Did you notice on the John Watson blog site (the official one associated with the show) that the story of the Alumnium Crutch contains a character named Sidney Paget.

I do see what you mean about the marketing of those books. Perhaps some people will be exposed to canon by stealth? Maybe it's a Moftiss plan to trick everyone into reading the originals. Let me know if you do see the intros, and I'll keep an eye out here for them too.