SHERLOCK Teases Series 3 in Three Words

A Sherlock wedding next year?  Looks likely, but will it be Watson's, Holmes' or someone else's?

Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, co-creators and showrunners of the BBC series Sherlock, went on Twitter today and teased the three episodes for Series 3, which is currently expected to begin some time around August 2013.  "So," tweeted Moffat.  "The three tease words for the next run of Sherlock...Rat. Wedding. Bow."

Presumably, Series 3 follows the pattern of the previous two seasons by adpating three original Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  If so, the episodes could be adaptations of the stories "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire," "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor" and "His Last Bow."

"The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire" involves Holmes receiving two odd letters that make reference to vampires.  Mr. Robert Ferguson, who comes to 221B Baker Street the next morning, has become convinced that his Peruvian wife has been sucking their baby son's blood.  Holmes also mentions a previous case to Watson known as The Giant Rat of Sumatra, referring to it as "a story for which the world is not yet prepared."

"The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor" concerns the bride of the fictional Lord Robert St. Simon disappearing on the day of their marriage.  She participates in the wedding, but disappears from the reception.

"His Last Bow" could be a potential TV series finale, since this story is the last chronological tale in Doyle's series.  Set on the eve of World War I, Holmes is at the end of his career, going undercover as an Irish-American informant named Altamont, with Watson posing as his chauffeur, to feed the Germans some thoroughly untrustworthy intelligence.  After the story is over, we learn that Holmes has retired from active detective work.  He spends his days beekeeping in the countryside and writing his definitive work on investigation.

Here's hoping I'm wrong about this being a series finale, though...