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

1 nomination.

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

Watson's fiancée, Mary Morstan, is played by Amanda Abbington, the former real-life partner of Martin Freeman.

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Goofs

Sherlock's tombstone appears to have changed locations between this and the series two finale. In the latter, the tombstone stands somewhat isolated, in front of a huge tree, with no more tombs around. In "The Empty Hearse", however, the tombstone stands behind the tree, in the middle of an opening, with several other tombstones around.

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Quotes

Torturer: [speaking in Serbian] You broke in here for a reason. Just tell us why and you can sleep. Remember sleep? Huh?... What?
[the captive whispers in his ear]
Mycroft Holmes: [In disguise] Well? What did he say?
Torturer: He said that I used to work in the Navy, where I had an unhappy love affair.
Mycroft Holmes: What?
Torturer: That the electricity isn't working in my bathroom... and that my wife is sleeping with our next door neighbor. The coffin maker... and... if I go home now, I'll catch them at it. I knew it! I knew there was something going on!
[...]

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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 BioShock Infinite (2013)

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Soundtracks

Do You Hear the People Sing?
(uncredited)
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg
Original French lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel
English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer
[Played during Mycroft's telephone conversation with Sherlock]

User Reviews

Too much nodding, too little story

I only gave "The Empty Hearse" 6 stars for the effort and out of respect for the actors, who did the best they could with a very poor script. The episode seemed like endless nodding to Sherlock's fans. The writers spent so much time nodding that they forgot to actually look at the characters and notice what they were doing. And they were not doing much. Sharp concise dialogue of Sherlock Series 1 becomes in "The Empty Hearse" either syrupy squirts of sentimentality or a parody of itself. Since the camera-work was gone out of the series by Season 2, there is no need to mention it here. However, the creators thought it wise to eliminate the iconic music from Sherlock this time as well. In short, whereas in Season 1 and partially 2 Gatiss and Moffat treated the characters as real, complex, multi-faceted people, here they decided to turn them into caricatures of themselves.