Doctor Who: Step Back in Time - Series One

With Doctor Who's eighth series starring Peter Capaldi's brand-new incarnation of the Doctor in a few short months, it's time to start a retrospective look at the Doctor Who of years gone by. First up, it's 2005 and the show has been off the air for 16 years. Until one Saturday teatime nine years ago yesterday, Doctor Who returned, triumphant. The rest is history... and the future and occasionally the present.

Starring: Christopher Eccleston (the Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), John Barrowman (Captain Jack), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith) and Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler). 

Produced by: Phil Collinson

Executive Produced by: Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Mal Young

Best Episodes

Rose by Russell T Davies

The episode that relaunched Doctor Who for the 21st century serves as a tremendous introduction to all the elements that define the Davies era; the root in the contemporary world, the Doctor's brooding nature and the companion at the heart of the story. A rollocking adventure that promises a whole lot more to come...

Father's Day by Paul Cornell

Although more gung-ho adventures such as 'Dalek' usually get all the attention, 'Father's Day' is an equally terrific episode, and perhaps the first that shows how much the Doctor Who of 2000s is built around its characters. If you like your timey-wimey monster mayhem tinged with touching human drama, this is the Who for you.  

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances by Steven Moffat
No list of the best of Series One would be complete without this wondrous two-parter. Moffat really shows us what he's made of here with his customary mix of humour, scares and cleverness being sharper than ever. Starring the creepiest 'monster' in years, 'The Empty Child' proved that Doctor Who still had fangs...


TARDIS Team

From the opening credits of 'Rose' we know that the traditional dynamic of Doctor Who has changed. No longer will the companion, though the original run produced many bright and shining ones, be reduced to needing the Doctor to save them or handily asking all the right questions. This show was all about the Doctor and Rose Tyler, his latest time-travelling companion. Though don't tell her there's been others.
Steven Moffat has gone on record saying that the first two series of the revived show 'belonged' to Billie Piper and in many ways it's hard to argue. Though the tortured yet barnstorming Ninth Doctor is undoubtedly our hero (and as much as I love his fellow Time Lords, Christopher Eccleston offers perhaps the most robust performance of any Doctor) Rose is our eyes and ears. We learn about the Doctor as she does. Who he is, his mysterious, war torn past and, by the end, his little 'trick for cheating death'...
Throughout the series, the Doctor and Rose are also joined on their travels by Adam Mitchell, the companion who was kicked out the TARDIS after one episode, and the whole lot more loveable Captain Jack Harkness who has, of course, since gone on to helm his own spin-off series in Torchwood. Mention must also be given to Rose's mother, Jackie, and her ex-boyfriend, Mickey, who serve to anchor the show to the real world. Though one would get his turn in the TARDIS eventually...


Story arc

Doctor Who had properly materialised in the 21st century with this innovation for the series itself but beloved motif of every other contemporary television show; the story arc. The linking narrative of Series One is slight on the ground but rightly so as something more direct would have detracted from the easing-in to the world of Doctor Who that the series aimed for. The message of 'Bad Wolf' littered through space and time is a neat device and one which is still referenced in the show now, think last November's 'The Day of the Doctor.' Paradoxes have since become a fixture of Doctor Who, particularly in Moffat stories, but the 'Bad Wolf' meme (created by a god-like Rose only after seeing the phrase already) proved that the show was fresher and more imaginative than ever. Doctor Who was back. But it wasn't staying still.
Did someone say 'Barcelona'?


 Next month: Series Two... New Doctor, that's weird.

Monthly Scribbles: A Study in Danny Pink And Other Stories

Well, that's another month gone by. As the shortest month of the year, February we hardly knew you. But before it sinks into the murky backwaters of our memories to be replaced by the bouncing baby March (yes, I know it's nearly a week old, sssh!), let's take a look at the things that shook the world this past month. And for 'shook the world' read 'relevant to me.'

New Doctor Who companion unveiled

In the Whoniverse, February brought the news that the Twelfth Doctor and Clara will be joined in Series Eight of the show by Danny Pink, played by Samuel Anderson. Danny (whose name is strangely reminiscent of Marc Warren's Hustle character, Danny Blue) will be a fellow teacher at Coal Hill School alongside Clara who was seen working at the school, which first appeared in Doctor Who's pilot episode 'An Unearthly Child', in November's The Day of the Doctor. While it waits to be seen what sort of character Danny will be - another love interest in the vein of past male companions Mickey and Rory? - it's a clever move by Moffat to mirror the Doctor's original two companions, Ian and Barbara, who both worked at Coal Hill. All we need now is the Doctor's granddaughter to join them in the TARDIS and the original TARDIS team will be recreated. Now if only a close relation of the Doctor's was still around to come back in the show, then we'd have a real 'generated anomaly'...

Writing Across the Web

For those loyal Scribble fans who eagerly await new material from this site (hello Mum), I apologise for the sparse number of posts over the last month but I've had my fingers in so many pies I didn't have any free to write blog posts with.
February saw me undertake numerous online endeavours including three articles for Whatculture. Fancy reading about Sherlock Holmes' ten weirdest adaptations? Or if you've got a hankering for a headache, why not spend some timey-wimey reading over the greatest time-travel orientated episodes of Doctor Who, either written by Steven Moffat or from the other talented timey-wimey writers to grace the show. If you are in the mood for some fiction, a flash fiction of mine, concerning the social media addiction of a super-villain, can be read over on The Flashnificents. Oh, and I almost forgot, I've also started writing for Hypable, and you can read a couple of news pieces I wrote up for them here. Phew.

Mini-Reviews

Shada

Based on the famed (at least in Doctor Who circles) untelevised story, modern Who scribe Gareth Roberts (whose episodes include 'The Lodger' and 'The Shakespeare Code') takes the baton from Douglas Adams in this fun romp - and I mean that in the best possible way - that merges the Adamsian Who of the late seventies with modern sensibilities.
Shada sees the Fourth Doctor and Romana in Cambridge to visit the Doctor's absent-minded old friend, Professor Chronotis. However, with the ruthless alien Skagra also in the area, it becomes a race to stop the most dangerous book in the universe from ever being read...
The book (that is the novel, not the dangerous universe-destroying one) is a delight, with Roberts treading exactly the right line between affectionate nods to Adams' style yet understanding not to attempt to write like him. While some of it may be familiar if you're a fan of Adams' work (after the TV story was abandoned, Adams used many plot details in his Dirk Gently novel), Shada is a treat for any Who fan or anyone who enjoys humorous science fiction.

Jonathan Creek: 'The Letters of Septimus Noone'

Last Friday night, the first full series in ten years of the Alan Davies-starring detective series, Jonathan Creek, began. I was once quite the fan of the show, with its impossible crimes and dedication to Holmesian logic. However, since Sherlock I'm afraid it's rather been knocked from the top spot of 'Cleverest Detective Show on TV.' Nevertheless, I was hopeful that the show could still deliver.
Sadly, this first episode left me a bit underwhelmed. An unorthodox 'mystery' (I.e. as an audience, we are shown the stages of the murder rather than being asked to work them out) meant that there was little of the customary guessing-game that one likes to play with shows like this. As well as narratively, the set-up of the show has changed as instead of being an eccentric bachelor in his wind mill, Jonathan is now retired from sleuthing and living in a country house - with a wife! As Polly, Sarah Alexander is a solid successor to Sheridan Smith's sidekick and, although it seems a tad too cosy, could make for an interesting development across the series. On the basis of this episode, while Jonathan is still a competent show and deserves this new series, it is not without its creaks.

Favourite Fictional Characters: On Valentine's Day

To celebrate Valentine's Day, I thought I'll treat you to some poetry. Prepare, readers, for some romantic verse, inspired by an unlikely bunch of poets...

The Eleventh Doctor: 

Fezzes are red

My TARDIS is blue

Bow ties are cool

Just like you

 Sherlock: 

Roses are red
Violets are blue
The statistical chances of you finding someone with whom you can tolerate a lifetime are incredibly low, meaning you should probably spend your time on something more constructive than a feeble attempt at attracting a short-term romantic partner.

 Homer Simpson: 

Roses are red
Like the floor stains at Moe's 
I will spend time with Marge
Tomorrow on Valentine's - d'oh!

Batman:


Roses are red
Violets are blue
Poison Ivy is green
The Joker's hair is too





The Tenth Doctor:

Rose's jacket was red
...
Oh, God, Rose!
*Buries head in hands, sobbing*






Have a happy Valentine's Day, folks.

Monthly Scribbles: The Adventure of the Three Sherlocks and Capaldi's Coat

Welcome to a new series of posts on my blog: Monthly Scribbles! If that positively prosaic title was not clear enough for you, starting from this month I will write a round-up of, in Charlie Brooker's words, things that have been happening. Things like news bits and pieces and mini-reviews of things I've consumed within the month. Things like this:

Sherlock Series Three

Right at the beginning of January - if you can remember that far back - the stupendous Sherlock returned to our screens for a new run of three movie-sized adventures. Hyped for the two years since it's last series more than any other television show, it was feared that the result would not have been worth the wait. In the end, Series Three seems to have divided people far more so than the previous two, with many not being won over by its emphasis on character and humour as opposed to mysteries. Myself, while it did not quite reach the heights of the second series, Series Three was a fantastic run of television, with the definite highlight being 'His Last Vow' which saw the show at its most exciting, daring best. You can read my reviews of the episodes here or have a look at my favourite moments of the series over on Whatculture.

There was much talk about Series Four (which, as well as Series Five, Moffat and Gatiss apparently have all planned out) being broadcast at Christmas time but co-creator Steven Moffat has since said that seems rather unlikely. Personally, I don't mind waiting a while as long as the show is as good as it can be. Plus, this will be back in a few months...


The Clothes of the Doctor!

Doctor Who fans everywhere went wild the other day when Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi's costume materialised in our dimension. Capaldi said on the costume: 'No frills, no scarf, no messing. Just 100% rebel Time Lord!'
There's a lot of fun to be had picking out the various inspirations from different Doctors. The lack of tie evokes Eccleston's laid-back style, the cardigan under the coat is similar to the Doctor's previous penchant for waistcoats (see Numbers Four, Six, Eighth and Eleven) while the coat itself has more than a whiff of the stylings of Pertwee, thanks to the red lining.

At this stage, though he does look dapper, I've yet to think of Capaldi as the Doctor but that'll surely change soon as filming of Series Eight is already under way. Not much has been revealed yet - plus I'm actively avoiding spoilers - but we do know that the first episode will return to the familiar Victorian setting of recent years as the new Doctor and Clara team-up once again with the Paternoster Gang. Take a look at some spoiler-free snaps below:

Doctor Who Series Eight is expected to air in either August or September. What to do until then? Well, there's always old stuff to read and watch...

The Simpsons (Season Three)

In the wake of great new TV, I thought I'd re-watch a classic. I'm less familiar with The Simpsons' first few series, preferring the middle years of the 90s, but I'm thoroughly enjoying this season. Despite being three years in, the show was still finding its feet, with several characters not having developed their own personalities yet - for instance the endearingly dumb Ralph is often portrayed as an ordinary child - however, many episodes are real gems. 'Flaming Moe's' provides the groundwork for Moe, an up-to-then unimportant side character, while 'Lisa's Pony' must surely be one of the series' funniest ever episodes. As well as humour, the series also has that strong heart present in the show in the 90s which was sadly slowly replaced with cartoonish antics. Even now, The Simpsons isn't a bad way to spend half an hour but its good to look at its past to remember how good it once was.

The Sandman: Dream Country

For the last few months, I've been gradually working my way through Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics, the stories that made him famous. Focussing on the Sandman, Morpheus, the maker of dreams, it encompasses a vast range of myths and legends and literature and history all weaved together with Gaiman's consummate panache.
While I enjoyed the first two volumes - Preludes and Nocturnes and The Doll's House - they struck me as the work of a young writer still feeling his way around. However, with the four separate stories in this third volume, Gaiman seems on much surer footing. The rightly-lauded 'Midsummer Night's Dream', which sees Shakespeare give the first performance of his play to an audience of the real Titania and Oberon and their fairies, is a triumph of comic storytelling while 'A Dream of a Thousand Cats' is a surprising and quirky tale of the true story of felinekind. If it is not to bold a claim, I think it's the defining story about cats ever written. Purrrfect, you might say, if you were a 1960s Catwoman.

Review: Sherlock - His Last Vow

'Sherlock Holmes has made one enormous mistake which will destroy the lives of everyone he loves and everything he holds dear.'

After two lighter-hearted episodes, the game was back on for the series three finale, 'His Last Vow', which turned out to be one of the strongest instalments the series has seen - and it's up against some stiff competition!

Set up perfectly by the deepened characterisation of the first two episodes of this series, ‘His Last Vow’ accepts that we care for the all the characters and hurtles us into an adventures with more twists and turns then Sherlock’s mind palace (I imagine, I haven’t actually been). Sherlock's ability to take its audience by the scruff of the neck has always been impressive but here Moffat has complete mastery over us, countermanding every expectation we have about what's coming next with a stonking great twist that's seemingly come out of nowhere but which was actually, as is one of his favourite phrases, hidden in plain sight.

Amongst the high drama, there is also the customary laughs - particular highlights being, as always, the Holmes boys sparring at at their parents' house on Christmas Day ('Are you two smoking?' 'It was Mycroft!') and also Sherlock's surprise venture into the human world of relationships. However, remember rule one about this episode: nothing is as it appears...

While also serving up the thrills and the rib-ticklers, this episode also finds time for character notes on all three mains. Mary’s character is significantly explored in ways that no one had foreseen and there is some wonderful material for John, who gets to do everything from showing his tough side by surgically beating up a drug addict to dealing with a terrible truth, very close to home. As it is called Sherlock, there is also considerable work done on the detective himself. In the fabulous scene in Sherlock's mind palace – featuring a gloriously insane Moriarty, chained up in a rubber cell – we get the revelation of Redbeard (with echoes of Citizen Kane) going some way to uncover why Sherlock is the way he is (incidentally, the young Sherlock seen throughout the episode is played by Steven Moffat's own son, Joshua). 

Intriguingly, there seems to be a reinvigorated sense of patriotism to the character that hasn’t been seen before. The Sherlock of Series One and Two, who turned down a knighthood and went to Buckingham Palace naked is now England's Greatest Hero. Hero, being the operative word. Just as Conan Doyle also understood, Moffat and Gatiss knew that their Sherlock could not stand still and had to develop as a character. Despite what he says, the three series of the show so far are really about the journey of a high-functioning sociopath growing into a hero.

And this review could not finish without a word to Lars Mikkelsen, pitch perfect as the detestable Charles Augustus Magnussen. While Moriarty was, as he put it, ‘a good old-fashioned villain’, Magnussen really is a nemesis for the modern age. A newspaper magnate with a hold over the western world, he is an absolutely chilling concept and an even better villain, every inch the ‘dead-eyed shark’ and thoroughly deserving of the vitriolic disgust Sherlock shows him. It is such a shame we won't see him again - although, who knows in the Sherlock world... 

Totally thrilling and unabashedly unpredictable, 'His Last Vow' was triumphant television, providing everything you could ask for from the show. Including the shocking reappearance of someone we all wanted to see again...

Sherlock, we will miss you.

Five Favourite Sherlockian References: 

• Billy Wiggins, the drug addict that Sherlock takes under his wing, is a conflagration of two characters from the canon. The most obvious is Wiggins, the lead boy of the so-called Baker Street Irregulars (otherwise updated as Sherlock's homeless network). However, his first name is presumably a nod to Billy, 221B's page boy who helps out Mrs Hudson. Originally created for William Gillette's hit stage play,  he was consequently written by Conan Doyle into the later Holmes stories.
• One of the first shocks we get in this episode is the revelation that Sherlock has a girlfriend! The fact that this is all an act to get into Magnussen's office is lifted straight from the canon, whereupon Holmes proposes to Milverton's maid for the same reason. Interestingly, the woman, Janine, moves to a Sussex cottage, which is home to a few beehives. In the story 'His Last Bow', Holmes retires to keep bees on the Sussex Downs. Maybe we haven't heard the last of her yet...
• While the twist of Mary's true identity is completely Moffat's own creation, the memory stick containing information about her real life, scrawled with her actual initials, is a sly reference to the canon. In Mary's introductory story, The Sign of the Four, she recruits to Sherlock to investigate the disappearance of the Agra treasure. 
• At one point, Mycroft casually hints at the fate of 'the other one', presumably referring to another Holmes brother. This is likely drawn from the Sherlockian notion that Sherlock and Mycroft have an elder, and even cleverer sibling, Sherrinford Holmes. Whether this tantalising remark is going to be drawn on remains to be seen.
• The 'east wind' that Mycroft used to taunt the young Sherlock with is a clever inclusion of the famous patriotic closing speech of the original 'His Last Bow', published during the First World War: 'There is an east wind coming all the same, such a wind as never blew on England yet... A cleaner, better, stronger land will lie in the sunshine when the storm has cleared...' 

Review: Sherlock - The Sign of Three

'What's wrong? Why are they all doing that? John? Did I do it wrong?'

Sherlock continued its newly-found mystery-lite, character-heavy sensibility yesterday with ‘The Sign of Three’, that was a near all-out comedy outing for Sherlock and friends. Like 'The Lodger' did for Doctor Who, this episode takes a break from the normal puzzlebox murder mysteries to take a light-hearted approach to Sherlock Holmes' world. 

This can be summed up by the cold opening of the episode alone. Thanks to a lengthy scene, we find out that Lestrade and his team have been tracking down a gang of bank robbers for months. On the verge of catching them, Lestrade is called to Baker Street – to help Sherlock with his best man speech!

Full of frantic storytelling, ‘The Sign of Three’ at times felt more like a series of sketches than a congealed plot. However, you can forgive it that as this episode really was a party. Rather than the mystery of the gigantic hound or the problem of the demanding dominatrix, this was definitely the case of the worrisome wedding with the detectiving all but pushed into flashback sequences filtered through.

Though you might have expected an episode set on John and Mary’s wedding day to be dedicated to the love of the bride and groom, this adventure serves more as a testament to the friendship between Sherlock and John, being the first time John categorises the detective as his ‘best friend’ and even Sherlock waxes sentimental about ‘brave and courageous’ John. Something this series seems keen to show us is that, yes, even Sherlock has feelings!

Apart from the script from all three of the show’s writers, another element ensured this episode was strategically balanced between sweet and funny instead of mawkish; the cast, as always, were excellent. The acting genius of Benedict Cumberbatch can never be praised enough but here he has the hour and a half even more under his command than normal (particularly during his supersized yet poignant and funny best man speech). Martin Freeman and Amanda Abbington are also brilliant, with Abbington continuing to fit perfectly in to the Sherlock family. And how wonderful to get more from Una Stubbs as she details what the elusive Mr Hudson was really like… 

The only big flaw is that there wasn't enough of the tight drama that has typified the show up until now, however that does seem crass when the episode so clearly does what it sets out to do. A comic highlight being the stag do in which Sherlock and John have to solve a case while drunk! A great example of the sitcom tone that this episode goes for. If this was done during Series 2, you can imagine Moriarty being booed off the stage, hissing. It turns out Sherlock is as good at doing belly laughs as it at drama.

Speaking of drama, there is a worry that with all this humour derived from sticking Sherlock in human situations it could lessen his character. Thankfully, the final moment was a necessary reminder of who our hero really is. Sherlock Holmes is not a man who dances at a social occasion, he is the man who walks away from one. He may be on the side of the angels, but don’t think for one second that he is one …

I imagine many fans will have a problem with this episode, however, I think it thoroughly deserves its place in Sherlock’s own canon. In previous series, we've had a hard-and-fast mystery in 'The Blind Banker', a horror story in 'The Hounds of Baskerville' and 'The Reichenbach Fall' gave us a thriller. We needed a love story, full of humour and heart. And that is exactly what 'The Sign of Three' gave us. 

Three favourite Sherlockian references:

• John's middle name of Hamish, previously mentioned in 'A Scandal in Belgravia', is based on a long-held fan theory rather than Conan Doyle origin. The idea comes from the fact that, as mentioned in my previous post, Mary Morstan once called her husband James instead of John. Coupled with John's middle initial being given as H, Sherlockians put the two together and decided the H stood for Hamish (Scottish for James).
• During Sherlock's speech, we see a brief glimpse of a unchronicled case, The Poison Giant, featuring a dwarf with a blowpipe. This is directly inspired by the story from which this episode is loosely based, 'The Sign of the Four' in which Jonathan Small hires his 'small companion', native to the Andaman Islands, to deal with his enemies. You can read John's own write-up of the case here.
• Sherlock decrees his 'last vow' to John and Mary, to keep them safe. While such a vow is not found in the canon, there is a story titled 'His Last Bow', which sees Holmes retire from investigating. As this is the title of next week's episode could Sherlock really be about to hang up his deerstalker for good? We'll find out next Sunday...

P.S. Happy 160th birthday, Sherlock Holmes!

Review: Sherlock - The Empty Hearse

And the new year is here! In other news, Sherlock came back from the dead and returned to our screens! How did he survive? Perhaps an empty hearse was involved...

'Like a gaze from a crowd of strangers, suddenly one is aware of staring into the face of an old friend...'

And there we have it. Sherlock faked his death by placing Moriarty's body on the ground with a face mask based on his own and then bungee-jumped down into St Bart's Hospital before snogging Molly and going on his merry way. Fantastic! Who thought of that?

Anderson, as a matter of fact. Because that isn't really how he did it.

Sherlock blasted back onto television on New Year's Day with a fabulous piece of misdirection which captures so well the intelligence, playfulness and unpredictability that make it such a must-see show for millions across the world. The running gag of the fake explanations is a welcome cheeky dig at the internet furore Sherlock's 'death' caused two years ago (while also feeding another one in the Sherlock/Moriarty kiss). In the end, the version that Sherlock gives Anderson is merely sufficient, ticking off some of the more obvious clues given in 'The Reichenbach Fall.' However, surely this is but another clue that the real answer is yet to be revealed...

In any case, that's enough about how Sherlock returned, as John himself, says the more important thing is why. Called back by his brother Mycroft (Mark Gatiss is as reticently entertaining as ever), Sherlock needs to stop an underground terrorist network who are planning an attack on London. Making great use of the myriad mazes of the tube, this leads to as much intrigue, twists and inventive direction (from Sherlock newcomer Jeremy Lovering) as normal although, unusually for Sherlock, the mystery is not the focus of this adventure. As a sure sign the series is taking on its own life away from simply adapting Conan Doyle's stories, most of 'The Empty Hearse' is dedicated to its characters.

This is an episode that really revels in the fantastic cast it has to offer. While Gatiss' script is as witty and fast-paced as ever, each of Sherlock's friends is allowed their moment in the limelight. Lestrade's hugging of Sherlock upon his return, Molly showing off her Benedictine new boyfriend, even the previously repellent Anderson has been rehabilitated as a washed-up conspiracy theorist. This reviewer's favourite touches were Molly playing John for a day and the joyous joke of Mycroft being subjected to a night at Les Miserables with his and Sherlock's parents (who in a brilliant in-joke are played by Cumberbatch's real-life mum and dad, Wanda Ventham and Timothy Carlton)! In an episode written by one of them, it is perhaps expected that there is some great material on show here for the Holmes brothers. Echoing back to Mycroft's scolding of Sherlock's social inexperience in 'A Scandal in Belgravia', Sherlock gets the upper hand here by showing he is now the sibling with the social skills. 'I'm not lonely,' Mycroft says. 'How would you know?' Sherlock replies. The Great Detective has come a long way from his sociopathic status in 'A Study in Pink.'

However, the real content of 'The Empty Hearse' is the relationship between Sherlock and John and how it is not only strained by Sherlock's two-year long disappearance but also Watson's fiancée, Mary Morstan. Amanda Abbington is a excellent addition to the cast, as Martin Freeman's actual partner, she is utterly believable as the one person who might be more important to John than Sherlock. There is much fun to be had in Sherlock's reaction and relationship with Mary, while she seems to take a shine to him immediately, he has a begrudging respect for her, as if understanding he now has a rival for John's affections. Platonically speaking, of course. By the end, though, the detecting duo are back in business. Although both are changed men, the game is back on - although it seems someone else is laying down the rules...

Overall, 'The Empty Hearse' a triumphant return for Sherlock and his gang. With an increased sense of humour and dedication to its characters, the series now seems to have a bigger heart than before to run alongside the breathtaking mysteries. With an increased sense of duty to its characters as it develops its own life away from Doyle, Sherlock is back and has proven itself still at the top of television. That's the real revelation of this episode.


Five favourite Sherlockian references:

• The villain of the piece, Lord Moran, is drawn from two Conan Doyle sources. He is named after Colonel Sebastian Moran, Moriarty's right-hand man who attempts to murder Sherlock in 'The Empty House.' Moran is called the biggest of Sherlock's markers or 'rats.' Coupled with the fact that his terrorist plot takes place in Sumatra Road tube station, this is a reference to the most-famous untold case in the canon, 'The Giant Rat of Sumatra.' 
• It turns out that in the past two years, Sherlock has been travelling the world, breaking down Moriarty's criminal network. As Mycroft says, in Serbia Sherlock faced Baron Maupertius, a never-seen villain in Conan Doyle's stories who actually featured in Andrew Lang's Young Sherlock Holmes novel Death Cloud. 
• The coded text that the villain who stuck John in a bonfire sends Mary, including the lines 'Saint or Sinner? James of John?', is also a sly nod to the original stories. In 'The Man with the Twisted Lip', Mary calls her husband 'James' rather than John. Bless, Conan Doyle - continuity was never his strong point. 
• Hidden away in the story is actually a very short adaptation of the Doyle adventure 'A Case of Identity.' When a woman comes to Sherlock about the disappearance of her online boyfriend, he quickly deduces the boyfriend to in fact be her step-father - very much like the plot of the original.
• The missing train that disappears during a tube journey is based on non-canon mystery 'The Lost Special' by Arthur Conan Doyle which sees a private train go missing on its way to London. The story does not categorically feature Sherlock but instead an unnamed 'expert' on such matters solves the case...

As Sherlock returns, Doctor Who bids farewell to its 50th anniversary year. Read my reflection on Who's golden birthday here!