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June 1, 2014 9:02 pm  #1


I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

But I enjoy watching this one. I thought it was pretty clever for a modern take on the classic tale. The photography, directing, and locations were superb as well. I also liked the change in scenery taking us out of London for once (In many of the original stories, Holmes and Watson did travel to different parts of England to solve cases). Russell Tovey was really good in it too.
 
I don’t think it is the best episode in the series but at least one of the better ones. I personally enjoyed it more than any of the Season 3 episodes and it is certainly better than "The Blind Banker."

Last edited by BrettHolmes (June 1, 2014 11:50 pm)

 

June 1, 2014 9:11 pm  #2


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

I like it too.
I much prefer it to ASiB, which most people seem to love.
But then I like TBB, which almost no one does, so I'm probably just a bit odd!!


"And in the end,
The Love you take
Is equal to the Love you make"
                                             The Beatles
 

June 1, 2014 9:13 pm  #3


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

I like HoB as well. The fireplace scene is one of my favourites. And there are many nice little details - the "looking mysterious" thing, the graveyard scene, Greg "that's his name" Lestrade, John in a purple shirt … 
As for series 3, however, I do not agree with you. I love TSoT and HLV and have made my peace with TEH. 
 

Last edited by SusiGo (June 1, 2014 9:14 pm)


------------------------------
"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
 

June 1, 2014 9:25 pm  #4


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

Oh yes, I really enjoy it, too! It used to be my favourite episode because of its clear structure - one mystery, one case, everything solved in the end (very satisfying not to be left with more riddles or connections to Moriarty) -, the creepy atmosphere, the scenery.. and the interaction between John and Sherlock, which I found especially lovely in this episode. Although in my opinion it loses a bit with repeated viewing in comparison to other more intricate episodes (TGG, ASiB, TRF) it´s still one of my favourites and contains some of my all-time favourite scenes.

Last edited by Zatoichi (June 1, 2014 9:26 pm)

 

June 1, 2014 9:34 pm  #5


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

I like both this one and The Blind Banker very much. Both are great character studies.

I think that Sherlock's breakdown is one of the most important moments of any of the series because it's one of the very rare emotive Sherlock scenes that you can actually trust you are not being manipulated and know for certain it is real.

John is wonderful in this, investigating on his own (nice catch with the receipt for the meat!).

We also get some very interesting insight into Lestrade and Sherlock's back story and Lestrade's relationship with Mycroft, which is definitely more involved than it might seem at first glance ("I don't just do what your brother tells me to." (!))

The case is really good; it's engaging and genuinely scary and straight forward.

Finally, this is the episode with the most hilarious revelation ever: not only does Sherlock know how to drive, it's such a perfectly normal thing for him to do that the absurdity of the fact is never brought up in the episode.

Mary


John: That's clever. So you scratch their backs and...
Sherlock: Yes. And then disinfect myself.
 

June 1, 2014 9:46 pm  #6


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

HoB is maybe not my favourite episode but I like it very much though. I think it has the spirit of the book - mystery, fear, secrets, dog xD And also because of this episode I fell in love with beautiful views of England's countryside. The only thing I didn't like was this dog made by computer at the end of episode - it was not very well done.

Oh, and HoB contains one of my favourite dialogue from whole seasons:

"Sherlock: I see.
John: No, you don't.
Sherlock: No, I don't. Sentiment?
John: Sentiment."


***************************************************************************************************************************                                    

"Hey, chief, I might be wrong, but I think we're flying into a mountain. This makes me feel... scared of the mountain.
One thing we could do is pull up and fly over the mountain. How does that sound to...
"
 

June 1, 2014 11:14 pm  #7


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

This is such a quotable episode!

I think my favourite line from it is from Mrs. Hudson: "How about a nice cuppa?" *beat* "And perhaps you could put away your harpoon!"

"Like a faery!" and "None of the cabs would take me!" are close seconds.

Mary


John: That's clever. So you scratch their backs and...
Sherlock: Yes. And then disinfect myself.
 

June 1, 2014 11:17 pm  #8


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

Oh, and rewatching the open scene of this ep reminds me of the lovely continuity moments in TSOT: Sherlock's slipper where he stashes his cigarettes and could Mrs. Hudson's date in TSOT be the Mr. Chatterjee mentioned in this episode?!  The ethnicity looks right, so I can't imagine it's a coincidence...

Mary


John: That's clever. So you scratch their backs and...
Sherlock: Yes. And then disinfect myself.
 

June 2, 2014 6:44 am  #9


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

Yes, you are right on both points, I think. I love it when they continue such details. (And sometimes also within one episode - did you notice Mr Shilcott chewing the hat bobble when skyping with Sherlock and John?)


------------------------------
"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
 

June 2, 2014 10:26 am  #10


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

SusiGo wrote:

did you notice Mr Shilcott chewing the hat bobble when skyping with Sherlock and John?)

I did, but it took me several viewings to make the connection.

As for THoB: it is indeed one of the episodes that doesn't immediately come to mind whenever I think about watching a Sherlock episode again, it's never my first choice.
Nevertheless, as you all have already metioned, there are a lot of memorable scenes in it. I'm not sure why the episode doesn't convince me completely, maybe the mystery aspect of the story is just not my cup of tea.
But there are many things in it I wouldn't wanna miss for the world. The wonderful moment when Lestrade shows up, the wonderful moment in the graveyard, the wonderful moment when John is pulling rank and Sherlock obviously loves it, the whole scene in 221B with Bluebell, Cluedo and Mrs. Hudson....   
 


___________________________________________________
"Am I the current King of England?

"I see no shame in having an unhealthy obsession with something." - David Tennant
"We did observe." - David Tennant in "Richard II"

 
 

June 2, 2014 10:43 am  #11


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

And they gave us one of the most wonderful quotes which I surely do not have to repeat here. 


------------------------------
"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
 

June 2, 2014 10:56 am  #12


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

Indeed, lots of funny and witty and heartbreaking quotes...


___________________________________________________
"Am I the current King of England?

"I see no shame in having an unhealthy obsession with something." - David Tennant
"We did observe." - David Tennant in "Richard II"

 
 

June 2, 2014 11:27 am  #13


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

I love the looong deduction scene at the fire place. Where Mark actually noted "Sorry Benedict" in the script.... 


__________________________________

"After all this time?" "Always."
Good bye, Lord Rickman of the Alan
 

June 2, 2014 1:54 pm  #14


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

Mattlocked wrote:

I love the looong deduction scene at the fire place. Where Mark actually noted "Sorry Benedict" in the script....

Seriously he wrote it? Hahaha, nice one


***************************************************************************************************************************                                    

"Hey, chief, I might be wrong, but I think we're flying into a mountain. This makes me feel... scared of the mountain.
One thing we could do is pull up and fly over the mountain. How does that sound to...
"
 

June 2, 2014 6:33 pm  #15


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

He said so in the commentary, I think.
And Benedict said it was sooo hard because he had to talk so much quicker than he could think.


__________________________________

"After all this time?" "Always."
Good bye, Lord Rickman of the Alan
 

June 2, 2014 6:39 pm  #16


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

Yeah it was pretty fast, but for me probably the fastes talking was when Sherlock was deciphering e-mail from Irene's phone. That was speed of light


***************************************************************************************************************************                                    

"Hey, chief, I might be wrong, but I think we're flying into a mountain. This makes me feel... scared of the mountain.
One thing we could do is pull up and fly over the mountain. How does that sound to...
"
 

July 13, 2014 9:31 am  #17


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

I think my favourite line is right near the beginning. Sherlock drenched in blood, holding a harpoon: "Well, that was tedious".

There were some great lines in this, but it felt a bit tenous to me ... that Sherlock would know hound was an acronym, that (secret?) research team would have t-shirts and that the killer would be wearing one, that people exposed to the drug would always see/imagine a demonic hound and not any other thing that might have been suggested to them or that scared them (actually, Sherlock does see Moriarty), the password (I'm never convinced about guessing passwords - at least SHER was more pertinent), that the ultrasecure research facility had pipes leaking hallucinogenic drugs, what made the footprint that the tour guide had (were we meant to assume it was a fake, or that it was made by Clive Mantle's character?), why were the landlords buying meat instead of dog food, etc.?  And I feel that the audience should be able to guess - the clues should be right there for us.   Although there were clues (for instance, flagging up that "hound" was an odd choice of word right at the beginning - although why doesn't Sherlock ask why Henry uses that word right at the beginning?).  But how could we guess that HOUND was the experimenters' intitials if we didn't know their names? 

t I have only watched it once (and again with the commentary), and I've found that the other episodes have made more sense on second viewing.

There was lots that I loved too.  The creepy atmosphere was fun, although I didn't find it at all scary (not sure why, as there were definitely scary bits and "jump" moments).  I liked Sherlock reaffirming his skills with his deductions about the mother and son.  I loved Sherlock standing on the rock.  It made me think of Wuthering Heights (different story, different type of character, different location, different time, but that's what came to mind!).  Loved the witty dialogue.  Loved Sherlock's fear and doubt.

Last edited by Liberty (July 13, 2014 9:41 am)

 

August 10, 2014 2:12 pm  #18


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

maryagrawatson wrote:

Finally, this is the episode with the most hilarious revelation ever: not only does Sherlock know how to drive, it's such a perfectly normal thing for him to do that the absurdity of the fact is never brought up in the episode.

Mary

Yeah, I thought this was odd too. And it turns out, so do the creators.  I think it was in the commentary (but maybe I heard it in an interview?), one of them commented that obviously John should have been the one driving.  But it turns out that Martin Freeman doesn't know how to drive, so they had to put Sherlock behind the wheel!


____________________________________
I had bad days!


 
 

February 17, 2015 9:24 pm  #19


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

Updating an old thread here, but found this one to be the most appropriate. 

This is my... fourth? time watching this episode. Or perhaps the fifth. And I am enjoying it more than I ever did. This used to be one of my least favorite ones, but I find myself greatly enjoying it now.

The opening scene with Sherlock and John is just amazing. Sherlock being in withdrawal and John handling it with stoic patience. His "You are doing so well" while Sherlock is desperately throwing papers around is hilarious. Their bickering when Henry is in the flat is so cute ("Not now, Sherlock!" "Oh, come on, I've been cooped up in here for days!").

There are several really powerful scenes in this episode - Sherlock closing in on having a panic attack at doubting his own mind for the first time, the adorable apology scene that comes after, the experiment on John...

Speaking of John, I find this to be one of his strongest episodes. His calm and assured way of handling Sherlock out of control, him pulling rank, doing his own UMQRA-research, chatting up the psychiatrist, his calm and self-esteem while Sherlock tries to fumble his excuse, him finding the meat receipts of the veg restaurant, his logic in the face of horror during the "experiment", calling Sherlock out on his sugar error ... I can't recall any epsiode where John is as calm, assertive, strong and secure of himself as in this episode.

When I saw this episode for the first time, it was one thing that really stood out that told me I was watching a high quality show - the apology scene at the graveyard. You would think John would give in as soon as Sherlock admitted to doubt himself, but he didn't. You would surely think he would give in when Sherlock gave his Hollywood cliche "I don't have friends, I only have you" - and he didn't! I love when a show surprise me, and I can't predict correctly what will happen. And that scene did exactly that.

So, yeah, I think the one thing I love above anything about this episode is that it shows the strongest John I've ever seen.

(And, of course, the story will always be a bit special to me because it's the only ACD Sherlock story I've actually ever heard of before BBC Sherlock).

Last edited by Vhanja (February 17, 2015 10:10 pm)


__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"We'll live on starlight and crime scenes" - wordstrings


Team Hudders!
 
 

February 17, 2015 9:51 pm  #20


Re: I know that this episode gets a bad rep from Sherlock fans….

Couldn´t agree more - a  very good episode! 


-----------------------------------

I cannot live without brainwork. What else is there to live for? Stand at the window there. Was there ever such a dreary, dismal, unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the dun-coloured houses. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? What is the use of having powers, Doctor, when one has no field upon which to exert them?

 

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