Fans of Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock have been talking about SuperWhoLock for years. Now thanks to an unprecedented deal, the idea will become reality.
According to a joint press release issued by the CW and the BBC, “Having heard for years from the fans of our respective shows that they see the possibility of the crossover of our universes, we have decided to make this a reality. The show will be a 10-episode mini-season that will air from roughly November 2014 to March 2015 during which time the three main shows are on hiatus.
The show will be set in an alternate reality. This should not be a stretch for Supernatural fans in particular, as they will be familiar with episodes such as season 6’s “French Mistake,” which involved the Winchester brothers ending up in a world where their lives played out on a television show called Supernatural.
How did this SuperWhoLock idea come to fruition? Apparently, fans have Mark Sheppard to thank. Mark not only plays the demon Crowley on Supernatural, but he is also the voice of BBC America, and has been on Doctor Who as Canton Everett Delaware III. Sheppard, realizing that both studios were facing severe budget cuts, connected Doctor Who and Sherlock showrunner Steven Moffat with Supernatural executive producers Jeremy Carver and Robert Singer.
Sheppard stated, “Look mate, a lad’s got to eat. I’m not stupid. Fans on Twitter are constantly sending me SuperWhoLock ideas. The scripts practically write themselves. All I had to do was point that out to a few of the higher-ups, and presto. We had a deal.”
“We were very excited to get in touch with [Moffat] to discuss a crossover,” Singer said. “Mark Sheppard has been trying to wear us down with pitches for a crossover for years, and now we finally found a way to make it work.”
“We’re very in touch with our fans, and we know they’ve been clamoring to see our boys meet Sherlock and the Doctor. Besides,” Carver added with a laugh, “who wouldn’t be excited to see the Impala and the TARDIS on screen together?”
In commenting on the new series, Moffat stated, “It’s an absolute gem of an idea whose time has long been coming. I know that in the past I denied that the Doctor Who and Sherlock universes would ever cross. The thing of it is that I rang up [Sherlock co-creator] Mark Gatiss and he came up with a smashing idea that not only keeps the integrity of the original shows, but also allows us the creativity to explore this new world. I can’t say much more, but ghosts, demons, aliens, and even Conan-Doyle himself play a role. Of course I’m new to this Impala thing. I thought it was a deer, but it’s a car apparently. Who knew? Pesky Americans, always naming things after animals. Don’t understand that, really.”
The only reported issue with SuperWhoLock is that there is apparently a bit of a squabble over who gets tops billing. Despite the name “SuperWhoLock” there are intense negotiations as to what order names should appear on the title card.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s reps were tracked down at Heathrow and responded before catching a flight. “Look, let’s face it, Benny is the big name, the superstar power here. He’s done Star Trek, The Hobbit, Sherlock, he gets listed first THEN comes everyone else, whoever they are,” Cumberbatch’s reps told us.
After pausing a moment to reflect, the unnamed rep concluded by adding, “Besides, can you imagine the reaction of the Cumberbitches if he wasn’t first? I have enough to deal with already without dealing with them! The big BC has been trying to get them to change their name to Cumberbunnies and they aren’t buying. Have you seen them when they are irate? They are rabid, I tell you, rabid! You can’t imagine the e-mails I got after that Access Hollywood interview. [see below] Anyway, this project gets him out there until Moffat gets his head out his backside and writes more than one Sherlock episode every 10 years.”
Regardless of the interesting challenges this new series poses, the studio heads are confident that everything can be worked out.