THE CRUNCH - 5 Things We Want In Sherlock

A couple of weeks back, we wrote an article with a list of 7 things we wanted to see next year for Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary. You can view that article here. Since that article was so popular, I decided to write another one. Here are 5 things I'd want to see in the next series of Sherlock...

Oh, and a quick warning, if you plan on reading the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books (which I recommend), this article does contain spoilers.

Moran is arrested

1. The Gun
Mark Gatiss has confirmed that the first episode of the new series will be based on Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Empty House. In the short story, we learn that Moriarty's men had been building a very special weapon, a gun that can fire nearly silently. This seemed revolutionary for the time, although now seems a bit dull now that we have developed silencers. But the idea of a secret weapon is very exciting, especially if it's being developed outside of the authorities by Moriarty's league. So in a modern setting what could this weapon be? Nuclear missiles? Lazers? If you have any ideas, let us know in the comments.

Sherlock diguised as a security guard

2. Disguises
Throughout all the Sherlock Holmes books, the great detective uses various disguises to spy on criminals and blend in with eye-witnesses. This hasn't really been exploited in the TV series yet, except for a brief, almost unnecessary, moment in the series 1 finale The Great Game, in which Sherlock breaks into an art gallery disguised as a security guard. I think there is alot of fun to be had here, especially considering that even Watson didn't recognize Holmes in the books when he was in disguise.

Tom Hardy in Inception

3. Charles Milverton
In The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton, Conan Doyle introduces us to a character that Holmes describes as "The worst man in London". Quite high praise, considering Moriarty. Milverton is a suave and sophistcated con-man and black mailer, and I think there's alot more potential for a recurring enemy than there is with Colonel Sebastian Moran, who in the books is Moriarty's right hand man. Moran on screen would be too similar to Andrew Scott's Moriarty, who we've only just lost. Milverton on the other hand, is very different in character. So who could play this slimey aristocrat? For me, two actors spring to mind. One is Inception's Tom Hardy. The other is Being Human's Damien Maloney. Hardy is unlikely to play the role after his current successes in big films such as Prometheus and the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises, so Maloney seems a safer bet.

4. Stanley Hopkins

Marshall Lancaster in Life On Mars

In the books, Inspector Hopkins is a young and excitable Scotland Yard detective who sees Holmes as a mentor and tries to employ his methods in his own investigations. He never does succeed however, and calls in the consulting detective on a number of occasions. He's a very funny character, and would be great to see in the TV series. But where could Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, two writers very much grounded in Doctor Who, find a young and excitable actor? *Cough* Matt Smith *cough*. Understandably, they may want to avoid the crossover, so another possibility could be Life On Mars's Marshall Lancaster.

5. The Sign of Four
Finally, I've picked out my favourite Sherlock Holmes story. The Sign Of Four is the second Sherlock Holmes novel and is part murder mystery, part treasure hunt, part adventure epic. What could be more suited to the current TV show, where we have seen Sherlock and John track down Chinese smugglers? Best of all, the whole story culminates in a boat chase down the Thames. Imagine modernising that!

So there's my list. What would you like to see in the next series of Sherlock? Let us know in the comments.
That's also all for this week on Crash Hub. Hope to see you again on Monday.
Tom :)