Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss responds to season 4 backlash

'We toyed with calling one of the episodes 'Backlash', because it’s time'

(Copyright: Hartswood Films 2016.)

Season four of Sherlock proved relatively controversial with fans of the series, many pining for the days when Benedict Cumberbatch’s character solved rational cases without explosions and fist fights.

Co-creator, writer and Mycroft Holmes actor Mark Gatiss responded to claims the show’s titular character was becoming too much like James Bond with a poem.

Speaking to The Guardian, Gatiss has expressed his feelings about the backlash, saying it was inevitable thanks to most classic shows being hated at some stage.

Calling the backlash “familiar pattern” with success, he said: “We toyed with calling one of the episodes 'Backlash', because it’s time.”

Pointing to the third series of The League of Gentlemen, a show he also created and starred in, Gatiss added: “though now regarded as a classic, was very controversial. A lot of people hated it.”

Apparently, it had never been their intention to go ‘off piste’: “It goes for any artistic endeavour – all you can do is your best. Sometimes you have to have an unpleasant amount of attention.

“But I’m stopped in the street two or three times a day by people saying how much they’ve enjoyed it. What more could you want?”

The final episode of season four caused quite a stir when released, particularly with regards Louise Brealey’s character Molly, who seemingly had no resolution.

Co-creator Steven Moffat told one interviewer "she gets over it,” something Brealey disagreed with on Twitter. Meanwhile, the BBC has yet to confirm whether Sherlock will be back for a fifth season.