The Empty Hearse 

Mycroft calls Sherlock back to London to investigate an underground terrorist organization.

Director:

Jeremy Lovering

Writers:

Mark Gatiss, Arthur Conan Doyle (based on the works of) (as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

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
Rupert Graves	...	DI Lestrade
Mark Gatiss	...	Mycroft Holmes
Andrew Scott	...	Jim Moriarty
Louise Brealey	...	Molly Hooper
Amanda Abbington	...	Mary Morstan
Jonathan Aris	...	Anderson
David Fynn	...	Howard Shilcott
Sharon Rooney	...	Laura
Tomi May	...	Torturer
Rick Warden	...	Bonfire Dad
Trixiebell Harrowell	...	Zoe (as Trixiebelle Harrowell)
Lovelace Akpojaro	...	Reporter 1 (as Lace Akpojaro)

Storyline

Two years after the devastating effects of The Reichenbach Fall, Dr John Watson has got on with his life. New horizons, romance and a comforting domestic future beckon; but, with London under threat of a huge terrorist attack, Sherlock Holmes is about to rise from the grave with all the theatricality that comes so naturally to him. It's what his best friend wanted more than anything, but for John Watson it might well be a case of 'be careful what you wish for'. If Sherlock thinks everything can be just as he left it though, he's in for a very big surprise.

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Plot Keywords:

terrorist | subway | reference to guy fawkes | brother brother relationship | disguise | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 January 2014 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Aldwych Underground Station, Aldwych, Holborn, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hartswood Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

During one of the scenes explaining how Sherlock survived the fall, Sherlock texts the code word "Lazarus" to Mycroft. Mycroft is played by Sherlock co-writer and creator Mark Gatiss, who also wrote and starred in the Doctor Who episode "The Lazarus Experiment".

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Goofs

When discussing the missing part of the underground-train Sherlock refers to them as 'carriages' while just moments ago they learned from the train enthusiast that they are called 'cars'. Sherlock would have integrated this information immediately after learning this (if in fact he didn't already knew it before) and would not keep referring to it by the wrong name.

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Quotes

[having stopped John from calling the police]
Sherlock Holmes: They'll get in the way, they always do. This is cleaner, more efficient.
[pulls out a pry-bar and opens a locked gate]
Dr. John Watson: And illegal.
Sherlock Holmes: A bit.

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Crazy Credits

During the credits, individual letters are coloured red. Together they spell Weng Chiang.

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Connections

References V for Vendetta (2005)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Lost the plots!

I loved the first two series but I was worried the series was going to go into decline when they let us know that Dr Watson was going to get married. I had visions of Soap! Every drama is now an overblown soap opera. And yes, they've lost the plot - literally. Modern screen writers cannot outdo Conan Doyle for plots. It is was a mistake to let them try. The point about the previous episodes is that the new plot paralleled the original stories. Each episode was both a parallel and a parody of sorts and that worked brilliantly.

Now the writers have been given free rein they have descended into predictable shmaltz and soap. The headline for the next episode is telling us that Sherlock has to make a wedding speech. Comedy and silliness have taken over. Boring! If this was the first episode nobody would be saying such great things. It is 5 out of 10 for this one. Hardly any real detective work, a loose sort of plot full of holes and oh no not another Moriarty mad villain I hope. We don't want a relationship story. It is Sherlock Holmes. It is not a comedy, even if it is often funny. Too late now. Now it is all suitable for children. Boring! I knew it. It is what the BBC does to good ideas.

This is not an episode that I would want to watch again. There are some good moments but they have focused on the relationships - Sherlock and his brother, Sherlock and Dr Watson, Sherlock and Molly all lovey dovey now. Please! Some sociopath. He's gone soft. There is hardly any plot. What? Just one man to arrest? That's it? Silly. As I said, the original idea of writing a parallel story was excellent and probably it kept the writers on their toes, forced them to create a real plot full of echoes of the originals, like working with the guiding hand of the master of plots. That worked brilliantly. This plot is not related to anything written by Conan Doyle. Bad mistake. They think they are clever enough to do it better but they are not.