'Sherlock' Season 4 Air Date, Premiere & Trailer: Steven Moffat Explains Why 'The Abominable Bride' is Perfect for Victorian Special; Sherlock Holmes Falling In Love in Season 4?
The plot of "The Abominable Bride" may not be your typical "Sherlock" story as it veers away from the series' aim of modernizing the famous detective. But now that Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Dr. Watson (Martin Freeman) are returning to the Victorian times, "Sherlock" creator Steven Moffat discusses how a ghost story is just perfect for the setting.
Moffat talked on Asbury Park Press’ “Fan Theory” podcast, where he said, "We’d been talking for ages, (asking), ‘Could we ever justify a 10-minute sequence where they dress up just for the hell of it?’ Then, we thought, ‘You know what? We’ve got this special to make, why don’t we just blatantly do the whole thing Victorian?'"
The creator then talked how they had to solidify the Victorian concept by thinking of one thing that will not translate to modern-day Sherlock Holmes.
“Then, we had to sort of justify that…and really, the one thing that doesn’t travel to the modern day about Sherlock Holmes is the Victorian ghost story," Moffat revealed. “Ghost stories are better in Victorian times, that’s just a fact. They still make Victorian ghost stories because that’s where they belong. So, we thought, ‘Well, it’s got to be a ghost story, because that is the one thing that somehow the modern day doesn’t really work for.”
Meanwhile, Cross Map reports that more shocking revelations may come for "Sherlock" Season 4, including the famous detective being in love and his sexual orientation.
According to the news outlet, there has been much speculation about Sherlock's sexuality and his level of affection for Dr. Watson, especially when Cumberbatch said something intriguing during an interview with Nerdist in 2014. The British actor compared Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who, saying, "They've got different dress senses, different taste in the sex of their partners..."
However, Cumberbatch was quick to straighten out the gay Sherlock angle in an interview with Vulture, where he said, "He's asexual. He doesn't want any, and it's very purposeful on his part...he's purposely abstaining for the sake of his craft."
Moffat also explained to Entertainment Weekly that Sherlock is not interested in sex. However, “everyone wants to believe he's gay. He's not gay. He's not straight. And Doctor Watson is very clear that he prefers women. People want to fantasize about it. It's fine. But it's not in the show."