There’s how many fans waiting outside 221B? And they have pictures of what?!

BBC Sherlock producer Sue Vertue has asked fans to not post any pictures or spoilers for “series 3.”   I believe that she, and the cast and crew, are largely concerned with the logistical nightmare of dealing with masses of fans converging on the location shoots with flashes, alerts, and phones going off at inopportune moments. I completely agree and understand the concern. I’d like to ask others to have consideration for the production crew as well as the cast (and no, I’m not saying this because I’m not in London right now. I could be in London right now, but I decided it would be much wiser, and more mature, to go for the delayed gratification of being in London when the Sherlock Season 3 airs. This is what my friend, Heidi, would do.)

I confess to having done a bit of on-location site lurking in my “youth” (and yes, like those lucky fans in Bristol, I even got to be an extra in a crowd shot at the last moment).But they were for shows and films that didn’t draw a large crowd, could easily handle the lurking, and at no time did any of us do anything exceedingly disruptive like snap a shot during filming. Of course, this was before smartphones and built-in cameras (It was certainly way before the technology existed for Benedict Cumberbatch to use his iPhone to shoot a screen test for Star Trek Into Darkness).

So I contemplated a long time on what to do regarding the conflict of interest between wanting to play the “Solving the Mystery of Rat, Wedding, Bow” and not posting any spoilers. I think I’ve come up with a reasonable compromise.

Let’s face it, some of use can’t help but speculate on what Sherlock Season 3 has in store for us. To quote Sherlock in Reichenbach Fall, “I can’t just turn it off.” Give me a puzzle, challenge me intellectually to figure it out, and my brain is going to work on it whether I want it to or not. So I’m going to be looking for clues both in what Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, and BBC One release as hints and teasers, as well as any rumour, innuendo, and bits of gossip I can get (Yes, this includes Benedict Cumberbatch leaking that he and Martin Freeman are committed for a Season 4 which reinforces Steven Moffatt’s hint that Sherlock Season 3 will end with “a cliffhanger.” See? Even Mofftiss can’t help themselves!)

But I will limit the potential for exposing others to unwanted information and from encouraging fan paparazzi from converging on location shoots to compete for photo posts. I am going to keep all of the Sherlock Season 3 Spoilers in a single post and only link to online media articles (like the British tabloids for those wanting images and video). I’ll also restrict the on-going speculations of what we will get in Sherlock Season 3 to a single speculations and guesses post. I’ll be updating them periodically as new information arrives, so I’ll be posting the latest update date at the top of the post. I’ll also make them “sticky” which will keep them at the top of the Home Page.

I hope this is an acceptable compromise for everyone.

Personally, I have no problem seeing sneak peak images and tidbits. (It certainly hasn’t dampened my enthusiasm for seeing Star Trek Into Darkness or The Hobbit 2,) Actually, I’d like to ask Sue Vertue and Team Sherlock to consider making some mini-epsiodes like they did for Dr. Who to work us into a frenzy (yeah, like we need a bigger frenzy then the madness that went on in Gower Street during shooting…). Hey, I can dream, can’t I?