As the mastermind behind the BBC’s current iteration of the cult favorite, Doctor Who, TV writer and producer Steven Moffat knows a thing or two about British superheroes. The patron saint of nerd cool helped revamp Sherlock Holmes for the digital age: Sherlock is set in present-day London, with re-imagined villains, high tech crimes, and lightning-fast dialogue. Kurt Andersen interviewed Moffat back in 2012, and you can hear the original uncut interview above.
Interview highlights:
- 10:20 — Subtle Anti-Americanism? Kurt notes that one of the baddies in the new season’s first episodes in derided as being an American. “Surely that’s just natural, isn’t it?” Moffat laughs. “Maybe it’s my personal revenge for the fact that every Hollywood film, when they want someone really evil and villainous, and in particular, a Nazi, gets an English actor to play it. Every single time! There have been times I’ve been wanting to write to you lot and say, ‘You realize the Nazis weren’t actually British.’”
- 11:10 — Style: Moffat explains the process behind creating the steampunk-infused design of Sherlock.
- 13:15 — Technical difficulties: We try playing a clip, but something sounds funky... “It’s the smurfs!” Moffat exclaims. Sped up, Cumberbatch sounds “like Tony Blair.”
- 21:30 — Doctor Who: Will the Doctor be reunited with River Song? Will there ever be a female Doctor? Moffat takes your questions.
- 25:00 — Coupling: Moffat explains why his acclaimed sitcom fell flat (lasting only three episodes) when it was adapted for American television: “network interference. I saw one of the early cuts of their version of episode three and it was first rate. Then I saw it after the network had given notes and it was terrible.” He explains why The Office made the transition right.
- 26:40 — Another Sherlock: CBS is making a contemporary Sherlock Holmes as well — fishy? Perhaps. Moffat explains (while monitoring the reaction of his wife, Sherlock producer Sue Vertue).