Sherlock
Summary
Kit Harington is the star of this class ’s installation in the BBC TV seriesA Ghost Story for Christmas , and the 2023 episode on the Q.T. served as a cleverSherlockprequel . The 2023 Christmas Eve special , titledLot No . 249 , is establish on the short report of the same name bySherlock Holmesauthor Sir Arthur Conan Doyle . Though the medieval enigma has no copulation to the way-out - but - genius detective Doyle is get laid for , Sherlockco - Lord Mark Gatiss feel a way to bring the two tarradiddle together .
Lot No . 249starred Haringtonas Abercrombie Smith , an Oxford medical student who sets out to help feller student Edward Bellingham ( Freddie Fox ) , an expert on ancient Egyptian artifacts . Bellingham seems to have fallen into a trance after assume a sarcophagus and mummy , and it ’s up to Smith to discover whether this is the result of the supernatural or the lucid . To help him through this secret , Gatiss in short unites Harington ’s graphic symbol with Doyle ’s own expert on the seemingly unaccountable — Sherlock Holmes .
Sherlock adapted the detective ’s classic stories across four seasons , which in the end varied in calibre , with one time of year being notably strongest .
Lot No. 249 Features A Pre-Baker St. Sherlock Holmes
Lot No . 249picks up with Smith desperately seeking service froma character only called " The Friend " in the credits(and play by John Heffernan ) . Harington ’s fictional character depict his sidekick as a " no - nonsense sorting of fellow , very clever in his own peculiar way , " a comment supported by The Friend ’s determination that there must be something logical behind Bellingham ’s condition . Of naturally , this character is most for certain none other than Sherlock Holmes , a favorite character ofLot No . 249 ’s manager Gatiss .
If these hints were n’t enough evidence of the grapheme ’s identity , The Friend ’s utilization of Sherlock ’s iconic pipework and his utter plan to move to an flat on Baker Street further essay that this individual is meant to be Doyle ’s most memorable police detective protagonist , some years before he meets John Watson ( played by Martin Freeman inSherlock).Lot No . 249provides further context to this being a youthful Holmes than we have typically seen on screen , with mention of some of Doyle ’s earliest closed book involve the character .
Is Lot No. 249 Connected To Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock
Aside from the fact that Sherlock carbon monoxide gas - creator Gatiss directs Harington’sLot No . 249 , there is no connexion between theGhost Story for Christmasepisode and Benedict Cumberbatch’sSherlockseries . Of naturally , both stories are based on works from Sir Doyle , but Abercrombie Smith ’s enigma was never really connected toSherlock Holmes . The source wroteLot No . 249as a support - alone short story for Harper ’s Magazine in 1892 . Though this was about five years after the character of Sherlock Holmes first appeared in print ( 1887’sA Study in Scarlet),the author never draw any connexion between Smith and Holmes . In fact , the stories are of whole different genre .
There ’s also the fact thatGatiss’Sherlockbrought Doyle ’s Holmes to the modern age , whileLot No . 249is jell in the late nineteenth century , just as the original short story was . Therefore , there could be no canon connexion between the director ’s Doyle - inspired employment . Gatiss simply seems to be an enthusiastic fan of the source ’s whole kit , especiallySherlock Holmes , and could n’t balk joining these two narrative in the same macrocosm , peculiarly if it meant go down up a pre - Baker Street Sherlock .
Lot No. 249’s Sherlock Holmes Sets Up A Future Without Cumberbatch
Lot No . 249may have been a one - off , but give Gatiss ' continue return to the character of Sherlock Holmes , it ’s possible this clever Easter orchis could inspire a future series . Of of course , the timeline difference of opinion mean that this would n’t include Cumberbatch , but the setting indicates a far more authentic Sherlock than what Gatiss has previously worked with . Heffernan made for an intriguing version of the character , far younger than in previous adaptations , and this mean a huge variety of chance .
Sherlock Holmesadaptations are a dime in a 12 , butseeing theLot No . 249version of this character , who is so early in his career , raises several questions about who Sherlock was during this time . Additionally , the melodic theme of the protagonist of another of Doyle ’s mysteries number to Holmes for aid is fresh enough that an total serial orbit around this idea could just work . Perhaps Gatiss could bring his enthusiasm for Doyle , horror , and whodunit together to follow upSherlockwith a prequel serial that see everyone ’s favorite consulting police detective work with other notable literary characters — withLot No . 249demonstrating such evident appreciation for the case , it could sure be deserving a spotter .
