In re: weapons...

[alexpgp]

The recent BBC rendering of Sherlock Holmes, deliciously updated for the 21st century, does have this hiccup that has me wondering.

In conformance to The Canon, Dr. John Watson is a military doctor, retired, who served in Afghanistan. Also in conformance to The Canon, the good doctor possesses a pistol. In a very early scene of A Study in Pink, the camera gives the audience a glimpse of an automatic pistol as Watson takes a laptop from his desk drawer. (And, in keeping with Chekhov, the pistol gets used later in the plot, but I digress—).

But the setting here is the UK, in the 21st century. Is it feasible to think that Watson's possession of the pistol is legal? He is, after all, now a civilian (not that it would make much of a difference if he were still in the service), and I don't seem to recall the UK as being all that big on the citizenry carrying pocket knives, much less firearms.

Seeing as this was a retelling of Holmes (and that I'm such a fan of Doyle's "consulting detective" that I will exert every effort to enjoy such a tale), at that point of the story, I exerted some effort to suspend disbelief, and enjoyed the rest of the story. To anyone from the UK who has seen the telecast: Did you experience any similar reaction? (Or might British audiences readily accept that firearms are readily available in the UK?)

Cheers...

Comments

[rm.livejournal.com]

(From talking to UK people about this business) I don't think anyone thinks the pistol is legal and yeah, some suspension of disbelief is required, but I think it's slight.

I think it's plausible, that someone with Watson's background, who then is shown to:

a) put up with Sherlock
b) thrive on violence/chaos
c) be willing to avoid dealing with the legal ramifications of his somewhat outside of the box actions (shooting someone on Sherlock's behalf)
d) has a history that may or may not include suicidal ideation

would be the sort of guy that, given the logistical ability to acquire a gun illegally due to his career history, has the temperment to actually do so and then keep it in his desk drawer until such time as is narratively convenient.

Also the commentary track re: that is very "Where'd he get the gun? Well, he's a soldier... fuck it! Like America, we want to shoot stuff."

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

Well, set forth like that, Watson's possession of a pistol does seem more plausible, although it results (in my opinion) in a greatly different character, which is not necessarily a Bad Thing.

Cheers...

[rm.livejournal.com]

I don't have much relationship with older Holmes material. I've delved into it for work lately, but it's not in my emotional bones, so for me it's easy to accept this arguably darker Watson. In fact, I think the only thing Watson really has on Holmes in the new series in terms of moral compass is more pragmatism and less casual cruelty. But I think he's just as out there.

[bemused-leftist.livejournal.com]

I don't think Watson needs to be 'dark' in order to get and keep an illegal pistol. Several of your points apply just as well to a cheerful Watson.

Holmes has connections, is anyone really going to punish Watson for having it? Is the current UK mindset so anti-gun that Watson himself would feel bad about having it?

/ USian here /