Link to the n*de dudes
But David Thewlis (Sherlock) played gay poet Paul Verlaine against Leonardo DiCaprio's Rimbaud, and almost-gay Lupus in the Harry Potter movies. And he has shown us his d*ck (on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends), so I'm reviewing the first episode anyway.
Scene 1: London, 1896 (Sherlock is in his mid 40s). He takes a hansom cab through a late-Victorian cityscape to the crime scene, a giant mansion, and greets Inspectors Bullivant and Whitlock (Aidan McArdle, left early photo). The kidnappers dragged the boy from his room, but the maid intervened, and they fled.
Uh-oh, Sherlock finds a red string on the boy's wrist, refuses the case, and rushes out.
"But his father is the Italian Ambassador."
"Tough, I'm out."
Scene 2: New York, still 1896. Amelia bursts into a cheap hotel, past the prostitutes, and gets a room. A bellhop named Cooper (Kasper Andreasen) offers to carry her luggage, but he actually leads her to the alley and tries to rob her. She pulverizes him, but he takes her purse anyway.
Left: Kasper Andreason, from Banbridge, Northern Ireland, hit the newspapers in 2017, when the 12--year old raised thousands of pounds for children with cancer with a paperclip swap. In 2020, he flew to London to interview the stars of the movie 1917.
Age 21 as of this writing, Kasper has five acting credits on the IMDB, including the paranormal teen Silverpoint and Mordlichter - Tod auf den Färöer Inseln, so I'm guessing that he's fluent in German.
A more...um...intimate portrayal after the break
At the steamship ticket office, Amelia has no more money, but she offers a blueprint for a machine that pasteurizes milk, so you can bring it on ships. You're offering that to a ticket agent? How about a CEO? He doesn't want it, so how about her mother's watch?
Scene 3: Back on Baker Street, Sherlock looks at a mysterious letter he received, while his housekeeper, Mrs. Halligan, brings his dinner. He rejects it: the egg is overcooked.
She scoffs: she only agreed to help out because he's taken the case of the kidnapping of her sister, Mrs. Hudson, and Dr. Watson. Why would that require you to take a job as his housekeeper?
"Tough, it's simple instructions. 4 minutes 12 seconds to boil an egg for toast soldiers. Go find someone with the brains to do it properly." Toast soldiers must be a Victorian thing.
When she storms out, he looks at the message: "Lamp in the window tonight to show you will observe the thread or Watson and Hudson (the housekeeper) will pay like your maid." Next he opens a box with a red thread and severed finger.
Scene 4: On the steamer en route to London, Amelia is also playing with a red thread. A rich girl in a pink cape approaches and starts flirting voraciously. Careful, ladies: Oscar Wilde's trial just ended.
Oh, well, what the heck: let's change course for "Lesbos, where kisses, languishing or joyous, burning as the sun's light, cool as melons, adorn the nights and the glorious days" (Baudelaire).
Back stories: Amelia's father lives on Baker Street (hint, hint), and the Girl's father is the new U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. "By the way, Papa is throwing me a ball to celebrate my coming out. Won't you come as my date?" You're quite an ally, Dad. Yes, I know she means coming out into society.
Uh-oh, the Girl's chaperone, Lady Violet, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, appears, drags her away, and warns Amelia to back off, or she'll put her in the brig. The Girl is going to marry the aristocrat that her parents choose; she doesn't have time for indulgences like lesbian romance!
Scene 5: Amelia stays out of sight until they reach New York. Then the Girl spots her, rushes up, and assures her that class distinctions are meaningless, they should become very close friends. "Call on me anytime. Anytime."
Native American actress Blu Hunt (left) identifies as "super queer," and played a queer character on "The Originals."
Amelia makes her way through London's Chinatown, gets cruised by a prostitute (what, is she wearing a Pride flag?), barters food from an African lady, and finds a secluded park bench to sleep on. Why not go directly to Baker Street and reunite with your Dad?
More after the break.
Scene 6: She goes to Baker Street in the morning, rings at the servants' entrance, and is mistaken for the new maid. In a terrible rush, the Butler yells at her for being late, drags her into the kitchen, and gives her a uniform that doesn't fit. "He's getting a full English in fifteen minutes! Get busy!" A full English is like a gut-buster breakfast in the U.S., with eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, and black pudding (which is not pudding).
Cut to Amelia bringing Holmes a horrible smooshed-together mash. With his keen observational powers, he deduces that she is not a professional cook; she's from California, just arrived in London, once well off but now fallen on hard times. Amelia admits that she isn't the new cook; she needs help. Holmes isn't accepting new cases, and orders her out.
Before she can leave, the American Ambassador (Philip Keene) and his wife burst in. The Girl has been kidnapped! What a coincidence.
Left: American actor Philip Keene (right) is married to Sherlock & Daughter showrunner James Duff (not pictured). They've been together for 32 years.
The Queen is most interested in having Holmes take the case, so he accepts.
Amelia notes that she met the Girl on the ship, and the parents assume that she is Holmes' assistant. He has no choice but to play along.
Scene 7: At the Ambassador's residence, they go over the events of last night. Everyone went to bed early. A maid brought the Girl hot chocolate at 9:00 pm. At 7:00 am, she was gone.
Examining the room, Holmes deduces that the Girl was drugged with laudanum in her hot chocolate, and taken by a servant in the house. Amelia further determines that they were chewing California tobacco. Whoops, a red thread -- Holmes declines the case and rushes off.
Amelia goes downstairs and tells the inspectors and the Girl's family that he rushed off to investigate a clue, leaving her to interview the servants.
The only servants in the house last night were the maid, who has worked for the embassy in London for years, and Charlie (Hyoie O'Grady), their driver, who they brought from California. He chews tobacco -- and he has vanished, along with the carriage and horses.
British actor Hyoie O'Grady has 19 credits on the IMDB, mostly in voice work. He is also a theatrical actor and singer: in 2024 he performed in the Charity Christmas Concert at St. Botolphs Church in Colchester. He wishes everyone Happy Pride
Rear view on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends.
Scene 8: Amelie arrives at Baker Street to collect her wages and to announce that Charlie did it. Holmes points out that they don't know where the Girl is, so the case isn't solved.
He wants to know why she's so interested in him. Amelia explains: a few months ago Mom was murdered and her stuff destroyed. She left a note hidden behind an old photograph (not that old, in 1896): it said that her father was Sherlock Holmes, who would help her now.
"So...um...who was your mother? I've slept with so many women, you see..."
"Lucia Rojas. She came to London to perform in a Wild West Show." She shows him a drawing.
"Sorry, don't recognize her. Maybe she just imagined our relationship. Lots of women do. Now get out!"
"Ok, then, I'll solve Mom's murder myself, and find the Girl myself. I'm leaving now...walking very slowly to the door...gonna walk out of here...here's the door handle...all I have to do is turn it...you won't see me again..."
"Wait!" He doesn't think Amelia is his daughter, but he can't be visibly involved in red-thread crimes, so he'll hire her as his assistant, and she can do the sleuthing. The salary is 2 pounds per month, plus room and board.
Scene 9: Cut to Charlie, who is keeping the Girl hidden in a coffin in a basement, with the other kidnapping victims. He tells her to be quiet, as there are men guarding the place who "aren't as nice." Ulp. The end.
Beefcake: None, but a number of hunks have yet to appear, so there's still hope. And some of the actors have n*de photos elsewhere online, such as Casper Andreasen (probable, left) and Dougray Scott, who plays Moriarty (on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends).Gay Characters: I went through the last episode to see if Amelia and the Girl moved from subtext to text. No, they barely speak to each other at the big debutante ball. At least Amelia doesn't date any boys, but I expected a gay showrunner and several queer stars to give us something more substantial than just subtext.
Heterosexism: None.
My Grade; Why assume a familiarity with the Sherlock mythos, but minimize or eliminate fan favorites like Watson and Mycroft? And no overt queer romance? C
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