reference(s) to Dr. Who?

Sherli Bakerst · June 17, 2012 9:27 pm

In the scene where John and Sherlock are in the taxi on their way to Lauriston Gardens, Sherlock has just impressed John with his deductive powers and tells him that most people tell him to piss off. Right after Sherlock says that, as the taxi continues driving, there's a shot of mannequins in a store front. Did anyone notice that? Could it be a nod to the premiere episode of the reboot of Dr. Who--I think it was titled Rose? I don't recall which season it'd be or who the Doctor was, but that whole episode was more or less about plastic mannequins taking over (or trying to take over) Earth. Or was that shot in Sherlock just coincidence? What do you think? And are there any other Dr. Who references in this episode?

Sherlock Holmes · June 18, 2012 7:58 pm

I've never actually noticed that but I'll look out for more now....apparently there are some references in Sherlock to Dr Who and in Dr Who to Sherlock...I read it on Twitter so it must be true.

hypergreenfrog · June 18, 2012 8:25 pm

That's a really good question... I'd love to hear about that!

I haven't noticed any real references myself, but there are certain scenes where you can see that the writers are the same. As an example, in the DW episode "Forest of the Dead", when the Doctor lectures the expedition crew about his screwdriver, and accuses them of not thinking ("it's a screwdriver, it works in the dark") - it struck me as very similar to the scene in the Study in Pink at Baker Street, where Sherlock gets annoyed at everyone around him being slow and dumb(er than him). In general, Moffat's versions of the Doctor and Sherlock Holmes have quite a bit in common: the high-speed explanations, high energy level, the blissful ignorance of other people's problems and feelings...
But of course they are two very different shows written for a different viewing segment, so I wouldn't expect Moffat to make any obvious references.

Sherli Bakerst · June 18, 2012 10:56 pm

Sherlock Holmes wrote:
I read it on Twitter so it must be true.

LOL!

I think I also heard/read somewhere that they put in nods to Dr. Who; that's why I was asking.

sherlockskitty · June 19, 2012 3:14 am

the dr who show with the mannequins was called ROSE, done in 2005, with the new 9th dr, Christopher Eccleston. there are so many similarities that I have seen between doctor who and Sherlock, that, erm...I lost count!! LOL And the 11th dr Matt Smith-- I read somewhere that HE tried out for Dr watson on Sherlock....yeah it's true. But Martin got the part, and we are all over the moon as to how that worked out. the rest is history.

Sherli Bakerst · June 19, 2012 4:46 am

sherlockskitty wrote:
the dr who show with the mannequins was called ROSE, done in 2005, with the new 9th dr, Christopher Eccleston. there are so many similarities that I have seen between doctor who and Sherlock, that, erm...I lost count!!

Thanks for confirming my recollection. Can you enumerate some of the similarities, at least those in ASIP? And do you think that flash of mannequins was one of them?

Davina · June 19, 2012 5:50 am

Is that the collective noun for mannequins? Hmm...I like the sound of it...a flash of mannequins...it has a certain ring to it.

sherlockskitty · June 19, 2012 6:14 am

I've been watching all six eps of Sherlock--and most of dr who's since 2005 the reboot. Moffatt and Gatiss took over the writing for DW at the end of 2009 (this was after they'd written one or 2 eps for david tennant's 10th dr) and became producers then too. That said, The dr and Sherlock both talk really fast, and the ones with them are just looking at them in awe. The dr is more of a scientific and historic reasoning, person, cos he's a time lord and has lived for 907 years (give or take) (do you remember quantum physics?) While Sherlock's attitude is scientific deduction, since he's a consulting detective. I will do some research....But this is the main thing I can tell you at this time. Here's another excuse/reason for me to watch study in pink. good questions tho!!

veecee · June 24, 2012 6:18 pm

Aa friend of mine sent me this. I've only seen a couple of episodes of Dr. Who, but I enjoyed it anyway. You've probably already seen it, but for those who haven't :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iae-kvXu0k8

I don't think I've inserted a link. If you search on YouTube for Dr. Who/Sherlock/Anything You Can Do you'll find it.

Last edited by veecee (June 24, 2012 6:25 pm)

Irene Adler · June 24, 2012 7:37 pm

veecee wrote:
Aa friend of mine sent me this. I've only seen a couple of episodes of Dr. Who, but I enjoyed it anyway. You've probably already seen it, but for those who haven't :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iae-kvXu0k8

I don't think I've inserted a link. If you search on YouTube for Dr. Who/Sherlock/Anything You Can Do you'll find it.

That is amazing... I posted it some time ago in this thread http://sherlock.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=527
Anyway, it's always worth to see I can't stop laughing and I have lost the count of how many times I have seen it by now

butterfly grl · September 8, 2013 2:37 am

I'm at work right now, and can't do links, or lookups, or pretty much anything (don't know why I can get here at all). but there is an absolutely lovely music mashup combining the Sherlock theme music with the action theme in Dr. Who (the running music). I've made it my daughters ring tone. (I wish she'd call me more often so I can hear it).

sj4iy · September 8, 2013 2:45 am

I know there are references the other way around, such as this book cover from "The Bells of Saint John" (series 7 pt 2):

Can't say I've noticed DW references in Sherlock, though.

Deilenn · September 8, 2013 10:44 am

I heard once about a DW reference in Sherlock, namely in an intro scene from "The Hounds of Baskerville". Some people believed it was the Tardis there, on the hill:

FlautistB6 · September 2, 2014 4:17 pm

I'm not sur of that.

Sherlockismyfix · September 2, 2014 11:56 pm

I am currently watching all the Dr. Who episodes starting with 2005, in lieu of Sherlock, and enjoying them immensely. In season 4 at the moment. What I've noticed:

Moffat and Gatiss have both written several episodes, the best being Blink by Moffat.

As an actor, Gatiss was the main baddie in Lazarus (ring any bells?). He was wonderful, of course!

I recognize many actors with parts in Dr. Who, that later show up in Sherlock episodes.

As previously observed, Doctor and Sherlock share many characteristics, especially the Tennant version: high-energy physicality, rapid speech, and certain turns of phrase being the most noticeable. After all, they are both geniuses who have to quickly figure things out to stop the bad guy.

I haven't picked up on any obvious nods from one show to the other at this point, but I'll keep looking.

Davina · September 3, 2014 10:22 am

They are there...just hidden...sometimes not very subtly.

SolarSystem · September 3, 2014 10:49 am

Sherlockismyfix wrote:
Moffat and Gatiss have both written several episodes, the best being Blink by Moffat.

Oh, wait until you see "Silence in the Library"/Forest of the Dead", in my opinion it's Moffat's best episode before he became showrunner. And Mark's "The idiot's lantern" is great!

Lily · September 13, 2014 10:23 pm

Not the same episode but I'm pretty sure there is a picture of a Tardis on Anderson's wall between all the pictures and sticky notes.

Last edited by Lily (September 13, 2014 10:24 pm)

Marta · September 13, 2014 11:21 pm

I'm watching season 2 of Doctor Who now and I find lines there that are the same or very similar as in Sherlock all the time: "Stay exactly where you are" (it hurt), "you can't kill an idea", something about humans' brains said by Doctor, "We've got another one", Doctor was looking for a friend, "a specific friend"... But I don't think they are references, it's just my Sherlock-obsessed mind

Sherlockismyfix · September 14, 2014 1:40 am

Yes, I picked up on those too! It made me smile. Very similar tone and phrasing. Too similar to be coincidence?