Hello All, I am so sorry that these posts are so far and few between. Anyway I hope that this one is interesting enough to make up for the long wait.
When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
This quote was first used in The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1890. It has since then been used to death in reference to Sherlock Holmes.
But in 1991 in the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country the character Spock quotes it and attributes it not to Holmes or Doyle but rather to a Vulcan ancestor.
But I am not angry instead I am geeking out because just this year in the BBC series Sherlock, Episode 2 The Hounds of Baskerville, Sherlock (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) recites the infamous quote and then in the same scene after Sherlock rants about his need to stay above emotions John Watson (played by Martin Freeman) says, “Alright, Spock.”
Isn’t that amazing!
‘Why is it amazing?’ you ask.
It’s amazing because it means that in a, granted fictional, universe in which Sherlock Holmes is a person living in our modern-day they still have Star Trek. Which means that Spock’s unattributed quote combined with John’s remark implies that Sherlock is actually quoting Leonard Nimoy’s character Spock. Thus proving for all time that Sherlock is a Treker. He doesn’t know that the earth revolves around the sun but he watches Star Trek. Well that’s Sherlock for you.
Though one wonders what he makes of The Next Generation episode: Elementary, My Dear Data.
For more on the Sherlock/Spock connection check out this Blog : http://thenewdiogenesclub.blogspot.com/2012/01/mr-spock-and-mr-holmes.html
C. O. Bonham 