Sherlock goes up against the powerful and seemingly unassailable Culverton Smith - a man with a very dark secret indeed.Sherlock goes up against the powerful and seemingly unassailable Culverton Smith - a man with a very dark secret indeed.Sherlock goes up against the powerful and seemingly unassailable Culverton Smith - a man with a very dark secret indeed.
Sian Brooke
- Elizabeth
- (as Siân Brooke)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe title, The Lying Detective (2017), is based on the name of a Sherlock Holmes short story titled "The Adventure of the Dying Detective"; and, as in this episode, the antagonist is Culverton Smith (Toby Jones).
- GoofsWhen Sherlock examines the mysterious note, he notes that it is creased from being folded tightly and faded from being pinned to the wall, but the spot of dried blood is still red. Blood is only red when oxygenated, and a spot on a piece of paper would not stay red for very long. When blood is completely dry, it appears brown like rust.
- Quotes
Sherlock Holmes: Taking your own life. Interesting expression. Taking it from who? Once it's over, it's not you who'll miss it. Your own death is something that happens to everybody else. Your life is not your own. Keep your hands off it.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards (2017)
- SoundtracksHymn to Joy
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Featured review
"The Lying Detective" is an episode full of suspension but it's the brilliant writing and acting that makes it into an unforgettable episode
This has to be one of my favorite episodes of the show's run, it truly was 89 minutes of full of suspension and tension, with me on the edge of my seat. "The Lying Detective" had award worthy performances, stellar writing, and was just brilliantly shot. I want to keep this spoiler free so I won't go into any details, but with this episode showing us the aftermath of Mary Watson's death (which happened in the previous episode) I can only say this, they executed it perfectly and brought us an episode to remember. "The Lying Detective" is a great example of why brilliant storytelling and writing is so important for an episode of television, the director created an episode I could easily say is a masterpiece in its genre, both for the show but also as an standalone episode of television.
Sherlock goes up against the powerful and seemingly unassailable Culverton Smith - a man with a very dark secret indeed.
Having Culverton Smith be inspired by infamous serial killer H. H. Holmes (who was an avid reader of the Sherlock Holmes stories) and Jimmy Savile who are the most prolific child rapist in English history. Culverton Smith has to be one of the best antagonists and it's mostly because of the performance done by Toby Jones, he was terrifying and just fantastic. Every scene he was in, you couldn't stop sitting on the edge of your seat, such a powerful performance made that happen. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman were also terrific, bringing award worthy performances like I wrote before. I also want to say Mark Gatiss were actually quite great as Mycroft, having more to do in this episode, he have felt more like a main character ever since the season finale of the previous season. He does a great job as Mycroft and it's easy to get the impression that these two characters are siblings, as you see it through the acting but especially the writing. Spectacular writing for this episode, also brilliantly edited!
Sherlock goes up against the powerful and seemingly unassailable Culverton Smith - a man with a very dark secret indeed.
Having Culverton Smith be inspired by infamous serial killer H. H. Holmes (who was an avid reader of the Sherlock Holmes stories) and Jimmy Savile who are the most prolific child rapist in English history. Culverton Smith has to be one of the best antagonists and it's mostly because of the performance done by Toby Jones, he was terrifying and just fantastic. Every scene he was in, you couldn't stop sitting on the edge of your seat, such a powerful performance made that happen. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman were also terrific, bringing award worthy performances like I wrote before. I also want to say Mark Gatiss were actually quite great as Mycroft, having more to do in this episode, he have felt more like a main character ever since the season finale of the previous season. He does a great job as Mycroft and it's easy to get the impression that these two characters are siblings, as you see it through the acting but especially the writing. Spectacular writing for this episode, also brilliantly edited!
helpful•30
- Holt344
- Feb 16, 2023
Details
- Runtime1 hour 29 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD
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