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Sherlock
S4.E0
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IMDbPro

The Abominable Bride

  • Episode aired Jan 1, 2016
  • TV-14
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
37K
YOUR RATING
Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock (2010)
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson find themselves in 1890s London in this holiday special.
Play trailer0:41
2 Videos
81 Photos
CrimeDramaMysteryThriller

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson find themselves in 1890s London in this Christmas special.Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson find themselves in 1890s London in this Christmas special.Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson find themselves in 1890s London in this Christmas special.

  • Director
    • Douglas Mackinnon
  • Writers
    • Mark Gatiss
    • Steven Moffat
    • Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Stars
    • Benedict Cumberbatch
    • Martin Freeman
    • Una Stubbs
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    37K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Douglas Mackinnon
    • Writers
      • Mark Gatiss
      • Steven Moffat
      • Arthur Conan Doyle
    • Stars
      • Benedict Cumberbatch
      • Martin Freeman
      • Una Stubbs
    • 96User reviews
    • 45Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos2

    New Trailer
    Trailer 0:41
    New Trailer
    "Christmas Special" Trailer
    Trailer 1:31
    "Christmas Special" Trailer
    "Christmas Special" Trailer
    Trailer 1:31
    "Christmas Special" Trailer

    Photos81

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    Top cast32

    Edit
    Benedict Cumberbatch
    Benedict Cumberbatch
    • Sherlock Holmes
    Martin Freeman
    Martin Freeman
    • Dr. John Watson
    Una Stubbs
    Una Stubbs
    • Mrs. Hudson
    Rupert Graves
    Rupert Graves
    • Inspector Lestrade
    Mark Gatiss
    Mark Gatiss
    • Mycroft Holmes
    Andrew Scott
    Andrew Scott
    • Professor Moriarty
    Louise Brealey
    Louise Brealey
    • Hooper
    Amanda Abbington
    Amanda Abbington
    • Mary Watson
    Jonathan Aris
    Jonathan Aris
    • Anderson
    Yasmine Akram
    Yasmine Akram
    • Janine Donlevy
    David Nellist
    David Nellist
    • Stamford
    Catherine McCormack
    Catherine McCormack
    • Lady Carmichael
    Tim McInnerny
    Tim McInnerny
    • Sir Eustace Carmichael
    Natasha O'Keeffe
    Natasha O'Keeffe
    • Emelia Ricoletti
    Tim Barlow
    Tim Barlow
    • Wilder
    Gerald Kyd
    Gerald Kyd
    • Thomas Ricoletti
    Daniel Fearn
    Daniel Fearn
    • Newsvendor
    Stephanie Hyam
    Stephanie Hyam
    • Jane
    • Director
      • Douglas Mackinnon
    • Writers
      • Mark Gatiss
      • Steven Moffat
      • Arthur Conan Doyle
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews96

    8.037.1K
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    Featured reviews

    Dr_Sagan

    Is this silly enough for you yet?

    Is this silly enough for you yet? ...It's in the script!... A character (I won't spoil you who that is) says that to Sherlock near the end, but it is addressed to the viewers of this episode too.

    This series jumped the shark, the whale and maybe even the ...dolphins. It tries soooooo hard to be different and surpass itself that becomes unbearable.

    To tell you the truth I disliked the 3rd season too, but the 4th is abysmal. I liked Irene's Adler episode and the Reichenbach Fall but this series turned into crap.

    The main actors have a credibility and a presence but there is nothing else there. The writers are buried under their own creation, trying to be edgy. They don't even have the answers to the questions are presenting themselves.

    This is a terrible episode. A complete mess that only some remaining hardcore fans will find "interesting". Holmes is a caricature of himself and in the whole episode doesn't "deduce" or observes anything. He is lost. A puppet. All the hype but zero substance.

    The episode sets a million questions "how this?" "why that?" but fails to answer any of them.

    There are some cheap humor here and there. Lots of swirly transitions between scenes (without a reason). A few puns. Some "reveals" about Holmes's personality, even his (non-existent?) past with women, but it is obvious that the writers were only trying to fill 90 minutes of "film" to justify the pointless episode.

    Overall: After the disappointment of the 3rd season, the fourth is reaching new depths of humiliation for our beloved hero. Maybe I should check if there is any new episode of elementary. At least the U.S. series is far more honest to itself.
    9akhilranj

    Not at its best but just enough to remind us how brilliant the show is

    Almost the perfect episode until the last 20 minutes. They didn't have to make it so complicated. The story was great , the setting was perfect and the acting as always was impeccable. Not going to go on about the story but just lightly summarize the drawbacks and the SHERLOCK moments. The episode as it stands I feel didn't need to be connected to where we left in season 3. The story and the setting was good enough for it to be stand alone episode. Though I did enjoy the subtle scene references from the main Sherlock. More importantly the episode for god sake just needed have a good solid ending. I am sure most of the viewers would complain about how the makers tried too hard to pull off a "SHERLOCK" ending. It just needed to be enough to quench the beaming desire of the fans for another year as they wait to see their favorite detective on his adventures.

    What I did enjoy about the episode is as is the case with every sherlock episode is the dialogs. They take a moment to seep in and when they do: wow. The references to the main series are also enjoyable. For the first 1hr the episode hits the high standards it has set since its inception, but where it does falter is in the last 30 minutes where just needs to wrap it up in good solid way.

    No matter for that, Sherlock fans will definitely enjoy it. To sum up, the episode as Moriarty would say if he was to represent the whole series: MISS ME
    10jess-01645

    I hated it...then I loved it!

    I did not fully get it the first time but when I watched it again, it all started making some sense to me. It may be difficult for those who are not devoted fans of this series to fully grasp the craziness of this episode, but once you open your eyes to the genius of the writers' intent on what they were trying to achieve here, I could not keep my eyes off the show and found myself watching it over and over again. If the writers of series simply made this an one-off episode to truly stick to the original storyline, then there would be numerous critical remarks about how the writers settled for the comfort of predictability and made the whole plot so ordinary and boring. Before shooting at the TV screen and calling it 'stupid', one may want to watch it one more time and there will be that "a-ha" moment!
    9Sleepin_Dragon

    A brilliant, madcap Gothic adventure.

    Sherlock and Watson land in the late Nineteenth Century to solve the case of Emelia Ricoletti, a bride that killed herself, and then later manages to shoot her husband and bring about the death of Lord Carmichael. The duo must uncover how this devious crime was carried out.

    I must admit I have been hugely looking forward to this, possibly because I was keen to see how the altered setting would work. Series 3 had been somewhat of a disappointment, a little too self satisfied I suppose, so I'm glad they did something different to refresh it, it was certainly different.

    A few minor quibbles, a little contrived at times, and as is the nature of the show it did seem a little wrapped up in its own smuggness at times, but I was utterly enveloped in the story, it had me wrapped from start to finish. Beautiful cinematography, great direction, awesome production values. It managed to feel fresh and exhilarating once again.

    Cumberbatch was definitely on fine form, I loved the altered appearance, suited him, I noticed a few Jeremy Brettisms, not sure if anyone else did, maybe the hair and some of the body language. The scenes between Holmes and Moriarty once again were simply amazing, Andrew Scott is just unbelievable, he is such a charismatic performer.

    Crazy, fun, Gothic, energetic, waited a long time, and it was worth the wait. 9/10
    7blanche-2

    good if you go along with the conceit

    The long-awaited Sherlock special, "The Abominable Bride," is supposed to satiate our hunger for Sherlock, since we see him so rarely.

    It did and it didn't.

    I want to disclose up front that I flew to London to see Benedict Cumberbatch in Hamlet.

    This episode was as divisive as Cumberbatch's looks. Some people thought this was the worst thing they've ever seen, and others thought it was wonderful.

    I'm somewhere in between. Without giving anything away, I'll say, given the idea behind this episode, the story as it unfolded made sense. It was chaotic, confusing, and filled with strange things -- it was supposed to be.

    Instead of taking the idea so literally, I would have preferred something more straightforward with Sherlock returning to Victorian times. There were too many interwoven ideas and people popping up.

    One thing I was very impressed by was how much, in Victorian times, Cumberbatch resembled the standard idea of Sherlock Holmes' appearance. He looked amazing.

    The production values and acting were both excellent; besides the leads, Andrew Scott was incredible. A good deal of the dialogue was fun. "He said the crime solution was so easy that even I could have solved it," Lestrade tells Mrs. Hudson. "Oh, I'm sure he was exaggerating," she assures him.

    I wish they would release more episodes before 2017. For a man the producers objected to when he was cast, Cumberbatch is now too busy to be available for episodes. The price of fame.

    Related interests

    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In this episode, the modernised Sherlock catchphrase "The Game is on!" is rendered back to the original "The Game is afoot."
    • Goofs
      Sherlock jumps down by the waterfall and his clothes wobble down during the fall. This is against physics and we should've seen clothes skidding upside due to drag created by air.
    • Quotes

      Dr. John Watson: [being furious with Sherlock] I'm an army doctor, which means I could break every bone in your body while naming them.

    • Connections
      Featured in Masterpiece Mystery: Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (2016)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 1, 2016 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Filming locations
      • Tyntesfield House and Estate, Wraxall, Somerset, England, UK(St Eustace Carmichael's house and Dr Watson's London home)
    • Production companies
      • Hartswood Films
      • BBC Cymru Wales
      • Masterpiece
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 29m(89 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 16:9 HD

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