The Blind Banker 

Mysterious symbols and murders are showing up all over London, leading Sherlock and John to a secret Chinese crime syndicate called Black Lotus.

Director:

Euros Lyn

Writers:

Mark Gatiss (creator), Steven Moffat (creator)

Stars:

Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Benedict Cumberbatch	...	Sherlock Holmes
Martin Freeman	...	Dr. John Watson
Una Stubbs	...	Mrs. Hudson
Zoe Telford	...	Sarah
Louise Brealey	...	Molly Hooper
Gemma Chan	...	Soo Lin Yao
Al Weaver	...	Andy Galbraith
Bertie Carvel	...	Seb Wilkes
Daniel Percival	...	Eddie Van Coon (as Dan Percival)
Paul Chequer	...	DI Dimmock
Howard Coggins	...	Brian Lukis
Janice Acquah	...	Museum Director
Jack Bence	...	Raz
John Macmillan	...	Community Officer
Olivia Poulet	...	Amanda

Storyline

Banker Eddie Van Coon and reporter Brian Lukis are both shot dead in identical slayings, in rooms locked from the inside. Chinese museum employee Soo Lin tells Sherlock Holmes that, as a teenaged orphan in China, she ran drugs for the Black Lotus crime syndicate, for whom the two dead men also worked. She too is then murdered, the killer being a human fly who can scale buildings. The gang mistake Watson for Holmes and capture him and his new girl-friend, requiring Holmes to come to the rescue.

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Plot Keywords:

woman in jeopardy | chinese | murder | museum | cipher | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Cardiff Central Library, The Hayes, Cardiff, Wales, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hartswood Films,BBC Wales,Masterpiece Theatre

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The only episode of the series not to feature Mycroft or Lestrade. The latter is mentioned once by Sherlock the first time he speaks to Dimmock.

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Goofs

Holmes is threatened by a character with a Walther P5, which was mostly made in one caliber, 9mm Parabellum (other calibers had roughly the same performance level). He says that if it is fired, the bullet will travel from the muzzle at over 1000 meters per second (over 3000 feet per second). The average muzzle velocity of commercial 9mm is up to 1400 feet per second. It is physically impossible to load a 9mm round to the velocity Holmes states.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Soo Lin Yao: The great artisans say, the more the teapot is used, the more beautiful it becomes.

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Connections

References Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1998)

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Soundtracks

Opening Titles
(uncredited)
Written by David Arnold and Michael Price

User Reviews

Slow to start, but great when it gets going.

Study in Pink was always going to be a hard act to follow, and in some ways this will always be the poor relation to the dynamic, pulse racing opener, but on the whole I think there is still real quality here.

The first one was big and bold, and of course introduced us to the main players, here the scene is already set, so by default we get a mystery that's a little cosy, perhaps a little smaller. Cosy might be unkind as it features some complex notions, it's still energetic, particularly towards the ends, and it's certainly visually impressive, with superb production values.

Cumberbatch continues to impress, his delivery so underplayed. Gemma Chan impressed me hugely here too.

I found it a little slow to start, but once it gets going it's enjoyable. The ending didn't feel like Holmes in the form of Jeremy Brett, but it certainly could have been in one of Basil Rathbone's movies.

Enjoyed it, 8/10