The Empty Hearse
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Episode 1

The Empty Hearse

The Empty Hearse

2014
Drama, Crime
TV Episode
1h 28m
Two years after the devastating effects of The Reichenbach Fall, Dr John Watson has got on with his life. New horizons, romance and a comforting domestic future beckon. But, with London under threat of a huge terrorist attack, Sherlock Holmes is about to rise from the grave with all the theatricality that comes so naturally to him. It's what his best friend wanted more than anything, but for John Watson it might well be a case of 'be careful what you wish for'.

Directed by:

Jeremy Lovering
Jeremy-Lovering
8 total credits
Jeremy Lovering has 8 credits at Criticker, including: The Empty Hearse, Slow Horses, In Fear and Sherlock: Many Happy Returns

Writers:

Mark Gatiss
Mark-Gatiss
111 total credits
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and novelist. He is known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen alongside Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and co-writer Jeremy Dyson, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock, the latter of which he also co-created.
,
Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur-Conan-Doyle
89 total credits
Arthur Conan Doyle has 89 credits at Criticker, including: Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Sherlock, Mr. Holmes and A Study in Pink
,
Steven Moffat
Steven-Moffat
23 total credits
Steven Moffat is a Scottish television writer and producer. Moffat's first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage; conversely, his later sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his relationship with television producer Sue Vertue. In between the two relationship-centred shows, he wrote Chalk, a sitcom set in a comprehensive school inspired by his own experience as an English teacher.

Starring:

Rupert Graves
Rupert-Graves
62 total credits
Rupert Graves is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is known for his early roles in A Room with a View and Maurice as well as for his more recent role as DI Lestrade in the television series Sherlock.
,
Mark Gatiss
Mark-Gatiss
111 total credits
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and novelist. He is known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen alongside Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and co-writer Jeremy Dyson, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock, the latter of which he also co-created.
,
Martin Freeman
Martin-Freeman
74 total credits
Martin John Christopher Freeman is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Tim Canterbury in The Office, Dr. Watson in Sherlock, Lester Nygaard in Fargo and Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy.
,
Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict-Cumberbatch
80 total credits
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English actor. His most acclaimed roles include Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama Hawking (2004); William Pitt in the historical film Amazing Grace (2006); protagonist Stephen Ezard in the miniseries thriller The Last Enemy (2008); Paul Marshall in Atonement (2007); Bernard in Small Island (2009); Sherlock Holmes in the modern BBC adaptation series Sherlock (2010); and Peter Guillam in the spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)...(wikipedia)
,
Amanda Abbington
Amanda-Abbington
17 total credits
Amanda Abbington has 17 credits at Criticker, including: Sherlock, The Sign of Three, The Abominable Bride, His Last Vow and The Empty Hearse
,
Una Stubbs
Una-Stubbs
10 total credits
Una Stubbs is an English television, stage, occasional film actress and former dancer. She is particularly known for playing Rita in the sitcom Till Death Us Do Part and Aunt Sally in the children's series Worzel Gummidge. She is also known for her role as Miss Bat in the series The Worst Witch and has most recently appeared as Sherlock Holmes's landlady Mrs Hudson in the Bafta award-winning television series Sherlock.
,
Wanda Ventham
Wanda-Ventham
11 total credits
Wanda Ventham has 11 credits at Criticker, including: His Last Vow, The Empty Hearse, The Final Problem, The Blood Beast Terror and Invasion: UFO
,
Louise Brealey
Louise-Brealey
10 total credits
Louise Brealey, also credited as Loo Brealey, is an English actress, writer and journalist. She is best known for playing student nurse Roxanne Bird in Casualty, and Molly Hooper in Sherlock.
,
Timothy Carlton
Timothy-Carlton
1 total credit
Timothy Carlton has just 1 credit at Criticker: His Last Vow, The Empty Hearse and The Final Problem

Genres:

Drama, Crime, Mystery

Country:

UK

Language:

English

The Empty Hearse

2014
Drama, Crime
TV Episode
1h 28m
Avg Percentile 64.99% from 386 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

Compact view
Compact view
Avg Percentile 64.99% from 386 total ratings
Rated 22 Jan 2019
71
38th
"The Empty Hearse" is the resolution to the cliffhanger in "The Reichenbach Fall," except only the most gullible of people would have bought into the cliffhanger, and only the most braindead of people wouldn't demand something a little more creative here. I expected a bang, but this was just the dull thud of a corpse hitting the ground.
Rated 06 Jul 2016
88
74th
Gets a little too cutesy and self-referential at times, but still highly enjoyable.
Rated 03 Jan 2014
58
44th
I am slowly becoming more and more disillusioned with this series. The first season was really solid and I loved it, the second season had some disappointments (minus the Hound of the Baskervilles story), but was still good overall. This first installment of season 3, however, kind of crossed the line between being self-aware of its fanbase to self-parody which I found to be incredibly annoying and boring. Not only that, but the mystery was incredibly dull and overshadowed by events last season.
Rated 11 Feb 2014
81
64th
The mystery is a bit underwhelming, but otherwise reasonably fun Sherlock episode.
Rated 28 Jan 2014
75
89th
Excellent.
Rated 07 Jan 2014
70
71st
In a three episode season it seems weird to use almost a whole episode to re-establish the characters. It really wasn't needed, but despite being mostly a filler episode it is still awesome TV.
Rated 05 Jan 2014
80
62nd
Personally, I really enjoyed the recap and all the fan service. After watching the second episode, however, this one almost feels like a bit of a waste. I won't knock it too much though, everyone in the show is awesome.
Rated 03 Jan 2014
8
78th
Spends too much time addressing the season 2 cliffhanger, but it's great to have these character back. The direction and visual style is incredible as always, but the main plot in this one is minimal.
Rated 18 Oct 2015
5
19th
While the on-the-nose nature of 'The Empty Hearse's' comedy is initially charming, the episode's uninteresting mystery and incessant insistence on parading its irreverence towards both the previous episode and the audience's investment quickly grows tiresome, and only serves as an indicator that perhaps Sherlock shouldn't have returned at all.
Rated 11 Mar 2014
54
50th
It's nice to have the show back, but this episode makes it clear that it's running out of steam. The fan theories were laughable in both a good and a bad way, but they didn't annoy me as much as the manufactured crisis of the train bomb (which was also oddly and specifically reminiscent of V for Vendetta).
Rated 10 Feb 2014
91
89th
what a riot. this episode was such good fun to watch. i laughed all the way through. they really couldn't have handled the twist in a better way, given the amount of fan expectations and build-up in the past two years. i have to admit, i WAS slightly disappointed for not getting a straight answer, but they really couldn't have came up with something definitive without disappointing someone, so the cheeky, hilarious nod to fans was the most intelligent way to handle it and i commend them for it.
Rated 28 Jan 2014
7
49th
Uck, stahp with the incessant how-did-he-fake-his-death scenes!
Rated 12 Jan 2014
60
57th
Oh man, this is getting embarrassing. This series started so brilliantly and now they come up with this. There is no need to introduce the characters again. Hopefully the next episode is the usual quality again.
Rated 04 Jan 2014
70
69th
As far as living up to its own standards goes, The Empty Hearse is definitely the worst of the entire series. And by worst I still mean pretty good.
Rated 22 Jan 2024
58
73rd
The first half was pretty good but the second half isn't anything to write home about. Still, it's pretty good.
Rated 24 Oct 2022
80
76th
Toward the end of the Sherlock run, we started missing the mark, and stepping further away from the source material or any meaningful adaptation of it. I can't hate on it too much as I still think Cumberbatch and Freeman make the best Holmes and Watson duo, but I was frustrated by the direction the series started taking.
Rated 05 Nov 2018
96
84th
The opening for Series Three can feel like it doesn't really have a three act structure like the rest of the episodes. Even then, it's still wonderfully written and uses the totally unique editing style of the show to add some brilliant comedy and wordplay. In the end, the Empty Hearse is a more than appropriate start. Even if it could be considered the low point of the season.
Rated 07 Apr 2018
68
70th
Okay but not great ended up leaving me unsatisfied.
Rated 21 Jan 2018
56
18th
A big mess in terms of structure and tone at this point. I have no idea how seriously it wants to be taken. I can get into a fun lightweight modern Sherlock but with its self-referential style and wildly inconsistent dramatic elements this just dismantles any point it tries to achieve as entertainment for me. The key performances still make it watchable somehow.
Rated 02 Jan 2017
27
82nd
why do they not like mustaches : { (
Rated 11 Nov 2015
2
59th
Quite dull, doesn't really have that particular 'magic' anymore. Hopefully Sherlock will redeem itself.
Rated 20 Dec 2014
53
62nd
Besr explosion of the Houses of Parliament ever.
Rated 05 Aug 2014
4
44th
Mostly just reintroduction. Not an overwhelmingly compelling mystery. P.S. Other than being somewhat longer than usual TV episodes, why the hell are there TV episodes on Criticker?
Rated 13 Apr 2014
68
65th
So-so effort for this series. As others have pointed out there probably wasn't need to re-introduce the characters.
Rated 06 Feb 2014
76
49th
I'm not convinced with this (non-)solution.
Rated 13 Jan 2014
75
66th
An interesting return for Sherlock. The interactions between the characters was great (especially Sherlock and Mycroft). The actually case was a little lackluster and it seemed off in terms of look and feel of previous episodes. It's good, but the fact that we only get 3 episodes makes it more disappointing.
Rated 06 Jan 2014
65
58th
Plays mostly as a re-introduction, but it's nice to be back and there's plenty of fun to be had.
Rated 04 Jan 2014
77
60th
They are back! I really missed this show. On first viewing, I loved it. But on second viewing, I enjoyed it. I expected more from the script. I loved the actors who made a special cameo, but I didn't like the way their characters were written, sadly.
Rated 02 Jan 2014
76
56th
Muito feliz por Sherlock ter voltado, mas esse episódio não está entre os melhores, embora alguns momentos sejam bacanérrimos, especialmente aqueles que lidam com a volta dele, Cumberbatch e Freeman formam mesmo uma grande dupla.

Cast & Info

Directed by:

Jeremy Lovering
Jeremy-Lovering
8 total credits
Jeremy Lovering has 8 credits at Criticker, including: The Empty Hearse, Slow Horses, In Fear and Sherlock: Many Happy Returns

Writers:

Mark Gatiss
Mark-Gatiss
111 total credits
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and novelist. He is known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen alongside Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and co-writer Jeremy Dyson, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock, the latter of which he also co-created.
,
Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur-Conan-Doyle
89 total credits
Arthur Conan Doyle has 89 credits at Criticker, including: Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Sherlock, Mr. Holmes and A Study in Pink
,
Steven Moffat
Steven-Moffat
23 total credits
Steven Moffat is a Scottish television writer and producer. Moffat's first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage; conversely, his later sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his relationship with television producer Sue Vertue. In between the two relationship-centred shows, he wrote Chalk, a sitcom set in a comprehensive school inspired by his own experience as an English teacher.

Starring:

Rupert Graves
Rupert-Graves
62 total credits
Rupert Graves is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is known for his early roles in A Room with a View and Maurice as well as for his more recent role as DI Lestrade in the television series Sherlock.
,
Mark Gatiss
Mark-Gatiss
111 total credits
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and novelist. He is known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen alongside Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and co-writer Jeremy Dyson, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock, the latter of which he also co-created.
,
Martin Freeman
Martin-Freeman
74 total credits
Martin John Christopher Freeman is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Tim Canterbury in The Office, Dr. Watson in Sherlock, Lester Nygaard in Fargo and Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy.
,
Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict-Cumberbatch
80 total credits
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English actor. His most acclaimed roles include Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama Hawking (2004); William Pitt in the historical film Amazing Grace (2006); protagonist Stephen Ezard in the miniseries thriller The Last Enemy (2008); Paul Marshall in Atonement (2007); Bernard in Small Island (2009); Sherlock Holmes in the modern BBC adaptation series Sherlock (2010); and Peter Guillam in the spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)...(wikipedia)
,
Amanda Abbington
Amanda-Abbington
17 total credits
Amanda Abbington has 17 credits at Criticker, including: Sherlock, The Sign of Three, The Abominable Bride, His Last Vow and The Empty Hearse
,
Una Stubbs
Una-Stubbs
10 total credits
Una Stubbs is an English television, stage, occasional film actress and former dancer. She is particularly known for playing Rita in the sitcom Till Death Us Do Part and Aunt Sally in the children's series Worzel Gummidge. She is also known for her role as Miss Bat in the series The Worst Witch and has most recently appeared as Sherlock Holmes's landlady Mrs Hudson in the Bafta award-winning television series Sherlock.
,
Wanda Ventham
Wanda-Ventham
11 total credits
Wanda Ventham has 11 credits at Criticker, including: His Last Vow, The Empty Hearse, The Final Problem, The Blood Beast Terror and Invasion: UFO
,
Louise Brealey
Louise-Brealey
10 total credits
Louise Brealey, also credited as Loo Brealey, is an English actress, writer and journalist. She is best known for playing student nurse Roxanne Bird in Casualty, and Molly Hooper in Sherlock.
,
Timothy Carlton
Timothy-Carlton
1 total credit
Timothy Carlton has just 1 credit at Criticker: His Last Vow, The Empty Hearse and The Final Problem

Genres:

Drama, Crime, Mystery

Country:

UK

Language:

English
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