dumb little elementary running jokes that i love:

• sherlock’s conviction that the best way to hail a cab is by using a whistle, and the fact that this rarely actually works
• joan’s obsession with the mafia, from her glee at any mob case to her godfather movie marathons to her dropping of mob slang
• sherlock going to great lengths to come up with new novel ways to wake up joan, and her excitement when she gets to wake him
• sherlock being an excellent cook who nevertheless subsists on soggy cereal and canned tomatoes
• sherlock and joan’s utter devotion to their tortoise, from making him hibernation burrows to custom food to trimming his nails to the sounds of enya. sherlock also arranging that first kitty and then her son should take him when the time comes, as truly responsible pet ownership consists of planning for all hundred years of their lives.
• sherlock’s absolute committal to doing any weird thing internet trolls ask him to, and his love of internet flame wars and arguments, because of course.
• the fact that sherlock’s love of bees factors into so many cases, from “maybe i can torture someone with them” to “this company is obviously the murderer because they create bee killing pesticides” to “no i will not solve this crime because we are on the same bee forum and i disagree with the details of your bee husbandry.” like this adaptation really saw the “sherlock retires to the country to raise bees” ending of the books and ran with it.
• joan being a fashion plate to the point that characters can tell she’s having a bad week if she wears the same sweater twice.
• sherlock by the end of season one realizing that he really enjoys teaching (which holds true to the novels, where he was always eager to explain and teach his methods), and then proceeding to find or attempt to find a new protege about once a year, and then more broadly becoming flattered and convinced that any random character’s insights are due to association with him and his Amazing Influence.
• whenever sherlock announces a fact mysteriously because he wants to be impressive, and instead the people around him roll their eyes, call him out, or announce or lie about other facts just to fuck with him
• not quite a running gag but also: the way that after season one the wardrobe department settles on sherlock’s look, which is always very formal but just slightly off (shirts buttoned up all the way, even the collar; formal suits without a tie, always his sobriety pin on his lapel). like it’s just a very good way of communicating his character.
• sherlock’s “i will uncover new facts by studying them in a new location” philosophy and the fact that you might at any point open literally any door and find him staring at a murder diorama there