The second season of the CBS TV show Watson returned to screens in October, and as many had been anticipating, the second episode, “Back From the Dead,” written by Michael Narducci, finally showed Sherlock Holmes to viewers.
The first episode of the season, “A Son in the Oven,” written by show creator Craig Sweeny, focused on the mother of Watson’s ex-wife, Mary Morstan, facing severe memory issues. It allowed for the reintroduction of many of the characters and where they were in their lives. And technically, in the last minute, it was the first appearance of Holmes, who was seen raiding Watson’s fridge for sandwich fixings. His first words? “My dear Watson.” Then he asked for horseradish. Watson, who crept out of bed with his girlfriend, snuck up on him while holding a baseball bat, which seemed very appropriate.
John Watson is played by Morris Chestnut, and Sherlock Holmes is played by Robert Carlyle, probably best known in the U.S. for his roles in Trainspotting and The Full Monty. This is a change from the previous season, where Watson hallucinated the voice of Holmes, which was provided by Matt Berry.
This Holmes is, as he put it, “closer to the end now than the beginning,” and he faked his death for a “third-act surprise” in his life. This Watson, instead of fainting (as Doyle had it) or punching Holmes (as the BBC Sherlock showed), hugs him, and the two sit down for a candlelit conversation. Watson confronts Holmes over his abandonment, and Holmes acknowledges that Watson is his best friend.
Watson ends up telling Holmes about his day, which featured concerns about a zombie virus among a group of microbiologists, which provides the case for the episode (during which Holmes calls Watson “brilliant,” which is wonderful to see). Holmes discloses that his brother made him rich based on one of his lab discoveries, but he’s given all his money away — and since he’s still thought to be dead, he doesn’t have a bank card.
As their interaction continues, Holmes also reveals that Moriarty was not his only enemy at the Reichenbach Falls and assists, remotely, with Watson’s case. Finally, Sherlock Holmes states that he’s going to fight the oligarchs, the “spray tan smilers” that “stole the world.” He walks off after saying, “Goodbye for now, Watson.”
That departure lasted three weeks. Holmes returned in the fifth episode, “Lucky,” also written by Sweeny. Sitting in a corner of Watson’s bedroom, Holmes wakes Watson up and then comments on how he’s “ripped” before complimenting Pittsburgh (where the series is set) and making him toad in the hole for breakfast.
The two later have a singlestick duel, before we learn more about Diogenes Technologies, the company run by his brother, Mycroft Holmes (Vincent Gale), based on Sherlock’s discoveries. Sherlock has left it a poison pill that’s causing it to collapse.
These are only some of the Sherlockian references. Other include Holmes’ ego, disguises, and his drug use. The case of the “Murder Nurse,” who’s killing patients, is the episode’s story, which also allows for Detective Lestrade (Rachel Hayward), here a thrice-divorced woman, to make an appearance.
There haven’t been any other Sherlock Holmes appearances announced or teased, but I’m sure he’ll be coming back sometime in the future.
