Sherlock
The Six Thatchers
TV Flash files “The Six Thatchers” as the first listed hour of season 4 — Sherlock (2010–2017) on BBC/PBS, season 4, episode 1, aired 2017-01-01, 90 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E01: listed hour 10 of 12 in the Sherlock guide, first listed hour of season 4. It aired 2017-01-01 (90 min). The listed hour before it is “His Last Vow” (S03E03). Next is “The Lying Detective” (S04E02).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
While waiting for Moriarty to make good on his beyond-the-grave threat, Sherlock is intrigued by cases of vandalism where the criminal is breaking open busts of Margaret Thatcher. He soon discovers that the vandalism is tied to Mary's past.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Six Thatchers sit in the Sherlock guide?
S04E01 is listed hour 10 of 12 — first listed hour of season 4, season 4 episode 1.
When did Sherlock S04E01 air?
The Six Thatchers aired 2017-01-01 and is listed at 90 minutes.
Is it set in Victorian London?
No. Contemporary update: smartphones, blogs, text overlays. Doyle's characters and cases, Gatiss/Moffat's London now.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Holmes in texting-era London: Cumberbatch and Freeman as a global double act, mind palaces, on-screen texts, Moriarty as fandom sport. Gatiss and Moffat's movie-length BBC/PBS events made hiatuses feel like hostage situations. Modern Doyle for the GIF age — appointment mystery with waits that became part of the phenomenon.
The coat first. Benedict Cumberbatch's consulting detective in texting-era London, silhouette as a brand, Victorian arrogance cut against smartphone flair. Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat's BBC One series — *Masterpiece* in the U.S. — premiered July 25, 2010 as a contemporary Doyle update. Martin Freeman's John Watson blogs beside him. Episodes run like movies. Andrew Scott's Moriarty, Una Stubbs's Hudson, Rupert Graves's Lestrade, mind-palace overlays: detective television dressed as a global double act. **This…
Filed against
- Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes
Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes made texting-era London a mind palace — Gatiss and Moffat’s movie-length BBC/PBS events, Freeman as the global double act, on-screen texts, Moriarty as fandom sport, hiatuses like hostage situations.…
- Martin Freeman as John Watson
Martin Freeman’s Lester Nygaard is Fargo’s first-season ordinary man stepping into a snowdrift of crime — politeness as a trap, Midwestern manners until they are not. Noah Hawley’s FX anthology inherited the Coens’ moral geometry; Freeman…
- Una Stubbs as Mrs. Hudson
Una Stubbs’s Mrs. Hudson kept Sherlock’s Baker Street human while Cumberbatch and Freeman turned texting-era London into a global double act. Mind palaces, on-screen texts, Moriarty as fandom sport, Gatiss and Moffat’s movie-length…
- Rupert Graves as Greg Lestrade
Rupert Graves's Greg Lestrade kept Sherlock's texting-era London honest — Cumberbatch and Freeman as a global double act, mind palaces, on-screen texts, Moriarty as fandom sport. Gatiss and Moffat's movie-length BBC/PBS events. TV Flash…
- Andrew Scott as Jim Moriarty
Andrew Scott’s “hot priest” on Fleabag detonated fourth-wall confession into global discourse — faith, desire, and a cigarette that still starts fights. Short-run perfection needed his ache. TV Flash still looks at the lens when he walks…
- Amanda Abbington as Mary Watson
Amanda Abbington’s Mary Watson walked Sherlock’s texting-era London as the partner the GIF-age double act could not treat as furniture. Cumberbatch and Freeman, mind palaces, movie-length BBC events, hiatuses like hostage situations. TV…