154
AdAptAtion in the Age of MediA ConvergenCe
has been widely marketed and disseminated (with the BBC receiving
much of the f inancial benef it). 83 As has also been noted, Cumberbatch
and Freeman are too much in demand as f ilm and stage actors to be
able to commit to regular shooting schedules of the kind that have seen
Sherlock’s American rival, Elementary, clock up well over one hundred
episodes to Sherlock’s mere thirteen. As this chapter has further argued,
Sherlock’s creators now feel they have to make allowances for the fans
who will congregate to watch location sequences being shot, in addition
to the ongoing pressures of time and money on any f ilming schedule.
The longer it takes for new series to be f ilmed, too, the more likely it is
that a fan writer will come up with a story that anticipates the “off icial”
Sherlock narrative, getting there f irst and making a new series seem
already played-out by the time it airs.
Perhaps most significantly, as Sherlock’s global audience grows, with most
of these new viewers (in China for example) accessing the show online, Gatiss
and Moffat are unable to control the way that the show is consumed and
interpreted in other cultures. 84 Due to the delay in international broadcasting
of series three (it was not shown on PBS in the USA, for instance, until
nearly three weeks later), the initial reaction to the series came from British
viewers and critics, and this essay has followed that line in highlighting
some British contexts for the series’ jokes about Boris Johnson and Rupert
Murdoch. However, the growing international popularity of Freeman and
Cumberbatch – their success in the neoliberal global market for actors – may
place the determination of meaning even further out of the series’ creators’
grasp.
Works Cited
Adams, Guy. Sherlock: The Casebook. London: BBC Books, 2012.
BBC. “Commercial Activity.” 2014. Accessed April 27, 2015. www.bbc.co.uk/annualreport/2014/executive/finances/commercial.html.
―. “Live Q&A with Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss.” Last modified January 12,
2014. Accessed December 27, 2014. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03pzpgy/live.
83 The BBC’s Annual Report for 2013/14 notes that “BBC Worldwide’s best performing programme
of the year was Sherlock Series 3,” and that this contributed strongly to BBC Worldwide’s headline
profit of £157m, up by 1% from the previous year. See “Commercial Activity.”
84 See Lori Morimoto’s article on the dynamics of Benedict Cumberbatch’s global fame and
how it is affecting casting choices. Morimoto, “Doctor Strange in a Strange Land.”
AdAptAtion in the Age of MediA ConvergenCe
has been widely marketed and disseminated (with the BBC receiving
much of the f inancial benef it). 83 As has also been noted, Cumberbatch
and Freeman are too much in demand as f ilm and stage actors to be
able to commit to regular shooting schedules of the kind that have seen
Sherlock’s American rival, Elementary, clock up well over one hundred
episodes to Sherlock’s mere thirteen. As this chapter has further argued,
Sherlock’s creators now feel they have to make allowances for the fans
who will congregate to watch location sequences being shot, in addition
to the ongoing pressures of time and money on any f ilming schedule.
The longer it takes for new series to be f ilmed, too, the more likely it is
that a fan writer will come up with a story that anticipates the “off icial”
Sherlock narrative, getting there f irst and making a new series seem
already played-out by the time it airs.
Perhaps most significantly, as Sherlock’s global audience grows, with most
of these new viewers (in China for example) accessing the show online, Gatiss
and Moffat are unable to control the way that the show is consumed and
interpreted in other cultures. 84 Due to the delay in international broadcasting
of series three (it was not shown on PBS in the USA, for instance, until
nearly three weeks later), the initial reaction to the series came from British
viewers and critics, and this essay has followed that line in highlighting
some British contexts for the series’ jokes about Boris Johnson and Rupert
Murdoch. However, the growing international popularity of Freeman and
Cumberbatch – their success in the neoliberal global market for actors – may
place the determination of meaning even further out of the series’ creators’
grasp.
Works Cited
Adams, Guy. Sherlock: The Casebook. London: BBC Books, 2012.
BBC. “Commercial Activity.” 2014. Accessed April 27, 2015. www.bbc.co.uk/annualreport/2014/executive/finances/commercial.html.
―. “Live Q&A with Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss.” Last modified January 12,
2014. Accessed December 27, 2014. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03pzpgy/live.
83 The BBC’s Annual Report for 2013/14 notes that “BBC Worldwide’s best performing programme
of the year was Sherlock Series 3,” and that this contributed strongly to BBC Worldwide’s headline
profit of £157m, up by 1% from the previous year. See “Commercial Activity.”
84 See Lori Morimoto’s article on the dynamics of Benedict Cumberbatch’s global fame and
how it is affecting casting choices. Morimoto, “Doctor Strange in a Strange Land.”