Patience on Channel 4

I'm currently researching the 'autistic detective trope' as part of my PhD project (the other part is me writing a novel with an autistic amateur detective), so I was particularly interested in seeing how it was handled in Patience and how it might have differed to Astrid.

Sherlock has been mentioned here, and the roots of the autistic detective trope lie with Sherlock Holmes being retrospectively diagnosed as having Aspergers in the 1990s. He's always been a character that invites diagnoses through the narrative voice of Dr Watson who characterises him as a 'cold-blooded enigma' and a 'mystery to be solved.' In the 1980s, it was quite popular to read Holmes as being bipolar, which I think had something to do with Jeremy Brett, the actor who played him in the 80s/90s TV series himself being bipolar. By the time of Sherlock and the more recent Robert Downey Jr films, his autism was firmly established but arguably the way it was portrayed was actually quite damaging in terms of public perception of autism - it again featured the idea that autistic people are cold, unemotional, almost robotic. 

There's a really good article by the autistic scholar Sonya Freeman Loftis exploring the trope and how it works in wider culture;

The Autistic Detective: Sherlock Holmes and his Legacy | Disability Studies Quarterly

I think Astrid and now Patience have moved the trope on a little, it's not something to be guessed at - it's stated from the beginning, and the characters are shown with a range of abilities and challenges rather than being superhuman. The introduction of the autism support group can feel a bit clunky but it's the first time I think 'autistic gaze' has been introduced as a discreet feature, giving space for autistic perspectives. Astrid/Patience are not unemotional superheroes, they feel more human, make mistakes, and contribute to a collective crime solving effort.

Thanks for sharing your analysis.  Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently springs to mind too.  Although maybe I'm just grabbing all the best players to be in our team :-)  Thanks for the link.  Sherlock Holmes - brings to mind a rude joke that has the punch line "lemon-entry my Dear Watson" I have explored different reasoning models for a while too  - Holmes et al seem to me to incorporate hypothetico-deductive reasoning (testing the lamp smoke for neuro-toxins in one that I recall), pattern recognition (the size and roughness of hands on a pawn-broker to reveal that has not been their sole profession) and maybe eventually being able to reach outside the box to incorporate them into a solution for the puzzle.  The effort that the characters put into solving the puzzle seems to me to be a stand out.  Maybe this is a skill that is developed by having to solve the puzzle of the normal world as experienced by them? For me it's the abstract reasoning that stands out - being able to avoid the problems that relying on "Ive seen this before" into what is there here that I haven't seen (but have in a different way).  Maybe why jokes are fun too :-)  My wife suggested a couple of names for characters this morning - Dr Trine and Dr Toring. All the best and I look forward to reading further from you :-) 

Thanks for sharing your analysis.  Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently springs to mind too.  Although maybe I'm just grabbing all the best players to be in our team :-)  Thanks for the link.  Sherlock Holmes - brings to mind a rude joke that has the punch line "lemon-entry my Dear Watson" I have explored different reasoning models for a while too  - Holmes et al seem to me to incorporate hypothetico-deductive reasoning (testing the lamp smoke for neuro-toxins in one that I recall), pattern recognition (the size and roughness of hands on a pawn-broker to reveal that has not been their sole profession) and maybe eventually being able to reach outside the box to incorporate them into a solution for the puzzle.  The effort that the characters put into solving the puzzle seems to me to be a stand out.  Maybe this is a skill that is developed by having to solve the puzzle of the normal world as experienced by them? For me it's the abstract reasoning that stands out - being able to avoid the problems that relying on "Ive seen this before" into what is there here that I haven't seen (but have in a different way).  Maybe why jokes are fun too :-)  My wife suggested a couple of names for characters this morning - Dr Trine and Dr Toring. All the best and I look forward to reading further from you :-)