The New Doctor's costume revealed...

There's been a lot of speculation on what Peter Capaldi would wear as the Doctor. After three weeks of filming, the BBC have finally released a picture of the new Doctor in costume:

I'd been hoping for something simple and straightforward, so I'm glad that's what we've ended up with. A simple look forces you to focus on the actor instead of the clothes and as much as I liked Matt Smith's bow tie, I didn't want another gimmick so soon.

The individual components are nice. The black coat with the red lining reminds me of the one John Simm wore as the Master. I also like the shiny boots, and the cardigan is a nice addition.

Fans have been quick to point out the resemblance to Jon Pertwee's Season 7 costume. I have to admit, as much as I like the old Doctors, I'm not keen on the new ones copying them. I feel they should be striving to be new and innovative. Still, at least the individual elements of the costume are different and it's not quite as flamboyant as Pertwee's look.

It looks as if Peter Capaldi will be wearing his wedding ring in the role. Some fans believe it has been modified. It would nice if the writers could  give a fictional explanation for it. Perhaps it it could be a Gallifreyan ring like the Masters.

If I were to try and make a guess about the new Doctor's personality from the costume, I would say that he will be more suave than previous new series incarnations. The darker colours might also suggest that this will be a more sombre incarnation of the Time Lord. Then again I could be completely wrong. We've got eight months to speculate and build a better picture.

One thing missing from this picture is the sonic screwdriver. Whether he gets a new one is probably known only to readers of spoilers,  but I would imagine, given all of the kisses to the past we've had recently, that a new one would probably resemble the models used in the original series.

Overall, I like this costume. With this picture released, it feels as if we're one step closer to Series 8. We may have a while to go yet, but it's looking very exciting.

Sherlock 3x03: His Last Vow

For those that were put off by the experimental nature of the first two episodes of Series 3, this episode must have been a pleasant surprise. I certainly preferred it myself. Instead of focusing on many different case threads, we only have the one, an update on the tale of Charles Augustus Milverton, with the despicable blackmailer Milverton updated to being a news mogul called Magnussen, a superbly played villain who keeps all of his reports on people in a mind palace, like Sherlock Holmes. He is a villain the audience wants to die.

The structure of the plot is similar to the one Moffat used for Scandal in Belgravia. The first act of the tale is based around the original short story, with Sherlock breaking in to Magnussen’s office, only to find someone already there and planning to shoot Magnussen. It then spirals off into a different direction when Sherlock finds that it is Mary Watson who is threatening Magnussen. The next two acts move off into different directions as John is shown the true face of his wife, reconciliation and the final confrontation leading to Sherlock killing Magnussen.

The reveal of Mary's secret past we well done. I like that the clues to her secret identity were hidden in plain sight in the earlier episodes. This woman who appeared to represented normality for John has now become shown to be the opposite. She turns out to be a killer. Steven Moffat has always had a fetish for sexy psychopaths, as evidenced by River Song in his episodes of Doctor Who. But unlike River, Mary does not seem particularly self-satisfied by her previous life. Her secrets are safe at the end of the episode, meaning there is scope for expansion in future episodes.

Of course, Mary is not the only character who hides a dark side in this show. In spite of his growth as a person, Sherlock shows he can still be a cold bastard, when he proposes to Janine as a ruse so he can break into Magnussen’s Office. John Watson also shows his horrible side by using a neighbour’s drug addiction as a pretext to go and beat up some addicts. At least, unlike in the original text, Sherlock gets called up on his manipulative ways by an angry Janine. To paraphrase Lestrade's words from A Study in Pink, these men may be great men, but they are not good ones. They are not role models. This is also a key to their victory, as Sherlock can kill Magnussen.

With the focus on the main trio, Molly, Mrs Hudson and Lestrade are once again sidelined. Molly has broken off with her relationship, which means she’ll probably be pining after Sherlock again. We do find out that Mrs Hudson used to be an exotic dancer, which is pretty funny.

The characters who do get the best development are Sherlock’s family. It is good that we finally get to see what a Christmas for the Holmes family looks like. Mycroft sharing a cigarette with Sherlock and then hiding it from their mother was genius. The older Holmes is more protective of his younger brother than it first appeared. It was also good to see Sherlock's parents again.

I admit I was worried that Series three would struggle to find a new direction after the death of Moriarty, but I am glad to say it has found one. Mary has been an excellent addition to the cast and she has a good deal of backstory to explore. We have been introduced to Billy Wiggins, who could become a more regular face in the future. I don't particularly care for the mystery of Moriarty's survival, since it is probably just the work of a tape loop. But even so, there is a lot of potential for a fourth series. Overall I would say this is my favourite episode, but it still needed the others to build up to it. Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and the rest of the crew can congratulate themselves on a job well done. 

9/10

Sherlock 3x2: The Sign of Three

One of the great things about Sherlock as a TV Show is that it continues to be surprising. There are not many TV Shows where the main character can  effectively solves an entire case during a wedding speech. But this is exactly what happens here, when Sherlock solves a mystery and prevents a potential murder at John Watson and Mary Morstan's wedding. This is a very laid back episode, consisting of lots of funny set pieces like Sherlock interacting with the guests at John and Mary's wedding, and also set pieces like the drunken Sherlock, but it all comes together in the end to form a single mystery.

Unusually, this episode was written by three main writers together. I'm not sure how the sections were divided but I would assume that the wedding section was probably written by Steven Moffat given that the Bridesmaid sounds like his kind of woman. I could not guess with the other two.

Sherlock continues to show a more human side in trying to make John's wedding work by forcing guests to conform to his wishes. He also admits, in his speech, that John is the best of him. His brief interraction with Mycroft once again highlights the fact that Sherlock is beginning to become more accustomed to other people. I suspect that the third episode will see the price paid for that.

It may be their wedding, but John and Mary are not really developed in this episode. It was good to see John getting to use his medical practitioner skills during the case of the soldier's belt, and Mary continues to be likable, at least.

Una Stubbs gets a bit more to do this week as Mrs Hudson reminisces about weddings. Lestrade sadly gets very little to do other than be the butt of the jokes, although we do at least get to see him solving a case. Molly is not the focus this week, but she is still with her boyfriend Tom.

This is the first Sherlock not to end with a prelude to the third episode. However, with all of the main characters relaxed and enjoying themselves, this feels like the calm before the storm.

7/10

Sherlock 3x1: The Empty Hearse

To some extent, it was easy to predict the plot development of The Empty Hearse. The episode needed to show how Sherlock survived his fall, as well as showing how John would react to Sherlock's survival. Inevitably the two old friends would team up together again to solve a crime mystery. It was also known that John's wife to be, Mary Morstan, was going to make an appearance, so there were expectations that John would be torn between life with Mary and Sherlock. 

Writer Mark Gatiss has some fun with toying with fans' expectations about the reveal of Sherlock's survival. The opening scene, which shows Sherlock surviving the fall using a bungee jump and the body of Moriarty hidden by a mask, turns out to be false. Some fans were enraged by the scene and tweeted about it before they'd even reached the end of the sequence, yet the scene was obviously fake when Sherlock started kissing Molly. The scene came from the imagination of Anderson, now guilty about his role in Sherlock's perceived demise. He has put together a fan club called "The Empty Hearse" which has formed other such theories. Another theory, showing Sherlock and Moriarty using a dummy to fool Watson before they kissed was a hoot. Fans of the series may object to these depictions of crazy fans with crazy theories, but they are pretty accurate. Showing these scenes on screen makes it clear how ridiculous they are. Some Johnlock shippers have no sense of humour. Gatiss wisely keeps the true means of Sherlock's survival until the very end. Like Anderson, fans have created so many wild theories that the truth is inevitably disappointing.  

Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe, a prisoner is being recaptured by soldiers who proceed to torture him. The reveal that this prisoner is Sherlock was somewhat predictable. What was not predictable was the sudden appearance of Mycroft, disguised as a soldier, who came to bring Sherlock back to the country to deal with a threat of a terrorist attack in London.

While Sherlock has been away things have changed. Mrs Hudson lives alone. Molly has a new partner. John has of course, got a girlfriend in the form of Mary, who comes across as a likable character with a sense of humour. When Sherlock reveals himself while John is proposing to Mary, John does not take it very well. Martin Freeman successfully shows John's surprise and stress at seeing his old friend back from the dead. As the episode progresses, and the moustache inevitably gets shaved off, we see the old John return. But early on, John does not want to help Sherlock track down the terrorist plot. 

With John reluctant to help, the main plot of the underground terrorist network is surprisingly put on hold while Sherlock teaming up with Molly and solving mutiple small crimes in the style of Gatiss' Series 1 work, The Great Game. Some of these are similar to the short Sherlock Holmes stories. While these scenes might be superfluous, it is good to see Molly getting to do some deduction work. It is good that the writers keep using the character. The only disadvantage is that there is no tension leading up to the terrorist attack when the characters are content to sit around. Still, at least one of the small mysteries of a man dissapearing in a train carriage starts to lead towards the main plot.

Another sub-plot emerges when John decides to go to Sherlock, but is kidnapped and hidden in a bonfire to be burned at Guy Fawkes night. It's a nice reminder of the danger that we put animals in with our bonfires. It is good to see that Mary is a particularly good in helping Sherlock, working out the skip code and following him on a motorbike to the bonfire where John is being burned.

Just as John and Sherlock reunite, the plot threads join together and the piece becomes more focused. Sherlock and John work out that the terrorist threat is underground and that a politician, Lord Moran, is planning to blow up parliament using an underground carriage which has been wired with explosives. It's very similar to V for Vendetta and almost makes me wonder whether the producers were hoping that this episode would be broadcast in November. The threat is disposed of surprisingly easily when Sherlock finds the off switch of the bomb. Some might see this as a cop out, but Sherlock uses this as an opportunity to reconcile with John.

We do, of course, get the inevitable reveal of the mysterious man who no doubt arranged John's kidnapping. The idea of a man setting traps for Sherlock and sending him texts is a tad similar to Moriarty. One hopes that the writers have found a new angle for this new mystery villain.

The Sherlock we meet in this episode is a lot more developed. He is betraying more emotion, such as his gratitude to Molly, his fear when the bomb is about to blow up and his clear longing for John to assist him. He even criticises his brother Mycroft about his lack of friends. Sherlock has come a long way since the loner of Series One. It was also nice that Sherlock liked Mary Morstan, since many fans, including myself, assumed he would hate her. It was also good to get a brief view of his parents, who turn out to be delightfully ordinary. He even shows willingness to embrace his public image when he puts on the deerstalker cap before addressing the press. It is good to see Sherlock showing a more human side.

Mycroft is also given a bit of development as we see him analyzing ordinary objects in the same meticulous manner that Sherlock likes to do. There are also hints that he might be lonely.

The majority of the story is focused on Sherlock, John, Mary and Molly, so Lestrade and Mrs Hudson get less development this time around. Lestrade is solidly played by Rupert Graves. The scene where he hugs Sherlock when they reunite show the respect of the two men. Una Stubbs continues to play Mrs Hudson well, but it might be hoped that she gets to do more than just stay as the funny old lady. Since the Underground Plot only gets developed at a late stage, we do not get to see any development of the villain, Lord Moran. That is a shame.

All in all, it seems like a disconnected story and pulls together in the end. The different threads did not choke the emotional resonance of the story. At the end of the day, this was all about reuniting Sherlock with John. The mystery was secondary to the main requirements. All in all, Mark Gatiss has done very well with this story. A better story than last Series \Hound and a promising start to the third series.

8/10