Crossover November: Should the fabled ‘Doctor Who’ – ‘Sherlock’ meeting actually happen?
Let’s start this particular article in our Crossover November series with a rather massive asterisk attached to it. We are well aware already of the fact that there is almost a 0% chance that there will be a crossover event coming between “Doctor Who” and “Sherlock.” Multiple parties involved have said that it will never happen.
Yet, given the amount of talk / fanfiction that is already out there about it, it would feel almost like a disservice to this series to completely ignore the idea altogether, and what some of the positives and negatives to such a story could be. Therefore, let’s dive in!
The case for a crossover – Let’s start with the obvious: Both are highly-rated international hits for the BBC, and they both are executive-produced by Steven Moffat. Both have passionate fan bases, and both have main characters who alternate between charming and enigmatic. Pairing the two shows up would be a ratings smash, and there would also be soundbyes and social-media memes that would dominate the internet for months.
Commercially, there is little doubt that this would be a slam-dunk of a crossover event, and we feel like creatively, there are some fun ways you could construct it. Have Sherlock Holmes and Watson help The Doctor with a mission, but then wipe their memory afterwards. Or, have it be where Sherlock for some reason never detects that The Doctor is a time-traveling alien. he could be useful in solving a particularly strange case, or who knows? It could work either way.
The case for no crossover – Before the upcoming New Year’s Day special, we feel like the prevailing argument was that it would make no sense, since “Sherlock” is not a series that operates within a supernatural realm. Yet, if you are willing to put Holmes in Watson in the Victoria Era for the sake of a special, why can’t you create another non-canon special with more of a supernatural element to it? Maybe there’s a fear that if you associate “Sherlock” with that genre, some would continue to associate it permanently. Regardless of however we read the situation, obviously someone is wary of putting time-travel onto Baker Street.
In the end, the biggest other argument against having this crossover happen is time. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in particular are only seemingly free to do three or four 90-minute episodes every two / two and a half years, so do you really want to spend one of them on a crossover when there are so many other possibilities?
Should a “Doctor Who” – “Sherlock” crossover event happen in your mind? Let us know your take on it right now in the poll below, and head over here to get some other news related to the Peter Capaldi series! Also, you can sign up over here to get some TV news and exclusive teasers transmitted over to you, courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: BBC One.)