‘Sherlock’ season 4: Steven Moffat completely shuts down ‘Doctor Who’ crossover

Even if you most-likely knew that a crossover between “Sherlock” and “Doctor Who” would never really exist, showrunner Steven Moffat has now went ahead and plunged the nail even further in the coffin.

Per the Radio Times, Moffat said at a Royal Television society event this week that there are “certain rules [he] cannot break,” even if the Doctor is a character with the capability of bending time and space. However cool it may be, Moffat adds that the fact the Doctor is already aware of a version of Holmes makes it very difficult to go back and make Benedict Cumberbatch into the famed sleuth:

“Sherlock Holmes exists as a fictional character in the Doctor’s universe – he’s even dressed up as him!”

Well, we feel like some things are much better suited for fanfiction in the first place, but it felt like a crossover between the two Moffat shows was never really an option. Cumberbatch had not shown any interest in the past in doing anything related to “Doctor Who,” and even if he did, the man has one of the busiest schedules in the entire world courtesy of all of his movie gigs.

If we were going to really think about how to make one happen just for fun, though, we would say that one of the biggest things you would need to ensure of would be that Sherlock, Watson, and any other character to see the Tardis ultimately had zero recollection of anything that happened. If they remember some of the key moments, there would be a major logic problem for future “Sherlock” episodes. This is a very realistic world, at least compared to a man with a magical police box.

You’ll get a chance to see more of the Doctor when the season 8 Christmas Special airs next month. If you want to get some further TV news on all we cover right now, sign up today for our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo via BBC One.)