Sherlock Meta Masterlist
A comprehensive list of my metas on Sherlock including Semantics in Healthcare Series and the Walking Nightmares for Medical students series.
Essays and Metas:
Semantics of Healthcare Series
This series of essays explore the real world of medicine/policing/law and what it can tell us about the characters in Sherlock.
Ever wondered what John really did as an army doctor? What Molly Hooper actually does for a living? What really happens to people to steal body parts from morgues? Why Sherlock isn’t the only consulting detective in the world? How the Met police is going to survival the post-TRF scandal?
These essays are a fun, tongue-in-cheek, attempt to bend reality to fit BBC Sherlock.
Part 1 - Exploring Dr Watson (John wasn’t fighting in Afghanistan, he was too busy being a GP!)
As a GP John wouldn’t be fighting in Afghanistan he would have been treating coughs and bandaging wounds
Part 2 - BAMF!John and reality (How can an Army GP be fighting in the front lines?)
How we can reconcile John’s military combat with his career as a doctor in the army - could he have had two careers?
Part 2.1 - Dr Watson: Scientist and Psychiatrist
How much does John actually know about science - can he help Sherlock with his experiments? If Sherlock did have a mental health problem how equipped would John Watson be at diagnosing it?
Part 3 - Guide to making John a realistic army surgeon (or bending reality to suit your inner fangirl)
What army surgeons actually do on the front lines and what would John’s career history have been like
Part 4.1 A Day in the Life of Doctor Watson
What’s working life really like for a doctor? What does John Watson do as a GP? A short accurate guide to medical care in the UK.
Part 4.2 - John Watson: the Junior Doctor Years
The life of a doctor is far less glamourous than people might think. Written from personal experience: what John’s life as a young doctor would have been like.
Part 5 - John, Himself and His PTSD
Does John have post traumatic stress disorder? Can crime solving cure psychiatric illnesses? Why is John limping after being shot in the shoulder? I explore our favourite army doctor through the lens of psychiatry. (Previous filed under Psychiatry of Sherlock)
Part 6 - Explaining John Watson’s Military Discharge
I explore the reasons why John Watson was discharge from the army (and it is unlikely to be due to PTSD). I also explain the discharge process and calculate John Watson’s army pension from his CV.
I have written before that doctors are very valuable to the armed forces - they would not be discharged for a shoulder injury or a psychosomatic limp. Both of these things do not prevent John from being an army GP.
Something more must have happened for an experienced doctor like John to be discharged.
7. John Watson’s Medical School Life
Written from personal experience: what medical school life would have been life for John Watson. I explore the fun he might have had with human dissection and bacteria in petri dishes, as well as why medical school helps John in his crime solving.
8. Explaining John Watson’s CV
Using screen caps from The Blind Banker put together by Trishkafibble, I demystify John’s CV for readers and explain the significance of little details. In the process I discuss John’s medical career, and his training.
9. Exploring John Watson’s Childhood
Much has been discussed about Sherlock’s childhood. In this essay I use John Watson’s CV to deduce what John’s childhood would have been like, his family background, his upbringing and his career choices.
10. Accounting for John - Why does a Doctor have to ask Sherlock for Money?
Analysing John's financial situation and why a doctor may at times be very strapped for cash in London.
11. Dark John - Why Doctors make Truly Gruesome Murderer
A very hypothetical look at what would happen if Dr Watson ever decided to become a serial killer, and the methods that he would use. On Molly:
Part 1 - Meet Miss Molly Hooper
What exactly does Miss Molly Hooper do? I offer three possible solutions to the dilemma of her job: pathologist, morgue technician and surgeon (yes, Miss Hooper could be a surgeon).
Part 2 - How Sherlock and Molly Faked his Death
A detailed look at how Molly helped Sherlock fake his death - the roles of pathologists and the routines for post-mortems in the UK
Semantics of Policing:
Nuclear Meltdown at the Met
How Lestrade set up the Metropolitan Police up for the scandal of the century because you really can’t let a civilian wonder around contaminating your crime scenes…
Nuclear Meltdown at the Met 2
Why Sally and Anderson were not motivated by greed, jealousy or a determination to bring Sherlock down during TRF. Why Sally is an incredibly brave, conscientiousness person who was placed in a very difficult situation.
Nuclear Meltdown at the Met 3
What will happen to Lestrade and the rest of his team after the Fall? Would Lestrade go to jail? Could Mycroft lend them a helping hand?
I discuss the most likely course of the post-Reichenbach police scandal
The Psychiatry of Sherlock
A series of essays discussing the real, suspected and imagined psychological issues that occur in BBC Sherlock.
Does Sherlock have autism? Can you really cure a psychosomatic limp with crime solving? Is Mycroft the real sociopath in the Holmes family?
These essays aim to provide a quick, easy to understand guide to the real world of psychiatry and how Sherlock canon can fit into reality.
Walking Nightmares Series
1. Sherlock is to Psychopathy as Eeyore is to Depression
Why Sherlock can't be a high functioning sociopath (because there is no such thing as a sociopath!)
2. Mycroft on the Examination Couch
Is Mycroft the real psychopath in the Holmes family? I get out the official diagnostic criteria and explain some uncomfortable truths about Mycroft and the condition.
3. Sherlock Himself and His Aspergers
Why Sherlock wouldn't be diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in the UK
3.1 Sherlock does not Have Asperger's or Autism, Thanks from 4 Psychiatrists
The professional opinions of four psychiatrists specialising in diagnosing Asperger's and Autism on why Sherlock does not have either condition and why this character should not be used as a representation of Asperger's Syndrome or Autism in the media.
4. Jim Moriarty - Hiii
Exactly what is wrong with Jim Moriarty? This is one character in Sherlock who definitely has a psychiatric condition (or two).
5. Bipolar Sherlock - a More Detailed Evaluation
What is bipolar? and more importantly does Sherlock have it? In the process of answering these questions I also take a look at the history of medicine and the limits of psychiatry.
6. John, Himself and His PTSD
I've done a great deal of psychiatric assessment for Sherlock but nearly enough on our favourite army doctor - so I try to answer the question of whether John has PTSD and end up coming to a very different conclusion from the one that I expected. I certainly think John is suffering - but not from PTSD.
7. Sherlock, IQ and the Concept of Intelligence
What would Sherlock's IQ score be? Does his high intelligence explain why he's so antisocial?
8. Stop Calling Sherlock a Sociopath
Why Sherlock uses the self-diagnosis of “high functioning sociopath" as a cover for his social inadequacies
Enigmas in Sherlock
What does the most dangerous man you will ever meet actually do for living? What did Mycroft really do with Irene Adler Why does Irene give Jim Moriarty all the credit?
A group of essays trying to unravel the enigmas in Sherlock by reading between the lines and delving into a wealth of intrigue and plots that are only hinted at in the script
1. James Bond was a Civil Servant too...
What Mycroft really does in his "minor government position" and just who his "masters" are
2. Irene's Royal Flush
Reading between the lines during Mycroft and Irene's confrontation to reveal the full extent of Irene's genius!
3. Checkmate Endgame
What exactly happened after Sherlock cracked Irene's phone? How did Sherlock manage to save Irene?
4. The Holmes Family Fortune
Ever wonder where Mycroft gets all his money from and where his mansion in AsiB is actually situation?
5. A Good Old Fashioned Education
Where did Mycroft and Sherlock go to school? Why it is unlikely they were home schooled and what their school life would have been like.
The Holmes Brothers
A series of metas analysing Sherlock, Mycroft, their personalities and their relationship to each other. I propose alternative theories to those widely held in fandom about their childhood, relationship and their superior skills at deduction.
1. Equal but Different
I explain why Sherlock and Mycroft seem similar superficially but are actually very different people. They are not reflections of each other but deserve to have their unique individualities analysed and to be credited as individuals.
2. The Truth about Deduction
Ever wondered how Mycroft and Sherlock invented deduction? The answer is they didn't. Deduction is a skill that is used frequently by many different professions and a skill that anyone can master with enough teaching and training.
I explain the truth about deduction and how the Holmes Brothers could have learnt it later in life - separately.
3. Explaining Sherlock
Why does Sherlock behave in the way he does? I explore why he does not need a psychiatric diagnosis and what may have happened in his childhood to cause his maladjusted emotional responses.
4. Sherlock, Mycroft and Mummy
Using the development maturation model - I explore why the Holmes brothers have developed very different approaches to managing emotions and what this can tell us about their mother.
A Wider Universe
A series of metas dedicated to looking at wide range of different aspects within the BBC Sherlock universe.
From Sherlock's finances to John’s army handgun, these essays go on an exploration of the wider world and issues only mentioned in passing in the TV series
1. Oxbridge - Camford? Sherlock's University Life
Many fans think that Sherlock went to Cambridge - so what would his life have been like at this University and what subjects would have been studied?
2. Accounting for Sherlock
Is Sherlock independently wealthy? This essay examines potential sources of Sherlock's income, why modern day Sherlock would not earn quite as much as his Victorian counterpart, and why Sherlock decided to get a flatmate.
3. Accents in Sherlock
An introduction to the wonderful variety of accents in the British Isles and an analysis of the accents heard in Sherlock from Mycroft to Lestrade.
4. Guns and BBC Sherlock
Is John’s service firearm legal? How did he manage to keep it with him after leaving the army? Does Lestrade have the right to carry a gun?
I explore gun legislation in the UK, police use of firearms and explain some theories about just how John managed to smuggle his gun out of the army.
5. Feeding Crack to Rats - Sherlock and the Science of Addiction
An exploration of Sherlock's drug habit, the history of cocaine/morphine use, and how brain biochemistry can explain why Sherlock always needs a case. If you've ever wondered why Sherlock behaves so erratically - the biochemistry has already provided us with an answer and its got nothing to do with mental illness.
6. More Tea Please, We're Sherlocked
A humourous guide to the British national obsession with tea. I explore why Sherlock is littered with tea references and the various tea drinking habits of native Brits.
7. Mycroft's Suits and British Politics
Why does Mycroft wear a three piece suit?
8. The Politics of Mycroft Holmes
Analysis of the political views of our favourite shadow government
9. On Sherlock, The UK and Why England is not a "country"
Heroines in Sherlock
1. Why Sherlock is not Sexist - A Re-evaluation
I analyse why Sherlock BBC is not sexist, investigating claims that the show does not have enough female characters and that the women in Sherlock propagate sexist attitudes to women
2. Hidden Heroines of Sherlock - Molly and Sally
Why Molly and Sally are not just one dimensional characters but prime examples from strong, independent, professional women
3. Irene Adler is not a Loser - Part 1
Why Irene is an awesome, incredibly intelligent and ambitious woman. An in depth of analysis of what she was really plotting during AsiB and all the things that were happening behind the scenes