@a-darling-thing / a-darling-thing.tumblr.com
How do you handle the pressure of having to consistently produce super high quality television
The real pressure would come from having produced a failure! We just make the show we want to make. And I’m very glad that other people like it. But we don’t allow thoughts of its global success to intrude as I think that would affect how we create it.
-Mark
The real pressure would come from having produced a failure
Whelp...
in which Mark confirms @studyinpink‘s Mary is Moran theory back from 3 years ago and comments on theories about Mycroft’s death with “this is my favourite question, wait and see.”
Also Mark comparing our current political climate to a real dystopian future, and like living the plot of “Man from the High Castle” delighted me. I sometimes wonder now that it’s a very real threat on the horizon, if Mark still holds to his opinion that what this generation needs to knock it into shape is a ‘good war’. I imagine he may be changing his tune there...
@sussexbound, thanks for this post. We all know Sherlock is the nice one of the pair by now. He is not clueless about social interactions and emotions, he is just repressing them to get more efficient. Quotes about John guiding Sherlock through life irk me a little bit. He doesn’t need to take social niceties courses from anyone
I mean, to be fair, he is sometimes socially inappropriate, and misses social cues, and can come across as horribly rude when he’s focussed on a case, or intent on getting evidence of a confession from someone. John does let him know when he’s over-stepping what is considered socially appropriate (there’s a whole segment at the beginning of TRF specifically about this). So, I don’t object to the idea of John being a bit of a bridge to the world for Sherlock.
The way Sherlock’s brain works is different from the average, and that does set him apart. Sometimes it’s a huge advantage, other times, and in other ways it’s a disadvantage. A life partner can help ease one’s passage through the world, but that should always be coming from a place of unconditional love, and of assuming competence, and of seeing the person you love as a fully-formed adult human being.
What I object to is the way that Gatiss (more so than Moffat) seems to write Sherlock as neurodivergent (specifically somewhere on the autism spectrum), but at the same time doesn’t seem to respect it. I mean they play fast and light with the concept throughout the series. It’s a very uneven and unrealistic take on it, in many ways. But, Sherlock does have more autistic traits in Gatiss-penned episodes than in any written by Moffat or Thompson. In fact John and Lestrade even make conjecture on a diagnosis in tHoB, with Lestrade landing on ‘Aspergers’. So, I think that Sherlock being neurodivergent is in the back of Gatiss’ head when he’s crafting the character, and so I strongly object to him saying that Sherlock is being ‘trained’ by John. It hints at old-school Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA), which is such a sore spot for most Autistics, because it overrides the person’s consent, their right to say no (in fact it punishes them for saying no, or refusing compliance), and it is essentially very similar to dog training. It also leads to a myriad of psychological problems later on in life. And I say this as a former ABA practitioner who actually quit for this specific reason. It’s abuse.
You don’t want that kind of relationship with a friend, and certainly not a life partner. It’s not healthy. It doesn’t help that the Colbert clip we got from TST also has John and Lestrade infantalising Sherlock for his neurodivergence. I have an ill feeling about the entire episode by now, and I hope that I’m proven wrong and it all turns out alright, but damn, it isn’t looking good.
I’ve got a ton of replies to a couple of my posts re: Mark and the Answer Time johnlock denial from this afternoon, and a bunch of anon asks about it, and I don’t want to drag this out by replying to them all when I can just get it all out of the way here and then be done with it for good.
“It’s most certainly a love story”
— Steven Moffat talking about the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. (x)
(via sherholmies)
Interesting. Let’s give the quotes a date and some context, shall we? The audio was spotty in places, but I think I got it all:
MOFFAT: The thing about Sherlock Holmes is, you’ve understood nothing if you haven’t understood… that sex, for him, is thinking.
Right? That’s where he’s dislocated, that’s his problem.
He’s like a genetic experiment where they’ve wired up someone’s libido to the brain, instead.
So he doesn’t really think in those terms. He thinks all he has to do is go and solve stuff.
So, it’s not that kind of a relationship.
It’s kind of limiting – why do we have to make it [about] sex?
You know: there are love stories; [and] there are sex scenes. Love is a bigger subject.
And it's certainly a love story – it’s just not a sex scene.“
[…]
GATISS: "It’s also back to the whole thing about why characters are compelling.
In the end, the ambiguity is what’s interesting, and not the solution.
If you just say it … it’s obviously much more fun for people to assume [a sexual relationship] and for them both to get slightly affronted, but they’re not really seeing the obvious, which is–they are–they love each other. But not in a sexual way.”
MOFFAT: "–Series Four, Series Four!“ [laughs]
(Clapham Picturehouse Sherlock Screening & Q&A, January 2011. Video clip: [x] Full synopsis: [x])
MG denies Johnlock but there's also comment about the "I love you"-scene that feels telling, too. Why mention a mirror possibility? Someone just asked if Sherlock said 'I love you' to John and he answered "unless he's not standing in front of a mirror for a very bizarre reason" and it sounds like confirmation that he is indeed standing in front of one. It's the "bizarre reason" part that got me to this conclusion. He wants it to sound ridiculous but it's not. Don't know how to put it into words.
Yeah. I see what you’re saying. Everyone has to form their own theories about what they’re going to believe endgame is for this season (series?). There are only a few days to wait to find out anyway, thank god.
Believe whatever makes you happy and able to still enjoy all the new content we’re getting.
I'm honestly a bit confused by them denying johnlock.. On one hand, it's logical to me that they would not say "Oh yes, we are going to make it canon" on here, that would be a massive spoiler. But why don't just not answer johnlock related questions at all?
The eternal question…
They have blatantly and explicitly denied it three times now (always Mark Gatiss doing the talking):
You will have to draw your own conclusions.
Because he is a liar and a fake
My argument has always been that if they do intend to go there with John and Sherlock’s relationship, they could choose to evade the question entirely (like today they literally chose to answer this question when there was no pressure or obligation), rather than blatantly lying and hurting so many people.
The ‘lying liars who lie’ thing has never felt fun to me, not on this level of explicit denial. To me it has always felt unnecessarily cruel. So, I can understand some people being upset or confused about it.
I envy people who find it fun. I just never will.
I'm honestly a bit confused by them denying johnlock.. On one hand, it's logical to me that they would not say "Oh yes, we are going to make it canon" on here, that would be a massive spoiler. But why don't just not answer johnlock related questions at all?
The eternal question...
They have blatantly and explicitly denied it three times now (always Mark Gatiss doing the talking):
You will have to draw your own conclusions.
Favorite quote from the show?
“All lives end, all hearts are broken. Caring is not an advantage, Sherlock.”
-Mark
Why. Why did people ask johnlock questions 😑 We KNEW this would be their response. Tbh I'm more pissed at the people who sent in those asks. Mark's answer is the same as it's always been. Blegh!
I’m not angry at the people who asked. Mark and Steven are under absolutely no obligation to answer them in this sort of format, and yet Mark chose to anyway.
in the teaser, does sherlock say i love you to john?
John is clearly standing behind him in the trailer, so unless he’s talking to a mirror for some very bizarre reason, I should think not.
-Mark
Who is Sherlock saying "I love you" to in the trailer?
His mum, obviously. He doesn’t ring home often enough and usually forgets her birthday. He’s a very naughty boy.
-Mark
Will you ever give Molly a good love interest? I'm tired of seeing her bark up the wrong tree
She has had a love interest. She was engaged and it didn’t work out. That doesn’t rule out the possibility of happiness later on, but life is full of surprises. Some good, some bad.
-Mark
Are you completely against the idea of Sherlock having a relationship with John? If so, what are your reasons?
Of course we’re not against it. But as we have explained many times, that’s not the story that we want to tell. Obviously as a gay man myself, I have no problem with the notion that a Sherlock Holmes and a Doctor Watson could be in a relationship together, but ours aren’t. It’s as simple as that. Sherlock is clearly capable of feeling emotion and of falling for someone, but that someone is not John Watson, despite his love and great affection for him.
-Mark
Well, that didn’t take too long.
Could have just chose not to answer this particular question, but he took the third opportunity to blatantly deny.
Are you completely against the idea of Sherlock having a relationship with John? If so, what are your reasons?
Of course we’re not against it. But as we have explained many times, that’s not the story that we want to tell. Obviously as a gay man myself, I have no problem with the notion that a Sherlock Holmes and a Doctor Watson could be in a relationship together, but ours aren’t. It’s as simple as that. Sherlock is clearly capable of feeling emotion and of falling for someone, but that someone is not John Watson, despite his love and great affection for him.
-Mark
Well, that didn’t take too long.
How do you handle the pressure of having to consistently produce super high quality television
The real pressure would come from having produced a failure! We just make the show we want to make. And I’m very glad that other people like it. But we don’t allow thoughts of its global success to intrude as I think that would affect how we create it.
-Mark
