Yesterday, we brought you some delightfully frivolous daguerreotypes of the cast of the BBC’s Sherlock, clad in Victorian garb to promote their upcoming Christmas special (or whenever it is that the 90-minute episode will eventually air). Oh, the fun we all had, staring at Martin Freeman’s dapper mustache, speculating on what sort of criminals and quips Benedict Cumberbatch might dispatch and dispense, respectively, from beneath his noble deerstalker cap. But now we invite you, dear readers, to cut all that imagination bullcrap out, and instead take in this internet magic lantern show, courtesy of the program’s panel at this year’s Comic-Con, that shows exactly what Victorian Sherlock will be like.
The answer: a lot like regular Sherlock, at least if this footage of Holmes, Watson, and Mrs. Hudson bantering and bickering about dismembered corpses and narrative functions is anything to go off of. Benedict Cumberbatch seems, if anything, less repressed as the Victorian Holmes than his modern-day counterpart, but there’s still a lot of fast-paced dialogue and winking allusions to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s canon for fans of the series to enjoy.
Showrunner Steven Moffat was on hand to show off the footage, joined by his spouse and co-producer Sue Vertue, as well as actor Rupert Graves, who plays Detective Inspector Lestrade. Star Benedict Cumberbatch wasn’t in attendance, but appeared via a phone call, along with co-creator Mark Gatiss, who plays Holmes’ brother Mycroft on the show.
Moffatt also dropped a few other tidbits for Sherlock fans to pore over and draw conclusions from, presumably with a lot of pop-up text and snappily edited flashes of light. The Sherlock special will apparently be released theatrically in selected theaters, although Moffat said he couldn’t promise the episode would be finished by the end of the year. He also said the show’s fourth season hadn’t been written yet, but assured attendees that it would be as cliffhanger-based and emotionally wrenching as all the ones that had come before.