Sherlock and Arthur Dent

[watervole]

Just watched the second episode of 'Sherlock'.

Was I spotting an Hitchhiker's homage there?

(Martin Freeman played Arthur Dent in the movie) and the scene of Watson struggling with the supermarket checkout was pure Arthur Dent. (And I saw floor number 42 picked out as well)

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Comments

[steverogerson]

I spotted the 42 as well and wondered if it was deliberate.

[kalypso_v]

Well, if they accidentally sent the writer the script for the Hitchhiker film instead of the one for the previous week's episode, that might explain why it appeared to come from a completely different series.

[watervole]

I think the intent of this one was to have more of a Conan-Doyle flavour. All the stuff about Chinese gangs felt very like one of the original stories.

[kalypso_v]

Yes, but it came across as Fiendish Oriental Hokum. There has to be a way to do Chinese gangs as terrifying and contemporary and still Chinese, but they didn't find it. Even Watson's remark about the audience being so small it must be art was off; I've been to traditional Chinese drama, and it drew a crowd of several hundred.

I thought Caitlin Moran's appreciation in The Times was surprisingly on the ball (except she's clearly on the wrong track with Moriarty!)

[watervole]

I thought the audience size wrong too.

The Times article is payment only.

[alexmc]

> Was I spotting an Hitchhiker's homage there?

I seem to see them a lot in Moffat's writing.