view=vision
more=added
acknowledging=knowing

         I believe Moffat and Gatiss intentionally explore PTSD and its effects through Watson. They have a therapist mention that Watson has been traumatized by the war, which is true, but it’s not in the way they think. Instead of having Watson be put off by any type of violence that could make him remember his service, we see him craving him. Doyle seldom rummages through Watson’s past in the military; however, Moffat and Gatiss skillfully utilize his past to add more depth to Watson’s character. We see Watson talk about the army pension and how it’s not enough for basic living. This is a struggle in our modern day, and Moffat and Gatiss were able to portray this in a way that we understand is a fact. 

          “I had neither kith nor kin in England, and was therefore as free as air—or as free as an income of eleven shillings and sixpence a day will permit a man to be.” Both “A Study in Scarlet” and “A Study in Pink” portray the low salaries of soldiers, however, Moffat and Gatiss are able to make it seem more prominent. There’s not much Watson, in both the original book and the show, can do with their limited amount of money. Furthermore, this creates Watson’s need for a roommate. We know how expensive housing can be now, heightening our relation to this wonderful modern adaptation.

    THE GUNNING FOG INDEX IS 12.46

Furthermore, Doyle often made reference to PTSD in the story to likely connect with readers of that time period; Moffit and Gattis, Conversely, do not touch on this subject as much. However, Moffit and Gattis tend to introduce topics such as femininity, unsuccessful marriage, medical advancements, and even neurodivergence. These topics are all represented in A Study In Scarlet but are more so in A Study In Pink because this better relates to the target audience. For example, at the time of  A Study In Pink's production, neurodivergence was just beginning to be better understood and better represented. Femininity was also a significant rise. Therefore, you can notice these topics. 

I would also like to point out how well Moffitt, Gattis, and Doyle connected events and placed clues as writers. For example, in "A Study in Scarlet" the narrator states “The regiment was stationed in India at the time, and before I could join it, the second Afghan war had broken out”. Then later it explains how Watson, the narrator, was really empathetic to the murders and those who died; therefore allowing the inference that Watson is still affected by the war. Then the writers of a study in pink imamate Doyles character design for Watson through his psychosomatic injury. This is one of many examples of how successful the writers were at connection and clues. 

Gunning fox index score- 12.65

Gunning Fog Index: 14.68

Moffat and Gattis beautifully shape-shift Doyle’s “A Study in Scarlet” into a more modern piece of media; although, the revamped story has some added elements which were not in the original. One of these elements was that the murderer had a sponsor who would pay the murderer when he killed a victim. 

We learn through the murderer that the sponsor is a fan of Sherlock. I believe the sponsor perceived Sherlock would analyze these murders. A Sherlock fan watching Sherlock decipher a crime would likely be entertained, as deciphering crimes is what Sherlock is recognized for. 

I believe what Moffat and Gattis wanted us to understand was the extremes this sponsor would go through just to receive their preferred entertainment. Maybe they hoped we would inspect our extremes for entertainment, or how far we were willing to go for entertainment.

 Doyle steadily showcases the motives of the murderer; however, Doyle’s murderer’s motive was revenge, while BBC’s murderer’s sponsor had the motive of money. But Sherlock’s motives in both stories have a similar motive to the BBC’s murderer sponsor, they perform for fun. 

A section of “A Study in Scarlet” says “They have their knives into one another, too. They are as jealous as a pair of professional beauties. There will be some fun over this case if they are both put upon the scent.” The dialogue from that section is said by Sherlock, and he mentions “fun over this case”. This suggests that Sherlock enjoys solving these murders, but Sherlock doesn’t take them seriously. 

BBC’s murderer sponsor and Doyle’s Sherlock both function for entertainment, but the sponsor takes this to the extreme, as he is willing to place entertainment over lives. I believe Doyle wanted to show off Sherlock by allowing him to display entertainment with these cases, while Moffat and Gattis desired us to reflect on our extremes.

-----------------------------THE GUNNING FOG INDEX IS 11.79-----------------------------