Dear Steven Moffat,
Frequently your writing makes an hour or an hour and a half feel like a whole other kind of time and space, like you’ve packed so much in the in-between somehow that I feel like I’m seeing more story than I actually am. I’m not entirely sure how you’re managing that, and I’m…
At least part of it is the way he has characters casually reference things that weren’t filmed. Is he better at making those references “stick” than the average scriptwriter?
The stickiness of those references is due partly to Moffat’s production team, which is also brilliant at backing him up and telling little non-verbal stories of their own, through set design, costuming, and other elements.
For instance, in Sherlock, the Cluedo board. In one ep, we see it stuck to the wall with a knife. Clearly something dire has happened involving Cluedo (and your mind instantly starts wondering: dear god, do they play board games? was it for a case? was someone trying to illustrate an ironic point which Sherlock took exception to?). In the next ep, we find out what that was about, but even if we didn’t, the possibilities would still be there. And so would the realization that something happened when we weren’t watching; that this is a world that keeps moving when the viewer is not present.
I remember similar things happening with the Doctor Who set: articles of clothing draped over bannisters, tools and messes that come and go, casual references that sometimes are even built up to become in-jokes between the characters to things we never see.
Not only does this give us access to additional sensory input and layers of meaning, which is a great way to build up a character and a world that feels textured and real; but also the implication, by extension, is that these characters exist independent of us. They become more real because we have the evidence that they keep right on living off-screen, when we aren’t watching.
And by that logic, it stands to reason that the characters must be choosing to let us in on select portions of their lives. It’s particularly intense in Sherlock, as John’s role as Sherlock’s documentarian/storyteller becomes important in a meta way. Because yes, giving us a window on their lives is something these characters are established as doing. They are inviting us to watch them. They are communicating with us! It’s an extremely subtle breaking of the fourth wall. We’re not simply disembodied eyes. We are their fans! We are the world beyond their blog, we are IN their world and they are in ours. We are, in fact, part of the show!
Ivy Blossom: An Open Letter to Steven Moffat