Right. One day before The Lying Detective airs, let’s see if I can crack this Culverton Smith thing. ;)
There’s been so much speculation about Culverton Smith- from him resembling Trump; to his TV show having connections to The Apprentice or Dragons Den; to him being a beloved TV personality by the public but committing horrific crimes like Jimmy Savile [tw for sexual assualt just in case you look up Jimmy Savile and want more info].
I feel like all these allusions will be…well alluded to. ;) But not part of the main plot line so the writers can ‘get away’ with Trump/Savile critique without having reviewers/the media absolutely focus on it: the main story is about John and Sherlock, after all. I think they’ll probably do this in a similar way to they handled the Magnussen/Rupert Murdoch comparison: yes, Magnussen owns CAM global news just as Murdoch owned The Sun/News of The World etc (x), but the audience are largely far too wrapped up in the main plot being told that they don’t notice it. I’m seeing the same effect happening with The Six Thatchers- Mark even managed to say in an interview that smashing the Thatcher busts “wasn’t a political statement” (?!!!) even though there’s heartbreaking subtext around Thatchers homophobia during Charlie’s story here. General reviewers just don’t pick up on those allusions.
But now I’ve been mulling over what explicit comparison will be made with Culverton Smith and how the writers can still have their fun with what is shaping up to be a dark story.
@studyinpink gave me the light bulb moment with this one: she’s had a long standing thought that Sherlock will appear to be back on drugs throughout The Lying Detective, but Sherlock will insist he’s clean- no-one will believe him until it’s revealed that this is all the effects of whatever drug Culverton is using to manipulate Sherlock.
But then I thought: what if the possibility of Culverton Smith using drugs/poision is a big red herring? Will the twist in this villain be that he doesn’t fit with his story in ACD canon at all?
So then, I thought: what real person could the writers compare Culverton Smith to, and still have fun? Who has been a part of TV shows where people’s minds have been manipulated; they are made to believe things that are not real?
DERREN BROWN.
This is how I think the writers will have their fun with Culverton Smith: he will be a dark version of Derren Brown. Unlike Trump and Savile, this won’t be a malicious comparison- Mark and Derren are friends and @skulls-and-tea has meta here on how Derren’s techniques have already influenced the show.
This will be what someone could do with Derren’s abilities if they had bad intentions, if any of Derren’s shows went too far.
In this clip from The Guilt Trip, Derren manages to convince someone that they have committed a murder. Of course, none of it is real, and there is a ‘big reveal’ at the end, and everyone’s happy (particularly the poor guy who thought he was a murderer).
But what if Culverton’s TV show does something very similar, but there is no ‘big reveal’? His intent is to convince an innocent person that they are guilty.
That’s how he could try and destroy Sherlock without using drugs or poison: instead, its hypnotic techniques that we don’t notice until the end of the episode. Culverton will make Sherlock’s own mind his own enemy: Sherlock will be absolutely convinced that something awful has happened or even that he has caused it, when nothing has happened at all.
^That’s a tame lovely version of what we could expect with the Culverton Smith reveal: very subtle words that he uses to convince Sherlock of something/ guilt trip him etc.
And, for one last clip, here is the ending of a TV show where Derren convinces real people that they have caused a man’s death by ‘playing a game.’ The audience has now turned into the enemy. Will the same thing happen for Culverton Smith’s tv show audience- or even, us, the audience?
