CFM News Steven Moffat Talks Sherlock At The 2015 San Diego Comic Con

Article and photos by Suzanne Philips

 

Steven Moffat at 2015 San Diego Comic Con. Photo copyright Suzanne Philips
Steven Moffat at 2015 San Diego Comic Con. Photo copyright Suzanne Philips

 

Steven Moffat – you love him….you hate him….you hate to love him.  The genius behind the reboot of the “Doctor Who” franchise and the smash success “Sherlock” inspires strong feelings in fans.  Moffat is also one of the busiest people in television, juggling two very successful shows that he produces, writing episodes and making appearances and talking to the press at events like the 2015 San Diego Comic Con.

 

Photo copyright Suzanne Philips
Photo copyright Suzanne Philips

Not only did he have two official Comic Con panels – for “Doctor Who” and “Sherlock”, there was also a “Sherlock” panel at Zachary Levi’s popular Nerd HQ which he attended with wife Sue Vertue and “Sherlock” Star Rupert Graves, and he still found time to attend the annual SherlockeDCC fan party with his wife and son at the San Diego Central Library.

Moffat was a special surprise guest at the party, which is an annual event held for fans put on by the Baker Street Babes, an all-female fan group (www.bakerstreetbabes.com).  Party-goers were delighted to see Moffat and wife Sue Vertue (also a producer on “Sherlock”) and son Louis come by to spend some time with them at the sold-out event.

 

Louis and Steven Moffat and 2015 San Diego Comic Con.  Photo copyright Suzanne Philips
Louis and Steven Moffat and 2015 San Diego Comic Con. Photo copyright Suzanne Philips

 

Louis was in the “Sherlock” episode “His Last Vow” playing the young Sherlock Holmes.  Fans wanted to know what it was like being the young Sherlock and Louis said that he still had to audition for the role, even though his parents produce the show.  He said that he really enjoyed working with his parents and it was a lot of fun shooting the episode.

 

Photo copyright Suzanne Philips
Photo copyright Suzanne Philips

 

One fan asked Moffat if he had to kill off either Sherlock or Watson, who would he rather kill?  Moffat said that he thought it would be more interesting to see how Sherlock would react to the death of one of his friends.  “Watson without Sherlock, we have already seen that…how that would be.  Seeing how Sherlock reacted when Mrs. Hudson was threatened…..it would be interesting to see how Sherlock would deal with any of his people being hurt or killed.”

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YT7ZunCk-0

 

The question was posed that if “Sherlock” were ever to run out of original Arthur Conan Doyle stories, would they consider using any of the modern authors who have written stories about Sherlock Holmes as the basis for their storylines.  Moffat laughed “At this stage, given that there is so much original, and we make the show like the glacier that advances across Europe, we’re not in any real danger of running out. There are 60 original Arthur Conan Doyle stories….we have made 10. I think Arthur Conan Doyle could catch up with us and he’s dead.”

 

Sue Vertue.  Photo copyright Suzanne Philips
Sue Vertue. Photo copyright Suzanne Philips

Moffat quipped to wife Sue Vertue when she commented on how slowly “Sherlock” is produced, “I do have another project I work on” referring to his other job as Showrunner and Producer on “Doctor Who.”

Obviously both Moffat and Vertue realize how important the fan base is to “Sherlock” and they clearly love the show and the fans to take time out of an extremely long day to spend with their fans.

For info on next year’s SherlockeDCC party, visit www.bakerstreetbabes.com.

Author: Suzanne Philips
Film, TV, Theatre reviewer. Mad Dance Skillz, Crazy in a good way.

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