Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (2016) - Written Review

Well, glad I didn't go and see it at the cinema.
So, Sherlock is back for a one-off special two years after the slightly underwhelming but ultimately enjoyable third series. Steven Moffat promised us a one-off Victorian-set episode that acts as a completely standalone episode. Fair enough. So, as the episode starts, why is their a 'so far on Sherlock' previously montage (and not a very good one at that)? Well, I guess it sets up a new continuity with the 'or, alternatively...', but...was it really needed?
The Abominable Bride starts off with a flashback to when Dr John Watson and Sherlock Holmes first met, recreating the familiar scene from A Study In Pink in Victorian fashion. There's something slightly off about it though...
As the brand new title sequence brings us a new rendition of the theme tune and some clever teases for later in the episode, it would seem that this will be a unique, special episode in Sherlock. As the episode continues, we're guided into a world created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with a brand-new story. There are some all-too familiar elements in there, but all seems good. There's a good mystery with the bride, and it's a classic Mark Gatiss Victorian horror idea. There does seem to be a bit too much waffle in there, but never mind. There's a whole exposition sequence explaining the events, with 221b Baker Street appearing in the locations. However, despite this being supposedly Sherlock's imagination - sorry, Mind Palace - it seems very odd that Lestrade, Mary and Watson are all watching the events as well; Lestrade isn't even explaining the events! It's a really gimmicky sequence that just seems to be a poor imitation of this stuff from previous Sherlock episodes. It's not particularly original, and isn't very well done. This is a bit of a shame given that Douglas Mackinnon directed the wonderful-looking Doctor Who Christmas special a week before. Here, he just seems to be imitating previous Sherlock directors - and not very well.
As the story continues, the mystery thickens with Tim McInnerny being stalked by the supposedly dead bride. There's a creepy maze scene, which later on in the episode doesn't make much sense. Then suddenly Moriarty's involved, and the whole episode that seemed to be a bit waffle-y in the first place takes an absolute nosedive. Moriarty shows up because...why not? After a few freaky things happen, Sherlock wakes up on the plane in 2014, just as we left him in His Last Vow, and with the help of Mycroft and Lestrade tries to see if his solution to the Abominable Bride case (a real case in the Sherlock universe that couldn't be solved in the 19th Century) was correct. Then the skeleton of the Bride starts lunging towards him and Sherlock wakes up again and...I completely lost what was going on at that point.
The episode ended with Victorian Holmes and Watson in Victorian 221b in 21st Century Baker Street...so f*** knows what was going on there.
The mystery isn't solved properly, the episode just goes along at a pace that suggests Steven Moffat's not planned any of this out and anything set up earlier about this being a very personal case to Sherlock and his relationship with Irene Adler disappears from the episode entirely. There's some good cinematography, some rather bland cinematography, far too much of this 'mind palace' nonsense, terrible transitions and just leaving the audience wondering: "what the hell was all that about?"

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride is a poorly-written, blandly-directed mess of an episode. There's no focus, the mystery is just left unsolved and I have no idea what on Earth was going on after the half-way point. It was a load of old incomprehensible waffle and Steven Moffat was just talking absolute rubbish in his interviews for this episode.
So, Steven Moffat's screwing up Doctor Who and Sherlock now. Two shows that were once my two favourite shows of all time. Well, sod it. I really cannot be bothered to look forward to what either show has to offer in the future. Doctor Who's going down the drain in popularity anyway. The Abominable Bride is the worst episode of Sherlock simply because Steven Moffat didn't give a damn. And that's just a terrible way to treat your audience.
I give Sherlock: The Abominable Bride a 4/10.