Sherlock series 3 is just around the corner, but will you be missing out on a whole level of fun because you haven’t read the Sherlock Holmes novels?

We all remember sitting down in the movie theater to watch Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, maybe even Twilight (we’re not here to judge) with our friends and family who’d never read the corresponding books. Though we’d never admit it, all book readers relished that smug little feeling you get when a film adaptation gives a cheeky nod to the source material that most of the audience just won’t get.

With Sherlock series 3 just around the corner, it’s less than two weeks until the world sits down to find out how Benedict Cumberbatch’s super-sleuth survived his fall, what new enemies the Baker Street boys will have to face, and what exactly is going on with John Watson’s weird porno moustache. But strangely, the majority of the Sherlock fandom hasn’t read the books, and when we welcome him back into our living rooms, a surprising amount of viewers will see, but not observe, many of the show’s in-jokes.

Well, we here at Hypable think you should be reading the books. To show you what you’re missing out on, we’ve compiled a list of 10 nods to canon from the show’s first two series. If you haven’t read Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories, this will hopefully explain a few of those references that have always puzzled you, and encourage you to run to the library and grab the source material to help pass these excruciating last moments before New Year’s Day. If you’ve already read the novels, here’s another opportunity to enjoy that smug feeling you last got at the movies!

“I mean, this isn’t a deerstalker now. It’s a Sherlock Holmes hat. I mean that you’re not exactly a private detective anymore. You’re this far from famous.”

– Steve Thompson, “The Reichenbach Fall”

Think Sherlock Holmes and our first mental image (other than Benedict Cumberbatch’s jaw) is that of the Victorian sleuth clutching a pipe and donning a deerstalker. But, here’s the thing – Sherlock is never once described as wearing a deerstalker. In Silver Blaze, Holmes is wearing an “ear-flapped travelling-cap” while on a country excursion, but it’s never directly called a deerstalker within Arthur Conan Doyle’s works. It’s Sidney Paget’s illustrations that made the “death frisbee” the iconic image the world is familiar with today.

The deerstalker didn’t make an appearance in BBC’s Sherlock until season 2 episode 1, “A Scandal in Belgravia,” when our hero pulls the hat on as a disguise to escape the paparazzi. As we all know, the ruse doesn’t really pay off, as the photographers recognise him and his face (deerstalker and all) is plastered over the front page of the world’s press. This is a great little nod for the Holmes anoraks, as it’s a picture rather than Sherlock’s personal taste that makes him synonymous with the head gear.

It looks like the deerstalker’s back for series 3, and though we may see the great detective embrace his “famous” hat in these new adventures, book readers can always remember this nod to the series’ history.

“‘I keep a bull pup,’ I said, ‘and I object to rows because my nerves are shaken, and I get up at all sorts of ungodly hours, and I am extremely lazy. I have another set of vices when I’m well, but those are the principal ones at present.'”

– Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet

His psychosomatic leg injury is used as a great plot point for bringing Martin Freeman’s John Watson closer to Sherlock in season 1, episode 1 “A Study In Pink,” but it’s also a way for Steven Moffat to lovingly poke fun at Arthur Conan Doyle. You see, inventive and revolutionary though he was, our dear Doyle wasn’t the best writer when it came to continuity. Poor John Watson was the frequent victim of Arty’s forgetfulness, and the injury he endured that resulted in him being sent back from Afghanistan seems to move around.

In A Study in Scarlet he tells us he was shot in the shoulder, in The Sign of Four he instead has a Jezail bullet lodged in his leg, and in The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor that same bullet is simply described as being in “one of” his limbs. Moffat references this by having John limp around with a crutch for most of the pilot episode, until he gets caught up in the adrenalin of Sherlock’s profession and forgets he needs it. Later in the episode, he admits that the leg injury is purely psychological – and he was in fact shot in the shoulder.

“There are many men in London, you know, who, some from shyness, some from misanthropy, have no wish for the company of their fellows. Yet they are not averse to comfortable chairs and the latest periodicals. It is for the convenience of these that the Diogenes Club was started, and it now contains the most unsociable and unclubbable men in town.”

– Arthur Conan Doyle, The Greek Interpreter

We don’t blame you if you were left a bit stumped when John entered The Diogenes Club in season 2, episode 2 “The Reichenbach Fall.” It’s a strange place at the best of times, and even more so when you’re going in cold. The fictional club features in several Holmes stories, though perhaps its most famous appearance is in The Greek Interpreter. It’s designed as a place men can go to read in silence, and the owners enforce this rule so strictly that it’s noted men have been kicked out for as little as coughing.

It’s here that book readers first meet Mycroft Holmes, who co-founded the club. The club’s inclusion in “Reichenbach” is a nice nod to canon fans who were disappointed in its absence during series 1. Another fun piece of trivia for the super sleuths among you is the cameo of Douglas Wilmer (pictured left) in the Diogenes Club. Wilmer played Holmes 13 times in one of the BBC’s previous productions of Doyle’s works, starting with 1964’s The Speckled Band. Douglas is one of the most famous actors to play Sherlock, perhaps behind only Jeremy Brett and Benedict Cumberbatch himself. His cameo is a knowing nod to Sherlock canon history – and hopefully won’t be the last of its kind!

“‘Poison,’ said Sherlock Holmes curtly, and strode off. ‘One other thing, Lestrade,’ he added, turning round at the door: ”Rache,’ is the German for ‘revenge;’ so don’t lose your time looking for Miss Rachel.'”

– Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet

“Yes, thank you for your input,” quips Sherlock as he slams the door on Anderson in season 1, episode 1 “A Study in Pink.” The snooty officer we all love to hate had just suggested that the pink-clad journalist had scraped “Rache” (German for revenge) on floorboards in her dying moments. As we all know, she was actually writing Rachel, the name of her stillborn daughter and password to her phone services. What’s interesting about this little moment is that in the original Holmes novel, quite the opposite happens.

Mind you, much of the story of the Baker Street Boy’s début adventure is wildly different in the source material. Featuring a murder plot spanning years and starting in America, A Study In Scarlet only really shares the murder weapon and eleventh hour word scratching with its contemporary television counterpart. In the novel, Holmes condescendingly points out to Lestrade and his colleagues that one of the murderer’s victims was writing ‘Rache’ (revenge) instead of the name.

Sherlock‘s writers cleverly flip this on its head to keep readers guessing as the exciting new mystery unravels.

“I had observed some newspaper comment at the time, but I was exceedingly preoccupied by that little affair of the Vatican cameos, and in my anxiety to oblige the Pope I lost touch with several interesting English cases.”

– Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles

It’s one of the catchiest quotes from the second series, and Sherlock fans of every creed proudly shout it whenever someone unlocks a safe, chest or even door around them – but not everyone knows where it comes from. In fact, it’s so niche that most book readers aren’t really sure where it originates.

Vatican cameos is briefly mentioned in The Hound of the Baskervilles, and the quote containing it is literally the only reference Conan Doyle makes to it in his entire body of work. It’s a small, throwaway mention intended to show readers that Holmes and Watson had many adventures together that we never saw. It shows the level of devotion that Moffat, Gatiss, et al put into the show and just how rewarding an experience watching Sherlock can be if you’ve read the books. Plus, the Johnlock shippers among you must be thrilled to know that the boys have a “safe word.”

On page 2:

John’s many girlfriends, Mycroft’s weight problem, and a pig harpoon

Page 2: 10 ‘Sherlock’ moments you missed because you don’t read the books

“‘You have done all the work in this business. I get a wife out of it, Jones gets the credit, pray what remains for you?’
‘For me,” said Sherlock Holmes, “there still remains the cocaine bottle.'”

– Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘The Sign of Four’

Here we are again – another example of poor old John Watson falling foul of Arthur Conan Doyle’s memory sieve. Last August, when speculating about the source material for Sherlock series 3 (by the way we definitely have two of our predictions right, with the jury still out on the third – but who’s counting?), we pointed out how ambiguous the good doctor’s relationships are. Some fans and academics have even trawled the manuscripts and found the potential for up to SIX wives. The first of those is Mary Morstan, who we will soon be meeting in season 3, episode 1 “The Empty Hearse,” but Doyle mentions others falling ill or breaking up with Watson.

The Sherlock writers poke plenty of fun at this with Martin Freeman’s string of girlfriends (the always astute Sherlock can’t remember their names), and the tabloids calling him a “bachelor.” It looks like John is finally settling down as we join him and his moustache early next year, but these fun little jests were great while they lasted.

“Mycroft Holmes was a much larger and stouter man than Sherlock. His body was absolutely corpulent, but his face, though massive, had preserved something of the sharpness of expression which was so remarkable in that of his brother. His eyes, which were of a peculiarly light, watery gray, seemed to always retain that faraway, introspective look which I had only observed in Sherlock’s when he was exerting his full powers.”

– Arthur Conan Doyle, The Greek Interpreter

In the source material, Sherlock’s elusive brother Mycroft is described as a large and stout man. When it came to the BBC series, the writers encountered an obvious problem – Mark Gatiss is neither large nor stout. However, being the hardcore Holmes fans that they are, Mofftiss (that’s what the Tumblr fangirls call them, anyway) didn’t want to just completely ignore this important character trait of Sherlock’s brother.

So, they invented the genius idea of Mycroft’s weight constantly yo-yoing. When we meet him in season 1, episode 1 “A Study in Pink,” the other Holmes is on another diet. Sherlock asks if he’s putting on weight again, but Mycroft insists he’s “losing it, in fact.” The idea that we only ever see the older Holmes when he’s doing well on the weight scale is a great way to avoid Gatiss having to pile on the pounds to play the part, and presents a fun mental image of the writer/actor when the cameras stop rolling.

“Opening it hurriedly, out there jumped five little dried orange pips, which pattered down upon his plate. I began to laugh at this, but the laugh was struck from my lips at the sight of his face. His lip had fallen, his eyes were protruding, his skin the colour of putty, and he glared at the envelope which he still held in his trembling hand, ‘K. K. K.!’ he shrieked, and then, ‘My God, my God, my sins have overtaken me!'”

– Arthur Conan Doyle, The Five Orange Pips

In season 1, episode 3 “The Great Game,” Andrew Scott’s terrifying Jim Moriarty lends a dark sense of foreboding to the episode before we’ve even met him. By toying with our favourite consulting detective, the yin to Sherlock’s yang also gives a creepy reference to one of the Holmes canon’s lesser-known adventures.

The five beeps that precede each puzzle are directly lifted from the titular Five Orange Pips. Though we’ll probably never see this particular adventure on screen (the links to the Ku Klux Klan provide incredibly sensitive material), the scary use of the “pips” in the series 1 finale is a chilling way to pay homage to Arthur Conan Doyle’s seventh favourite Holmes story.

“It is the unofficial force – the Baker Street irregulars.”

– Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of Four
The homeless network is only seen once in Sherlock, helping Cumberbatch’s detective foil Moriarty in the third episode (though they are mentioned again in “The Reichenbach Fall”). Their appearance is fleeting, but crucial to the plot. And their Victorian counterparts were just as important in A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four, where they appeared as the Baker Street irregulars.

This gang of street urchins popped up in Watson’s journals from time to time, and he always described them with the same sense of bewilderment and shock. Fronted by a character called Wiggins, the irregulars were paid a shilling a day (plus expenses) for their work, and Sherlock (channeling Fagin from Oliver Twist it seems) would also give a guinea for vital clues. It’s understandable that the makers of the show wanted to avoid the irregulars – exploiting homeless child labour isn’t exactly a ratings winner. But the homeless network is a nice homage to everyone’s favourite street urchins.

“Have you tried to draw a harpoon through a body? No? Tut, tut, my dear sir, you must really pay attention to these details. My friend Watson could tell you that I spent a whole morning in that exercise. It is no easy matter, and requires a strong and practiced arm.”

– Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of Black Peter
It was a hilarious and captivating way to start season 2, episode 2 “The Hounds of Baskerville,” and Sherlock entering 221B covered in blood and holding a harpoon before declaring “That was tedious!” sets the tone for the rest of the Gothic episode. Though this little skit works well as a black comedy opening, it’s also a nod to one of Sherlock Holmes’ hidden gems of an adventure.

When young police inspector Stanley Hopkins approaches the great detective with a grisly murder in The Adventure of Black Peter, the sleuth instantly recognises that the choice of murder weapon – a harpoon – is crucial in solving the case. We don’t want to ruin the plot for you, but let’s just say that harpooning a pig leads to the Baker Street Boys cracking the puzzle. Though it lasts no more than a minute, this little scene provides Doyleites with just enough nostalgia to know we’re in for another great ride.

So, there you have it! A list of moments from our beloved TV show that you’ll only really understand if you’ve read Arthur Conan Doyle’s repertoire of novels (or you’re lazy and know how to use a search engine). We hope you liked this list, and who knows? Maybe you’ll be inspired to pick up the books to help you through these last moments in the run up to Sherlock series 3. If you’ve already read them, you should by now be feeling suitably smug – and please feel free to mention any nods to canon we didn’t include.