Sherlock Giving Way to the Queen

Following “The Lying Detective,” last week’s frenetic and rather weird Season 4 episode of BBC One’s Sherlock—broadcast in the States under the umbrella of PBS-TV’s Masterpiece Mystery series—this coming Sunday’s installment promises still more upheaval in the lives of London crime-solvers Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. “[L]ong-buried secrets finally catch up with the Baker Street duo,” teases the Masterpiece Web site. “Someone has been playing a very long game indeed and Sherlock and John Watson face their greatest ever challenge. Is the game finally over?”

That January 15 show—the third and concluding Sherlock of the new season—is titled “The Final Problem.” If, like me, you’re confused by this fact, recalling that a previous episode, Season 2’s “The Reichenbach Fall,” was already inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story of that same name … well, I guess we’ll all just have to tune in to find out how the show’s writers have dissected Conan Doyle’s 1893 yarn for multiple purposes.

By the way, this weekend’s Sherlock is scheduled to start earlier than normal—at 7 p.m. ET/PT—after which will premiere Victoria, a seven-episode drama recalling the life and monarchy of Britain’s Queen Victoria. It stars the magnetic Jenna Coleman, previously familiar from Doctor Who and Death Comes to Pemberley, and Rufus Sewell of Zen and The Man in the High Castle fame.

READ MORE: “BBC Sherlock Canonical References—‘The Lying Detective’” (Buddy2Blogger).