The Baker Street Babes Podcast

New Website Coming Soon

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 08:50:22 PDT

Our new website will be launching very soon! Watch this space. Xx

Sherlock Holmes gets modern treatment in two TV shows

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 06:20:10 PDT

Kristina is quoted in this article, and if that didn't give you reason enough to read it, it's also a fabulous article.
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http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/story/2012-08-27/sherlock-holmes-elementary/57356504/1

By Carol Memmott, USA TODAY

Sherlock Holmes may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think "superhero." But based on his recent TV and big-screen track record, the world's most famous literary detective, at the very least, is a globe-trotting time traveler.

The world's love affair with Holmes in all his mutations — be it in films, on TV or re-imagined in new novels — is cyclical. And "we seem to be at the peak of another wave," says Leslie Klinger, a Holmesian scholar and member of the Baker Street Irregulars, an organization of Holmes devotees.

"Every age takes something different from Sherlock Holmes," says Klinger, who worked as a consultant on the 2009 and 2011 films that starred Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Holmes and Dr. John Watson (a third installment is in development). Klinger cites Guinness World Records, which lists Holmes as the most portrayed movie character; 75 actors have played the part in more than 200 films.

"There is something that every actor brings to this role," says Benedict Cumberbatch, who is up for an Emmy for lead actor in a miniseries for his work on Sherlock, in a phone interview from London. "Like Hamlet, if you're any good, you bring enough of your own personality and talent to bear that you will make it your own."

"There is nothing new under the sun. It has all been done before," Holmes says in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1887 A Study in Scarlet, but the notion hasn't stopped filmmakers from experimenting with new interpretations of the Holmes legacy.

Sherlock, which premiered in 2010, has had fans swooning over Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Holmes and Watson.

And whether CBS' Elementary, which premieres Sept. 27 (10 ET/PT) and stars Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as Joan Watson, is a misstep or a stroke of genius is a case waiting to be cracked.

"Every vision of Holmes is a legitimate one," Klinger says. And great actors, including Downey, Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett, who starred in the acclaimed Granada television series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984-1994) in England, have found the role irresistible and inspiring.

Men for all seasons

Placing Holmes and Watson in the 21st century is not the first time the detectives have been shifted to an era other than the Victorian period in which they were first written. Universal Studios' 12 movies starring Rathbone all took place in the 1940s, the decade in which they were made. He's seen driving a car and even goes head-to-head against the Nazis.

From these films grew the iconic image of Holmes (in part because of Rathbone's Shakespearean training) as a suave English gentleman decked out in a Deerstalker cap and Inverness cape. The films also are why Watson (as portrayed by Nigel Bruce) is considered by many to be a bumbling fool. But Conan Doyle envisioned him as a competent surgeon and excellent marksman, and quite intelligent.

As for the original Holmes, created in the 19th century and featured in four novels and more than 50 short stories, he was famous for his logic, disguises, a tobacco fetish and the occasional use of cocaine and opiates.

Current novels range from The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz, a period piece that was authorized by the Conan Doyle estate, to Laurie R. King's Mary Russell novels, which give Holmes a wife who also solves mysteries.

In film, Downey buffed Holmes into more of an action-adventure hero who brings mixed-martial-arts chops to his bare-chested street fights. On television, Cumberbatch's Sherlock is a nicotine-patch-wearing, tech savvy, fast-talking, antisocial genius whose brain analyzes clues at lightning speed. Elementary's Sherlock is a man with self-doubts, a secret past and a Watson described as his "sober companion."

Cumberbatch's drama may be set in modern times, but, he says, "we came from a place of absolute reverence for the original. So it was always going to be an interpretation of the original, however much Sherlock fiddles with an iPhone or fusses around with modern graphics.

"Obviously there are some witty adaptations of certain ideas, but an awful lot of the material we use is from the canon. And the references are rich throughout," he says. "I guess that's why we're scoring high. We're appealing on both of those levels, and the traditionalists love the updates."

Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton says she isn't sure there's room for two modern-day Sherlocks on TV. "It's already a crowded field. … I think (CBS is) skating a little close to the risky edge, because there's already such a successful TV show out there."

She acknowledges, however, that "there are a lot of Sherlock Holmes fans out there. I don't know how those people will react to another Sherlock. Either they could be quite dismissive, or they could welcome any bit of Sherlock in the drought between our last season and the next one."

Elementary executive producer Robert Doherty says: "Sherlock has broad shoulders, and I believe he can carry us all. I've seen Sherlock in other novels, in comic books, in television shows, in movies, in TV movies. Some are better than others, but nobody has managed to ruin the franchise. It's a credit to what Conan Doyle did in the very beginning."

Overall, Doherty says, it's a good time to be in the Sherlock business, "but you also want to make sure that you're telling your own story, and that you can sit down and be excited about your vision for the show and not think about the others."

Room for everyone

Don't expect a Cumberbatch vs. Miller smackdown over the franchise. The actors are friends who co-starred in Danny Boyle's theatrical production of Frankenstein. And Miller called Cumberbatch before accepting Elementary. "Benedict has been very supportive, and I wanted to reassure him about how different this script was and project was," Miller told reporters in July. "All of the other differences will kind of be apparent."

"I genuinely, as a friend, wish him all the luck in the world," Cumberbatch says. "It's a wonderful role, and I hope it's as enjoyable for him as it has been for me. I think there's room for both of us, (but if) his takes over, then I've had a fantastic time doing it and I wouldn't bear any grudge. I adore Jonny."

"It is a great honor to be asked to play such a rich character," Miller says via e-mail, "and I felt there were many differences in Rob Doherty's great script to anything I had seen previously. I particularly like the darker struggles our version of Sherlock is dealing with."

As to how he'll make Holmes his own, Miller says: "I used the books. There is so much material there that you can try to find aspects that maybe haven't been seen so much. You can also discard what you feel has been seen a lot. I am trying to show some conflict and difficulty in Sherlock's life, so he seems a little at odds with the world."

For now, while Sherlock balances its story lines atop Conan Doyle's body of work including The Hound of the Baskervilles, Elementary will devise new Holmes stories.

"We're really trying to embrace our setting, trying to embrace our Watson," Doherty says. "That's not to say we won't ever take something from the canon and try to make it an episode, but it's not what's really driving us."

In the end, it will be up to fans to decide whether there's room for two modern-day Holmes/Watson teams on TV.

Kristina Manente, who last year founded the London-based fan group Baker Street Babes (bakerstreetbabes.com), says Sherlock "is so brilliant, but when I first heard about it, I didn't like the idea of modernizing it. But it makes so much sense: Holmes was always a modern man. The acting and writing is flawless."

And she's "quite open-minded about Elementary. I love Jonny Lee Miller. I'm definitely going to check it out.

"To be fair, BBC's Sherlock has brilliantly used the canon as its base, so (Elementary) can't really mimic that. They have to do something new for it not to be thought of as a copycat."

SHERLOPALOOZA

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 06:16:18 PDT

WHAT IS SHERLOPALOOZA?

SHERLOPALOOZA is the Baker Street Babes inaugural (hope to be) annual Sherlock Holmes screening and Q&A extravagaza! This year it’s on November 17th and is Sherlock series 2! Our amazing Q&A will feature Sherlock composer Michael Price and blogger Joe Lidster*. The Q&A will be recorded as a live podcast that will be made available along with small interviewed with some of YOU!
We will also be having a raffle where you can win tons of amazing Sherlock and Sherlock Holmes goodies including artwork, books, and more.
The entire event will take place at the fantastic Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square in London. Feel free to dress up as your favourite character, wear themed t-shirts, or just come as yourself. Just be prepared to be SHERlocked!

* Please note that more guests may be added at a later date.

SCHEDULE

This is a preliminary schedule and may be subject to change.
10:00 Doors open
11:00 “A Scandal In Belgravia”
12:30 Break for lunch
13:15 Back in cinema
13:20 “Hounds of Baskerville”
14:50 Break
15:00 Q&A
16:30 Break for dinner
17:30 “The Reichenbach Fall”
19:00 Raffle
20:00 Door Close

CONTACT

All information and contact details about SHERLOPALOOZA can be found at sherlopalooza.tumblr.com. You may also contact The Baker Street Babes at events@bakerstreetbabes.com

TICKETS GO ON SALE ON SEPTEMBER 1ST AT NOON BST!

Series 3, What Could It Be?

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 09:10:58 PDT

Much like last time, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have released three words to give us a clue as to what the next three stories will be in Sherlock. This time around they are...

RAT. WEDDING. BOW.

Ah ha. This will probably change as we think more about it, but here are some thoughts, wants, and general flailing on our part. Sue Vertue has confirmed that Series 3 will air next fall, possibly late summer after rumours surfaced this morning of the same. Huzzah for that!

RAT

Pastiche, The Giant Rat of Sumatra. We know that The Empty House will be the first episode, but they always conflate numerous stories into one. Curly is silently hoping for Rattigan.

WEDDING

Fairly obviously this'll be The Sign of Four with Mary Morstan (WHO IS AWESOME, CALM YOUR TITS). Could have elements of Charles Augustus Milverton where Holmes gets engaged to a maid to get info and then.. leaves... a wedding was also threatened in Charles Augustus Milverton (John & Mary's wedding threatened (not by a cockblocking Sherlock?)), and a bride went AWOL in The Noble Bachelor. The Illustrious Client also has wedding trouble in it. AND Solitary Cyclist had wedding stuff. SO MANY WEDDINGS!

BOW

Immediately think of His Last Bow, which is the last Holmes story and he goes to chill out with some bees. However, they've all said they want to keep doing them, so I refuse to believe this is it.
~~Mattias pointed out this may be referencing the Bow Street Runners, which were the first police force in London.~~
~~Also, not sure of the pronunciation, but what if it's a part of a tree or the front of a boat? SO MANY QUESTIONS!~~
The inflection was apparently like taking a bow. #sobs

BUT! His Last Bow is the title of a COLLECTION of stories and this includes The Dying Detective... if we wanted to kill Sherlock... again...

~~----~~
However the amazing Kristen McHugh just tweeted this to us... AND I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MUCH I WANT THIS!

@kristenmchugh22 @BakerStBabes What if Moran/Morstan are the same, & there's a Rat at the Wedding in more ways than one? #sherlock

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And more thoughts from you fine folk:

thenorwoodbuilder said: “Rat” was also partial for “(Balla)rat” in BOSC. And they could use part of the plot from his last bow, but not make it the end of the show…

bakerstreetbarricades: They never take the ACD stories literally - so what if “Bow” simply means that they will be doing kind of a spy story?

aurora-boreali said: OMG! Wedding could very well be The Solitary Cyclist, one of my faves!

cranberryloops said: I’m now convinced the first episode will start with Sherlock being on a ship, making his childhood dream come true and being a PIRATE.

Episode 30: The Episode of Dubious Legality—Betsy Rosenblatt, the OTW, and Fanworks

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 11:56:34 PDT

Fandom Summer is upon us!

To kick it off, Babes Ardy, Lyndsay, Taylor and Amy chat it up with Betsy Rosenblatt, who works with the Legal committee of the Organization for Transformative Works.

The OTW runs a lot of fandom-based projects, including the Archive of our Own, a scholarly journal about fan cultures, and a fandom wiki—and they also provide legal advice and advocacy for and on behalf of fannish creators, which is where Betsy (and people like her on the committee) comes in.

We talk to her about the legal issues surrounding fanworks, how much trouble they can potentially get you into, and we discuss listener questions such as the reasons why people create them in the first place, and what it is that makes fandoms like Sherlock Holmes so enduring. Also, we really want to know: what drove her to invest much of her time in this project and how successful is it?

The answer to all these questions lies but a click and a listen away. Enjoy, and let us know your own thoughts on these issues, if you feel so inclined—we love getting listener mail :)

The Babes on The Today Show!

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 05:01:19 PDT

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

[permalink]

Curly and Kafers were interviewed for a bit on Sherlock Holmes for The Today Show! It was a fantastic day and the crew was just lovely. There was a lot more that was filmed, but it's still very exciting to see two of our girls on national television!

Review: The Illustrated Speckled Band

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:59:41 PDT

The Illustrated Speckled Band

Ed. by Leslie S. Klinger

Reviewed by Amy Thomas

The Baker Street Babes

The idea of Sherlock Holmes in the theater tends to bring images of William Gillette to mind, the actor whose play Sherlock Holmes and portrayal of the detective garnered acclaim that continues to this day. Less well known to current Sherlockians is the fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself successfully dramatized one of his most popular stories, “The Speckled Band.” Thankfully, The Illustrated Speckled Band provides a comprehensive overview of this tantalizing piece of Holmesian trivia.

The book consists of four main elements: the text of the play, photographs of the original stage production, an original review of the production, and an essay that relates the play to the short story. For those familiar with the text of the story, the play reads a bit like a movie script taken from a print source—it follows the same general pattern, but many of the details have been changed for dramatic effect and convention. Conan Doyle’s ability as a dramatist is immediately apparent in the masterful use of humor and foreshadowing.

The photos, placed alongside the text where they naturally occurred in the production, are a rare treat. They not only shed light on direction and staging, but they also reveal something of the Adelphi Theater acting style just after the turn of the century.

The critical review, from The Playgoer and Society Illustrated, is a charming window into the journalism of the period and the popular opinion of Conan Doyle. The paper’s short biographical articles about the main castmembers are also included and contain such gems as this amusingly purple quote from Christine Silver, who played the lead female character: “You will say this is very feminine. Well, I admit the soft impeachment; it’s a woman’s privilege. A man lives and forgets; a woman lives and remembers.”

Finally, the essay by R. Dixon Smith does an excellent job of illuminating the circumstances that surrounded the writing of the play and the ways in which it compares and contrasts with the source story. It’s a satisfying way to conclude a very unusual volume.

The Illustrated Speckled Band is appealing in three particular ways. Its obvious Holmesian appeal lies in the rarity of what is included and the extensive presentation of a little-known piece of Sherlockiana. Additionally, it offers an unusually detailed look at British theater in 1910. Finally, for historians, it gives a glimpse of the ideas and attitudes of actors and reviewers during Conan Doyle’s time. It’s an enjoyable book to read, but its beautiful cover design also makes it a great addition to the bookshelf or coffee table of any Sherlock Holmes lover.

A copy of this book was provided for consideration by Gasogene Books.

The Baker Street Babes to be on The Today Show!

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 08:08:48 PDT

Delighted to say that Curly and Kafers were interviewed by NBC’s The Today Show today! Yes, THAT Today Show! (eee!) It’s for the Olympics and will air during The Games. It’s a cultural piece about Sherlock Holmes and England and the popularity, etc etc. The crew were delightful to work with and we had a good laugh (and lunch!) afterwards. We should have footage for you within three weeks!

Let me just say that ANYONE who can act with a camera has mad props. It’s really hard to ignore a giant machine next to your face. Got there after awhile, but it’s very distracting!

This was so much fun and it was such an honour to be asked. It’s not every day you wake up to an email from an NBC producer in your inbox. Eee, so yes, we’re going to be on your telly! (well, if you’re American that is.)

How Did Sherlock Holmes Pave the Way for 50 Shades of Grey?

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 23:25:04 PDT

The fab folks at PBS Idea Channel just put up this video on how Sherlock Holmes started the fanfiction craze. We're an epic sort of fandom... just upset it was 50 Shades that got the big break!

You've probably heard of the risque novel "50 Shades of Grey" since it's now the best selling paperback of all time. But you may not know that it's Twilight fan fiction! It seems shocking that a fan fiction novel has become so popular, but 50 Shades isn't the first book to break through the fan community boundaries into mainstream culture. Over 100 years ago, Sherlock Holmes' popularity created a profusion of well received fan fiction. It allowed authors from amateur to professional to explore the world originally created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and pave the way for other future fan fiction canons, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, and yes, 50 Shades of Grey.

Episode 29: The Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 22:10:19 PDT

In Episode 29, Babes Jenn and Lyndsay sit down with Susan Rice and Mickey Fromkin to talk about The Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes and how ASH came to be.

Who are The Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes you may ask?

Founded by a group of women students at Albertus Magnus College in the late 1960s and led by Principal Unprincipled Adventuress Evelyn Herzog, ASH achieved early notoriety when its members picketed the Annual Dinner of the Baker Street Irregulars in protest of the BSI policy of excluding women. For the next 25 years ASH thrived with its own (coeducational) dinner on the same January night as the BSI event. When women were finally invited into the BSI in 1991, selected Adventuresses were among the first to be invested.

Both Susan and Mickey not only share the story of ASH, but also their own personal stories of how they became members and found other like-minded women who share their love for our favorite consulting detective.

For more information on The Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes you can visit their website or you can email Susan Rice at susan221bee@gmail.com.

You can also subscribe to the ASH publication, The Serpentine Muse.

The Muse is a quarterly journal of ASH activities and (mostly) light-hearted Sherlockian and Victorian topics. Contents include event reports, short articles, toasts, contests, poetry, drawings, and photos of, and by, ASH members and others. It is not necessary to be a member of ASH to subscribe or contribute material for publication in The Muse.

For more information on The Serpentine Muse, click here.

Sherlock Holmes Night: Long Night Of Sciences

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 09:43:52 PDT

Sherlock Holmes Night: Long Night Of Sciences

By Maria Fleischhack, Baker Street Babes

Baker Street Babe Maria

On June 29, the Leipzig ‘Long Night of Sciences’ offered a glimpse behind the scenes to everyone who was interested. Watching chemical reactions, or being introduced to the field of forensic biology, visitors of the Long Night were able to get a picture of what scientific research looks like in Leipzig. But not only the natural sciences were of interest; the humanities make up a large part of Leipzig’s scientific tradition and several institutes decided to participate, including the British Studies institute. I had wanted to do a little Sherlock Holmes related event with my colleagues in order to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the publication of the first Sherlock Holmes story, but things turned out to be much bigger than initially planned. A bookshop close to campus offered to host the event; the perfect location to talk about Sherlock Holmes. Our ‘Sherlock Holmes Night’ was also advertised in the local newspaper and even though we knew that quite the crowd could be expected, we did not anticipate more than 250 people – mostly students – to show up; too many to sit on the 100 chairs the room held, and too many even to stand. A few visitors sadly were turned away at the doors to the bookshop, simply because there was no more room for them to fit in.

Professor Elmar Schnekel

The programme consisted of four presentations by British Studies lecturers; starting off with a short introduction of Arthur Conan Doyle and his work by Prof. Elmar Schenkel. It is always fantastic to hear about the many interests Doyle had, and how many different projects he worked on. One might think that he achieved in one lifetime what others would have needed at least three lifetimes for.

Professor Sabine Fiedler

The second talk, given by linguistics Professor Sabine Fiedler, was concerned with the phraseology of the Holmes stories and the challenges of translating phrases such as “Elementary, my dear Watson”; including, of course, the discussion of false quotes which are attributed to the original stories, but which only appeared in adaptations and later rewritings of the text.

Dr. Jürgen Ronthaler

Dr. Jürgen Ronthaler then spoke of numerous adaptations of The Hound of the Baskervilles, concentrating on the traditional look and almost symbolic markers of the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson throughout the history of the Hound adaptations.

Maria being introduced.

My talk, the last of the evening, was concerned with Sherlock BBC. I compared the series with the original stories, showing similarities and differences, and how – despite updating Sherlock Holmes to the 21st century – the series is still incredibly true not only to the stories themselves, but also to the tradition of detective fiction and Arthur Conan Doyle’s style. The little “Undershaw” insider in Hounds of Baskerville also gave me the opportunity to briefly talk about Undershaw and the UTP.

The evening ended with a screening of the 2002 adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles with Richard Roxburgh and Ian Hart.

This was only HALF the crowd there.

It was fantastic how many people showed up to listen to the talks and the atmosphere was amazing, despite a failing air-condition and not nearly enough chairs. It’s brilliant to see how interesting Sherlock Holmes is for a younger generation and I do hope that our little Sherlock Holmes night sparked the interest in some of them to go back to the original stories, and find out how it all started. It was a fun night, and I am so glad that we had the opportunity to talk about Sherlock Holmes, who we all love; and to show that Sherlock Holmes is ‘not just popular literature’, but a proper academic subject which can be approached from numerous angles and which is relevant, not only for the study of literature, but also for cultural studies and linguistics.

Special #3 - Alistair Duncan: A Study In Bart’s: Holmes, Watson, and England’s Great Hospital.

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 13:06:24 PDT

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[LISTEN]

A Study In Bart's: Holmes, Watson, and England's Great Hospital. Recorded lecture by Alistair Duncan at St. Bartholomew's Pathology Museum on 27/06/2012

The famous meeting place of Holmes and Watson, St. Batholomews Hospital is surprisingly rarely featured in adaptations of the stories. Why is this? What series finally gave St. Bart's its due credit? A fantastic lecture by Alistair in which he likens Sherlock Holmes to Britain's super hero.

A PDF of his slides can be found [HERE]

Follow Alistair on twitter at @alistaird221b ¦ His blog is at http://alistaird221b.blogspot.com/

And as this is now becoming our tradition... a silly picture.

Episode 28: Louise Brealey

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 12:36:29 PDT

[LISTEN] ¦ [TRANSCRIPT]
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Louise Brealey, who plays Molly Hooper on BBC's Sherlock, was at Collectormania Milton Keynes on a VERY cold Sunday in early June. Without too much of a plan, Babes Curly, Maria, Ardy, and Joanne drove up and nabbed an interview with the incredibly funny and charming actress. Dancing around the stadium in attempts to keep warm, they wandered the stalls, met fans, and danced with Storm Troopers. After a quick interview with a Scottish Darth Vader, they were able to sit down with Louise and chat Sherlock and matching tape recorders. It's delightful.

TRANSCRIPT, Episode 28: Louise Brealey

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 12:03:08 PDT

The Baker Street Babes Podcast

Transcript, Episode 28: Louise Brealey

Recorded 03/06/12

Released 23/06/12, Transcribed by Melanie Fletcher

Kristina: So, how do you feel being here at Collectormania?

Joanne: That's weird. [about being recorded]

Kristina: (laughs) I'm just getting reactions! Are you having a good time?

Joanne: Yes. We're about to meet Loo Brealey. I'm fine.

Kristina: Yeah. Super exciting -- I love Louise Brealey. How about you, Ardy?

Ardy: I am freezing my fucking feet off. (much laughter)

Kristina: It's really cold here.

Ardy: Yeah...

Kristina: Really cold, really cold.

Ardy: Yeah, I bribed Joanne with a cookie earlier and then she snuggled up to me for a bit but, yeah. It's no long-term solution, is it?

Kristina: No, it's not.

Ardy: So yeah, but Louise Brealey is here, so, exciting times.

Kristina: It is exciting!

Ardy: Apart from -- oh and I bought four badges, but apart from that there's nothing much exciting going on here.

Kristina: (giggling) Not a whole lot's going on. (background laughter) You have anything to say?

Maria: Apart from that it's cold, yeah, it's fun. We have roof-dancing stormtroopers, several R2-D2s--

Kristina: We've met some listeners, which is cool.

Maria: That is true.

Kristina: And a Dalek!

Maria: We made out with a Dalek.

Ardy: I think a Dalek makes up for a lot of things.

Kristina: Yeah.

Maria: We just met Jack Sparrow.

Ardy: Yes.

Maria: Well, I say meet--

Ardy: There is a distressing lack of pizza baguettes here.

Joanne: And we had an awesome Fem!Croft.

Maria: Yes, true, true.

Joanne: Our umbrellas touched.

Kristina: Yes, I liked her umbrella pin a lot.

Joanne: And their scarf was pretty cool, as well.

Kristina: Yes, very pretty. Is that warm stuff? Please come back!

Maria: It looked like it! Please come back!

Kristina: We're press!

(laughter)

Kristina: For some reason I think this makes us entitled but it really doesn't. Okay.

Joanne: Yes, Curly is certainly confusing press and VIP at these events.

Kristina: This is the only moment I get to be somewhat VIP. It's not even. I don't wanna forget it. Okay, I'll turn this off.

[BREAK]

(Darth Vader breathing)

Kristina: Have you had a good day today?

Darth Vader: Yes, it's been very, very hot. (laughter) How about you? Did you get something on your programs here?

Kristina: Mmm, no.

Darth Vader: More importantly, have you had a good day today?

Kristina: Yes!

Maria: A cold one.

Kristina: It's cold.

Ardy: Are you recording this?

Kristina: I am recording this. (laughter)

Darth Vader: Did you travel far?

Kristina: London.

Maria: Germany.

Darth Vader: Okay.

Kristina: Germany's a bit far. (laughter)

Maria: Farther away than London. That's good.

Kristina: Yeah, no, we do a Sherlock Holmes podcast, so, Darth Vader, do you like Sherlock Holmes?

Darth Vader: I do indeed.

Kristina: Awesome!

Maria: Very good! Good to know!

Kristina: Everyone, you have heard it from us first.

Maria: Breaking news!

Darth Vader: Anything Junior's in, I like. (laughter) Trivia question -- what horror film was he in? As a young man?

Kristina: Wait, what?

Darth Vader: Trivia question -- the guy who plays Iron Man?

BSBs: Yeah?

Darth Vader: What horror film was he in -- it was a number one.

Maria: Robert Downey Jr.?

Darth Vader: Yeah.

Maria: In a horror film?

Darth Vader: Number one, in a sequence.

Kristina: Gothika?

Maria: No, he wasn't in that.

Kristina: Yes he was.

Maria: Was he?

Kristina: He was in Gothika.

Maria: Oh, was he? I forgot.

Kristina: It was before his last cocaine binge.

Maria: Yeah, that's true. Horror film. (pause)

Darth Vader: Need a clue?

Maria: Yep.

Darth Vader: Burnt face.

Maria: Oh, he was not in Mike Myers -- was he in Halloween? No, no, in the other one -- Nightmare on Elm Street?

Darth Vader: He was. Number one.

Maria: Oh, Freddy Krueger. Was he one of the teenagers? Oh, sorry. We'll let you get back to your--

Kristina: Our interview's ready. (background noise, interspersed with Louise saying "Hello" and someone saying "I didn't know") Sorry, sorry, sorry -- we were interviewing Darth Vader, just because.

Maria: Wow. We just learned that Darth Vader likes Sherlock Holmes.

Kristina: He does!

Louise: (laughs) Oh, great, that's good to know. Good old Darth.

[BREAK]

Kristina: Oh, did someone bring you Quavers?

Maria: That’s adorable.

BSBs: Awwwww!

Louise: Great. Is that yours or mine, 'cos mine looks exactly like that -- look.

Kristina: Ah. It's the cool one to have. (laughter) It's the highest rated on Amazon.

Louise: I just emptied my entire incredibly impressive bag within a bag (laughter) but let's not waste any more time on me and my matching tape recorder-- go on, shoot.

Kristina: This is sort of, like, your first big fan event, isn't it? Yay! We have matching recorders. Super exciting.

Louise: Yes it is, it's my first fan event of any description -- and it will be my last. (laughter)

Kristina: Oh, my God, you're too cold.

Louise: One time only. No, no -- yeah, it's extraordinary, and just really nice. Although I did get a bit of a sore face in the photo shoot, which was just… walk here, stand there, smile...smile...smile. And yeah, sixty-seven smiles -- sixty-eight, sixty-eight smiles in a row. Extraordinary. Anyway, no, it's great, it's cold but it's very nice. I’ve got a hot water bottle between my legs and everything's all right. (laughter) Everyone seems nice -- I've had two little people dressed up as Molly, one really mini person with a fake sort of hair ponytail, she was so sweet.

Kristina: How precious!

Louise: And the best, the best was her badge. She'd deliberately taken a hideous photograph of herself, because the badge on my coat on SHERLOCK is absolutely ghastly. So this beautiful little child had this terrible photo of herself, with these really, really wrong glasses, so she'd gone all, all the way.

Kristina: Awww, precious.

Maria: Do you know anything about season 3?

Louise: I don't, actually. All I know is that I'll be back -- and so will Rupert and Una and Benedict. And Martin. Yes, no, I don't know anything -- they're writing them as we speak. I do know things, I'm not telling. (laughter) See how good my acting was there. My amazing acting.

Kristina: Molly just started out as a really small part, and she's sort of grown into this giant -- so many fans are just completely heartstruck by Molly Hooper. What's your reaction to it -- did you expect it at all?

Louise: No, not at all. I did my day on the third episode, 'cos we had to shoot all of my scenes in one day because I'd been doing a play. So I did my day, had a wonderful, magical day, then went back to London. I don't know. I kind of hadn't realized how important the character is in that episode because I just hadn't really thought about it. It was like, "That's a nice scene, and that's another nice scene," and I hadn't really thought it through. And then when I watched it, it was like, "Ohhhh."But yeah, it was staggering, the reaction was absolutely amazing and completely exceeded -- I didn't even have any expectations, because I did the first season and that was great, everyone really liked it, which was obviously gratifying and just a great thing to be a part of. And then -- I dunno, just the writing, I suppose, just made Molly mean something more than I think she did the first season. I might be repeating myself but I think people identify with her because she's an ordinary girl in an extraordinary position. She works with this...freak. (laughter) This wonderful, beautiful freak, and you know, I think it's terrific because she's the sort of -- I don't know if you're all too young for DIRTY DANCING, but there's this sort of --

Kristina: I've seen DIRTY DANCING!

Louise: The idea of this sort of extraordinary man -- well, it's not necessarily that way round, I'm just being ridiculous -- but she's the sort of, you know, she's Everygirl, isn't she? With her ordinary face and her ordinary, you know, thing. And she's the audience's way in, the female audience's way in, I think. She's not threatening -- she's the girl next door. So I'm really surprised, but also I'm really happy that they like her, I think it's great.

Maria: Everybody loves her. Everybody was just really sorry, but just the first – “…okay.”, everybody just fell in love with Molly.

Kristina: I think we've all been there -- that person we've been completely smitten with, and then it goes into, "Even though I know how much of a dick you are, I'm going to be completely infatuated with you."

Louise: Well, I think the thing is, also, it's like love makes fools of us all, you know? Who hasn't been an idiot when you've been smitten? I know I have. I mean, I'm not like her at all, but I think when I really like someone, I'm perfectly capable of blundering around making a complete tit of myself. And I think that's the thing -- people have underestimated her because she takes a lot of shit from him. But the fact is that what was obviously delightful about the last series was that you realized she's not an idiot. She's quietly taking it all in, and yeah, she's there. I dunno, I just feel really lucky. It's like a miniaturist sort of portrait of her because she's barely in it, really, but that's just not any sort of an issue. It's the most wonderful part I've played on telly, no doubt, and yet it’s sort of tiny, so it's a real tribute to the writing because you get, there's a real journey.

Kristina: There is.

Louise: And as I say, when I did my day I hadn't really thought it through. I just thought, "Oooh, this is nice. This is nice to have a lovely scene in stuff about--" Oh, I think I've a break in my hot water bottle. I feel like I've wet myself. (laughter)

Kristina: Oh, dear!

Louise: (laughs) I'm sorry, we've had to suspend the interview because Louise Brealey wee'd herself.

[BREAK]

Kristina: So many gifts! See, everyone adores you to pieces.

Louise: Oh, that's nice!

Maria: What I find really interesting is that Molly is obviously not a character that Arthur Conan Doyle had written. Were you nervous about trying to fit in, or were you just being there because it's modern anyway?

Louise: I hadn't a single thought about canon. I was just given a part to play and I tried to make her as truthful and full and real and human as possible. I didn't really think about Arthur Conan Doyle. I'm really pleased that they invented her -- I think they're pleased that they invented her now. They weren't sure originally, and now they're happy. So yeah, it's great, and no, it didn't trouble me in the slightest, because it's not the book. It's something new, isn't it? So I think there's room for -- I mean, I feel very flattered that I'm the only one that's not in the books, actually. I mean, obviously that means that I am prime fodder for the chop at some point because I'm not in the books, but you know, that's an occupational hazard down in the mortuary. (laughs)

Maria: You're kind of turning into -- I mean, your character now is sort of in the Holmes canon, it kind of belongs there now.

Louise: Oh, thank you very much.

Kristina: So do you have any backstory for Molly that you sort of made up? Or is it just whatever's on the page for you?

Louise: Um, do I have any backstory? I just think the writing's so good, I just go with what's...it's just all there. I mean, yeah, obviously, you try and...sorry, I'm slightly distracted by the sound of Darth Vader's breathing. (laughter)

Kristina: He's, like, lurking right outside.

Louise: He's breathing down my neck. Did I do any research? No, I didn't even do anything like run around a mortuary with a mortuary person. Although when I was there I got to chat to the real mortuary workers and talk about how quickly a post-mortem happens, how much time it takes, and how people's lungs are black even if they don't smoke if they live in a city. Got my wellies on and had to look down the drains and wished I hadn't. And there's all sorts of things like chef's knives and brains in buckets -- it's great. Did I do any research on who she was? Not really -- I mean, they did that website, didn't they, about kittens and GLEE and stuff. I just feel like that's there for people to enjoy if they want to. In my head, she's...she's kind of a hopeless case.(laughter) No, she's not. She loves cats. So no, I didn't really--

Kristina: Fair enough.

Louise: I just think it's all there. It's like a blueprint -- you just have to try and say it with feeling. No, I don't know anything about her -- who is she? I don't know how old she is, I don't know where she's from. I dunno -- I quite like that, though. I quite like that it's all open to people to make that bit up if they want to. Yeah, I think they're so imaginative, the fans and everything -- I'm always getting told who she is and what she means. And I think that's great, 'cos then there's room for the audience, isn't there? You can write on her what you want (pause) not literally of course, that’d be weird.

Joanne: What do you enjoy the most about playing Molly when you're on the set?

Louise: It's just great to be part, genuinely to be part of that team, actually. Because even though I'm not in it very much, I feel very much like I'm one of them. And that's just a really nice feeling.

BSBs: Well, for us you are. (laughter and agreement)

Louise: It's just...coming back, the first season...we've done it three times because of course we did the pilot. And each time you go back, it feels it's kind of more wonderful because the show has grown in people's estimation and in their hearts, and you just feel like the writing's a joy to say, and the team who make it are a delight. And it's very family -- Sue and Steven are obviously married, the executive producer and writer, and so there is a genuine sort of...it's a nice place to work, SHERLOCK. People are good, they have good hearts.

Kristina: I think that's why the show does so well because everyone loves doing it. And you can just tell that, in the production.

Louise: Well, the boys don't have to come back, you know -- they're enormous, they're absolutely massive, they don't have to come back. I think it’s an indication of how dear the show is to them, and those characters are to them, that they want to come back despite the fact that they're megastars and make another series. And I think if it was an unhappy set or in any way an unhappy experience, you wouldn't see them for dust. So it's just obvious. The material is so brilliant, too -- you really don't get, you know, once in a blue moon you get to read something that's as good as that.

Kristina: So, we really only have one more question -- we asked on Twitter, but everyone just asking things we'd already asked you. But pretty much everyone just wants you to know that they loved you to pieces, they love you and they think you're awesome.

Louise: That's nice, isn't it?

Kristina: It IS nice!

Louise: Could you tell them how lovely, charming, attractive and likeable I was without the bright red nose and the little old lady drip?

Maria: We're asking you for a picture, but, like, one where we’d all be really dorky? Could we do that?

Louise: (bravely) Do with me what you will! (laughter and discussion about handling the camera)

Kristina: Oh, just one last question -- if you could have tea with anyone from SHERLOCK, who would you want to have tea with?

Louise: You know, Rupert Graves comes straight to mind… Graves, Graves, Graves! (laughter) Um, yes, of course, Rupert, Una and Rupert. And -- it's favoritism, it's awful, Rupert, Una, Rupert, Una. We're going to have tea next week -- oh, my dream’s come true. (laughter)

BSBs: Thank you so much, good luck for series 3 and everything else you do. Enjoy your Quavers!

Review: The Sherlock Holmes Triviography and Quiz Book, 2nd Edition

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:53:39 PDT

The Sherlock Holmes Triviography and Quiz Book, 2^nd Edition

By Kathleen Kaska

Reviewed by Amy Thomas

The Baker Street Babes

It’s a great time to enter the world of Sherlock Holmes. The BBC’s Sherlock series and the Guy Ritchie Holmes films have ushered in millions of new fans, a great many of whom have gone on to explore the Granada tv series and the canonical stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. As a result, the glossy second edition of Kathleen Kaska’s engaging quiz collection comes at a particularly apt time

Kaska’s book consists of 80 quizzes covering the Holmes stories, the author, and much more, as well as five crossword puzzles. In addition, each section contains a small introductory essay with valuable information about aspects of the canon.

One thing that sets this particular work apart is that the quizzes presented are not filled with only simple, surface questions. New fans and die-hard Holmes devotees alike will be amused and perplexed by some of the more detailed queries, and even the most experienced Holmesian will come away with increased knowledge.

The Sherlock Holmes Triviography and Quiz Book would be a fantastic gift for a new or old Holmesian. It’s a particularly great book to have on the coffee table to provide hours of entertainment and enriched knowledge of the detective’s world.

Buy it at LL Publications

Buy it at Amazon.com [US] [UK]

A copy of this book was provided for consideration by LL-Publications.

The Validation of the Internet Fandom: Bridging the Gap Between Traditional Fandom and the Age of Tumblr

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 16:47:06 PDT

photo by June Matics

At A Scintillation of Scions V, I (Curly) presented a paper entitled The Validation of the Internet Fandom: Bridging the Gap Between Traditional Fandom and the Age of Tumblr. It was very well received and made a lot of people cry (gyah sorry!). My heart sort of swelled as I walked back to my seat and kept getting stopped, Sherlockians new and old thanking me, telling me how fantastic it was, and that they were so proud and pleased. I hadn't felt like I had done anything monumental or extraordinary, but after awhile I realized that maybe I had done something important.

So, here is the paper in its entirety, as well as the recording from the actual presentation (so I can prove people laughed and clapped!) I hope you like it.

To listen to this presentation please [CLICK HERE]

To read the paper, click the read more link!

The Validation of the Internet Fandom: Bridging the Gap Between Traditional Fandom and the Age of Tumblr

By Kristina Manente

Scintillation of Scions V

June 9, 2012

I have an addictive personality. I’ll get addicted to outfits or hummus sandwiches, movies and songs. I should have known I’d end up here at Scintillation for one simple reason: as a child I watched The Great Mouse Detective. I watched it so many times over and over again, I’m sure it’s melted my brain. And drove my mother insane. I was hopelessly in love with it. I still am. It was a staple of my childhood and while I was vaguely aware of whom Sherlock Holmes was growing up, I wasn’t a Sherlockian.

I didn’t start reading the canon until last year. I thought Watson was always rotund with a bushy mustache (well, part of that is true), and I had no idea who Jeremy Brett was. In fact, when the Robert Downey Jr movie adverts first showed, my first thought (other than god Jude Law is hot) was that of Basil of Baker Street. Of the cartoon mouse who unashamedly stole my heart. I didn’t know what would happen in the next two to three years. I didn’t know about Sherlock or how it would change my life forever.

Sherlock is my first fandom, and I use fandom in the sense of a distinct internet community. A community of thousands who all love the same thing, who write about it, laugh about it, argue about it, art about it, cry about it, and lust over animated gifs of Benedict Cumberbatch together. It’s a beautiful mad thing. I stepped in unaware and I have never been more glad. Fandom has introduced me and countless others to the original stories. It has celebrated these magnificent characters and it has changed my life, and many others.

As such, Sherlock has one of the most vocal and dedicated fandoms out there. The Believe In Sherlock campaign should be enough indication of that. If you don’t know what that is, following the transmission of The Reichenbach Fall in the UK, a fan movement was started much akin to Frodo Lives. We had to restore Sherlock’s reputation and prove Richard Brook was a fake. The original post by earlfoolish on tumblr charged believers in Sherlock to take to the streets. It was a bit meta, but we did it. The Believe In Sherlock movement spread worldwide, popping up in schools, places of work, and along the streets of cities and towns. The campaign went completely viral and has been reported on numerous blogging sites and even The Radio Times. Fans are finding one another through the movement as well, going to tumblr to try and find original posters of the fliers and artwork. It’s bringing the Sherlock community together, promoting the show, and including the fans into the universe of BBC Sherlock.

And it’s all fan made. Those involved in the BBC show have mentioned numerous times how staggered they were by the movement, and still are. Steven Moffat called it “the best viral marketing campaign ever,” and that he and Mark Gatiss didn’t need to do any promotion for Series 3 because we had done it for them. The parallels to the legend of Victorians marching along the Strand in black armbands are obvious. Just as they did, we mourned the “death” of our hero, allowing ourselves to enter the Sherlock world and bring it into our reality. Some have called it childish and ridiculous, but we had fun. And I won’t apologize for that.

No one can doubt the sincerity and absolute dedication of the Sherlock generation of Holmesians. If Believe In Sherlock isn’t enough how about the thousands of votes that pour in when someone from the show, or the show itself is up for an award? Countless number of trending topics on twitter have been started by the fandom, and as I said before, those involved in the show have remarked multiple times how floored they are by their fanbase. We’re a fanatically dedicated bunch, which is why I get surprised when older Sherlockians get annoyed at us and fear us.

Are we not the same? Many of you entered Sherlockiana through more traditional means. You might have read the canon and found a group. You might have started your own or subscribed to a newsletter. Some of you as Baker Street Irregulars and are quite distinguished. Others just run a blog or are Holmesian authors, both scholarly and pastiche. I like to yammer into a microphone with friends and it’s in that way I express my love. That and reblogging some gratuitous photos of the cast, because they’re gorgeous. And that’s okay. I’m sure Victorian women and men were oogling the Paget drawings. Don’t even try to tell me they weren’t.

With Sherlock, and to a lesser extent the Robert Downey Jr films, has come a surge of new Sherlockians. Some very learned in canon, others encountering the characters for the first time. It’s a global Holmesian Renaissance and it’s come to life and spread rapidly through social media, primarily through tumblr, twitter, and the fanfic communities on livejournal and AO3. I can understand how the massive surge can be terrifying for the more traditional minded Sherlockian: hoards of teenage and twenty-some-year-olds descending upon their Holmesian world. They’re afraid of, dare I say it, The Cumberbitches, and afraid they aren’t in it for the stories. But if they took a moment to go beyond the surface of OMG and FEELINGS, they’re realize that it’s more than that. They may have come for the cheekbones and the dishy silver fox from Scotland Yard, but it’s not why they stayed.

They’ve fallen in love. Just like everyone in this room has.

Those of us from the Sherlock generation are vocal and opinionated. We care about this show an obscene amount and we aren’t afraid to show it. There are around 30,000 Sherlock tumblr fans and that is a conservative estimate. There are thousands upon thousands of fanfictions and beautiful, stunning pieces of art. A fanartist was actually contacted by Sue Vertue, producer of the BBC series, and her stunning portraits of the Sherlock cast will be going in a board room at Hartswood Studios.

Along with the art are the essays and heated debates. Emotions run high in the tumblr world and never have I seen such detailed responses to questions. There is plenty of scholarships on tumblr. They research to an obsessive level and have enough references to even make Les Klinger happy. I’ve read beautifully researched essays on the canon as well as on the BBC show. Character essays. Theories. Everything you can imagine. Where you all have journals and newsletters, we have the internet.

They’re also not afraid to have fun, and will gladly trend topics on twitter like replace a Sherlock quote with pancake.

Why so silly? Why not? Why is it a crime to have fun? We can interact in a whole new way: live chatting with writers and actors, Q&As, and spreading out ideas to the public. The Sherlock generation is a force to be reckoned with, and yes, some are silly, but so are some BSI members. They are, however, genuine fans, and you should never doubt their sincerity.

When I was privileged enough to attend the judicial review for the Undershaw Preservation Trust, for which I am the London Ambassador, on May 23^rd, I wasn’t surprised by who was in attendance. There were a handful of middle-aged and older people, but the vast majority of those who had come out to sit in court for seven hours were young. Teenagers. Twenty-somethings. It was the youth. It was the Sherlock generation.

We love Sherlock Holmes. We are the same. The Sherlock generation just has more toys to play with. And yes, it is intimidating, and yes it’s all changing quite quickly. But it’s a good change. So this is an open invitation for every person who may ever hear or read this. Interact with the young fans. Invite them to your meetings. Talk Sherlock Holmes with them. Don’t underestimate them. Just because we blog doesn’t mean we’re not genuine and earnest, or intelligent. The hesitation goes both ways though. You young’uns, newbies, and those who only came in with BBC Sherlock, don’t be afraid. Read the canon. Explore the world. Be willing to be taught. I have never met a more gracious group of people in my life. Try. You won’t regret it.

If you challenged me to a canon quiz you’d most likely beat me. And I am fine with that, because I am still learning. I’m still exploring these stories for the first time, as are many of my tumblr colleagues. We’re not subpar to those of you who can quote the canon word from word, because at our core we all love these characters. Some of you are just further ahead than us, but we’re on our way and we want to be on our way. Those of us from the tumblr generation don’t expect some of you to understand our weird jokes about how John Watson is obsessed with jam or understand why animated gifs are perfectly acceptable responses to questions. That’s fine. We’re two different camps, but we have a lot in common and we’re starting to meld. I think it’s okay if we still have our own worlds, but coming together should be a priority. It’s starting, and it is my hope that we can all work together to enjoy the great consulting detective and his steadfast partner Dr. Watson as Sherlockians.

I and the Baker Street Babes owe a lot to the Sherlock fandom. It’s where we came from and as such we are fiercely protective of it. We also couldn’t have gotten where we are without the acceptance of all of you and for that I offer my sincerest thanks. We’re flattered by our popularity, having hit over 110,000 listens as of June 7^th. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to getting fanmail. We’re also frankly gobsmacked by the opportunities we’ve had. I remember literally faceplanting onto my bed when I got a DM on twitter from Sue Vertue and New Year’s Eve shall always be highlighted by Amanda Abbington, Martin Freeman’s wife, posting on our facebook wall about how to become a Baker Street Babe. A few months later we’d be having brunch with her. A month after that we’d be on the red carpet at the TV BAFTAs. I don’t think I’ve actually gotten over it. I don’t say these things to gloat and boast, but rather to count my stars. I’ve enjoyed every moment of this, even the masochistic sound editing until the wee hours of the morning and the terrifying moment when you send a query letter to an agent in hopes of an interview. Through the good and bad it’s been a beautiful time, and it’s a beautiful time to be a Sherlockian.

Whether you’re a BSI or a Sherlock tumblr fan, you are a Sherlockian. Whether you’re 65 or 15, you are a Sherlockian. Whether you discovered Sherlock Holmes as a child or yesterday, you are a Sherlockian… and you should be proud of that.

Episode 27: Amanda Abbington

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Sun, 27 May 2012 03:51:04 PDT

-------
[LISTEN] ¦ [TRANSCRIPT]

On New Year's Day 2012, a facebook post stopped The Baker Street Babes in their tracks. Amanda Abbington was asking how to become a Baker Street Babe. After we recovered (it took some time), we began a delightful conversation with Amanda about Sherlock and beyond. After a few months of schedule dancing, work, school, and New Zealand, The Babes and Amanda were finally able to meet up and what you're about to listen to and read is what came of it.

We can honestly say this was such a delight and a treat. Not only was it just fun, but it was insightful. Amanda has been dubbed The Queen of Fandom by BBC Sherlock enthusiasts, and rightfully so. she's reached out to fans unlike anyone else, breaking The Fourth Wall and embracing fan culture. Incredibly charming, witty, and caring, she has become quite special to many of us.

Please note this episode was recorded at the end of April and in a restaurant. While perfectly listenable, it may be worthwhile to follow along in the transcript.

For those who don't know, Amanda Abbington is an English actress and comedienne who has appeared on television and stage. She is best known for her roles in the 2005 comedy sketch show Man Stroke Woman and the 2007–2008 comedy After You’ve Gone with Nicholas Lyndhurst. She has also appeared in recurring series such as Coupling, Casualty, and Dream Team. She is the longtime partner of British actor Martin Freeman, who plays John Watson in Sherlock.

She has a facebook group devoted to her, suitably entitled: Amanda Abbington is made of trolls, wit, and perfection. (A partner to her husband's Martin Freeman is made of jam, kittens, and rage.)

You can follow her on twitter at @amandaabbington and her and Martin's delightful (and hysterical) dogs @JodieArchie1

And as promised at the end of the interview, here's Amanda's casting for an all-female Sherlock cast!

TRANSCRIPT, Episode 27: Amanda Abbington

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Sun, 27 May 2012 03:23:45 PDT

The Baker Street Babes Podcast

Transcript, Episode 27: Amanda Abbington

Recorded 29/04/12

Released 27/05/12, Transcribed by Amy, Curly, & Ardy

Amanda: What’s a heart shake? I’ve never had that. Will it be an actual heart?

Kristina: It better be. Only a few people know that we’re doing this today, and they’re like, “Have fun! Say hi for me!”

Amanda: That’s so sweet!

Kristina: All the American-based Babesare like “We hate you, but we love you! Give her a hug for us!” So, America is hugging you.

Amanda: I love Americans, America, I think you’re lovely. Oh that’s so nice…Oh, and Martin sends his love. He says hello and sends his love.

Kristina: When do they actually finish up?

Amanda: End of July. Yeah, it’s a long old stint. They’ve been there since…a year and a half! It’s hard, but we’ve said now that anywhere he goes, we’re going to go with him because it’s really tough. We didn’t think it would be that hard. And also, he’s going to bed when I’m getting up, so you miss each other. Just mentally, you miss each other, because he’s ready for bed, and I’m starting the day. So it’s a bit, “Good night!”, “Hi!” It’s a bit wearing.

Kristina: I know. I used to live in Japan. It’s sort of like the same time difference. I’m getting home from work and my mom would be like, “Hi!” and I’d be like, “I’m so tired! I’m not talking to you right now!”

Amanda: Yeah, and that’s what it’s like. It’s tough. So we’re going to rethink it if he goes. There’s some stuff going on in LA. Not before January. That’s when the third season [of Sherlock] starts filming here.

[Clapping]

Kristina: Happy noises!

Amanda: I know! Going on in our house as well, it is! So, when did all this start?

Ardy: About a year ago.

Kristina: Yeah, our one-year anniversary is next month.

Turk: Is it?

Ardy: It’s some time in May.

Kristina: So it’s almost been a year. Basically, I did a radio show in college, and I was like, I love podcasts. I want to do a podcast! So, I had all these friends who were Sherlock Holmes fans, and I made this Twitter list—I just called them the Baker Street Babes, and someone else was like “that sounds like a group of something!” And I was like…Speaking of, do you want to do this with me?

Amanda: It’s really good. Martin’s well aware of it, just so you know.

Kristina: Oh, is he? Jesus.

Amanda: But it’s very good. He loves it. He first showed this stuff to me last year. Somebody told him about this thing called tumblr. We didn’t know what the hell Tumblr was, but someone said, “You should look on this,” so we did, and one day, he just said to me, “You’ve got to see this because there are people putting my body on, like, the heads of cats!” And I said ok, and then he said “And Ben’s like a cat, and I’m like a hedgehog, and they’re comparing me to hedgehogs, and it’s quite cute!” And we would just sit there, laughing. And that’s how we kind of got into the Baker Street Babes and that sort of thing. It was great. The are very aware of it. Sue’s a big champion of this sort of thing.

I talked to Mark Gatiss yesterday. He was going into a script meeting with Steven [Moffat]. Very exciting. It’s going to be good. I think they anticipate this being better than the second series.

Ardy: How?

Amanda: I know!

Ardy: That’s what we said after the first series as well.

Amanda: Yeah, I know! It’s like—How could you top that? Oh, you did!

Kristina: Oh, you did it quite well, actually.

Ardy: That worked out quite well for you, there.

Amanda: So what do you think about the film—Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr.?

Kristina: I think they’re entertaining. I don’t think they’re very canonical at all, but they’re good for explosions and for gratuitous banter and everything. I don’t dislike them.

Ardy: They’re good fun. I don’t think they’re in competition.

Amanda: No, I don’t think Ben and Martin are worried about them much.

Kristina: No, I don’t think they should be. Yes, they get a bunch of money and publicity because it’s a movie and it’s Robert Downey Jr., but when you compare the quality, there’s never any contest.

Amanda: No, I think so. I think this one’s got a better Moriarty. Y’know, Andrew Scott, you’d be hard pushed to get better than Andrew Scott. He’s just my hero. I’m finding it very hard because Martin and Andrew are nominated for the same BAFTA. I don’t know who I’m going to support.

Turk: Another actor that I’ve been a fan of for years is Joseph Mawle [also nominated for the same award].

Amanda: He’s with my agent, and I think he’s amazing. He’s deaf isn’t it?

Turk: Yeah. I first saw him playing Jesus in The Passion, and I’ve not just quite got over that.

Amanda: I think it’s a tough category this year. But when I told Martin—because he didn’t know he’d been nominated—I rang him, and I said, “You’ve been nominated in the BAFTA agai!” He went, “Is Andrew in the category?” and I went, “Yes!” He went, “Fuck!”

[Laughter]

Kristina: Yeah, the roller coaster of emotions that was the BAFTA nominations.

Amanda: I’m still really cross.

Kristina: [Regarding the show not being nominated for a BAFTA for drama or miniseries] It doesn’t make any sense. On the merits of it as a drama—it broke all the records on iPlayer! It makes no sense. Blargh! I was so angry!

Amanda: No. I think there is a part of it that’s jealousy. I spoke to somebody about it, and they said, “Oh, the reason why Sherlock wasn’t nominated is because it’s become too popular and mainstream.” And I said, “You can’t have that argument. Spooks is in there and Scott and Bailey, which are mainstream ITV.” I don’t know why it’s been deliberately overlooked.

Kristina: I think it has, because they got all the actor nominations, and they got the YouTube audience award.

Ardy: And if you look in the miniseries category… I mean, not to slag everyone off…

Kristina: No, seriously…

Ardy: The Crimson Petal and the White?!

Kristina: I saw the first episode, but I didn’t go past it.

Ardy: It was just disgusting.

Amanda: Thank you. That’s the best word. I didn’t want to say it. [Regarding the nominations]

Ardy: If it was at least something in there that was deserving.

Amanda: There’s nothing that really stood out. I don’t know if that’s worthy of being there.

Ardy: This is Englandmaybe. Everything else in that category…

Amanda: Yeah, This is England.

Turk: I was looking at it thinking… I don’t think I watched any of these things.

[Amanda’s drink arrives]

Amanda: Do you want to try this? Would you like to try some?

Kristina: Sure… it’s just like The Heart?

Amanda: … it’s weird. What did he say it was?

Kristina: It smells like peanut butter!

Amanda: What’s in it? You’re not going to tell me are you?

Waiter: [some sort of thing], milk and Jack Daniels.

Amanda: Right…

Kristina: [Back to the BAFTAs] I woke up, and I started scrolling down. I think I saw you and Louise Brealey’s tweets—being angry—and I was like, “What happened?” I was like, “Oh, Benedict, good, Martin, good, Andrew, good—WHAT?”

Amanda: But it was such a shock! It was such a shock to me. I was expecting to see it, and when I didn’t see it in the category I thought it was a mistake. I honestly did.

Ardy: I just thought it hadn’t been eligible because of broadcast date. But then I saw Steven Moffat confirming that it had been. This doesn’t make any sense!

Amanda: No. Did anyone else want to try this? It’s weird isn’t it?

Ardy: Tastes really odd. Alcohol and peanut butter doesn’t seem quite right.

Kristina: It does taste like peanut butter.

Amanda: Alcohol at half-eleven in the morning! He [the waiter] made me get this…. he forced me.

Kristina: Conspiracy! So… honestly, my first question is, what made you decide to start interacting with the fans and the fandom in general?

Amanda: Because you’re all so lovely to Martin. And you’re all really nice. You all seem very intelligent, funny, and talented girls. Seeing some of the artwork and some of the stuff that was being written. It’s so good. Martin’s very very very very private—freakishly private, which is a good thing. I love that he is. But I just wanted to say thank you on his behalf and say hi and I fully support what you’re doing. It’s fine! And I’m not one of those girlfriends or wives who goes, “Those bitches!” I’m not like that at all, and I just wanted to say, you’re doing a fabulous job, because you are. I think it’s lovely how much you love Martin, and I love it. I genuinely love it.

Kristina: One of the Babes—I think it was Lyndsay—said, “Martin is our hero, and I’m so glad you get to actually go tell him.”

Amanda: That’s really lovely to hear, and I’m really proud of him, and I like that other people are really proud of him.

Kristina: We are.

Amanda: I’m really proud of what they do in that show. It’s genius, actually. I’ve never seen anything like it on television, and I think it’s good that people love it. And you need to be told that everyone knows that you love it. You know what I mean?

Kristina: Definitely. You said that Martin found Tumblr first. Did that come before or after you started playing on the Facebook group?

Amanda: After. Everything came afterward. So we looked at Tumblr first and just used to giggle a lot. “Look I’m a kitten, why am I a kitten?” It went from there, really. I thought it was really fun.

Kristina: What’s your favorite thing or the most ridiculous thing you’ve seen?

Amanda: There’s one picture. Oh I’m laughing now. [Martin with the BAFTA, next to a picture of a hedgehog. Amandahas it saved on her phone and shows it.] But we love all the artwork. Some of the paintings are just amazing. And the knitted stuff! I got sent a knitted otter and a hedgehog. I love it. They’re upstairs. I won’t let the children play with them.

Kristina: These are mine!

Ardy: This is not a toy.

Amanda: No, these are Mummy’s.

Kristina: Aw brilliant. What’s your favorite episode?

Amanda: The [Reichenbach] Fall. Definitely. From the minute you start with that…it’s just a roller coaster. I’ve watched it—I’m not joking—I must have watched it about 30 times now, and I never get tired of it, and I always cry at the same point, and I would laugh at the same bit, and it’s just beautifully pitched and perfectly acted. And a joy to watch. And I think all of them are stand out films. You can take every one of them and watch them as separate films. And that’s what I love about them. But the Fall, my favorite scene in it, one of my favorites—I’ve got two—is when Moriarty is at the Tower of London, and he’s got his headphones in and he’s listening to Bach, and everyone’s having morning tea. I love it. And you see him breaking into the jail and the bank. And all drinking tea at eleven o’clock, and it’s beautiful.

Kristina: It’s so quintessentially English.

Amanda: It really is, and I love that.

Ardy: I need to ask what the other favorite is.

Amanda: My other favorite scene? The scene at the end, the very end when Martin’s—agh!—when Martin’s talking to the grave, and you see Ben’s standing there!

Kristina: We watched it with my friend, and we were staring. We thought they were going to leave it at the cliffhanger. I was like, “You can’t do this!” and we started screaming, “Yes, thank you!”

Amanda: I’m getting goosebumps with you telling me!

Kristina: It’s so beautiful. He [John] walks away, and your heart is broken, and then he’s [Sherlock] there.

Amanda: I know! He’s going to get his ass kicked for that, isn’t he?

Kristina: Yes, please! It’s our hope. If you can’t give us a hug, please let him punch him in the face! Please!

Amanda: Yeah, he’s good at that bit, my boy. He’s good at the old emotion.

Kristina: That actually goes with something I wanted to ask. One of the babes Maria wants to know… how is it for you to see your husband on screen as John Watson? Do you connect to it on a personal level or as the character? Like, do you see Martin?

Amanda: Well I watch him, in anything actually. I think he’s a fantastic actor. Yet he’s always very good at the characterization. So I kind of step out of it. So I don’t watch him as Martin. I watch him as the character. Although, at the end when he has that scene at the grave, there was part of me that gets upset for Martin, but I think on a general level, I watch him as a character. He’s fantastic on stage. Have you seen him on stage?

Kristina: No, I haven’t. When I saw Clybourne Park he wasn’t on it anymore because it had transferred to the West End. So when I saw it I was like oh this is really funny. Someone told me Martin Freeman played that one guy and I went “BLAGH!” Why didn’t I see that version?!

Amanda: His stage work is amazing. Try and get him to do another play. I kind of detach myself when I watch him. I don’t watch him as Martin. I do watch him as characters. He’s very good at it.

Ardy: He’s very, very good at being John Watson.

Amanda: He is. Subtle nuances that he doesn’t do in real life, like the way walks, the way he stands, he’s kind of military, and he isn’t like that in real life. He’s the least military person I know. He’s my favorite actor. Well, him and Andrew and Ben.

Kristina: There is this website called The Bookshelf Bombshells, which I think is a great name.

Amanda: Yeah

Kristina: They asked us and asked if we could ask you, what does Sherlock as a show actually mean to you?

Amanda: I was never a huge follower or fan of Sherlock Holmes. I really wasn’t. It wasn’t in my canon of literature. I don’t really know why. Maybe I associated it with Woolsey. It was never very accessible to me when I was growing up. I’m reading it now. At the moment I’m reading The Sign of Four.

Kristina: Mary Morstan?

Amanda: Yeah! But I wouldn’t have done had I not been involved in the show. Which is good, it’s great, it’s opened me up to his work.

Kristina: Are you enjoying the stories?

Amanda: They’re great. They’re really good. They really drag you in. It’s very interesting and very engaging. It zips along. I’ve got to have something that zips along… I can’t if it’s slow and meandering. I have to finish a book as well. Once I start a book I have to finish it. Even if it’s really shit. It becomes a battle for me. I’m gonna do it! The Doyle stuff is quite easy to get through, which is a testament to good writing.

Kristina: When you’re reading, do you picture Ben and Martin in the roles?

Amanda: That’s interesting. I don’t. In my head I have a sort of… in my head Sherlock is always kind of tall and quite willowy. Yeah no, I don’t imagine Martin & Ben. Sounds a bit weird! I don’t picture Ben & Martin in my head. Girls on tumblr are going “Oh! Oooh!” now! Oh Martin & Ben together! Oh my God! I wish they were married!” [Meaning Sherlock & John]

Kristina: Honestly, what do you think about it [the Sherlock/John slash in the fandom]? Do you take it as it comes, or what?

Amanda: It makes me laugh. It’s quite sweet. Some of the pictures, as well. People have drawn them together. It’s like “Awww… okay.”

Kristina: I think most of the time people draw them as the characters.

Amanda: Absolutely. Oh no it’s never Martin & Ben. It’s always that they should be together Sherlock & Watson should be together. Which is fair enough. There’s that undertone to the programme, I think there is. I was talking to Martin about it. In the Scandal in Belgravia, when Watson goes to see Irene at Battersea Power Station and they have that conversation where he says, “Why did you hurt him?” and I said to Martin, “It’s like you’re jealous.” He never played it like that, but I watched it where it was kind of affecting him on a deeper level. He didn’t get that. It was quite interesting. I said, “It’s quite homoerotic. It kind of is, because you live together and you’re both quite.... Sherlock’s really weird and he’s really straight, and there is that— there’s quite a homoerotic undertone.” I think there is. I know they didn’t play it like that, and I know that wasn’t what they thought of when they were filming it.

Kristina: It just kind of plays out that way, whether they want it to or not. There’s chemistry there. Basically it’s the roles that they have.

Amanda: Absolutely. It does.

Ardy: It tends to do with Holmes & Watsons though.

Amanda: And neither one can do without the other. That’s what’s so beautiful. They depend on each other. They need each other for different things. And you see that at the end. Watson’s bereft and he’s watching him… it’s beautiful.

Kristina: It is.

Amanda: I love it. I remember seeing one on the Internet. I think it was Daniel Radcliffe’s face, and someone had written on it that “he should be with Benedict. Martin should be with Benedict,” and I remember thinking—people actually do think that Martin and Benedict should be together. I was slightly worried, but Martin said it’s fine. People don’t really think that. And that’s fine.

Kristina: There will always be the slightly odd fans, and that comes with everything.

Amanda: Well, you know who they are—you just go, whoa, bye!

Kristina: Yeah, it’s like—hi, we’re gonna go.

Amanda: They’re so invested in it.

Kristina: I think, in general, how fandom works, it’s sort of like this big family, and if anyone acts out, it’s like, immediately, “You need to stop that!”

Amanda: Yeah, it’s great. You’re protective of the show and of Martin and Ben and the people that they love, and that’s one of the things that I love. I do. I love it. It’s really sweet and caring, and, like, everyone was very sweet when the picture of our children went up. Everyone was really lovely, and they were kind of very protective. Of course, we can’t do anything about that. It’s an unsolicited photograph. I had no idea it’d been taken, and the next thing, it was up. Martin and I are very, verycareful about not involving our children in any of this, but you know, they have to see their dad. We have to go down and see him, and you can’t stop people from photographing. We are so careful about not getting them involved in anything.

Kristina: Yeah, I know.

Amanda: Everybody was very lovely about making sure that came down.

Kristina: I haven’t seen it for a while. I think the issue was that when they first went up, there was a big attack. It was like, “Take it down!” And then new people came in with Series 2, and they didn’t realize. I hope that it’s well aware now.

Amanda: Yeah, it’s lovely, and I really appreciate it. It means a lot to me that you care about that concern. Thank you. I do appreciate it.

Kristina: So, what were the set visits like? Did you just go to the one?

Amanda: I took a few, but the Baker Street one was always attractive because it was easy to get to. That was just great, and the children loved it.

Kristina: Do they like seeing him act and everything?

Amanda: They love it—and just seeing Daddy as Watson. It’s a big thrill for them. My daughter—when she grows up, she wants to be Moriarty. And she will be! She’s terrifying. Were big fans in our house.

Kristina: Oh, and I have to say, your dogs are amazing and precious.

Amanda: Aren’t they? They’re ridiculous. I love them so much. They bark for England! When the doorbell rings Archie will literally bark for ten minutes. And this is for nothing in the end, he’s barking for no reason They’re a bit annoyed at the moment. They won’t walk in the rain. They just sit there. So they’ve had no walk for about two days, and then they get all cross with me, but they won’t go, so what can I do? I’ll not force you out, so they’re really cross with me at the moment. But they are lovely. Little Moriarchie.

Ardy: There was one that we were talking about earlier, and that is because you were saying that you started reading the stories and things. Is there, apart from the main characters, a favorite female character that you have, or someone that, if you were given the chance on the show, that you would like to play?

Amanda: [Laughs]

Kristina & Ardy: Hypothetically!

Ardy: Who’s your favorite?

Amanda: My favorite character is Irene, and I think Lara did it beautifully. She was a perfect Irene Adler. She was a real wonderful foil for Sherlock. She actually looked similar to him, which I loved.

Kristina: Yes, they were sort of like looking in a mirror, male and female.

Amanda: She played it perfectly, which was just wonderful. Who I’d like to play? … Mary would be nice…but, you know, I don’t know what will be next. It would be lovely to play any part in Sherlock. I’d love to be a part of Sherlock. It’s brilliant, but I’m working quite a lot—I’m doing a costume drama and then doing Case Histories again, and then hopefully another sitcom for Hartswood.

Kristina: Is that the pilot that you’re doing?

Amanda: Yeah. But it would be great to be in it. I’d love to. Mary’s a great character.

Baker Street Babes: Yeah she is

Amanda: I was reading about her and she’s beautiful, and she does die.

Kristina: Good old TB.

Amanda: Yeah, it’s a fantastic character. But I don’t know what they’re going to do with that.

Ardy: It was a hypothetical question.

Kristina: Completely hypothetical. We were asking the other Babes on this email chain that we have for any questions, and one of them was like, “Who do you want to play?” and everyone was like, “Should play Mary! Should play Mary!” I’m like, why would you do that? That would be heartbreaking to the extreme because she dies!

Amanda: Yeah! That would be great to play, wouldn’t it? I’d love that, to play that. Yes, we shall see.

Kristina: Obviously, you can’t tell us anything about Series 3, and we won’t ask any questions about Series 3, but when Martin gets the script, does he immediately tell you what’s going to happen? Do you have to pry it from him?

Amanda: He reads it, and then he comes and goes, “This is so good! Read it, please read it,” and I say, “No, I’m going to wait until it comes out,” but I think I read the Reichenbach [script] because he said, “Please read it. It’s so good.” But I generally don’t read his scripts. He will read them straightaway, and then he’s very, very, very excited for a long time. They’re so brilliantly written. It’s so good. Oh I’m such a big fan!

Kristina: I think we’re probably containing ourselves from fangirling him, because eyou’re his wife and it’s be a little weird. But he’s amazing!

Amanda: He is.

Kristina: One of the questions that one of our friends, Kristen McHugh wanted to ask, was, what do you fangirl?

Amanda: Oh, hang on, see, it’s all in my head. I do it a lot. Louis CK. Do you know Louis CK? He’s a standup comedian. Funniest man in the world. And I fangirl a lot over him. A lot. Yeah. He’s very funny. So yeah, I fangirl over him. Andrew [Scott] as well. I adore him. I met him for the first time. I’d been to an audition and I was in Covent Garden and Mark was doing the Recruiting Officer at the Donmar and I walked around the corner, and sitting outside a café was Mark with Andrew, and I just went—Hiiii! And Mark was like, “Hello, Darling, come and sit down for a coffee?” and I was like, “Really!? Oh my god!” and he got up and was like “Hello Amanda, I’ve never met you, you’re the only one I haven’t met” and I was like, “Hahaha!” and I was shaking! I was shaking! And it was pathetic. And that’s when I said, I want to go and see Bedtime Stories.

Kristina: Oh, okay. Yeah.

[Gesturing about the awkwardness of the encounter.]

Amanda: He was talking and was like “What do you think?” And I was like… “I’m sorry, what? I’m sorry… oh I’m sorry.” I’m a big stupid fan of his. I’m allowed. Martin says I’m allowed. I was such a fangirl. I’m like that with Ian McKellen. I met him, and Martin said, “I can always tell when you’re like really, really stupidly, like, in love with someone because you just go around going, “I think you’re so good!” So yeah, I get like that quite a lot. I love him [Andrew]. I love him! He’s just an amazing actor.

Kristina: No, he’s fantastic. I didn’t know about him until Sherlock,

Amanda: Neither did I!

Kristina: And it was like, who is this guy? In the first series in just how many minutes of screen time?

Baker Street Babes: Ten

Kristina: It was like, who is that?

Amanda: I asked, “Is he nice? Is he nice? Please tell me he’s lovely,” but he’s gorgeous.

Turk: Just after that episode I met him and I started running a fansite for him. Felt like I needed to be a proper fan and go and watch everything else he’d been in.

Amanda: His other stuff is amazing. It’s great. Yeah I’m a big fan. I’ve got a t-shirt with him on it. It’s pathetic isn’t it? It’s grey and it’s got an outline of him going “Westwood”.

Kristina: Oh that one, ok yeah.

Ardy: We know it.

Amanda: And I’ve got one with Benedict and Martin as Peanuts characters.

Kristina: I love that piece of art. It’s so adorable.

Amanda: I’ve got another one that says… oh God, this is pathetic. I’ve got a red one that says “Honey, you should see me in a crown.”

Kristina: I love that you own as many Sherlock shirts as I do.

Amanda: Martin says, “Please don’t wear them when you’re with me. Please.” I’m not allowed to wear them when I’m with him. I have to wear them when he’s off doing stuff. I have to restrict myself to when he’s off doing stuff. He thinks it would be a bit weird, and he’s right.

Turk: I have to make an active effort not to look like Andrew. So many times people tell me in the street for no reason, “You look like Moriarty!” We know, we’ve had a conversation about this. It killed the fangirl element for me. And I can’t fangirl him if I look like him. That’s just weird. It’d be like fangirling myself.

Amanda: That’s so sweet. He’s lovely. I love him.

Kristina: I couldn’t tell.

Amanda: I could happily watch him all day. And Martin. And Ben, actually!

Ardy: You sound very similar to us.

Kristina: So Lyndsay had a question because we obviously know that Martin is really into music. Do you have a favourite band that you like to listen to?

Amanda: At the moment? Alabama Shakes.

Kristina: I saw you tweet about that.

Amanda: Yes. He sent me a video link of them and said, “You’ve got to watch them because they really affected me.” He gets really affected by music. And I watched it and I was… the girl’s voice, it’s just, I don’t know where it comes from. She’s got this amazing sort of bluegrass voice, which is incredible. We’re gonna go and see them. I’m more eclectic.

Kristina: I think the one complaint that people have about Sherlock is the lack of behind-the-scenes things. We want a blooper reel so badly.

Amanda: I know!

Kristina: So do you have any amusing behind-the-scenes stories that you’re allowed to share?

Amanda: I don’t know. They got a question about it once as well, didn’t they? They don’t really get it wrong do they? I know they have a really good time there. They have such a good cast and crew and they get on really well. But no… I think there was one time when they were filming in a morgue and then they got snowed in in there and were quite scared about that. They had to get out really quicky. And the riots, when the riots happened and they had to leave the filming set. I’m not sure if they took stuff. I think they did. Things were stolen.

Kristina: Yeah, I think some of the lighting rig. It was it on tumblr. If you ever need any kind of news, tumblr has it immediately.

Amanda: They’re very quick.

Kristina: They are very dedicated.

Amanda: They are. It’s almost like they have a little mole somewhere. “Tell me something, tell me something!” They’re really fast.

Kristina: He’s going to be so offended if we don’t drink this. [the drink]

Amanda: I know! They’ll kick me out. I’ll get kicked out.

Turk: It’ll be like in that episode of Mr. Bean, where he hides the stuff in his pants.

Amanda: I can’t drink it. It tastes really weird.

Kristina: It is. It’s odd.

Amanda: I might have to drink it like this.

Kristina: Hopefully Katherine’s on her way now, so we can give it to her.

Amanda: Yeah. “Look, we got this for you!”

Kristina: “It’s a present!”

Amanda: Just drink it, Katherine, just drink it.

Babes: (laughter)

Turk: Then again she’s really big. She might get angry.

Kristina: She is ridiculously tall.

Amanda: Is she?

Turk: Yes. Like six foot or something.

Amanda: Is she really? That’s brilliant.

Turk: I’m 5’1’’, so it’s really quite a difference.

Kristina: She’s lovely. I can’t help but ask: Have you seen the “pocket Martin”?

Amanda: No?

Kristina: I think it came from some interview with Benedict where he said, “I’d like a pocket Martin, I think he’d make a very good pet”. And it’s obviously gone wild on tumblr and there’s all these pictures of Sherlock and then this tiny Martin somewhere.

Amanda: Aww! He is quite small.

Kristina: Perfectly Hobbit-sized though. How much has Sherlock changed your lives? In terms of his public image and everything.

Amanda: I think it finally got rid of the “Tim from The Office” character homage. It certainly moved him up in the eyes of the public.

Kristina: And then The Hobbit, it’s just going to… culminate with that.

Amanda: Well, obviously that.

Kristina: I’m excited to see it, for sure. I’m a huge Lord of the Rings fan, so when I heard they were making The Hobbit, I was like, “yay”. And then I heard Martin was going to be Bilbo and was like, “Oh my God! That’s perfect!”

Amanda: He has a passing resemblance to Ian Holm.

Ardy: Yes, he does! I noticed that.

Amanda: And he’s very similar in his acting as well. The bits I’ve seen are tremendous. You forget how huge a production it is, it’s enormous. The scale is ridiculous, but it’s like a well-oiled machine. Every cog works.

Kristina: I’m so excited.

Amanda: It’s not long, really.

Kristina: I know! Well, in comparison to Sherlock. The Hobbit definitely tops that.

Amanda: Long time with that! January they’re filming… so autumn?

Kristina: Yeah… the general consensus was that once it was released that it was going to be filming in early 2013, once we got over the 2013 bit, we realized it’s going to be on in the autumn. It’s going to be another eighteen months.

Amanda: It’s hard.

Kristina: But what with the rising profile for both of them and how long it actually takes to write it and film it, I guess it makes sense, if you’re going for that kind of quality. And also, we’re willing to wait because of how good it is.

Amanda: Yes!

Kristina: It sucks, but we’re willing to wait.

Amanda: I know. I know, because you know it’s going to be brilliant. It’s a very clever pedigree of people. They’ve got two strong women as producers.

Babes: Yesssss!

Amanda: Sue and Beryl are amazing.

Kristina: I’m a bit joking, like, yay for… I always call him “The Moff”, and Gatiss, but the Vertues behind everything.

Amanda: They’re incredible women. They’re amazing. And it’s so nice that they’re kind of running the show. Women running it! Women behind one of the best shows on television! How good is that? We need more strong women doing stuff like that.

Kristina: And doing it well.

Amanda: Yeah. I’m just thinking… I’m wondering if there is anything else that you’d like to know that I can tell you.

Babes: (laughter)

Ardy: I just want to say thank you so much for getting what fandom is all about and for being really appreciative of it. There are not that many people who are connected to shows who are understanding of it.

Amanda: I don’t really understand why. I love it. You know, I was a fan of Martin’s anyway. I’d watched him on telly. I’m an actress as well, so, well, I get to work with him, but yeah, I was a huge fan of him. I saw him in Bruiser. I remember sitting with my friend, going “He’s lovely, who’s that?” And then about two months later, I’m on a job, Men Only, and he walked past the make-up artist going “Hiiiii”. And I said to the make-up artist, “I just want a nice boyfriend. I haven’t got a boyfriend.” And she said, “There’s a young actor on here who’s looking for a nice girlfriend.” And then it came up on the radio, “Martin Freeman’s coming back,” and the make-up artist was like “this is him, this is him, just see what happens.” And he walked up and it was like a thunderbolt. I was like “okay…” And that’s really how it was.

Kristina: My heart is swelling for you. That’s such a sweet story.

Amanda: I was smitten. I still am. God, that so sick, isn’t it?

Kristina: I’m so in loooooooove.

Amanda: He’s so lovely.

Kristina: How long have you been together?

Amanda: It’s our 12-year anniversary in July. Crazy! That’s a long time to be with one person, when you say it out loud, Twelve years? I didn’t think I’d be with one person for that long.

Kristina: You’re stuck with each other.

Amanda: Yes! We’ll end up being really old and cantankerous together. Sitting on Brighton sea-front like that (mimes being an old arthritic lady) Remember? Remember when we met?

Babes: (amusement)

Kristina: Back to the whole fandom thing. There’s this thing that fans call “the Fourth Wall.” It’s like you appreciate something, but there’s never any direct contact. And I think everyone calls you “the fandom queen” now, because not only did you smash that wall, you sort of bulldozed it and set it on fire.

Amanda: Yes. People don’t like that, do they? Some people don’t like that. Some people get a little intimidated. By me being there.

Kristina: Yeah. I think at first because it was so much. There was you and then Martin did the pictures. It was all happening at once, so people were like, “what is going on?”

Amanda: I just wanted to say thank you. We still have a pile of postcards like that. I spent most of one morning putting them all out and photographing them. I haven’t put them up yet but I got to about the twentieth picture and I thought “What are you doing? Why are you taking pictures of postcards? Go do something constructive.” I know some fans don’t like it. They think it’s too weird. I’ve read “how could she do that? It’s just really weird.”

Ardy: It just kind of depends on how the contact is because I think it has the potential to make people uncomfortable. Because, you know, the things we draw and write, the whole homoeroticism thing. It’s like, I don’t really want the actors to know about it because I don’t know if it makes them uncomfortable. But if you’re like, “yeah, they’re really fine with it” so that’s great.

Amanda: I just, it doesn’t bother me at all. I just think, well, I used to do stuff. I mean, I didn’t have the internet when I was in my early twenties because I wasn’t into all that. But yeah, I used to fangirl over all sorts of different people. And it really doesn’t bother me.

Kristina: I think you just put a lot of people’s minds at rest. That is a thing that people always worry about: “Do they think we’re all really weird?”

Turk: I think you get some actors who discover the fandom and are like, “yay, let’s join in,” and you get some actors who discover it and run very far away and mention in every interview how scared they are. And we’re like, oops, what did we do?

Amanda: Yeah, and I think you’re doing a brilliant job. I think you’re doing it right. It’s not like you’re being vitriolic and hateful, you’re just saying you love that person’s acting and how you appreciate what they do. That’s not a bad thing. Okay, wait, here they are. So look. (shows us the pictures of the postcards they got)

Kristina: I like how you started out in rows and then it turned into piles.

Ardy: That’s massive.

Amanda: I know. I will put them up because Martin asked “How many have I got?” And I said, “Quite a few.” And he was like, “Wow!”

Kristina: I heard about it. I wasn’t able to send a postcard in but I saw it going around and I thought, oh, that’s a really cute idea. And then you took the picture of Martin holding them and I just thought “awww, he got them.”

Amanda: I think I said to him, “I think you should say thank you to everybody. Or should I just put some up?” I probably shouldn’t have put the one up that said fuck you on the font, in hindsight that probably wasn’t a good idea. But I remember somebody got really offended by it. I went on somebody’s tumblr account and they were saying things like “it’s really disgusting, she does all that stuff, she does that and then she doesn’t want pictures of their kids put up.” And I thought they got the wrong end of the stick. You know. He’s just saying thank you. That’s different from me saying “please would you mind taking down the pictures of our children, who have never been in the public eye, because I don’t want my children on the internet.” I nearly wrote to her, but then I thought, I’m not going to. I’ll take the dignified side. But I got really cross! It was a really irrational thing to say. But that was one in thousands of people who were all like “yay” and thought it was really nice. She did get really cross. I offended someone by being nice, that’s weird.

Kristina: There will always be that one person that gets really angry, and unfortunately they always stick out.

Amanda: A lot of people did reply on my behalf and said “oh, stop being ridiculous!” That was very nice. People were very supportive.

Kristina: Yes. You’re very, very well-loved.

Amanda: Aw. You’re so lovely. I love the fact that you love Martin. That makes me feel very happy and very warm inside, because it’s always nice to be appreciated and loved and there’s not enough of that in the world at the moment.

Kristina: Very true.

Amanda: So the fact that you love him and you love the show and you love what he does is great. It’s fine. It’s brilliant. I think you’re all lovely. You’re my poppets.

Babes: (laughter)

Amanda: (sips the weird drink) I’m drinking that because I’m feeling sorry for the man.

Kafers joins, finally…

Amanda: Hello.

Kafers: I’m not fashionably late. Pleasure to meet you.

Amanda: How are you, darling? Drink this, it’s delicious.

Babes: (laughter)

Kafers: What is it?!

Amanda: I ordered a thing called The Heart Shake. He made me buy it. I said “what is it” and he said “get it”. You can try it if you want.

Kafers: I’m feeling swayed, because I’ve just been in the rain and I’ve been on the train for a very long time.

Everyone: Try it. Drink it.

Amanda: It’s lovely. It’s really nice. I love it. Best thing I’ve ever had. (meanwhile, everyone else breaks down giggling)

Kafers: (drinks) Is it like… (pulls a face)

Amanda: That was everyone’s reaction.

Kafers: What is that?

Amanda: I don’t know! I asked what was in it and he said something I couldn’t hear and then “Jack Daniels,” and I was like “huh?” I’m driving. I have to look after my children and cook Sunday lunch for my parents, so I’m not going to drink that. I’ll be driving like that (miming bad, alcoholised driving)

Kristina: “I had a shake thing!”

Kafers: It’s interesting.

Amanda: We’ve been having a really nice chat. I’m sorry you missed it!

Kafers: No, no, it’s fine. I meant to get a train at eight o’clock and it was cancelled because of engineering works or some such thing. So they kicked us all off and we had to go on another train, and then that one was late as well…

Amanda: I couldn’t get out of the end of my road. It’s a country lane and the bottom of it was flooded. I had to really drive slowly. I have a little Mini, and I was going “please don’t drown, please don’t drown.” So it took a while to get out of my road.

Kristina: It has been a bit miserable weather wise…

Amanda: One month’s rain in a day today, apparently.

Babes: Yup.

Ardy: It’s the wettest drought I’ve ever seen.

Amanda: Isn’t it? I saw a bus going past when I was standing there with my umbrella and was drenched, and on the side of the bus it said “Drought. Look after the water.” What are you talking about? This is the wrong kind of rain, apparently. It’s the wrong kind of rain. It doesn’t stay. Really? I wonder what happens to it then.

Kafers: I was walking to the station this morning and I always take a shortcut which is a bit of a gamble when it’s raining because they sometimes close the flood barrier, which involves having to climb over it to then to take the shortcut. But I was lucky. It wasn’t high enough for them to justify closing the flood barrier.

Amanda: It will be when you go home.

Turk: It was sunny when I was getting the train yesterday and thought, “oh, I don’t need my big coat. I’ll just pull this over, I’ll be fine.” And then the wet was seeping up through my socks.

Amanda: Did you come down last night?

Turk: Yes. Leaving tomorrow.

Amanda: For this? That’s so gorgeous! This is why I love you all, because you do lovely things like this. That’s so sweet. I feel like I should take you back to my house and give you some hot tea.

Kafers: We are like the stray cats. We would be like “yes, we’d love some tea.”

Kristina: If we were meeting at some random place, I was so tempted to ask you to bring the dogs.

Amanda: Aw, no! When you come down next time, we will meet up and you can see the dog. I’ll dress Archie up as Moriarty. He doesn’t don’t mind getting dressed up, actually. I used to put an old football kit on him and he just sat like that. Absolutely still. When I took it off, he ran around, but as soon as you put anything on him, like, a hat, he just sits there.

Kafers: It’s because they can’t look up, so they don’t know what it is.

Turk: Our cat’s the opposite. You can put anything on. She wouldn’t stay. And you can’t get her back, so she’s usually covered in bells, and she’s ringing.

Kafers: I feel obliged to finish off whatever this is. [the drink]

Ardy: I’ll help you.

Amanda: We’ll have to drink it because I feel really bad.

Kafers: What is in it?

Amanda: Don’t try! We spent all the time trying to figure out what it was.

Ardy: The only things I can taste are Jack Daniels and peanut butter.

Amanda: Yes, it smells like peanut butter. And milk. Disgusting combination.

Kristina (to Kafers): You have to ask Sherlock questions now because you missed everything. I am charging you.

Amanda: Yeah, exactly! Do you like it?

Kafers: Well… um, I don’t know.

Kristina: She’s the one who watched Reichenbach on the train down.

Amanda: Aw…

Kafers: I was like this, next to this guy who was, like, a bit from Peterborough. And I sat there and… I didn’t cry when Sherlock jumped off the building. But when John is at the grave and he’s talking to the grave, I was there, like, sobbing. There were all these people giving me odd looks.

Amanda: I cry every single time.

Kristina: So you actually watched it with Martin when you first watched it, yeah?

Kafers: Does he do that thing where he’s like, “oh, this bit’s coming up next”?

Amanda: No, he doesn’t do that. We watched it together for the first time, he hadn’t seen it. So we watched it together for the first time and I punched him afterwards.

Babes: (laughter)

Kafers: I would! I was really emotional.

Amanda: I punched him really hard in the arm, I was so excited about it. I went “You BASTARD!” and I punched him, and he went, “OWWW!” I was too excited. “Don’t make me cry, you horribleman!”

Kafers: I did have one question that I prepared and it’s a completely random question. If they ever did a version of Sherlock Holmes where the cast was all-female, who would be in it?

Amanda: Oh god! Me as Watson! No. Do you know who’s good? Jessica Stevenson. She’s really good. She’d be really good in it. Um. Who would I have as Sherlock? That’s such a good question!

Kafers: In your mental cast list.

Amanda: It could be anybody?

Kafers: Anybody. It doesn’t have to be British, they can put on an accent.

Amanda: Okay. No they’d have to be British.

Kristina: Let’s keep the soul correct.

Amanda: Oh Lord! Oh, that’s such a good question.

Kafers: I can’t believe you haven’t asked that question.

Kristina: Well, we asked if she would be in Sherlock, who she’d be. Hypothetically. She can’t tell us anything about Series 3.

Kafers: This is a purely conjectural conversation.

Amanda: Well, I’d love to play Watson. Can we have a female Moriarty?

Kafers: Oh absolutely.

Kristina: Completely gender-swapped.

Amanda: Oh, so Lestrade… and we’d have a Mr. Hudson.

Kafers: Like a doddery old man.

Amanda: Doddery old man? My dad. Oh no… can I think about this and email you my answers?

Babes: Absolutely!

Amanda: I will take some serious time on this. I will go through IMDB and work out who my favourite actresses are and I will compile a list and synopsis and everything.

Kafers: This is a really important topic to me, I feel that this is something that needs to happen.

Amanda:Yes! I think they should absolutely do that!

Kafers: It’s been done in Russia, in the Victorian world.

Amanda: Fantastic! Brilliant. Better than the American’s, “Elementary”…

Babes: Yeaaaaaaaaaah…

Kristina: I’m genuinely not opening that can of worms, because it’s going to be like, “WHYYYYY?”

Kafers: We’ll still have to watch it though.

Ardy: Yeah. Just to know what it’s like.

Kristina: I just want to know why they didn’t genderswap both of them.

Amanda: I know!

Kafers: I think Lucy Liu should be playing Sherlock.

Kristina: Yes.

Ardy: There were two people on tumblr who’d read the script and kind of said what it was all about. You kind of read that and you’re like “well, what is even happening?”

Amanda: Yeah. Don’t do it. You don’t have to do everything! They are so insistent on remaking stuff that we do. Just do your own! You’re making really good stuff!

Kristina: Yes! Just be original. Please!

Kafers: Life on Mars. Enough said.

Ardy: Don’t. Just don’t.

Kristina: The thing about American versions of things is that when they find out it’s not working, they just cancel it. It’s like, “you just wasted all that money and all that time, why didn’t you just leave it as it was and just show the original?”

Amanda: I know. “Oh, it’s not working, byyyyyye!” But I would want to see it. I like Jonny Lee Miller, I think he’s brilliant. I was supposed to be learning lines this afternoon, but I’m going to spend most of my afternoon thinking about that

Kafers: That’s what I like to hear. I was supposed to be working yesterday. I did all my work in about an hour between nine and ten last night.

Amanda: Well, it’s lots of lines, that’s right. But as I say, I’m going to spend the majority of my day deciding who would be in the female Sherlock cast.

Kafers: Every time I watch a film or TV series, I’m always on IMDB on my mother’s iPad, finding out who everybody is. It’s become like a second limb for everybody in the house.

Amanda: Yeah. We’re always like, “who was that actor who was in…ah, let’s have a look.”

Kristina: IMDB it. It’s a verb, like “Google” is now.

Turk: I don’t need IMDB if I’m there.. I just memorise everyone.

Amanda: That’s brilliant. So, who are your favourite characters in Sherlock? You don’t have to say Martin just because I’m married to him.

Babes: (laughter)

Ardy: OK, honestly? I tuned in—I watched it on iPlayer when it was first on—and five seconds into it, I was like “Who is this guy who plays Watson and why do I not know about him?”, because he’s amazing. So that would have to be it for me for favourite male. Favourite female is really really tough. I think Una Stubbs is amazing as Mrs. Hudson.

Amanda: She looks exactly like my mum.

Kafers: Does she?

Amanda: Yes. The image of my mum. It’s brilliant.

Ardy: But I think they’re all brilliant.

Kristina: I’m such a Molly fan. I love her.

Ardy: It’s what she did in the last episode.

Kafers: She’s proper my homegirl.

Amanda: I love Mrs Hudson. There’s that line where she says “you shot it” or something, it’s like the doorbell goes, and something about something he broke and it’s just like “He shot it.”

Kristina: Yes. It’s like “Of course he did.”

Kafers: It’s when she finds the things in the fridge as well.

Amanda: And my friend Zoe Telford played Sarah.

Kafers: I really liked her! I was really disappointed she didn’t come back in the second series.

Ardy: They said she was going to.

Amanda: She was great. (To Turk) How about you?

Turk: Moriarty.

Amanda: Yeah! What he does is ridiculous. (To Kristina) What about you?

Kristina: I’m a Sherlock girl. Because I was very much in the camp that Sherlock Holmes should be Victorian. But everyone just kept talking about it, so I was like, “Fine, I’ll watch it.” And… it’s perfect. I watched the first episode and I watched the next two, and then it was like, “That’s the end,” and I screamed. That’s it? There’s no more? Being American, I’m used to ridiculously long seasons. And then I was like, “There’s only three? And it ends like that?”

Amanda: Yes! The Americans were like “What? What? Hang on. Where are the others?”

Kristina: All my friends were asking, “Does anyone know where the next couple of episodes of Sherlock are?”

Amanda: Yeah. We’re just going to give you that. See how you get on with that. And the wait a year.

Kristina: A year and a half! I just love that we thought of every single outcome possible…and then it was the Bee Gees. No one had thought of that.

Kafers: Didn’t we have a whole conjecture about what we thought would happen?

Ardy: We spent eighteen months theorising.

Kristina: None of us thought about a phone going off.

Amanda: I love it when he goes, “Sorry.”

Kafers: I just love that “I will make you into shoooooes.”

Amanda: I love him. I love him.

Kristina: She’s a huge Andrew Scott fan.

Kafers: It’s so scary. He’s such a nice man. I remember meeting him once at the National Theatre, and it’s just like, “You’re such a nice man, how are you so terrifying?”

Turk: He comes out and hugs everyone and you’re like, “but you’re evil!”

Babes: (laughter, giggles)

Ardy: There’s a lot of Jack Daniels in this.

Kristina: Don’t die!

Kafers: Let’s put this down now.

Ardy: I’m very tipsy.

Kafers: Have some tea.

Ardy: No, I’m not stealing your tea. I’m stealing her cocktail, I’m not stealing your tea. I can’t do this.

Kristina: Right. Before we wrap it up, I have presents for you. Do you remember Caitlin, who did the Martin song?

Amanda: Yes.

Kristina: Well, something was emailed to me last night, for you.

Amanda: She hasn’t.

Kristina: She has.

Amanda: Oh my God.

Kristina: It’s so lovely. It’s called “Amanda Abbington is the Nicest Person in the Northern Hemisphere.”

Ardy: You should have told me, I could have brought headphones.

Kafers: I’ve got headphones.

Amanda: Oh, I’ve got headphones! I’m going to be really antisocial for about three minutes. Oh my God, that’s amazing! I love her!

Kristina: She’s so awesome. She does our theme song and she’s done a lot of amazing songs.

Amanda: She’s brilliant. I sent it to Martin and he’s like “Oh yeah I know it!” I was like “What do you mean you know it?! I said “I thought I had discovered something amazing.” He said “no you have, she’s brilliant!”, “Well why didn’t you tell me?!”

Kristina: Caitlin’s going to die.

Amanda: Okay, back in a minute!

[Song]

Amanda: Oh my goooooood. Can you send that to me? Will you? Oh my god that’s so- oh wow. I just wish she could sing and write music that’s all… she’s not very good---- I’m joking.

Babes: [hysterical laughter]

Kristina: That is so staying in!

Kafers: Across the world, Caitlin is like… a chill just went down my spine!

Amanda: She’s actually a bitch! That was amazing, oh wow. I think I’m going to put that on my playlist!

Kristina: Now you can tease Martin and be like, nyah! I have a song too now!

Amanda: And I’m not going to play it for you! I didn’t hear yours, I had to find yours on the internet! Oh wow. You are all delightful and I love you. I think you’re gorgeous. Thank you so much I’ve had the best time!

Happy 153rd Birthday Arthur!

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Mon, 21 May 2012 23:39:35 PDT

Happy 153rd Birthday Sir Arthur! May your day be filled full of fairies, haggis, and books… and not that pesky detective you kind of hated but everyone loves you for.

We owe you so much.

Happy Birthday old boy!

Help Save Undershaw

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Sun, 20 May 2012 11:17:09 PDT

As some of you may know, the judicial review for Undershaw will be taking place this Wednesday, May 23rd. There is still time to help!

- The easiest thing you can do is “Like” the Save Undershaw Facebook page. They have reached their goal of 12,000 fans, but you can never have enough support. So if you haven’t clicked “Like” yet, go and do it.

- You can purchase Sherlock’s Home: the Empty House. You can currently order it on Book Depository and they are shipping within 48 hours. You can also visit the book’s page on Amazon and Amazon.co.uk and hit the “Like” button there as well. All royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to the Undershaw Preservation Trust for campaign expenses.

- You can also purchase Alistair Duncan’s book An Entirely New Country in our bookshop. According to Alistair’s website 50% of the net royalties will be placed at the disposal of The Undershaw Preservation Trust.

SPREAD THE WORD! Be creative. Tell your friends. Make a sign. Take a photo. Just get the word out to Save Undershaw!

Sherlock and Transmedia Fandom: Essays on the BBC Series

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:04:37 PDT

The critically-acclaimed BBC television series Sherlock (2010- ) re-envisions Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective for the digital age, joining participants in the active traditions of Sherlockians/Holmesians and fans from other communities, including science fiction, media, and anime. This collection explores the cultural intersections and fan traditions that converge in Sherlock and its fandoms. Essays focus on the industrial and cultural contexts of Sherlock’s release, on the text of Sherlock as adaptation and transformative work, and on Sherlock’s critical and popular reception.

The volume’s multiple perspectives examine Sherlock Holmes as an international transmedia figure with continued cultural impact, offering insight into not only the BBC series itself, but also into its literary source, and with it, the international resonance of the Victorian detective and his sidekick.

Introduction is by our own Lyndsay Faye!

Buy it on [Amazon] now.

Review: Psychic Lies & Mental Spies

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:08:46 PDT

“Psychic Lies & Mental Spies”
by Joe Riggs
Reviewed by Maria Fleischhack
The Baker Street Babes

Have you ever wanted to think like Sherlock Holmes? Have you wondered how that “mind palace” or “memory attic” works which has recently been mentioned in Sherlock BBC’s “Hounds of Baskerville”, and which Doyle wrote of in “A Study in Scarlet”? Have you been impressed by the great detective’s deductive powers and been envious of his abilities? Joe Riggs, who is sometimes called the “real Sherlock Holmes,” has written a book to show us how we can do it, too.

Joe Riggs begins his book with congratulating the reader on even coming as far as reading the first lines of it; and in a sense that is very understandable. From a first impression, the book might seem like just another weird pamphlet about psychic powers and mentalists; something which one might find in a New Age book shop in a little side street. But once you get reading, it becomes obvious very quickly that the author is not trying to teach us any supernatural powers and explain how to communicate with the dead; no, quite the opposite is true. Having grown up among mentalists and psychics and having witnessed how they often use their abilities to play with the emotions of those asking for their help, Riggs decides to show us how they work. And not only does he let us look in his cards, so to speak, but he also teaches us some tricks to further our own mental abilities and observational skills.

Riggs uses Sherlock Holmes’s character both as an example and an inspiration to show how capable we all are of using our minds way beyond what we think we can do. He talks about the tools he uses in his work as a mentalist, giving each of us a chance to enhance our learning abilities and become better observers.

“It‘s time to learn some wonderfully mental things,” he writes; and this is what the book offers us. It is a wonderful guide working with Riggs’s own experiences, scientific discoveries and logical explanations in a way which is not at all patronising, but helpfully suggesting how we can become more aware, healthy and perceptible of our surroundings.

Appealing to the reader, Riggs promises that everyone who finishes the book will be surprised by what they can achieve; and believe it or not, it is not an empty promise. Joe Riggs explains to us which devices he uses “as a Mentalist that can expand your mind-power, super charge your memory, heighten your deductive and observational powers, and transform the way you think.” Yes, he offers tips how to build our very own mind palace and how to easily memorise large numbers … or our shopping list. In addition, he explains how to read people by becoming aware of the mechanics of non-verbal communication. Remember Doctor Lightman in “Lie to Me”? Yes, that is exactly what we are talking about here; only that Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Lightman are fictional characters, whereas their techniques are very real and, let’s face it, very cool.

“Psychic Lies & Mental Spies” is out today. For more information, visit Joe Riggs’s website or you can buy the book from Amazon.

Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Affair in Transylvania

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:11:43 PDT

Sherlock Holmes and the Affair in Transylvania
by Gerry O'Hara
Reviewed by Maria Fleischhack
The Baker Street Babes

Sherlock Holmes and the Affair in Transylvania is John Watson’s account of a case which leads him and Holmes to encounter Count Dracula. The beginning of the novel harks back to the beginning of the film “The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes”. We learn that this affair belongs to a cluster of cases that were not fit for publication in the lifetime of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Therefore, the case of Count Dracula was disclosed fifty years after their deaths.

The case papers are narrated by John Watson in the usual fashion of a detailed account of events from his point of view. O’Hara’s Watson sounds quite a bit like Doyle’s, with few liberties on the author’s side, which are not at all detrimental to the story.

What we read is the story of Dracula in every sense of the word. While Holmes and Watson are away in Romania for a case, Watson receives a letter from his nice Mina, who lives in Budapest, and who is asking for help to find her disappeared husband Janos. Holmes and Watson travel to Hungary to meet Mina and her friend Lucy Westenra, and take on the case. Soon they find themselves on their way back to Romania and to Dracula’s castle.

What follows is a surprisingly entertaining retelling of the story of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. While some of the protagonists, like Mina and Lucy Westenra, are borrowed directly from the story, others, like Janos, are loosely based on the text’s original characters. Budapest serves as the equivalent of London and Sherlock Holmes himself takes on the role of Van Helsing.

The voices of Holmes and Watson are delightfully similar to Doyle’s characters and despite the fact that the adventure they experience is very familiar to everyone who has read Stoker’s Dracula, the novel manages to be suspenseful and surprising. This can be attributed to the new narrative perspective, which is limited to that of John Watson instead of the epistolary form of diary entries and letters in Stoker’s text. The familiar voice of John Watson guides the reader not only through the adventures, but also through Holmes’ deductions, effortlessly connecting the two literary worlds through the eyes of the narrator.

Sherlock Holmes and the Affair in Transylvania is an entertaining and smooth read. It is a new take on a familiar story which works surprisingly well. O’Hara constantly refers to past cases and therefore links his own story to Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories; so fans of the original Holmes will smile and nod to themselves when they find these references. And while it might not be a typical Holmes story for the many supernatural elements in it, it is nevertheless a book which caters to both fans of Doyle’s and fans of Stoker’s works. It is a funny, delightful and very intelligent retelling of two of the most beloved Victorian works of fiction and I can wholeheartedly recommend it!

You can buy the book in The Baker Street Babes Bookshop!

Review: An Entirely New Country

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:53:05 PDT

An Entirely New Country

By Alistair Duncan

Reviewed by Maria Fleischhack

The Baker Street Babes

Being familiar with Alistair Duncan through the Save Undershaw campaign, I was very interested in reading An Entirely New Country, which is set against the backdrop of the ten years Arthur Conan Doyle spent at Undershaw, the house he designed and had built for his family in the 1890s. I had also read Andrew Lycett’s biography of Doyle and was curious to see how Duncan would write about those significant years in Doyle’s life.

An Entirely New Countryis a detailed account of ten of the most important and productive years in the life of Arthur Conan Doyle. This window into the life of the author, sportsman, politician, husband, father and friend is framed by Doyle’s life in Undershaw, Hindhead; the home which he designed and had built for himself and his family and where he moved in 1897. The ulterior motif for the move to Surrey was the health of Doyle’s wife Louise, who suffered from tuberculosis. The healthy environment of Hindhead did indeed help her to live much longer than any physician had dared to hope. However, it is also known that Doyle fell in love with a much younger woman, who would eventually become his wife after Louise’s death. The difficult situation Doyle found himself in and the rather insensitive way in which he dealt with it is only one of the focal points of An Entirely New Country. Duncan manages to depict Doyle as the private man; the man who always consulted his mother before making any major and even minor decisions; the man who dined with royalty and who moved in the highest political and social circles; the man who stood up for a completely unknown man named George Edalji, because he believed he had been erroneously convicted of a crime he had never committed.

Duncan makes extensive use of contemporary newspaper articles, letters and diary entries to paint a very vivid and round picture of the beloved author. As pointed out by Mark Gatiss in the introduction to the book, Conan Doyle’s many roles in life are brought into focus and insights into his private life shed new light on Arthur Conan Doyle - the man. The book is a pot of gold where it comes to details and unknown facts about Doyle’s life, which add up to a much larger and more concise picture of a man who has done and achieved more than seems humanly possibly in one lifetime

An Entirely New Country is a biography, but Duncan’s subtle humour makes it much more than just a collection of facts and dates. The commentary on the different aspects of Conan Doyle’s life and interactions with his friends and acquaintances helps to see a much more private person; a person who failed his loved ones; who, despite his best efforts, did not always succeed; and a man, who did not particularly like his most famous and beloved character: Sherlock Holmes. Many things have been written about Arthur Conan Doyle, both good and bad; but Duncan’s book manages to offer a deeper understanding of the intentions and motivations of the polymath, who helped shape his times and who is still a well beloved and widely read author.

The book is a brilliant read, never boring and it leaves one with a very vivid image of Doyle at the turn of the century. Alistair Duncan added profoundly to the already extensive source material we have on Doyle, and I highly and whole-heartedly recommend the book to anyone who is interested in Doyle and his contemporaries.

You can buy this book in the Baker Street Babes Bookshop!

Episode 26: Lara Pulver & Irene Adler

BakerStreetBabes@gmail.com (Kristina Manente) — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:04:54 PDT

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[Listen] [Transcript]

In Sherlock she was the dominatrix that brought a nation to its knees. A far cry from the Adler of canon, but with the same essence of adventure and mischief. Lara Pulver's Irene turned heads and caused controversy, and we feel that's just what Adler of the canon would have wanted. Lara Pulver chats with Curly, Lyndsay, Maria, and Jenn about her turn as The Woman. We geek out about McQueen and sexual identity, and reveal the secret to beating Benedict Cumberbatch at word games.
Lyndsay & Curly do a brief introduction which has Star Trek casting spoilers for Benedict, so if you want to avoid that, skip to 10 minutes in.

A full transcript of this episode is [HERE]

Make sure you watch Sherlock on PBS Masterpiece: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/ And follow along with our live tweets during the show! Next up is The Hounds of Baskerville!

You can follow Lara on twitter at @larapulver