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Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
has long been a popular character for
pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...
, Holmes-related work by authors and creators other than
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
. Their works can be grouped into four broad categories: *New Sherlock Holmes stories *Stories in which Holmes appears in a cameo role *Stories about imagined descendants of Sherlock Holmes *Stories inspired by Sherlock Holmes but which do not include Holmes himself


Sherlock Holmes stories

New Sherlock Holmes stories fall into many categories, including: * Additional Sherlock Holmes stories in the conventional mould * Holmes placed in settings of contemporary interest (such as World War II or the future) * Crossover stories in which Holmes is pitted against other fictional characters (for example, vampires) * Explorations of unusual aspects of Holmes' character which are hinted at in Conan Doyle's works (e.g., drug use)


Print

In 1913, the Greek novel ''Sherlock Holmes saving Mr. Venizelos'' (''Ο Σέρλοκ Χολμς σώζων τον κ. Βενιζέλον'') was serialized in the magazine ''Hellas''. Written by an anonymous author, it describes Holmes' attempts to save
Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movem ...
from a Bulgarian organization's assassination plot during the
London Conference of 1912–13 London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
. It is considered the first
detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...
of
Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today. Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving writte ...
. In January 1928, the short story "My Dear Holmes" was published in ''Punch, or the London Charivari''. The sub-title of the story was: "His positively last appearance on earth." Written from the point of view of Holmes, it starts out in the usual way, and then ends rather lamely with no mystery presented or solved, but Holmes dead of incautiously (and improbably) sniffing excessively at a bottle of an anesthetic ("A.C.E.") he has asked Watson to bring with them on an errand. In 1942, a short story entitled "The Case of the Man Who Was Wanted" was discovered by a Conan Doyle biographer, Hesketh Pearson, while searching through a trunk full of Doyle family papers. It was published in 1947 as a "lost" story written by Conan Doyle, but it was eventually discovered by Pearson that the story was originally written in 1914 by Arthur Whitaker, who had sent it to Doyle in hope of a collaboration. Doyle had bought the story from the author, in case he might use the ingenious plot at a later date, but never did. Arthur Conan Doyle's son,
Adrian Conan Doyle Adrian Malcolm Conan Doyle (19 November 19103 June 1970) was the youngest son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his second wife Jean, Lady Doyle or Lady Conan Doyle. He had two siblings, sister Jean Conan Doyle and brother Denis, as well as two half ...
, wrote—in a joint effort with
John Dickson Carr John Dickson Carr (November 30, 1906 – February 27, 1977) was an American author of detective stories, who also published using the pseudonyms Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson, and Roger Fairbairn. He lived in England for a number of years, and is ...
—12 Sherlock Holmes short stories that were published under the title ''
The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes ''The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes'' is a short story collection of twelve Sherlock Holmes pastiches, first published in 1954. It was written by Adrian Conan Doyle, who was the son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (the creator of Sherlock Holmes), and by ...
'' in 1954. Using his alternate name of H.F. Heard,
Gerald Heard Henry FitzGerald Heard (6 October 1889 – 14 August 1971), commonly called Gerald Heard, was a British-born American historian, science writer, public lecturer, educator, and philosopher. He wrote many articles and over 35 books. Heard was a g ...
wrote three novels about a reclusive beekeeper in the English countryside who goes by the name of Mycroft; he is clearly intended to be Sherlock Holmes, but the books were written before the Doyle estate gave permission for other writers to use the name. The three stories are ''
A Taste for Honey ''A Taste for Honey'' is a 1941 mystery novel by H. F. Heard. Background ''A Taste for Honey'' was the first of three novels Heard wrote about a Mr. Mycroft, strongly implied to be an elderly Sherlock Holmes in retirement on the Sussex Downs. T ...
'', ''Reply Paid'' and ''The Notched Hairpin''. ''A Taste for Honey'' was adapted for American TV in 1955 as "Sting of Death," with
Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...
as Mr. Mycroft. American novelist and filmmaker
Nicholas Meyer Nicholas Meyer (born December 24, 1945) is an American writer and director, known for his best-selling novel ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'', and for directing the films ''Time After Time (1979 film), Time After Time'', two of the ''Star Trek'' ...
has written five Holmes novels: ''
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D.'' is a 1974 novel by American writer Nicholas Meyer. It is written as a pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, and was made into a film of the same na ...
'' (1974), ''
The West End Horror ''The West End Horror: A Posthumous Memoir of John H. Watson, M.D.'' is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel by Nicholas Meyer, published in 1976. It takes place after two of Meyer's other Holmes pastiches, ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'' and ''The C ...
'' (1976), ''
The Canary Trainer ''The Canary Trainer: From the Memoirs of John H. Watson'' is a 1993 Sherlock Holmes pastiche by Nicholas Meyer. Like ''The Seven Percent Solution'' and ''The West End Horror'', ''The Canary Trainer'' was published as a "lost manuscript" of the ...
'' (1993), ''
The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols ''The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols: Adapted from the Journals of John H. Watson, M.D.'' is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel by Nicholas Meyer, published in 2019. It takes place after Meyer's other Holmes pastiches, ''The Seven-Per-Cent Sol ...
'' (2019), and ''
The Return of the Pharaoh ''The Return of the Pharaoh: From the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D.'' is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel by Nicholas Meyer, published in 2021. It takes place after Meyer's other Holmes pastiches, ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'', ''The We ...
'' (2021). In 1977, the novel ''Exit Sherlock Holmes: The Great Detective's Final Days'' by Robert Lee Hall was published and featured an exploration of Holmes' origins with a science fiction twist. In this account Holmes and Moriarty are revealed to be from the future.
Randall Collins Randall Collins (born July 29, 1941) is an American sociologist who has been influential in both his teaching and writing. He has taught in many notable universities around the world and his academic works have been translated into various langu ...
published in 1978 ''The Case of the Philosophers' Ring'', under the pseudonym Dr. John H. Watson, with Holmes' services requested at Cambridge, around 1914, by
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...
, and meeting the
Cambridge Apostles The Cambridge Apostles (also known as ''Conversazione Society'') is an intellectual society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who became the first Bishop of Gibraltar.W. C. Lubenow, ''The Ca ...
(Moore, Hardy,
Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in m ...
...)
Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...
,
Lytton Strachey Giles Lytton Strachey (; 1 March 1880 – 21 January 1932) was an English writer and critic. A founding member of the Bloomsbury Group and author of ''Eminent Victorians'', he established a new form of biography in which psychological insight ...
,
Annie Besant Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist. Regarded as a champion of human f ...
and of course, Aleisteir Crowley as a perfect villain.
Michael Dibdin Michael Dibdin (21 March 1947 – 30 March 2007) was a British crime writer, best known for inventing Aurelio Zen, the principal character in 11 crime novels set in Italy. Early life Dibdin was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire (now West Mi ...
's novel ''
The Last Sherlock Holmes Story ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel by Michael Dibdin. The novel is an account of Holmes's attempt to solve the Jack the Ripper murders. Holmes suspects the Ripper to be his nemesis, James Moriarty. There is ...
'' (1979) confronts a somewhat psychopathic Sherlock Holmes with the crimes of
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
, whom Holmes suspects to be none other than James Moriarty.
Raymond Smullyan Raymond Merrill Smullyan (; May 25, 1919 – February 6, 2017) was an American mathematician, magician, concert pianist, logician, Taoist, and philosopher. Born in Far Rockaway, New York, his first career was stage magic. He earned a BSc from th ...
wrote ''The Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes'' (1979), in which Holmes (with Watson) applies retrograde analysis to solve chess problems. The detective novelist
Loren D. Estleman Loren D. Estleman (born September 15, 1952, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an American writer of detective and Western fiction. He is known for a series of crime novels featuring the investigator Amos Walker. Life and work Estleman graduated fro ...
wrote several short stories and two novels featuring Holmes; the novels pit the detective against
Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by som ...
and
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...
, respectively. The former was adapted for radio by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
.
Cay Van Ash Cay Van Ash (born in Sussex, England in 1918; died in Paris, France in April 1994) was a Professor of English Literature at Waseda University in Japan and a writer. In 1935, the 17-year-old pedalled his bicycle to interview his literary hero Sax ...
wrote the novel ''Ten Years Beyond Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes matches wits with the diabolical Dr. Fu Manchu'' (1984), set in 1914, in which the apparently retired detective comes into conflict with Sax Rohmer's villainous master criminal. Canadian writer
Ron Weyman Ronald Charles Tosh Weyman (December 13, 1915 – June 26, 2007) was a British-born Canadian film and television director and producer."RON WEYMAN, 91 SAILOR, PRODUCER, PAINTER AND NOVELIST: Pioneer filmmaker turned hard-hitting social issues into ...
published three novels between 1989 and 1994 which imagined Sherlock Holmes as being sent to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
at the behest of
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
and investigating crimes there."RON WEYMAN, 91 SAILOR, PRODUCER, PAINTER AND NOVELIST: Pioneer filmmaker turned hard-hitting social issues into popular television". ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', 7 July 2007.
Holmes aficionado
Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
wrote a short story featuring Holmes, "The Adventure of the Laughing Jarvey", in which Holmes and Watson encounter a great Victorian writer and are engaged on a mission to recover a lost manuscript. It includes introductory text claiming the tale itself to be a long-lost manuscript, which modern analysis has shown to use linguistic style and grammar typical of Watson. The story appears in Fry's collection of journalism and early writings, ''
Paperweight A paperweight is a small solid object heavy enough, when placed on top of papers, to keep them from blowing away in a breeze or from moving under the strokes of a painting brush (as with Chinese calligraphy). While any object, such as a stone, ...
'' (1992). In
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
's short story "
The Doctor's Case "The Doctor's Case" is a short story by American author Stephen King, originally published in ''The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'', a 1987 centennial collection, and reprinted in his collection ''Nightmares & Dreamscapes''. This story is K ...
" (1993), Holmes's alleged allergy to cats prevents him for once from solving the problem quicker than Watson.
Barrie Roberts Barrie Roberts (Hampshire, 1939 – 2007)Barrie Roberts
at Fantasticfiction.co.uk
was an Engl ...
penned a series of Holmes pastiches, including ''
Sherlock Holmes and the Man from Hell ''Sherlock Holmes and the Man from Hell'' is a 1997 Sherlock Holmes pastiches, Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel by Barrie Roberts.
'' and ''
Sherlock Holmes and the Railway Maniac ''Sherlock Holmes and the Railway Maniac'' is a 1994 Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel by Barrie Roberts which pits Sherlock Holmes against an anarchist who is bombing trains.
'' from 1994 until his death in 2007. '' O Xangô de Baker Street'' (1995) tells the comic story of Sherlock Holmes's visit to Brazil, invited by the Emperor Dom Pedro II, to solve the disappearance of a Stradivarius violin which becomes a hunt for a serial killer.
Larry Millett Larry Millett (born 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American journalist and author. He is the former (retired 2002) architectural critic for the '' St. Paul Pioneer Press'', a daily newspaper in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the author of se ...
has written six books and a short story featuring Holmes solving mysteries in
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
.
Michael Mallory Michael Mallory (born 1955) is a writer on the subjects of animation and post-war pop culture, and the author of the books ''X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe'', ''Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror'' ''The Science Fictio ...
has written more than two dozen short stories and two novels featuring "Amelia Watson," the second wife of
Dr. Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...
. These are not pastiches so much as original detective stories that view Holmes and Watson from a different and somewhat humorous point of view. Colin Bruce's '' The Strange Case of Mrs. Hudson's Cat: And Other Science Mysteries Solved by Sherlock Holmes'' (1997) and ''Conned Again, Watson!: Cautionary Tales of Logic, Maths and Probability'' (2001) are books of Sherlock Holmes stories in which Holmes uses scientific and mathematical approaches respectively to solve mysteries. '' The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes: The Missing Years'' (1999), by
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
an author
Jamyang Norbu Jamyang Norbu ( Tibetan: འཇམ་དབྱངས་ནོར་བུ་, Wylie: 'jam-dbyangs nor-bu) is a Tibetan political activist and writer, currently living in the United States, having previously lived for over 40 years as a Tibetan exi ...
is an account of Holmes's adventures in India and Tibet where, posing as Sigerson, he meets the
Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
and Huree Chunder Mookerjee, a character from
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...
's novel ''
Kim Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...
''. Vithal Rajan's ''Holmes of the Raj'' (2011) is again set in India, in which Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson sail to India in 1888 on a secret mission in the service of Empire, their adventures taking them from
Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, to the princely courts of
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
, jungles of the
Central Provinces The Central Provinces was a province of British India. It comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Its capital was Nagpur. ...
, and the bustling metropolis of
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
. While Holmes is engaged in unraveling the central mystery, Watson busies himself helping
Ronald Ross Sir Ronald Ross (13 May 1857 – 16 September 1932) was a British medical doctor who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1902 for his work on the transmission of malaria, becoming the first British Nobel laureate, and the f ...
track the
malaria parasite ''Plasmodium'' is a genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects. The life cycles of ''Plasmodium'' species involve development in a blood-feeding insect host which then injects parasites into a vert ...
and advising
Dhyan Chand Major Dhyan Chand (29 August 1905 – 3 December 1979) was an Indian field hockey player, widely regarded as one of the greatest field hockey players in history. He was known for his extraordinary ball control and goal-scoring feats, in a ...
, a schoolboy on the finer points of
hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
. The book has vignettes of life and politics in
colonial India Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spices. The search for the wealth and prosper ...
, wherein Holmes and Watson meet
Lord Ripon George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon, (24 October 1827 – 9 July 1909), styled Viscount Goderich from 1833 to 1859 and known as the Earl of Ripon in 1859 and as the Earl de Grey and Ripon from 1859 to 1871, was a British p ...
,
Madame Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 ...
,
Francis Younghusband Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, (31 May 1863 – 31 July 1942) was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer. He is remembered for his travels in the Far East and Central Asia; especially the 1904 British e ...
,
Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much o ...
and Kim himself,
Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introd ...
,
Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...
, Ramanujan,
Motilal Nehru Motilal Nehru (6 May 1861 – 6 February 1931) was an Indian lawyer, activist and politician belonging to the Indian National Congress. He also served as the Congress President twice, 1919–1920 and 1928–1929. He was a patriarch of the Nehr ...
,
Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter ...
,
Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
and many others. Italian conservative Catholic author Rino Cammilleri published in 2000 a novel with the title ''Sherlock Holmes e il misterioso caso di Ippolito Nievo'' ("Sherlock Holmes and the Mysterious Case of
Ippolito Nievo Ippolito Nievo (; 30 November 1831 – 4 March 1861) was an Italian writer, journalist and patriot. His ''Confessions of an Italian'' is widely considered the most important novel about the Italian Risorgimento. Life Nievo was born and raised in ...
") set in London,
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
and
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. The collection ''
Shadows Over Baker Street ''Shadows Over Baker Street'' is an anthology of stories, each by a different author and each concerning an exploit of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes set against the backdrop of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The collection is edited ...
'' (2003) contains 14 stories by 20 authors pitting Holmes against the forces of the
Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...
. Among them is
Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
's "
A Study in Emerald "A Study in Emerald" is a short story written by British fantasy and graphic novel author Neil Gaiman. The story is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche transferred to the Cthulhu Mythos universe of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Gaiman describes it as ...
", which won the 2004
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...
for Best Short Story. The title is a play on ''A Study in Scarlet''. The narrator, never named (but whose initials in the end point him to be the criminal henchman of James Moriarty,
Sebastian Moran Colonel Sebastian Moran is a fictional character in the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. An enemy of Sherlock Holmes, he first appears in the 1903 short story "The Adventure of the Empty House". Holmes once described him as "the second most ...
; his tour in Afghanistan point to this as well), meets the protagonist (who is also never named, but likely James Moriarty himself, in a surprising role-reversal, making him the detective and Holmes the criminal) under similar circumstances to the meeting of Holmes and Watson in ''A Study in Scarlet'', even down to the deduction that the narrator has recently been in Afghanistan. The protagonist is tall and thin, a detective, chemist, and master of disguise. However, as the narrator and his friend investigate a murder of one of the Royal Family (shown to be the
Great Old One American author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) created a number of fictional deities throughout the course of his literary career. These entities are usually depicted as immensely powerful and utterly indifferent to humans who can barely begin to c ...
s of the
Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...
) the murderer is revealed to be a tall, thin, pipe-smoking man, going by the name Sherry Vernet (a reference to the first name Sherlock, or possibly Conan Doyle's earlier "Sherrinford", and the last name of Holmes' grandmother). He is assisted by a "limping doctor", later tentatively identified as John (or possibly James) Watson. "Vernet" also had gone by the name Sigerson.
Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel ...
also appears in the story. Gaiman has also written a short story called "The Case of Death and Honey", which was featured in "A Study in Sherlock" and "Trigger Warning."
Michael Chabon Michael Chabon ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, DC, he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, gr ...
wrote ''
The Final Solution The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi Germany, Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final ...
'' in 2004. This book, which received favorable reviews, deals with an elderly Sherlock Holmes, referred to only as 'the old man,' solving the case of the missing parrot belonging to a nine-year-old Jewish refugee boy from Germany. While readily solving the mystery, 'the old man' and the rest of the characters in the novella fail to see what the parrot's incessant muttering of random German numbers really means.
Caleb Carr Caleb Carr (born August 2, 1955) is an American military historian and author. Carr is the second of three sons born to Lucien Carr and Francesca Von Hartz. He authored ''The Alienist'', ''The Angel of Darkness'', ''The Lessons of Terror'', ''K ...
was approached to pen a tale for the anthology '' Ghosts of Baker Street''. Carr's short story grew to become a full length novel which became 2005's ''
The Italian Secretary ''The Italian Secretary'' is mystery fiction by Caleb Carr featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. This literary pastiche had the approval of the Doyle estate having originally been commissioned as a short story for the collection ''Ghosts of ...
''. An example of a Sherlock Holmes pastiche is found in ''The Curse of the Nibelung: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery'' (2005) by Sam North, which is currently in reprint. It finds Holmes at the very end of his career, together with a geriatric Watson, sent by Winston Churchill to
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
to help uncover a terrible secret. '' Elemental, querido Chaplin'', by
Rafael Marín Rafael Marín Trechera (Cádiz, Spain, 1959) is a Spanish novelist, translator, comic book writer and co-plotter. He is best known in the United States for his work with artist Carlos Pacheco on the ''Fantastic Four'' Vol.3 title in 2000 and 2001, ...
(2005, Minotauro, Barcelona, ), is presented as an unpublished manuscript in which
Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
tells how, as a London poor child, he helped Sherlock Holmes in an adventure against Dr. Fu Manchu. Nick Rennison's 2006 '' Sherlock Holmes: The Unauthorized Biography'' is a "biography" of the detective much like
William S. Baring-Gould William Stuart Baring-Gould (1913–10 Aug 1967) was a noted Sherlock Holmes scholar, best known as the author of the influential 1962 fictional biography, ''Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A Life of the World's ...
's earlier '' Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A Life of the World's First Consulting Detective''.
Mitch Cullin Mitch Cullin (born March 23, 1968) is an American writer. He is the author of seven novels, and one short story collection. He currently resides in Arcadia, California and Tokyo, Japan with his partner and frequent collaborator Peter I. Chang. Hi ...
's novel ''
A Slight Trick of the Mind ''A Slight Trick of the Mind'' is the seventh book by American author Mitch Cullin. Plot In 1947, the 93-year-old Sherlock Holmes lives in retirement at a small farmhouse in the English countryside, attended by his housekeeper Mrs. Munro. He is ...
'' (2005) takes place two years after the end of the Second World War and explores the character of Sherlock Holmes (now 93) as he comes to terms with a life spent in emotionless logic. Now old and frail, his once-steel trap mind begins to fail him as he loses items and forgets whole parts of his day. The story follows Holmes both at his home where he now tends bees in quiet retirement, as well as a vacation in Japan where he observes their post-war society first-hand. The novel is also interspersed with chapters from Holmes's's own book that reveal a fleeting moment of love that even he does not yet realise. It was adapted into the film ''
Mr. Holmes ''Mr. Holmes'' is a 2015 British-American mystery film directed by Bill Condon, based on Mitch Cullin's 2005 novel ''A Slight Trick of the Mind'', and featuring the character Sherlock Holmes. The film stars Ian McKellen as Sherlock Holmes, Laur ...
'' starring
Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...
. The film released in 2015.
Manly W. Wellman Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 – April 5, 1986) was an American writer. While his science fiction and fantasy stories appeared in such Pulp magazine, pulps as ''Astounding Stories'', ''Startling Stories'', ''Unknown (magazine), Unknown'' an ...
's ''
Sherlock Holmes' War of the Worlds ''Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds'' is a sequel to H. G. Wells's science fiction novel ''The War of the Worlds'', written by Manly Wade Wellman and his son Wade Wellman, and published in 1975. It is a pastiche crossover which combines H. G. ...
'' combined the elements of Holmes canon with H.G. Wells's science fiction classic and describes Holmes' and Watson's adventures in the Martian-occupied London (in passing, the book also asserts that Holmes had a long-lasting romantic relationship with Mrs. Hudson, but the puritanical Dr. Watson never noticed it). Laurie R. King recreates Sherlock Holmes in her Mary Russell series (starting with ''
The Beekeeper's Apprentice ''The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Or On the Segregation of the Queen'' is the first book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King. It was nominated for the Agatha best novel award and was deemed a Notable Young Adult book by the American Libra ...
''), set during World War I and the 1920s. Her Holmes is (semi-)retired in Sussex, where he gradually trains a teenage Russell as his apprentice. The series includes 11 full length novels and a short story tie-in with a book from her Kate Martinelli series, ''
The Art of Detection ''The Art of Detection'' is the fifth book in the Kate Martinelli series by Laurie R. King. It is preceded by '' Night Work''. It features elements of the Sherlock Holmes character who appears in King's Mary Russell series. Plot summary Philip ...
''. ''Repercussions'' is a short comic story by Dwight Baldwin and J. M. DeSantis in the literary trade paperback ''Iconic'' (Summer 2009) by members of the Comicbook Artists Guild. In it, Holmes and Watson are on the trail of the legendary
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
. Another story which pits Holmes and Watson against Jack the Ripper is Lyndsay Faye's '' Dust and Shadow'' (2009). In
Robert Wilton Robert Archibald Wilton (31 July 1868 – 18 January 1925) was a British journalist, and a proponent of antisemitism, antisemitic thought and conspiracy theories in the United Kingdom. Wilton, who was born in Cringleford, Norfolk, was the son of ...
's 'The Adventure of the Distracted Thane', Holmes investigates the assassination of King
Duncan I of Scotland Donnchad mac Crinain ( gd, Donnchadh mac Crìonain; anglicised as Duncan I, and nicknamed An t-Ilgarach, "the Diseased" or "the Sick"; c. 1001 – 14 August 1040)Broun, "Duncan I (d. 1040)". was king of Scotland (''Alba'') from 1034 to 1040. H ...
, previously explored by
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
in ''
Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'' (which itself, according to this interpretation, featured Dr. Watson). For younger readers,
Shane Peacock Shane Peacock may refer to: * Shane Peacock (writer) (born 1957), Canadian novelist * Shane Peacock (ice hockey) (born 1973), Canadian ice hockey player * Shane Peacock (fashion designer), Indian fashion designer and judge of the Femina Miss India ...
has written '' The Boy Sherlock Holmes'' series.
Andy Lane Andrew Lane (born 17 April 1963), as Andy Lane, is a British author and journalist best known for the Young Sherlock Holmes series of Young Adult novels. He has written novels in the Virgin New Adventures range and audio dramas for Big Fini ...
begun a young adult series of Sherlock Holmes adventures with the publication of ''
Death Cloud ''Young Sherlock Holmes: Death Cloud'' is the first novel in the Young Sherlock Holmes series that depicts Arthur Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes as a teenager in the 1860s and 70s. It was written by Andrew Lane and released in the U ...
'' in 2010. This series is the first authorized series of teenage adventures.
Alberto López Aroca Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic ''Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Albertin ...
wrote "El problema de la pequeña cliente", a short story included in the book ''Nadie lo sabrá nunca'' (2004), where Sherlock Holmes meets
Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
. The Conan Doyle estate commissioned
Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include ''The Diamond Brothers'' series, the ''Alex Rider'' series, and ''T ...
, author of the
Alex Rider ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises thirteen novels, as well ...
novels ''
The Power of Five ''The Power of Five'' (re-titled as ''The Gatekeepers'' in the US) is a series of five fantasy and suspense novels, written by English author Anthony Horowitz. Published between 2005 and 2012, it is an updated re-imagining of Horowitz's ''Pe ...
'' and TV's ''
Foyle's War ''Foyle's War'' is a British detective fiction, detective drama television series set during and shortly after the Second World War, created by ''Midsomer Murders'' screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz and commissioned by ITV (TV network), ...
'', to write a new, uniquely ''authorised'' Sherlock Holmes novel. Published by
Orion Books Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...
in 2011 under the title ''
The House of Silk ''The House of Silk'' is a Sherlock Holmes novel written by British author Anthony Horowitz, published in 2011. The book was promoted with the claim it was the first time the Conan Doyle Estate had authorised a new novel that is not a Sherlock ...
'', the content and title were a "closely guarded secret" before publication.Anthony Horowitz to Write New Sherlock Holmes Novel
" News release,
Orion Publishing Group Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...
, 17 January 2011. ''(Retrieved 20 January 2011.)''
Rider Author, Anthony Horowitz to write new Sherlock Holmes novel
" News release, AnthonyHorowitz.com, 17 January 2011.''(Retrieved 20 January 2011.)''
Japanese mystery author
Keisuke Matsuoka (born December 3, 1968, in Inazawa, Aichi, Inazawa, Aichi Prefecture) is a Japanese novelist. His first novel, the psycho-thriller ''Saimin (Hypnosis)'' sold over a million copies on its release in 1997 and has been adapted into a Saimin (film), ...
published ''Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Japan'' in 2017, exploring the time between Holmes' alleged death at Reichenbach Falls and his reappearance three years later.


TV

The Granada TV series 1984 – 1994 ''
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
'' (
Jeremy Brett Peter Jeremy William Huggins (3 November 1933 – 12 September 1995), known professionally as Jeremy Brett, was an English actor. He played fictional detective Sherlock Holmes in four Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series), Granada TV series from 1984 ...
) Dr. John H. Watson ( David Burke) (
Edward Hardwicke Edward Cedric Hardwicke (7 August 1932 – 16 May 2011) was an English actor, who had a distinguished career on the stage and on-screen. He was best known for playing Captain Pat Grant in ''Colditz'' (1972-73), and Dr. Watson in Granada Te ...
). So far the only film or TV series to accurately feature Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories and words. Jeremy Brett proved that Doyle's words could be spoken dramatically and as written on film. His Sherlock Holmes is still considered definitive by most if not all of the world's Sherlock Holmes Societies. The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
's TV series '' Sherlock'' re-imagines Holmes and Watson (played by
Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence O ...
and
Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most no ...
) as contemporary figures, with Watson publishing his accounts of Holmes' exploits online. The US TV series ''
Elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, an ...
'' features a modern Holmes (
Jonny Lee Miller Jonathan Lee Miller (born 15 November 1972) is a British film, television and theatre actor. He achieved early success for his portrayal of Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson in the dark comedy-drama film ''Trainspotting'' (1996) and as Dade Murphy in ...
) who lives in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, where he is assisted by Dr. Joan Watson (
Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress. Her accolades include winning a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Seoul International Drama Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award. Liu has star ...
). The 2014
NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...
puppetry ''
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
'' is set in a fictional boarding school "
Beeton School is a fictional coeducational boarding school in which the NHK puppetry Sherlock Holmes is set. It is named after Beeton's Christmas Annual and Eton College. Summary The school setting is the first case in the screening history of the Seri ...
" and Holmes and Watson are pupils who live in 221B of Baker House. There is no murder and the same characters appear many times. HBO Asia's 2018 series ''
Miss Sherlock ''Miss Sherlock'' (ミス・シャーロック) is a female-led adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories. The show is primarily set in Tokyo, Japan. It is a co-production between HBO Asia and Hulu Japan. Both the m ...
'' is set in modern-day Japan, starring Yuko Takeuchi as the titular character, with
Shihori Kanjiya is a Japanese actress. She is nicknamed , , and . Kanjiya dropped out from Otsuma Women's University. Filmography TV series Films Dubbing *'' Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons'', Duan (Shu Qi) *'' Journey to the West: The Demons ...
as 'Wato'.


Radio

Bert Coules Bert Coules is an English writer, mainly for the BBC, who has produced a number of adaptations and original works. He works mainly in radio drama but also writes for TV and the stage. Early years Bert Coules worked in radio drama for ten years, ...
penned ''
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a series of radio dramas based on Arthur Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes. Written by Bert Coules as a pastiche of Doyle's work, the series was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002, 2004, 2008 ...
'' starring
Clive Merrison Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is a British actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He is best known for his long running BBC Radio portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, having played the part in all 64 ...
as HolmesThe Further Adventures
and Michael Williams/
Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor and writer. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Sp ...
as Watson. The episodes of ''The Further Adventures'' were based on throwaway references in Doyle's short stories and novels. He also produced original scripts for this series, which was also issued on CD. Coules had previously dramatised the entire Holmes canon for Radio Four.
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
also broadcast in 1999 a more ribald six-episode
spoof Spoof, spoofs, spoofer, or spoofing may refer to: * Forgery of goods or documents * Semen, in Australian slang * Spoof (game), a guessing game * Spoofing (finance), a disruptive algorithmic-trading tactic designed to manipulate markets __NOTOC__ ...
series featuring Holmes and Watson titled ''
The Newly Discovered Casebook of Sherlock Holmes ''The Newly Discovered Casebook of Sherlock Holmes'' was a BBC Radio 2 comedy series written by Tony Hare. It starred Roy Hudd, Chris Emmett, Jeffrey Holland, and June Whitfield, and was broadcast between 16 January 1999, to 20 February 1999. ...
'' starring
Roy Hudd Roy Hudd, OBE (16 May 1936 – 15 March 2020) was an English comedian, actor, presenter, radio host, author and authority on the history of music hall entertainment. Early life Hudd was born in Croydon on 16 May 1936 to Evalina "Evie" (née ...
as Holmes ("the brilliant detective, master of disguise and toffee-nosed ponce"),
Chris Emmett Christopher Roderick Emmett (born 13 December 1938 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire) is a British actor and comedian best known for his work in the late 1970s on the BBC Radio 4 comedies ''The Burkiss Way'' and '' Alison and Maud''. He was a regular o ...
as Watson ("contributor to the
British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...
, ''Which Stethescope Magazine'' and inventor of the self-raising
thermometer A thermometer is a device that temperature measurement, measures temperature or a temperature gradient (the degree of hotness or coldness of an object). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a merc ...
") and
June Whitfield Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress. Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy ''Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...
as Mrs. Hudson. Titles in this series included "The Case of the Clockwork Fiend", "The Mystery of the Obese Escapologist", "The Case of the Deranged Botanist", "Sherlock Holmes and the Glorious Doppelganger", "Holmes Strikes a Happy Medium" and "The Demon Cobbler of Greek Street", and usually turned out to have Holmes' mortal enemy Moriarty (
Geoffrey Whitehead Geoffrey Whitehead (born 1 October 1939) is an English actor. He has appeared in a range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at Shakespeare's Globe, St Martin's Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic. Early life Whitehe ...
) behind each mystery. This series has since been re-broadcast on
BBC Radio 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British Digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital radio broadcasting, radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a ...
, later
BBC Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...
. Starting in 1998, U.S. radio producer Jim French was given permission from the Conan Doyle estate to produce new, original Sherlock Holmes stories for radio in North America.Jim French Productions
These are presented within the ''
Imagination Theatre ''Imagination Theatre'' is an American syndicated radio drama program airing on FM and AM radio stations across the United States. It features modern radio dramas. The program first aired in 1996. Originally produced by Jim French Productions, t ...
'' program on radio stations and XM satellite radio. The new stories are also broadcast under the banner ''The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes''. John Gilbert played Holmes until 2000, when
John Patrick Lowrie John Patrick Lowrie (born June 28, 1952) is an American actor, musician and author best known for voicing the Sniper in ''Team Fortress 2'' and various characters in ''Dota 2''. He has played Sherlock Holmes in the radio series ''The Further Adv ...
took over the role. Watson is played in all shows by Lawrence Albert. Scripts are by Jim French,
M. J. Elliott ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of resp ...
, Matthew Booth, John Hall, Gareth Tilley, J R Campbell and Lawrence Albert. In 2005, with adaptations written by
M. J. Elliott ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of resp ...
, French and his company began a new series based on Conan Doyle's original tales called ''The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes''. Many episodes are available on CD as well as downloadable from the ''Imagination Theatre'' website.


Film

Holmes has been an inspiration of both serious and comedy films.


Serious films

A series of fourteen Sherlock Holmes films starring
Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...
as Sherlock Holmes and
Nigel Bruce William Nigel Ernle Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953) was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in a series of films and in the radio series ''The New Adventures of Sherlock H ...
as Dr. John Watson were released between 1939 and 1946. Many are loosely based on the original stories by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
and some are original stories. Those that pit Holmes and Watson against the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
s, made during the Second World War, were in the spirit of Conan Doyle's patriotism, and indeed the quintessential "
His Last Bow ''His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes'' is a 1917 collection of previously published Sherlock Holmes stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, including the titular short story, " His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Hol ...
" describes Holmes and his connections with
British Intelligence The Government of the United Kingdom maintains intelligence agencies within three government departments, the Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence. These agencies are responsible for collecting and analysing foreign and do ...
on the eve of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. ''
A Study in Terror ''A Study in Terror'' is a 1965 British thriller film directed by James Hill and starring John Neville as Sherlock Holmes and Donald Houston as Dr. Watson. It was filmed at Shepperton Studios, London, with some location work at Osterley Hou ...
'' (1965), directed by James Hill starring John Neville as Holmes and
Donald Houston Donald Daniel Houston (6 November 1923 – 13 October 1991) was a Welsh actor whose first two films—'' The Blue Lagoon'' (1949) with Jean Simmons, and ''A Run for Your Money'' (1949) with Alec Guinness—were highly successful. Later in ...
as Watson, connected Holmes with the
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
case, and was later novelised by
Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1929 by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee and the name of their main fictional character, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve ...
. ''
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes ''The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' is a 1970 DeLuxe Color film in Panavision written and produced by Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond, and directed by Wilder. The film offers an affectionate, slightly parodic look at Sherlock Holmes, an ...
'' (1970) was directed by
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holl ...
and stars
Robert Stephens Sir Robert Graham Stephens (14 July 193112 November 1995) was a leading English actor in the early years of Britain's Royal National Theatre. He was one of the most respected actors of his generation and was at one time regarded as the natur ...
as the famous sleuth. In this film, Holmes travels to
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
in search of the Loch Ness Monster. ''
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D.'' is a 1974 novel by American writer Nicholas Meyer. It is written as a pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, and was made into a film of the same na ...
'' (1976), based on
Nicholas Meyer Nicholas Meyer (born December 24, 1945) is an American writer and director, known for his best-selling novel ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'', and for directing the films ''Time After Time (1979 film), Time After Time'', two of the ''Star Trek'' ...
's very successful novel, concentrates on Holmes' cocaine addiction and stars
Nicol Williamson Thomas Nicol Williamson (14 September 1936 – 16 December 2011) was a Scottish actor, once described by playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando". He was also described by Samuel Beckett as "touched by genius" and view ...
and
Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
as Holmes and Watson, respectively. Professor Moriarty (
Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...
) is characterised here as an inoffensive mathematics tutor, his villainy a fantasy of Holmes's drug habit. ''
Sherlock Holmes in New York ''Sherlock Holmes in New York'' is a 1976 American made-for-television mystery film about Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, played by Roger Moore and Patrick Macnee respectively. Despite the film's title the production was shot entirely in So ...
'' (1976 TV movie) starred
Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 19 ...
as Holmes and
Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...
as Watson. ''
Murder by Decree ''Murder by Decree'' is a 1979 mystery thriller film directed by Bob Clark. It features the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who are embroiled in the investigation surrounding the real-life 188 ...
'' (1979) portrays Holmes (played by
Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...
) and Watson (played by
James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...
) tracking down
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
, and dealing with the violent political situation of the day. The theory of the Ripper murders presented in that film is similar to that portrayed in the comic book and film ''
From Hell ''From Hell'' is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998. The full collection was published in 1999 by Top Shelf Productions. Set during the Whitechapel murders of ...
''. Both are derived from Stephen Knight's book '' Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution (1977)''. In 1985, director
Barry Levinson Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American filmmaker, comedian and actor. Levinson's best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as '' Diner'' (1982); ''The Natural'' (1984); ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987); ' ...
made a film called ''
Young Sherlock Holmes ''Young Sherlock Holmes'' (also known with the title card name of "''Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear''") is a 1985 American mystery adventure film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus, based on the characters ...
'' (a.k.a. ''Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear'') with a story about the youth of Holmes and Watson as
Secondary School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...
s and their first great adventure, even before ''A Study in Scarlet''. There are a lot of references about Holmes canon such as the
violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
, the
pipe Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circula ...
, "elementary, my dear...", the clothes and the reason why Holmes never married, and it includes the first meeting of Holmes and
Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...
. The film was produced by
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
and written by Chris Columbus; the novelization was written by Alan Arnold. In both ''
The Return of Sherlock Holmes ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes'' is a 1905 collection of 13 Sherlock Holmes stories, originally published in 1903–1904, by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The stories were published in the '' Strand Magazine'' in Britain and ''Collier's'' i ...
'' (1987 TV movie) and ''
Sherlock Holmes Returns ''1994 Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Returns'', or ''Sherlock Holmes Returns! In The Adventure of the Tiger's Revenge'' and sometimes shortened to just ''Sherlock Holmes Returns'', is a 1993 American television movie about the fictional detectiv ...
'' (1993 TV movie) a cryogenically frozen Holmes is awakened in the present day. ''Hands of a Murderer'' (1990 TV movie) sees
Edward Woodward Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE (1 June 1930 – 16 November 2009) was an English actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he began his career on stage. Throughout his career, he appeared in productions ...
playing Holmes and
John Hillerman John Benedict Hillerman (December 20, 1932 – November 9, 2017) was an American actor best known for his starring role as Jonathan Quayle Higgins III on the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' that aired from 1980 to 1988. For his role as ...
(of
Magnum, P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on ...
fame) as Watson, in a plot involving Mycroft (
Peter Jeffrey Peter Jeffrey (18 April 1929 – 25 December 1999) was an English character actor. Starting his performing career on stage, he would later have many roles in television and film. Early life Jeffrey was born in Bristol, the son of Florence ...
) and Moriarty (
Anthony Andrews Anthony Colin Gerald Andrews (born 12 January 1948) is an English actor. He played Lord Sebastian Flyte in the ITV miniseries ''Brideshead Revisited'' (1981), for which he won Golden Globe and BAFTA television awards, and was nominated for an ...
) battling for control of government secrets. '' Sherlock: Case of Evil'' (2002 TV movie) has
James D'Arcy James D'Arcy (born Simon Richard D'Arcy; 24 August 1975) is an English actor and film director. He is known for his portrayals of Howard Stark's butler, Edwin Jarvis, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series '' Agent Carter'' and the ...
as a youthful, bed-hopping Holmes, meeting Roger Morlidge's Watson for the first time while pursuing
Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leonar ...
's Moriarty, whose
opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
-trading schemes have left Mycroft (
Richard E. Grant Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is a Swazi-English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy ''Withnail and I'' (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack Hock in Marie ...
) physically and mentally scarred. ''
The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire ''The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire'' is a non-canonical Sherlock Holmes film. The film was produced in 2002 for The Hallmark Channel as the last installment in a series of Hallmark Sherlock Holmes films. Plot Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson a ...
'' (2002 TV movie) stars
Matt Frewer Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor, singer and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV movie and 1987 television series of the same names. He became prominent when playing roles ...
and
Kenneth Welsh Kenneth Welsh, (March 30, 1942 – May 5, 2022) was a Canadian film and television actor. He was best known as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle in ''Twin Peaks'', for his roles in the films ''The Day After Tomorrow'', '' Adoration'', ''Su ...
as Holmes and Watson investigating reports of
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
attacks in
Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
,
East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...
. The film was preceded by adaptations of ''
The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set i ...
'' (2000 TV movie) and ''
The Sign of Four ''The Sign of the Four'' (1890), also called ''The Sign of Four'', is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes by British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories featuring the fictional detective. Plot ...
'' (2001 TV movie). ''
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking ''Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking'' is a British television film originally broadcast on BBC One in the UK on 26 December 2004. Produced by Tiger Aspect Productions, it was written by Allan Cubitt and was a sequel to the same ...
'' (2004 TV movie), has Holmes (
Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupil ...
) and Watson (
Ian Hart Ian Davies (born 8 October 1964), better known by his stage name Ian Hart, is an English actor. His most notable roles are Rabbit in the Channel Four drama miniseries ''One Summer'' (1983), Joe O'Reilly in the biopic ''Michael Collins'' (1996) ...
) searching for a killer with a foot fetish. The production was an original story written by
Allan Cubitt Allan Cubitt was previously a teacher at John Ruskin High School, Croydon during the 1980s teaching English who became a British television, film, and theatre writer, director, and producer, best known for his work on '' Prime Suspect II'' and '' T ...
. This was preceded by ''
The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set i ...
'' (2002 TV movie) with Holmes now played by
Richard Roxburgh Richard Roxburgh (born 23 January 1962) is an Australian actor, writer, producer, and director. He is the recipient of a number of accolades across film, television, and theatre, including three AACTA Awards (including AFI), three Logie Awards, ...
and
Ian Hart Ian Davies (born 8 October 1964), better known by his stage name Ian Hart, is an English actor. His most notable roles are Rabbit in the Channel Four drama miniseries ''One Summer'' (1983), Joe O'Reilly in the biopic ''Michael Collins'' (1996) ...
returning as Watson. ''
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
'' (2009) was directed by
Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchie left school at age 15 and wor ...
for
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
and stars
Robert Downey Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...
and
Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...
as Holmes and Watson. It also features
Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film ''Perfect Pie'' (200 ...
as
Irene Adler Irene Adler is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A former opera singer and actress, she was featured in the short story " A Scandal in Bohemia", published in July 1891. Adler is one of the ...
. The film explores Holmes and Watson's most complex adventure in which the antagonist Lord Blackwood (
Mark Strong Mark Strong (born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963), is a British actor, best known for his film roles such as Prince Septimus in '' Stardust'' (2007), Archibald in ''RocknRolla'' (2008), Lord Henry Blackwood in ''Sherlock Holmes'' (20 ...
) seemingly rises from his grave after being executed and draws plans to control the British Empire. The sequel, '' Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'' (2011) pits the original cast against
Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...
(played by
Jared Harris Jared Francis Harris (born 24 August 1961) is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the AMC television drama series ''Mad Men'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Serie ...
). '' Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes'' (2010) was directed by Rachel Lee Gondenberg and produced by low-budget direct-to-DVD film company
The Asylum The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and sc ...
. It stars
Gareth David Lloyd Gareth David Lloyd (born 28 March 1981), known professionally as Gareth David-Lloyd, is a Welsh actor and writer best known for his role as Ianto Jones in the British science fiction series ''Torchwood.'' Early life He was born in Bettws, New ...
as Watson and new actor Ben Syder as Holmes. The film placed a younger Holmes and Watson in a
steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
story set in 1881, in which Holmes and Watson investigate the crimes of a mechanical genius known as
Spring Heeled Jack Spring-heeled Jack is an entity in English folklore of the Victorian era. The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837. Later sightings were reported all over the United Kingdom and were especially prevalent in suburban Lo ...
, who creates mechanical monsters to terrorise London.


Comedy films

Holmes' talents have sometimes been inverted for comic effect, as in
Gene Wilder Jerome Silberman (June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016), known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker. He is known mainly for his comedic roles, but also for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Won ...
's 1975 film ''
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother ''The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother'' is a 1975 American musical comedy film with Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Dom DeLuise, Roy Kinnear, and Leo McKern.''Variety'' film review; December 3, 1975, page 22. The film was ...
''. Here Holmes' younger brother Sigurson (Wilder), who is jealous of 'Sheer Luck' as he calls him, is manipulated by Holmes into solving one of his cases. 1988 brought
Thom Eberhardt Thomas Everett "Thom" Eberhardt (born March 7, 1947) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Eberhardt has won two awards and two nominations. He is most noted for his work on ''Captain Ron'', ''Honey, I Blew Up the Kid'', and ...
's role-reversal comedy ''
Without a Clue ''Without a Clue'' is a 1988 British comedy film directed by Thom Eberhardt and starring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley. It is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's characters from the Sherlock Holmes stories but, in this version, the roles are rev ...
''. The film depicts Dr. Watson (
Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and two ...
) as the real detective genius and Holmes (
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
) as a bumbling idiot who is merely an actor and a front man for Watson, with a plot which cleverly mirrors the real life circumstance of Conan Doyle (also a physician) who eventually tired of his creation, Sherlock Holmes.
Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...
and
John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in ''Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in ''Days of Thunder'' (1990), ''Wh ...
starred as the eponymous characters in the 2018 mystery comedy film ''
Holmes & Watson ''Holmes & Watson'' is a 2018 American-Canadian mystery-comedy film written and directed by Etan Cohen. The film stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as the eponymous characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, respectively; with Rebecca Hall, R ...
''.


Animation

The 1999 animated series ''
Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century ''Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century'' is an animated television series in which Sherlock Holmes is brought back to life in the 22nd century. The series is a co-production by DIC Entertainment, L.P. and Scottish Television Enterprises and ...
'' was set in the year 2103 and involved Beth Lestrade, a direct descendant of Holmes's associate
Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel ...
, reanimating the cryogenically preserved corpse of Holmes to battle Moriarty-later revealed to be a clone of the original-who was believed to be responsible for a series of crimes in New London. Watson was long dead, but a robotic counterpart was made to physically resemble him after downloading Watson's stories-and essentially his personality-into his databanks by accident, and the three solved a number of cases patterned on the original Holmes stories; for instance, a retelling of ''
The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set i ...
'' took place on the moon and involved werewolves. The series was created by DIC and Scottish Television, and ran for approximately two seasons. It was unique in Sherlockiana for a number of reasons, including the fact that Holmes, who is canonically described as having black hair and grey eyes, was depicted with blond hair and blue eyes. ''
Sherlock Hound is an anime television series produced by RAI and Tokyo Movie Shinsha. Based on the character Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, almost all the characters are depicted as anthropomorphic dogs. The show featured regular appearances of ...
'' (名探偵ホームズ Meitantei Hōmuzu?, lit. "Detective Holmes") is a 1984 anime television series based on Conan Doyle's work where almost all the characters are depicted as anthropomorphic dogs. The show featured regular appearances of Jules Verne-steampunk style technology, adding a 19th-century science-fiction atmosphere to the series. It was coproduced by Japanese and Italian companies and animated by TMS. Some episodes were directed by
Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...
. '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' featured an episode in which Holmes and Watson are acquaintances of
Jason Blood Etrigan the Demon is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jack Kirby, Etrigan is a demon from Hell who, despite his violent tendencies, usually finds himself allied with the forces of good, mainly be ...
and end up summoning
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
back through time in order to aid him when he is framed for the crimes of the future
Gentleman Ghost Gentleman Ghost is a supervillain appearing in books published by DC Comics publications. Created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert, the character first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #88 (October 1947). Fictional character biography ...
. Upon encountering Batman, Holmes is able to deduce much about his nature, but is then baffled when Batman recognizes him immediately; he comes to see the Caped Crusader as something of a rival as they attempt to unravel the plot of Gentleman Ghost. After the villain's defeat, Holmes and his Victorian era allies see Batman off, and as Batman departs he acknowledges Holmes as "the World's Greatest Detective." The 2015 anime film, ''
The Empire of Corpses is a 2015 Japanese science fiction adventure anime film produced by Wit Studio and directed by Ryoutarou Makihara. The movie is the first of a series of films based on novels written by Project Itoh, followed by ''Harmony'' and ''Genocidal Organ ...
'', features a younger, re-imagined Holmes and Watson, the latter actually the protagonist, in a steampunk world where the dead are reanimated and used as a labor force.


Comics

In the Italian comic book ''
Martin Mystère ''Martin Mystère'' is both the title and protagonist of an Italian comics, Italian comic book. Created by writer Alfredo Castelli and artist Giancarlo Alessandrini, it was first published in Italy by Sergio Bonelli Editore in 1982. Dark Horse C ...
'' and spin-off series ''Storie di Altrove/Stories from Elsewhere'' Holmes is a historical character. In the late 1880s, he worked on the case of
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
and met Professor Richard Van Helsing, a
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
who destroyed
Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by som ...
. Along with Professor Challenger, Holmes visited a secret valley of dinosaurs in South America in 1896, which became the basis for Doyle's novel ''
The Lost World The lost world is a subgenre of the fantasy or science fiction genres that involves the discovery of an unknown Earth civilization. It began as a subgenre of the late- Victorian adventure romance and remains popular into the 21st century. The g ...
''. The same year he worked with the American Secret Service "Elsewhere" to stop paranormal threats from another dimension. In 1910, he discovered a life extension serum. At the beginning of World War I, he had a final confrontation with Professor Moriarty. After the war, he moved to Ukraine, giving Arthur Conan Doyle the task to convince everyone that he was just an imaginary character. With the help of his serum, Holmes prolonged his life for several decades. In the 1990s, he indirectly helped Martin Mystère to capture a villain who found a formula of his serum.
Leah Moore Leah Moore (born 4 February 1978) is a British comic book writer and columnist. The daughter of comics writer Alan Moore, she frequently collaborates with her husband, writer John Reppion, as Moore & Reppion. Biography Moore was born to comics ...
and
John Reppion John Mark Reppion (born 1978) is an English comics writer. He is married to Leah Moore, the daughter of Alan Moore, and he has worked with both on the comic ''Albion''. John Reppion and Leah Moore have co-writing credits on '' Wild Girl'', a 6- ...
's ''
The Trial of Sherlock Holmes ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (2009) and
Scott Beatty Scott Beatty is an American author, comic book writer, and superhero historian actively published since the late 1990s. Biography Scott Beatty has authored hundreds of adventures for many of comics’ most iconic characters including Batman and R ...
's ''Sherlock Holmes: Year One'' (2011) published by
Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptation ...
.
Ian Edginton Ian Edginton is a British comic book writer, known for his work on such titles as ''X-Force'', '' Scarlet Traces'', '' H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds'' and ''Leviathan''. Career Ian Edginton is known for his steampunk/ alternate history wor ...
wrote the 2010
Wildstorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wilds ...
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
'' Victorian Undead'' which pitted Holmes against zombies. New Paradigm Studios in August 2012 debuted "Watson and Holmes" digital comic on digital app. "Watson and Holmes" is a modern re-interpretation of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson as African-Americans in present day Harlem, NY. "Watson and Holmes" is in limited print black and white comics of the first three issues. Issue #1 will be in wide release July 2013. The Korean
manhwa (; ) is the general Korean language, Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korea, South Korean comics. is greatly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its rea ...
series, '' Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries'', is set in the Sherlock Holmes universe, but in an earlier period in history. Set in the year 1864, it features younger versions of characters in the series. These include
Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel ...
as a junior police officer and Professor Moriarty as a student.


Video games

Sherlock Holmes has taken the starring roles in a number of video games, officially licensed or not.


Text only

* Melbourne House released an
interactive fiction '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...
adventure game for
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
and
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...
called '' Sherlock'' in 1984. * Peter Allen Golden in 1984 published a Sherlock Holmes computer interactive novel ''Another Bow''. * Ellicott Creek Software in 1986 published ''Sherlock Holmes: The Vatican Cameos'' for ZX Spectrum and
Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
. *
Infocom Infocom was an American software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced a business application, a relational database called ''Cornerstone (software), Cornerstone''. ...
released a text adventure game, '' Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels'', in 1987. The plot revolves around Moriarty's theft of the Crown Jewels days before the celebration of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee; Holmes rightly senses that a trap has been set for him and allows Watson to investigate the case. *
Pack-in-Video was a Japanese video game publisher and video distributor. The games published were mostly focused on the Japanese market although a few titles have been published abroad. In October 1996, the company was merged with the video game division of Vic ...
released in 1987 '' Young Sherlock: The Legacy of Doyle'' for the MSX, mostly a text adventure with some graphics. It is based on the 1985 film ''
Young Sherlock Holmes ''Young Sherlock Holmes'' (also known with the title card name of "''Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear''") is a 1985 American mystery adventure film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus, based on the characters ...
'', but the plot is different. * Slovakian Sybilasoft (Michal Hlavac) created a text adventure for ZX Spectrum called ''Traja Garridebovia'' in 1987. * British Creative Juices (David Court) in 1988 created a text adventure for ZX Spectrum called ''Sherlock Holmes: a Matter of Evil''. * British 8th Day Software in 1988 published a text adventure with some additional graphics created by Stephen Kee and Alan Bolger called ''The Raven'' for ZX Spectrum. * Zenobi Software released two text-only adventure games for the ZX Spectrum: ''Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Beheaded Smuggler'' in 1988 and ''Sherlock Holmes: The Lamberley Mystery'' in 1990. * Mycroft Systems published a text-only adventure for
MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
in 1990 called ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' set in London and featuring Dr. Watson, Mrs. Baker and Inspector Lestrade. * Yestersoft in 1991 published ''PC-Sherlock: a Game of Logic and Deduction'', with very little graphics and focusing on logic aspects.


Graphic adventures

* Datasoft released a
graphic adventure An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...
game called '' 221B Baker St'' in 1986. *
Towa Chiki is a Japanese toy company responsible for many Famicom games in the late 1980s and 1990s. They were responsible for the critical and commercial bomb '' A Week of Garfield''. Products * TC-280 Transceiver (2,800 yen) * TC-330 Transceiver * ...
released three action-adventure games called '' Sherlock Holmes: Hakushaku Reijō Yūkai Jiken'' in 1986, ''Meitantei Holmes: Kiri no London Satsujin Jiken'' in 1988, and '' Meitantei Holmes: M-Kara no Chousenjou'' in 1989 only in Japan for the
Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...
. *
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
in 1987 published a graphic adventure called ''Loretta no Shouzou: Sherlock Holmes'' ("The Portrait of Loretta") exclusively in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. *
ICOM Simulations ICOM Simulations, Inc. (later known as Rabid Entertainment) was a software company based in Wheeling, Illinois. It is best known for creating the MacVenture series of adventure games including ''Shadowgate''. Following the foundation in 1981 a n ...
released '' Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective'', a multimedia
CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
adventure game for PCs in 1991 and later for the
Sega CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan, ...
system 1992,
TurboGrafx-16 The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC, NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth genera ...
and Apple computers. One of the earliest multimedia titles, it was to become a series of three games, each with three cases. Each game in the series uses full motion video clips. A collected edition followed in 1993. A re-mastered version for
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
,
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
, and
OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
was released in 2012. ** '' Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. II'', ICOM, 1992. ** '' Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. III'', ICOM, 1993. *
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
released a series of original
computer game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
s for
DOS DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicatio ...
called '' The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes'': '' The Case of the Serrated Scalpel'' was released in 1992, '' The Case of the Rose Tattoo'' in 1996. * Game developer
Frogwares Frogwares is a Ukrainian video game developer, video game development studio headquartered in Kyiv with subsidiary offices in Dublin, Ireland. The studio and its subsidiaries develop adventure games for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows ...
created the titles '' Sherlock Holmes: Mystery of the Mummy'', '' Sherlock Holmes: Secret of the Silver Earring'' and '' Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened'', both marketed as "inspired by ''
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of twelve short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, w ...
''", and released in 2004 and 2006, respectively. Frogwares also created '' Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis'', released in 2008 and ''
Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper ''Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper'' is an adventure game for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360, developed by Ukrainian studio Frogwares and distributed by Focus Home Interactive. It is the fifth game in the ''Sherlock Holmes'' series of adv ...
'', released in 2009 and converted to play in the Xbox 360. In September 2012, Frogwares released ''
The Testament of Sherlock Holmes ''The Testament of Sherlock Holmes'' is an adventure video game in the ''Sherlock Holmes'' series developed by Frogwares and distributed by Focus Home Interactive. After being delayed from an original 2010 release, the game was released in Europe ...
'' for the
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
,
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
, and
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. Also in September 2014, Frogwares released '' Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments'' and in 2016 '' Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter''. These eight games comprises the '' Adventures of Sherlock Holmes video game series''. In addition to them, Frogwares released also four
casual game A casual game is a video game targeted at a mass market audience, as opposed to a hardcore game, which is targeted at hobbyist gamers. Casual games may exhibit any type of gameplay and genre. They generally involve simpler rules, shorter sessio ...
s: ''Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Persian Carpet'', ''
Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House ''Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House'' is an adventure video game for the Nintendo DS handheld game console by Frogwares. It is the first in the ''Sherlock Holmes'' series to be made specifically for the DS. Gameplay ''Sherlock Holme ...
'', ''Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles'', and ''Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Frozen City''. * Three games have been inspired by movies ''
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
'' and '' Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'' directed by
Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchie left school at age 15 and wor ...
: Gameloft S. A. published in 2009 ''Sherlock Holmes: The Official Movie Game'' for Java,
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
developed ''Sherlock Holmes Mysteries'' for
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
, and Sticky Game Studios released in 2011 an online game called ''Sherlock Holmes 2: Checkmate''. *'' The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures'', a video game on the
Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
and a spin-off of the ''
Ace Attorney ''Ace Attorney'' is a series of visual novel adventure video games developed by Capcom. With storytelling fashioned after legal dramas, the first entry in the series, ''Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney'', was released in 2001; since then, five f ...
'' series, features Sherlock Holmes as a major supporting character, aided by protagonist Ryunosuke Naruhodo to solve a mysterious case. He is accompanied by Iris Watson, a 10-year-old girl genius sharing the same last name as Dr. Watson. Holmes and Iris also appear in the game's sequel, '' The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve''. Due to copyright concerns, the characters' names are localized in international releases to
Herlock Sholmes is a fictional character and protagonist of the ''Space Pirate Captain Harlock'' manga series created by Leiji Matsumoto. Harlock is the archetypical Romantic hero, a space pirate with an individualist philosophy of life. He is as noble as he ...
and Iris Wilson, in homage to Holmes' renaming in the Arsène Lupin stories. *''The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes'' and ''The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes 2'' (also called ''The Lost Cases of 221B Baker St.''), two casual games by Legacy Interactive with 16 new cases each (mostly hidden objects scenes) with Holmes and Watson. The cases of the first games are "The Zouch Emerald", "The Assassinated Aerialist", "Murder in the Third Act", "The Purloined Painting", "The Suspicious Sting", "The Death Card Devil", "The Wayward Will", "The Curse of Anan Thotep", "The Mystery of the Billiard Blackmailer", "A Duchess' Diamonds", "The Maestro's Violin", "The Porcelain Dragon", "The Docklands Spy", "The Vanishing Actress", "King Arthur's Arrow", and "The Eight Clocks Assassin", plus a bonus game in Holmes' chemistry laboratory. The cases of the second game are "Slaying at the Standing Stones", "The Harbor Pirates Prisoner", "The Curious Chrononaut", "The Return of Jack the Ripper", "The Lost Blade of Calcutta", "The Murdered Musician", "The Vulnerable Pugilist", "The Haunting at Marlsbury Castle", "The Pups of Baskerville", "The Tainted Truffle", "The Case of the Unwanted Suitor", "The Secret of the Father Christmas Club", "The Sticky-Fingered Dinner Guest", "The Disappearing Doomsday Formula", "The Mystery of the Millionaire's Daughter", and "The Bohemian Crown Heist", plus four bonus stories. *''Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Time Machine'' (also released as ''Cerebral Sherlock'') and ''Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Vanishing Thief'', two comedy adventures for children by Green Street, Anuman Interactive, gameX and Compedia. The playing character here is Watson, but Holmes is also present, as well as Sergeant Plymouth. Watson has to catch "the biggest criminal of all time", Jailhouse Jimmy. No clear license on the packaging.


Apps

*SecretBuilders Games has released in 2013 a game called ''Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond''; the same year another game was released called ''Sherlock Holmes: The Norwood Mystery'' and in 2014 two games for iOS and Android were released called ''Hidden Object Valley of Fear 1'' and ''Valley of Fear Mystery 2'', featuring Holmes and Watson. *Hidden Object World has released an app called ''Hidden Object – Sherlock'', basically a casual game with hidden objects search. *Another plain hidden object app has been released in 2017 by Lory Hidden Object Games and called ''Hidden Objects Sherlock Holmes''. *In recent times, Crisp App Studio has released two apps inspired by Sherlock Holmes: ''Detective Holmes: Hidden Objects'' and ''Sherlock Holmes: Trap for the Hunter''. Although mainly targeted at smartphones and tablets, they have been released also on Steam. *DikobrazGames has released an app ''Sherlock Holmes Adventure Free'' inspired by
Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence O ...
's '' Sherlock''.


Sherlock Holmes cameos


Print

According to ''The Alternative Sherlock Holmes: Pastiches, Parodies, and Copies'' by Peter Ridgway Watt and Joseph Green, the first known period pastiche dates from 1893. Titled " The Late Sherlock Holmes", it came from the pen of Doyle's close friend,
J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...
, who was to create
Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...
a decade later. The police are apprised of the death of Holmes and believe that Dr. Watson has killed him because of a disagreement about money. However, Holmes turns out to be alive and, although it is not made clear, Watson is presumably released. In 1902
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
painted an unflattering portrait of Holmes and his methods of deduction in his '' A Double Barrelled Detective Story''. In the short story, set at a mining camp in
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, Fetlock Jones, a nephew of Sherlock Holmes, kills his master, a silver-miner, by blowing up his cabin. Since this occurs when Holmes happens to be visiting, he brings his skills to bear upon the case and arrives at logically worked conclusions that are proved abysmally wrong by an amateur detective with an extremely keen sense of smell which he employs in solving the case. Perhaps this ought to be seen as yet another piece where Twain tries to prove that life does not quite follow logic. In 1905 the French writer
Maurice Leblanc Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (; ; 11 December 1864 – 6 November 1941) was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French c ...
pitted his gentleman burglar
Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin (French pronunciation: ʁsɛn lypɛ̃ is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazi ...
against Holmes in a story called ''Sherlock Holmes arrive trop tard'' (Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late), the first of four in the Lupin series. Copyright concerns at the time forced Holmes to be renamed "Herlock Sholmes" or "Holmlock Shears", and Watson to be renamed "Wilson", in subsequent appearances. However, in many modern editions, the names have reverted to the original. In 1910, the French writer
Arnould Galopin Arnould Galopin (1865, Marbeuf, Eure - 1934) was a prolific French writer with more than 50 novels to his credit. Galopin won the French Academy's Grand Prize for his ''Sur le Front de Mer'' (1918), a critically acclaimed novel about the Merchant ...
teamed up his detective Allan Dickson, the ''Australian Sherlock Holmes'' with an aging Holmes renamed ''Herlokolms'' who had been much impressed by the young man's early exploits in ''L'Homme au Complet Gris'' (The Man in Grey). Allan Dickson may have been the prototype for ''
Harry Dickson Harry Dickson is a fictional pulp detective, born in America, educated in London, and was called ''The American Sherlock Holmes''. He has appeared in almost 200 pulp magazines published in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. History T ...
'' (see #Successors of Sherlock Holmes, below). Another French writer,
Théodore Botrel Jean-Baptiste-Théodore-Marie Botrel (14 September 1868 – 28 July 1925) was a French singer-songwriter, poet and playwright. He is best known for his popular songs about his native Brittany, of which the most famous is ''La Paimpolaise''. Durin ...
, wrote the play ''Le Mystère de Kéravel'' in 1932 in which Holmes, travelling incognito in Brittany, solves a murder at the request of local police, who know his true identity. He is referred to as ''L'étranger'' in the list of characters, but named in the text. In 1967, a
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by MGM Television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who wo ...
novel, "The Rainbow Affair" by
David McDaniel David Edward McDaniel (16 June 1939 – 1 November 1977) was an American science fiction author, who also wrote spy fiction, including several novels based upon the television series ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' Biography David McDaniel w ...
, features a cameo by an elderly bee-keeper named William Escott (Holmes in his retired identity). Several characters from the canon appear in
Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...
's
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series ''
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (''LoEG'') is a comic book series (inspired by the 1960 British film ''The League of Gentlemen'') co-created by writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill which began in 1999. The series spans four volum ...
'', in which various characters from Victorian fiction are recruited to serve the interests of an alternate-history
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
. Holmes himself appears only in a flashback during the first series, as he is still presumed dead. Mycroft has a more substantial role in the second series. References in the series suggest Sherlock was a member of an earlier iteration of the League. Moriarty also figures into the first series and the film adaptation. Holmes also makes a minor but significant appearance in
Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ( ...
and
John Cassaday John Cassaday (; born 1971) is an American comic book artist, writer, and television director. He is best known for his work on the critically acclaimed '' Planetary'' with writer Warren Ellis, ''Astonishing X-Men'' with Joss Whedon, '' Captain ...
's comic book series '' Planetary''.
Michael P. Hodel ''Hour 25'' was a radio program focusing on science fiction, fantasy, and science. It was broadcast weekly on Pacifica radio station KPFK in Southern California from 1972 to 2000. In its heyday, ''Hour 25'' featured numerous interviews with famou ...
and Sean M. Wright presented a mystery-adventure ''Enter the Lion: A Posthumous Memoir of Mycroft Holmes'' (1979) in which Sherlock's older brother prevents a conspiracy involving a return of the American "colonies" to Great Britain. Sherlock makes appearances with Victor Trevor (from "The Adventure of the ''Gloria Scott''"),
Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...
and Moriarty's father.
Carole Nelson Douglas Carole Nelson Douglas (November 15, 1944 – October 20, 2021) was an American writer of sixty novels and many short stories. She has written in many genres, but is best known for two popular mystery series, the ''Irene Adler'' Sherlockian suspe ...
has written a spin-off series centring upon Holmes' nemesis
Irene Adler Irene Adler is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A former opera singer and actress, she was featured in the short story " A Scandal in Bohemia", published in July 1891. Adler is one of the ...
. The first book is titled ''Good Night, Mr. Holmes'' and takes place concurrently with '' A Scandal in Bohemia''. While Irene Adler is the main character, Sherlock Holmes plays a role in every book in the series.
Michael Mallory Michael Mallory (born 1955) is a writer on the subjects of animation and post-war pop culture, and the author of the books ''X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe'', ''Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror'' ''The Science Fictio ...
has written a series of short stories and one novel (''Murder in the Bath'') about the second wife of
Doctor Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...
, here named "Amelia Watson." Holmes appears in several of the stories as a semi-antagonistic foil for Amelia—a detective who is in reality slightly less than infallible, but who has been made to appear so to the public through Watson's writings. In
Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula (1931 ...
's
alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...
novel ''
Anno Dracula ''Anno Dracula'' is a 1992 novel by British writer Kim Newman, the first in the ''Anno Dracula'' series. It is an alternate history using 19th-century English historical settings and personalities, along with characters from popular fiction. ...
'', set in a world where
Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
becomes the monarch of Britain, Holmes is one of the prominent "warms" to protest against the new order. The vampire government of Lord Ruthven in turn imprisons him in a
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
in
Devil's Dyke, Sussex Devil's Dyke is a 100 metre deep V-shaped dry valley on the South Downs in Sussex in southern England, north-west of Brighton. It is managed by the National Trust, and is also part of the Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill Site of Special Scient ...
. Holmes and Watson appear briefly in
George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a British author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Flashman. Biography Fraser was born to Scottish parents in Carlisle, England, ...
's short story ''
Flashman and the Tiger ''Flashman and the Tiger'' is a 1999 book by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the eleventh of the Harry Paget Flashman, Flashman books. Plot introduction Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this boo ...
'' (1999), which appears in the collection of that name. The events there are consistent with those of the canonical story ''
The Adventure of the Empty House "The Adventure of the Empty House", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in ''Collier's'' in the ...
'', which takes place in 1894. Holmes sees Flashman disguised as a tramp and draws a series of conclusions about him which are all wrong. Holmes and Watson also appear in
Alan Coren Alan Coren (27 June 1938 – 18 October 2007) was an English humourist, writer and satirist who was a regular panellist on the BBC radio quiz ''The News Quiz'' and a team captain on BBC television's ''Call My Bluff''. Coren was also a journalis ...
's children's books, ''Arthur and the Great Detective'' and ''Arthur and the Bellybutton Diamond''. The titular Arthur is an erstwhile Baker Street Irregular. In 1993 the psychologist
Keith Oatley Keith Oatley FRSC, FBPsS (16 March 1939) is an Anglo-Canadian novelist, and professor emeritus of cognitive psychology at the University of Toronto. His novel ''The Case of Emily V'' won the 1994 Commonwealth Prize for first novel. Life Born in Lo ...
wrote ''The Case of Emily V.'', a novel in which
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
, Watson and Sherlock Holmes turn out to be investigating the same person. This book won the 1994 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Novel. In Oatley's book the reader finds out the "real truth" behind Freud's case notes on Emily V. In the ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
''
Virgin New Adventures The ''Virgin New Adventures'' (NA series, or NAs) are a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. They continued the story of the Doctor from the point at which the televisio ...
novel ''
All-Consuming Fire ''All-Consuming Fire'' is a novel written by Andy Lane and the 27th entry in the ''Virgin New Adventures'', a series based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The novel is a crossover with Arthur Co ...
'' by
Andy Lane Andrew Lane (born 17 April 1963), as Andy Lane, is a British author and journalist best known for the Young Sherlock Holmes series of Young Adult novels. He has written novels in the Virgin New Adventures range and audio dramas for Big Fini ...
the Time Lord meets Holmes and Watson while investigating a recent theft from the Library of St. John the Beheaded, revealed to be the work of Holmes's unknown eldest brother Sherringford (sic), Holmes in the end being forced to kill Sherringford (sic) to save Watson. They are later amongst numerous characters from the series who attend
Bernice Summerfield Bernice Surprise Summerfield (later Professor Bernice Summerfield or just Benny) is a fictional character created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length ''Doctor Who ...
's wedding in '' Happy Endings'' by
Paul Cornell Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as ''Doctor Who'' fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield. As well as ''Docto ...
. Holmes also features in the ''
Faction Paradox ''Faction Paradox'' is a series of novels, audio stories, short story anthologies, and comics set in and around a "War in Heaven", a history-spanning conflict between godlike "Great Houses" and their mysterious enemy. The series is named after a ...
'' novel ''
Erasing Sherlock ''Erasing Sherlock'' is an original novel by Kelly Hale set in the Faction Paradox universe. It is the last Faction Paradox novel to be published by Mad Norwegian Press, though not the last in the series. It was later republished by Hale, with ...
'' by Kelly Hale and in the novelette ''The Shape of Things'' by
Stuart Douglas Stuart Anthony Douglas (born 9 April 1978 in London Borough of Enfield, Enfield) is an English retired association football, footballer and television presenter. In October 2020, he was appointed as physiotherapist at AFC Bournemouth. Career D ...
in the
Iris Wildthyme Iris Wildthyme is a fictional character created by writer Paul Magrs, who has appeared in short stories, novels and audio dramas from numerous publishers. She is best known from Doctor Who spin-offs, spin-off media based on the long-running Britis ...
collection
Miss Wildthyme and Friends Investigate Obverse Books is a British publisher initially known for publishing books relating to the character Iris Wildthyme, and currently for the '' Black Archive'' series of critical books on ''Doctor Who,'' and two sister series - the Gold Archive, f ...
.
Mycroft Holmes Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character appearing in stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 1893 to 1908. The elder brother (by seven years) of detective Sherlock Holmes, he is a government official and a founding member of the Diogenes ...
, Dr John Watson and Professor George Challenger also appear in the same book.
Boris Akunin Boris Akunin (russian: Борис Акунин) is the pen name of Grigori Chkhartishvili (russian: Григорий Шалвович Чхартишвили, Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili; ka, გრიგორი ჩხარტიშვ ...
's short story ''The Prisoner of the Tower, or A Short But Beautiful Journey of Three Wise Men'' in the '' Jade Rosary Beads'' compilation describes Holmes and Erast Fandorin's race to thwart a devious
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
plan by
Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin (French pronunciation: ʁsɛn lypɛ̃ is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazi ...
. Author
Nancy Springer Nancy Springer (born July 5, 1948) is an American author of fantasy, young adult literature, mystery, and science fiction. Her novel ''Larque on the Wing'' won the Tiptree Award in 1994. She also received the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers ...
has written a series of novels of the adventures of Enola Holmes, the much younger teenage sister of Sherlock and Mycroft. Upon their mother's disappearance, Enola discovers that she in fact left of her own volition according to a carefully devised plan to live independently and raised her daughter with the skills to do the same if she chose to. Finding the resources her mother carefully hid for her, Enola decides to run away rather than be forced into
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
by Mycroft. She eventually comes to London where she secretly sets herself up in business as a private investigator when she realises she is equally as talented at the profession as her older brother even as she is determined to elude his notice. Holmes cameos at the end of ''
Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...
'' #572, the comic series' 50th anniversary issue, helping
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
,
Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...
,
The Elongated Man Elongated Man (Randolph "Ralph" Dibny) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in '' The Flash'' #112 (February 25, 1960). The character made his live-action debut in the fourth season of T ...
, and
Slam Bradley Samuel Emerson "Slam" Bradley is a fictional character that has appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. He is a private detective who exists in DC's main shared universe. The character concept was created by DC Comics founde ...
tie up a case involving the descendants of both Dr. Watson and Professor Moriarty. Well over a century old now, Holmes attributes his longevity to "a proper diet, a certain distillation of royal jelly, developed in my beekeeping days, and the rarified (sic) atmosphere of Tibet, where I keep my primary residence." He apparently gave up tobacco, too, indicating that his pipe was now "purely for show these days."
Mercedes Lackey Mercedes Ritchie Lackey (born June 24, 1950) is an American writer of fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar. Her Valdemar novels include i ...
's
Elemental Masters ''Elemental Masters'' is a fantasy series by American writer Mercedes Lackey, taking place on an alternate Earth where magic exists. The series largely focuses on Elemental Masters, people who have magical control over air, water, fire, or eart ...
series is set in a world in which magic and psychic powers are real. Holmes and the Watsons appear in three of the books; Dr Watson is a Water Master, Mary is an Air Master, and Holmes is at first skeptical, dismissing their talk of magic as superstitious twaddle. In
Theodora Goss Theodora Goss (born September 30, 1968) is a Hungarian-American fiction writer and poet. Her writing has been nominated for major awards, including the Nebula, Locus, Mythopoeic, World Fantasy, and Seiun Awards. Her short fiction and poetry ...
' 2017 novel, '' The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter'', the protagonist Mary Jekyll meets Holmes and Watson, and they help each other solve their respective mysteries, which happen to converge.


TV

In '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', a Sherlock Holmes mystery was one of the programmes on the ''Enterprise''-D's
holodeck The Holodeck is a fictional device from the television franchise ''Star Trek'' which uses "holograms" (projected light and electromagnetic energy which create the illusion of solid objects) to create a realistic 3D simulation of a real or imag ...
. In the episode ''
Elementary, Dear Data "Elementary, Dear Data" is the third episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', the 29th episode overall. It was written by Brian Alan Lane and directed by Rob Bowman. It ...
'',
Data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted ...
, after memorising all of the Sherlock Holmes books, is challenged to use deduction in an original mystery created by Dr. Pulaski. However, the programme goes awry when
Geordi La Forge Geordi La Forge ( ) is a fictional character who appeared in all seven seasons of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and its four feature films. Portrayed by LeVar Burton, he served as helmsman o ...
, in response to Pulaski's challenge, asks the computer to create an adversary capable of defeating ''Data'', resulting in the hologram of Professor Moriarty (played by
Daniel Davis Daniel Davis (born November 26, 1945) is an American film, stage and television actor. Davis is best known for portraying Niles the butler on the sitcom ''The Nanny'' (1993 to 1999), and for his two guest appearances as Professor Moriarty on ...
) gaining full sentience, kidnapping Dr. Pulaski and taking over the ship's computer. In a later episode, ''
Ship in a Bottle An impossible bottle is a bottle containing an object that does not appear to fit through the bottle's mouth. The ship in a bottle is a traditional and the most iconic type of impossible bottle. Other common objects include fruits, matchboxe ...
'', the holodeck Moriarty again takes control of the ship, insisting that a way be found for him to experience life beyond the confines of the holodeck, until the crew manage to trap him in a permanent simulation. The first Holmes-based episode was produced with the understanding that Sherlock Holmes was
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
, but a protest from the Doyle estate indicated otherwise (and, it is rumoured, prevented a plan for Data-as-Holmes to become a recurring character). An elderly Holmes and Watson appear in a sketch of comedy show ''
That Mitchell and Webb Look ''That Mitchell and Webb Look'' is a British sketch comedy television show starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb that ran from 2006 to 2010. Many of its characters and sketches were first featured in the duo's radio show ''That Mitchell and W ...
'', where Holmes is portrayed as an increasingly senile old man whose flawed deductions are merely humoured by Watson to try to make his old friend feel better; the sketch ends on a tearful note as Holmes, his mind briefly clear, admits to Watson that he knows that his powers are failing him but simply cannot think clearly enough to get past his age.


Animation

* Disney's ''
The Great Mouse Detective ''The Great Mouse Detective'' (also known as ''The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective'' for its 1992 theatrical re-release and ''Basil the Great Mouse Detective'' in some countries) is a 1986 American animated mystery film, mystery adventur ...
'' (1986), also known as ''Basil of Baker Street'', was a relatively successful theatrical feature
animated film Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
based on the
books A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical ar ...
of
Eve Titus Eve Titus (July 16, 1922 – February 4, 2002) was an American children's writer. She is particularly known for her books featuring the anthropomorphic mice characters Anatole, a heroic and resourceful French mouse, and Basil of Baker Street, a ...
, featuring a miniature subworld of London with mice, rats and cats in the lead roles. The title character is a mouse who lives in 221B Baker St and models his own detective career on Holmes, who lives at the same address and makes a cameo appearance. * In one episode of The Fairly Oddparents Holmes is portrayed in stereotypical attire; he starts every sentence with "elementary, my dear (whomever he is addressing)" and will always know the answer to every single question posed to him about the asker. * In the ''
VeggieTales ''VeggieTales'' is an American Christian media, computer generated musical children's animation, and book franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series sees fruit and vegetable characters retelling ...
'' episode, ''
Sheerluck Holmes and the Golden Ruler This is a list of VHS and DVD releases of the animated children's television series ''VeggieTales''. Videos Original videos (1993–2015) Theatrical films Compilation videos Collections # ''Lessons From The Sock Drawer'' ...
'', Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato portray vegetable versions of Holmes and Watson, respectively, in order to teach a lesson on friendship.


Video games

Everett Kaser has published a series of free reflection games (puzzles) with names referring to Sherlock Holmes stories: ''Sherlock: The Game of Logic'', ''Dinner with Moriarty'', ''Watson's Map'', ''Baker Street'', ''Scotland Yard'' ''Inspector Lestrade'', ''Mrs. Hudson'', ''Reichenbach Falls'', ''Queen's Gambit'', ''Mycroft's Map''. Sherlock Holmes, however, does not appear in the games, except some very small icons. In ''Midnight Mysteries: Haunted Houdini'' a hidden-object/puzzle video game released in 2012 by
MumboJumbo MumboJumbo, LLC was an independent developer of games for personal computers, game consoles and mobile devices. MumboJumbo Mobile, LLC publishes entertainment software for Android and iOS devices. History The company was founded in January 200 ...
, Sherlock Holmes is on the suspects list. In ''
Fate/Grand Order is a free-to-play Japanese mobile game, developed by Lasengle (formerly Delightworks) using Unity, and published by Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The game is based on Type-Moon's ''Fate/stay night'' franchise, and ...
'', released in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
in 2015, Holmes briefly appears in the Camelot singularity. Then he appears in the Shinjuku singularity as an ally. He is a Ruler class servant. In '' There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension'', the second chapter sees the player trapped in a fictional
adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...
based on Sherlock Holmes. The player must alter the game's user interface and environment in order to manipulate Holmes and Watson into solving specific puzzles so that they might escape.


Successors of Sherlock Holmes

These stories treat Sherlock Holmes as an historical character but concern themselves with one of his successors — biological or spiritual — who usually take after him in some way, e.g. being good detectives.


Film

In the 1977 spoof ''
The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It ''The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It'' is a 1977 comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring John Cleese. It is a low-budget spoof of the Sherlock Holmes detective series, as well as the mystery genre in gener ...
'',
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
plays Arthur Sherlock Holmes, grandson of the famous sleuth, alongside Watson's grandson, played by
Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe (22 September 1915 – 15 April 1982) was an English actor. His acting career spanned 36 years, including starring roles in numerous theatre and television productions. He played Captain Mainwaring in the British sitcom ''Dad' ...
.


TV

''
The Adventures of Shirley Holmes ''The Adventures of Shirley Holmes'' is a Canadian mystery TV series that originally aired from May 7, 1997, to May 7, 2000. The show was created by Ellis Iddon and Phil Meagher (of Winklemania Productions, UK) who had produced a successful seri ...
'' is the story of the teenage Anglo-Canadian grandniece of Sherlock Holmes, Shirley, who after discovering some of Sherlock Holmes' effects (which he had concealed to ensure that only a fitting successor of similar intellect would find them), goes on to solve many crimes and mysteries with the assistance of her male Watson-like friend, Bo Sawchuk. She also has a Moriarty-like arch-enemy in the form of Molly Hardy.


Manga/anime

In ''
Hidan no Aria is a Japanese light novel series written by Chūgaku Akamatsu and illustrated by Kobuichi. As of June 2022, 37 main volumes have been published by Media Factory under their MF Bunko J label. A manga adaptation by Yoshino Koyoka started ser ...
'' series, the character Aria Holmes Kanzake is the descendant of Sherlock Holmes. ''
Tantei Opera Milky Holmes is a media franchise owned by the Japanese trading card game company Bushiroad. The first release was an Internet radio drama, released in December 2009. An anime adaptation by J.C.Staff aired between October and December 2010, with a ...
'' has four protagonists named after famous literary detectives, and they even adopt the iconic deerstalker into their uniform.


Holmes-inspired characters


Print

The future King of Thailand, Crown Prince
Vajiravudh Vajiravudh ( th, วชิราวุธ, , 1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI. He ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts ...
, published 15 stories featuring a detective Mr. Thong-in, and his assistant Mr. Wat, which were published in 1904-1905. The stories are widely recognised as containing elements from both Arthur Conan Doyle's
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
stories, and
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
's "
The Murders in the Rue Morgue "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in ''Graham's Magazine'' in 1841. It has been described as the first modern detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination". C. Auguste Dup ...
".
August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the ...
's Holmes-inspired sleuth
Solar Pons Solar Pons is a fictional detective created by August Derleth as a pastiche of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Robert Bloch wrote of the series, "During a span of a century there have been literally hundreds of Sherlockian imitations, rang ...
is an obvious and early homage to Holmes. Derleth began to write the stories in 1928 after asking permission of
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
to continue the series of Sherlock Holmes stories (it was denied). The first collection of Pons stories was published in 1948, and Derleth's stories are contained in 13 additional books, several published after his death in 1971.
Basil Copper Basil Frederick Albert Copper (5 February 1924 – 3 April 2013) was an English writer and former journalist and newspaper editor. Mike Ashley, "Basil Copper", in David Pringle, ed., ''St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers.''(London: ...
continued the Pons series with an additional eight books, the most recent published in 2005. The protagonist of
Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of the ...
's novel ''
The Name of the Rose ''The Name of the Rose'' ( it, Il nome della rosa ) is the 1980 debut novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, and an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, ...
'', Friar William of
Baskerville Baskerville is a serif typeface designed in the 1750s by John Baskerville (1706–1775) in Birmingham, England, and cut into metal by punchcutter John Handy. Baskerville is classified as a Serif#Transitional, transitional typeface, intended as a ...
, and his novice Adso (who, like Watson, is the narrator), are patterned on Holmes and Watson. William of Baskerville is physically similar to Holmes, has the habit of addressing his companion with "My dear Adso" and the story itself is about a strictly rational brain following a path of investigation of a seemingly inexplicable chain of violent deaths.
Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson wrote also historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and ...
wrote several stories in which characters modelled themselves on Holmes, including "The Martian Crown Jewels", "The Queen of Air and Darkness", and "The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound". In
Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...
's ''
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress ''The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress'' is a 1966 science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein about a lunar colony's revolt against absentee rule from Earth. The novel illustrates and discusses w:libertarian, libertarian ideals. It is r ...
'' (1966) one of the characters is a computer, a model "HOLMES IV", which adopts the name Mycroft, after Sherlock Holmes' brother.
Julian Symons Julian Gustave Symons (originally Gustave Julian Symons) (pronounced ''SIMM-ons''; 30 May 1912 – 19 November 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature. He was bor ...
created a character named Sheridan Haynes, an actor immersed in the role of Holmes for an epic project to adapt the entire canon for television (almost ten years before
Jeremy Brett Peter Jeremy William Huggins (3 November 1933 – 12 September 1995), known professionally as Jeremy Brett, was an English actor. He played fictional detective Sherlock Holmes in four Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series), Granada TV series from 1984 ...
took up a similar challenge), in the 1975 novel '' A Three Pipe Problem''. Haynes finds himself confusing his own identity with Holmes', and becomes involved in a mystery. The character returned for a 1988 sequel, '' The Kentish Manor Murders'', and Symons also wrote a Holmes short story pastiche. Thomas Brace Haughey wrote a series of six novels "in the best tradition of Holmes and Watson" from 1978–1986, with Geoffrey Weston as the Sherlock character (and a descendant of Mycroft Holmes) and John Taylor as his Watson, living at 31 Baker Street. These stories, ''The Case of the Invisible Thief'', ''The Case of the Frozen Scream'', ''The Case of the Maltese Treasure'', ''The Case of the Kidnapped Shadow'', ''The Case of the Hijacked Moon'', and ''The Case of the Unbolted Lightning'', are all deeply imbued with an Evangelical Christian outlook. Charles Hamilton, under the pseudonym Peter Todd, wrote almost 100 short parodies of the Holmes short stories from 1915 onwards. The characters became Herlock Sholmes and Dr Jotson, living in a Shaker Street apartment; and the sophisticated deductive reasoning of the original became absurdity in the spoofs, which were mainly published in a range of boys' comics of the period (''The Greyfriars Herald'', ''
The Magnet ''The Magnet'' was a British weekly boys' story paper published by Amalgamated Press. It ran from 1908 to 1940, publishing a total of 1,683 issues. Each issue cost a halfpenny and contained a long school story about the boys of Greyfriars Sch ...
'', ''
The Gem ''The Gem'' (1907–1939) was a story paper published in Great Britain by Amalgamated Press in the early 20th century, predominantly featuring the activities of boys at the fictional school St. Jim's. These stories were all written using the pe ...
'', etc.). Although satirical and often mocking contemporary mores (and World War I shortages), the stories had a real feel for the dialogue and structure of the originals. They were all reprinted in ''The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes'' (Hawk Books 1989).
Michael Chabon Michael Chabon ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, DC, he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, gr ...
's novella ''
The Final Solution The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi Germany, Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final ...
'' (2004) features an unnamed protagonist who is likely a retired Holmes. The story takes place during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and features the Holmes character investigating the appearance of a mute boy with a
parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoid ...
who repeatedly calls a string of seemingly random numbers in German. References to Holmes are plentiful: the protagonist is a
bee keeper Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...
, is familiar with detectives in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, and smokes a pipe. The title simultaneously refers to the Nazi plan for genocide hinted at in the book and mirrors one of Doyle's own shorts, "
The Final Problem "The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in ''The Strand Magazine'' in the United Kingdom, and ''McClure's'' in the United States, under the title " ...
".
Sarah Monette Sarah Elizabeth Monette (born November 25, 1974) is an American novelist and short story author, writing mostly in the genres of fantasy and horror. Under the name Katherine Addison, she published the fantasy novel '' The Goblin Emperor'', which ...
's '' The Angel of the Crows'' (2020), transposed to an alternative London with angels and werewolves, portrays Dr Watson as a field surgeon injured in the
Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...
instead of India, and Sherlock Holmes as an angel. The work tries to be an anthology of several Holmes cases. Leilehua Yuen, under the pen name of
Fevronia H. Watkins ''The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom'' (russian: Повесть о Петре и Февронии Муромских, ''Povest o Petre i Fevronii Muromskikh'') is a 16th-century Russian tale by Hermolaus-Erasmus, often referred to as a hagio ...
, began a series of novellas, '' The Adventures of Kamaka Holmes'', in late 2020. It begins with ''He Huli ʻUlaʻula—A Study in Scarlet''. The first books are set in Hilo, Hawaiʻi in the final years of the Hawaiian Monarchy. It features two teenage cousins of Sherlock Holmes (3rd cousins once removed), Kamaka Holmes and Fevronia Watkins. To date, there are no plans for a Sherlock Holmes cameo, though the girls are avid readers of Dr. Watson's writings on the great detective. The mysteries are written as historical fiction. In the O. Henry short stories "The Sleuths", "The Adventures of Shamrock Jolnes" and "The Detective Detector" — story collections: ''Sixes and Sevens (1911)'', and '' Waifs and Strays'' (1917)'' — the character Shamrock Jolnes parodies Sherlock Holmes' deductive methods and disguises. In
Bret Harte Bret Harte (; born Francis Brett Hart; August 25, 1836 – May 5, 1902) was an American short story writer and poet best remembered for short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a caree ...
's collection of
burlesques A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
of contemporaneous writers, ''Condensed Novels: New Burlesques'', the character ''Hemlock Jones'' in the story "The Stolen Cigar Case By A. Co—n D—le" has been praised by
Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1929 by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee and the name of their main fictional character, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve ...
as "probably the best parody of Sherlock Holmes ever written". In the first novel of
Joyce Ballou Gregorian Joyce Ballou Gregorian Hampshire (July 5, 1946 – April 29, 1991) was an American author, expert on Oriental rugs, and horse breeder. Life Joyce Ballou Gregorian was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the third child of Phebe Ballou, of New England ...
's Tredana Trilogy, ''The Broken Citadel'', a young girl is transported from our world to a fantasy world called Tredana. She learns that the only previous traveller there from our world is a Norwegian explorer named Sigerson, who was taught how to get there by the Dalai Lama. In Conan Doyle's stories, during the period in which Holmes is presumed dead between the events of ''
The Final Problem "The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in ''The Strand Magazine'' in the United Kingdom, and ''McClure's'' in the United States, under the title " ...
'' and '' The Empty House'', one identity Holmes adopts is a Norwegian explorer named Sigerson who meets with the Dalai Lama.


Film

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...
played a cocaine-addicted Holmes spoof named "Coke Enneday" in ''
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish ''The Mystery of the Leaping Fish'' is a 1916 American short silent comedy film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Bessie Love, and Alma Rubens. Directed by John Emerson, the story was written by Tod Browning with intertitles by Anita Loos. A 35&nb ...
'' (1916). Many of this "scientific" detective's possessions are checkered in the Holmes manner, including his detective hat, jacket, and even his car, and whenever he feels momentarily dejected, he nonchalantly extracts yet another syringe from a bandolier on his chest and quickly injects himself with
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
, laughing in merriment as an immediate result. In 1924, comedian
Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
made ''
Sherlock Jr. ''Sherlock Jr.'' is a 1924 American silent comedy film directed by and starring Buster Keaton and written by Clyde Bruckman, Jean Havez, and Joseph A. Mitchell. It features Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, and Ward Crane. In 1991, ''Sherlock J ...
'', about a film projectionist who dreams of becoming a great detective. The 1971 film ''
They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...
'', adapted from
James Goldman James Goldman (June 30, 1927 – October 28, 1998) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He won an Academy Award for his screenplay ''The Lion in Winter'' (1968). His younger brother was novelist and screenwriter William Goldman. Biogra ...
's 1961 British stage play of the same name, featured
George C. Scott George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his port ...
as a widowed judge named Justin Playfair who imagines himself to be Holmes. When his brother seeks to have him committed, he is brought to Dr. Mildred Watson (
Joanne Woodward Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American actress. A star since the Golden Age of Hollywood, Woodward made her career breakthrough in the 1950s and earned esteem and respect playing complex women with a charact ...
). In ''
The Return of the World's Greatest Detective ''The Return of the World's Greatest Detective'' is a 1976 American made-for-television mystery comedy film starring Larry Hagman as an inept motorcycle cop named Sherman Holmes, who, after sustaining a head injury, became convinced that he was ...
'' (1976 TV movie), a rather ineffectual
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
cop, and avid fan of Sherlock Holmes, named ''Sherman Holmes'' (played by American actor
Larry Hagman Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American film and television actor, director, and producer, best known for playing ruthless oil baron J. R. Ewing in the 1978–1991 primetime television soap opera, ''Dal ...
) suffers a brain injury when his parked
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
tips over and falls onto his
head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...
(he was lying beside it, reading). He wakes with both the unshakeable delusion that he is Sherlock Holmes and that he possesses all of Holmes' incredible deductive abilities. His friend and case-worker, Dr. Joan Watson (
Jenny O'Hara Patricia Joanne "Jenny" O'Hara (born February 24, 1942) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in ''My Sister Sam'' (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in ''The King of Queens'' (2001–2007), and Nita in ''B ...
), moves him to Apartment B of 221 Baker Street, where he becomes involved in the murder of an embezzler.
Nicholas Colasanto Nicholas Colasanto (January 19, 1924 – February 12, 1985) was an American actor and television director who is best known for his role as "Coach" Ernie Pantusso in the American television sitcom ''Cheers''. He served in the United States Nav ...
also stars as Lt. Tinker, Holmes' former superior, who is in charge of the murder investigation. Reviewers of the day pointed out parallels to ''
They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...
.'' The 1986 Soviet comedy '' My Dearly Beloved Detective'' features two women (Shirley Holmes and Jane Watson) opening a private detective agency in London, to the displeasure of Scotland Yard at the competitors. Sherlock Holmes is fictional in the setting. ''
Zero Effect ''Zero Effect'' is a 1998 American mystery comedy film written and directed by Jake Kasdan in his feature directional debut. Starring Bill Pullman as "the world's most private detective", Daryl Zero, and Ben Stiller as his assistant Steve Arlo, ...
'', loosely based on the Sherlock Holmes story " A Scandal in Bohemia", features
Bill Pullman William Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting. He made his film debut in ''R ...
as Daryl Zero, a neurotic detective who is only in his element when on a case, and
Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...
as Watson-like assistant Steve Arlo. Set in modern
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, the search for a shady businessman's lost keys reveals a plot involving murder, blackmail, and secret identities. Instead of
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
, Zero's occasional need for mental stimulation leads to experimentation with the drug
Mescaline Mescaline or mescalin (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine) is a naturally occurring psychedelic protoalkaloid of the substituted phenethylamine class, known for its hallucinogenic effects comparable to those of LSD and psilocybin. Biological sou ...
. In the film, Zero indicates that he has mastered his technique of "Observation and Objectivity" – or as he calls them, "The Two Obs". Sherlock Holmes also inspired
Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...
, an
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n film maker, to create the character Pradosh Mitter. Mitter, affectionately called
Feluda Feluda, or Prodosh Chandra Mitra itter'', is a fictional detective, Private investigator created by famous Indian director and writer Satyajit Ray. Feluda resides at 21 Rajani Sen Road, Ballygunge, Calcutta, West Bengal. Feluda first made his ap ...
, was immensely popular in Bengal. Feluda used the method of deduction to solve his cases, most of which were set in Calcutta. Ray even made some movies with Feluda as hero, including ''
Sonar Kella ''Sonar Kella'' ( bn, সোনার কেল্লা), also ''Shonar Kella'', is a 1971 mystery novel written by by Bengali writer and filmmaker Satyajit Ray. In 1974, Ray directed a film adaption of the book, also named ''Sonar Kella'', ...
'' (''The Golden Fortress''). Additionally, the
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
writer Saradindu Bandyopadhyay also had a detective named
Byomkesh Bakshi Byomkesh Bakshi is an Indian-Bengali fictional detective created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. Referring to himself as a "truth-seeker" or Satyanweshi in the stories, Bakshi is known for his proficiency with observation, logical reasoning, and ...
, which had some resemblance to Doyle's Holmes. In many ways Bakshi was different from the "drug-addict" bachelor image that Holmes had. Bakshi was married and had few addictions except that of a cigarette. In many ways, Byomkesh's character was distinctly different from that of Holmes. However both used deductions and were astute observers. In their character portrayal though the biggest difference lies. The frequently brooding trait in Holmes' character was not found in the cheerful portrayal of Byomkesh Bakshi. The adventures of Bakshi was later developed into a television series that was aired in
Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...
, India's premier TV channel during those times, in the early 1990s. The series featuring Rajit Kapoor as Byomkesh Bakshi, telecast on the Doordarshan, inspired a lot of Indians to read the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and re-read the works of Saradindu Bandyopadhyay.


TV


CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

The highly popular ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...
'' featured an entire episode circling around the death of a man who held 'mystery nights' with a group of friends in which they roleplayed as Holmes characters and solved invented crimes; his basement was an exact replica of Sherlock Holmes' 221B Baker Street parlour, and he emulated everything Holmes did in the books – from his smoking to his cocaine addiction. The episode was called "Who Shot Sherlock?". CSI is also notable for the lead character,
Gil Grissom Gilbert Arthur Grissom (born August 17, 1956), Ph.D. is a fictional character portrayed by William Petersen on the CBS crime drama '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and its sequel, '' CSI: Vegas''. Grissom is a forensic entomologist and for t ...
(
William Petersen William Louis Petersen (born February 21, 1953) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his role as Gil Grissom in the CBS drama series ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (2000–2015), for which he won a Screen Actors Guild Aw ...
), has more than a passing similarity to Sherlock Holmes. Like Holmes, Grissom is dispassionate with a fierce devotion to logic and little regard for societal norms of behaviour; Grissom once smashed mustard jars in a grocery store to illustrate a theory, much as Holmes once practiced spearing a pig in a butchers shop to determine how strong a man would have to be to transfix a man with a harpoon. Grissom also possesses a Moriarty-like nemesis, Paul Millander ( Matt O'Toole), whom he pursues in several episodes. Coincidentally, "Paul Millander" has the same initials as "
Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...
." There's also a woman, Lady Heather Kessler (
Melinda Clarke Melinda Patrice "Mindy" Clarke (born April 24, 1969) is an American actress. Clarke is known for portraying Faith Taylor on the soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' (1989–1990), Julie Cooper on Fox's teen drama series ''The O.C.'' (2003–2007), ...
), in whom he takes an unusual interest. Their relationship is similar to that of
Irene Adler Irene Adler is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A former opera singer and actress, she was featured in the short story " A Scandal in Bohemia", published in July 1891. Adler is one of the ...
and Holmes. Both Irene and Lady Heather enchant Holmes and Grissom with their beauty, their wit and their resolution. Lady Heather often wears Victorian-style dresses, referencing Holmes's era. Whilst Grisoms replacement
D.B. Russell ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony E. Zuiker and executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Carol Mendelsohn, Ann Donahue, William Petersen, Cynthia Chavtel, Naren Shanker, and Don Mc ...
's (
Ted Danson Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. He ...
) official character sheet was described as "A west coast Sherlock Holmes who devours crime novels and looks at every crime scene as if it were a story waiting to be told". Both Grissom and Russell work with their CSI partners
Catherine Willows Catherine Willows is a fictional character, portrayed by Marg Helgenberger, from the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and its sequel, '' CSI: Vegas''. Helgenberger made her franchise debut in the first-season episode "Pilot". H ...
(
Marg Helgenberger Mary Marg Helgenberger (born November 16, 1958) is an American actress. She began her career in the early 1980s and first came to attention for playing the role of Siobhan Ryan on the daytime soap opera '' Ryan's Hope'' from 1982 to 1986. She is ...
) and
Julie Finlay Julie "Finn" Finlay is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', portrayed by Elisabeth Shue. She made her first appearance in the 14th episode of season 12, entitled "Seeing Red", and appeared in every epis ...
(
Elisabeth Shue Elisabeth Judson Shue (born October 6, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''The Karate Kid'' (1984), ''Adventures in Babysitting'' (1987), '' Cocktail'' (1988), ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), '' B ...
), respectively (both the equivalent of
Dr. John Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...
) whilst both working under the
Las Vegas Police Department The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (also known as the LVMPD or Metro) is a combined city and county law enforcement agency for the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is headed by the Sheriff of Clark County, w ...
's Homicide Captain
Jim Brass James Brass is a fictional character portrayed by Paul Guilfoyle on the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and its sequel ''CSI: Vegas''. He made his first screen appearance in the show's Pilot (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), pi ...
(
Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He return ...
) (the equivalent of
Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel ...
).


House MD ''House'' (also called ''House, M.D.'') is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on the Fox network for eight seasons, from November 16, 2004, to May 21, 2012. The series' main character is Dr. Gregory House (Hugh L ...

According to series creator
David Shore David Shore (born July 3, 1959) is a Canadian television writer. Shore worked on ''Family Law'', ''NYPD Blue'' and '' Due South'', also producing many episodes of the latter. He created the critically acclaimed series '' House'' and more recentl ...
,
Gregory House Gregory House, M.D. is the titular protagonist of the American medical drama series ''House''. Created by David Shore and portrayed by English actor Hugh Laurie, he leads a team of diagnosticians and is the Head of Diagnostic Medicine at the f ...
was inspired by the fictional character Sherlock Holmes, particularly about drug use and his desire (and capacity) to solve the unsolvable. House uses Holmesian deductive techniques to diagnose his patients' problems. For example, references to Sherlock Holmes range from the obvious (House's apartment number is 221B) to the subtle (his friendship with Dr.
James Wilson James Wilson may refer to: Politicians and government officials Canada *James Wilson (Upper Canada politician) (1770–1847), English-born farmer and political figure in Upper Canada * James Crocket Wilson (1841–1899), Canadian MP from Quebe ...
and the similarities between House and Holmes, and Wilson and Watson). In the pilot episode, the patient's last name was Adler, and in the last episode of season two, the man who shot House was Moriarty. House's act of faking cancer in season three, episode fifteen, "Half-Wit," is similar to the Holmes story, "The Adventure of the Dying Detective," Holmes fakes a deadly eastern disease to catch a criminal. The character of Holmes, was in turn, based on a Doctor that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle knew while studying medicine, Dr.
Joseph Bell Joseph Bell FRCSE (2 December 1837 – 4 October 1911) was a Scottish surgeon and lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in the 19th century. He is best known as an inspiration for the literary character Sherlock Holm ...
, whose specialty was diagnosis. In season five, episode eleven, "Joy to the World," Wilson presents House with
Joseph Bell Joseph Bell FRCSE (2 December 1837 – 4 October 1911) was a Scottish surgeon and lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in the 19th century. He is best known as an inspiration for the literary character Sherlock Holm ...
's Manual of the Operations of Surgery as a Christmas gift. When House's staff begins to wonder why he would throw away the expensive gift, an amused Wilson begins making up a story about House having a closeted infatuation with a patient named Irene Adler, who he will always consider to be "the one who got away." One character, Irene Adler, was wrongly characterized as Sherlock Holmes' love interest in several adaptations. Here, the one who got away parallels her was the one woman who defeated Sherlock Holmes, making Sherlock Holmes respect her. But he was never in love with her. The false story of Wilson about Irene Adler pays tribute to both of these facts. House also believed that his biological father was a family friend named Thomas Bell. The resemblance is evident in House's reliance on
deductive reasoning Deductive reasoning is the mental process of drawing deductive inferences. An inference is deductively valid if its conclusion follows logically from its premises, i.e. if it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be fals ...
and
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
, even where it might not seem obviously applicable and his reluctance to accept cases he finds uninteresting.


Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...

The character of Detective
Robert Goren Robert Goren is a fictional character featured in the NBC-USA Network police procedural and legal drama television series ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent,'' portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio. Goren is a detective investigator first grade for the Ma ...
(
Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leonar ...
) is based on the popular fictional character of Sherlock Holmes, but instead of relying upon physical evidence like Holmes, Goren focuses on psychology to identify the perpetrators, whom he often draws into confessing or yielding condemning evidence. Goren also works with a John Watson like partner in Detective
Alexandra Eames Alexandra "Alex" Eames is a fictional character within the ''Law & Order'' universe portrayed by Kathryn Erbe. Eames first appears on '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' as a detective partnered with Robert Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio). Following the e ...
(
Kathryn Erbe Kathryn Elsbeth Erbe is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Alexandra Eames on ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', a spin-off of ''Law & Order'', and Shirley Bellinger in the HBO series '' Oz''. Early life Erbe was born in New ...
) and works for
Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel ...
type commanding officers Captain
James Deakins ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', a spin-off of the crime drama ''Law & Order'', follows the detectives who work in the "Major Case Squad" of the New York City Police Department, a unit that focuses on high-profile cases (in most cases murder, jus ...
(
Jamey Sheridan James Patrick Sheridan (born July 12, 1951) is an American actor known for playing a wide range of roles in theater, film, and television. He's best known for Randall Flagg in '' The Stand'' (1994), Captain James Deakins on '' Law & Order: Crimin ...
) and Captain Danny Ross (
Eric Bogosian Eric Bogosian ( hy, Էրիկ Բոգոսյան; ; born April 24, 1953) is an American actor, playwright, monologuist, novelist, and historian. Descended from Armenian American immigrants, he grew up in Watertown and Woburn, Massachusetts, and ...
). The character of Nicole Wallace ( Olivia d'Abo) is a direct attempt to play on the part of Sherlock Holmes' female antagonist
Irene Adler Irene Adler is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A former opera singer and actress, she was featured in the short story " A Scandal in Bohemia", published in July 1891. Adler is one of the ...
, also known as "The Woman". Wallace is employed as a "Professor of Literature" during her first appearance, which could be a parallel to Holmes' nemesis
Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...
.


Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

Andy Breckman Andrew Ross Breckman (born March 3, 1955) is an American television and film writer and a radio personality on WFMU. He is the creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning television series ''Monk'' on the USA Network, and is co-h ...
, head writer of ''
Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
'', admitted to copying
Adrian Monk Adrian Monk, portrayed by Tony Shalhoub, is the title character and protagonist of the USA Network television series ''Monk''. He is a renowned former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department. Monk has obsessive–compulsive ...
from Conan Doyle "almost as if I used a
Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...
machine".The characters and basic structure of the series were inspired by the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. The character name "
Adrian Monk Adrian Monk, portrayed by Tony Shalhoub, is the title character and protagonist of the USA Network television series ''Monk''. He is a renowned former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department. Monk has obsessive–compulsive ...
" was intended to be unusual like that of Sherlock Holmes. Other characters correspond to Holmes characters: Sharona Fleming (a nurse) and
Dr. John Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...
; Captain
Leland Stottlemeyer The following is a list of characters of ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principal cast ...
and Lieutenant Randall Disher (named Randall Deacon in the pilot) served much the same function on this show as did
Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel ...
in the Sherlock Holmes stories. This relationship may have inspired these characters' names: taking the first two letters of each name in order – LE from "Leland", ST from "Stottlemeyer", RA from "Randall" and DE from "Deacon" – spells out "Lestrade". (However, after the show's pilot episode, Randy Deacon's last name was changed to Disher.) There's also Monk's brother Ambrose and
Mycroft Holmes Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character appearing in stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 1893 to 1908. The elder brother (by seven years) of detective Sherlock Holmes, he is a government official and a founding member of the Diogenes ...
(Sherlock's brother) and Harold Krenshaw and James Moriarty (Holmes' nemesis), (JM) initials shifted two characters to the left in the alphabet (HK). Also, on another side note, Monk's second psychiatrist was called Dr. Bell. Sherlock Holmes was modeled on Dr Joseph Bell, a surgeon with outstanding deductive powers.


Others

Sherlock Hemlock Sherlock Hemlock (who calls himself "the world's greatest detective") is a Muppet character on the PBS series ''Sesame Street''. His catchphrase is " Egad!" which he exclaims whenever he makes a discovery. Sherlock Hemlock was performed by Jerry ...
is a
muppet The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are ...
character based on Sherlock Holmes, who appears on the American children's programme ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
''. The pilot episode of the well-remembered series, ''
Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...
'', starring
Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...
, aired on 30 September 1984. The story had to do with her character, mystery writer
Jessica Fletcher Jessica Beatrice "J. B." Fletcher (born Jessica Beatrice MacGill) is a detective show character and the protagonist on the American television series '' Murder, She Wrote''. Portrayed by award-winning actress Angela Lansbury, Fletcher is a bes ...
, searching out the murderer of Caleb McCallum (played by
Brian Keith Brian Keith (born Robert Alba Keith, November 14, 1921 – June 24, 1997) was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his six-decade career gained recognition for his work in films such as the Disney family film '' The Parent T ...
) who is killed at a masquerade party where he is dressed in deerstalker cap and cape-coat. It was titled "The Murder of Sherlock Holmes". Although never directly stated, ''
Psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observ ...
'' is said to have been based on, or at least a parody of, Sherlock Holmes, with
Shawn Spencer Shawn Spencer is a fictional character and main protagonist on the American television comedy-drama ''Psych'' played by American actor James Roday Rodriguez. Taking advantage of his eidetic memory and keen observational skills, he poses as a ps ...
being Sherlock Holmes, Burton "Gus" Guster being John Watson,
Henry Spencer Henry Spencer (born 1955) is a Canadian computer programmer and space enthusiast. He wrote "regex", a widely used software library for regular expressions, and co-wrote C News, a Usenet server program. He also wrote ''The Ten Commandments for C ...
being
Mycroft Holmes Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character appearing in stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 1893 to 1908. The elder brother (by seven years) of detective Sherlock Holmes, he is a government official and a founding member of the Diogenes ...
, Police Chief
Karen Vick Karen C. Vick (née Dunlap) is a character on the American comedy detective drama ''Psych'' played by Kirsten Nelson. Fictional biography According to Head Detective Carlton Lassiter's weblog, Vick replaced Police Chief John Fenich upon his retire ...
being
Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel ...
, and "
Mr. Yang This is a list of characters in the USA Network original comedy-drama TV series '' Psych'' and subsequent movies that were released on Peacock. The principal cast of the series has remained the same throughout the series. However, various rec ...
" being Moriarty. When
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
's Sherlock (2010) premiered, parallels were also drawn between Detective
Juliet O'Hara Head Detective Juliet Lynn "Jules" O'Hara is a character on the American comedy ''Psych'' played by Maggie Lawson. She attended the University of Miami. Fictional biography Juliet O'Hara first appears undercover in the show's second episode, "Sp ...
and
Molly Hooper The following is a list and description of the characters of '' Sherlock'', a British television series that started airing on BBC One in July 2010. The series is a contemporary adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyl ...
, and between Detective
Carlton Lassiter Detective Carlton Jebediah Lassiter MCJ is a fictitious character in the American sitcom ''Psych'', played by Timothy Omundson. Fictional biography One of the main supporting characters of the detective comedy-drama show ''Psych'', Lassiter is ...
and Phillip Anderson and Sally Donovan. Many fans of the series ''
The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show fol ...
'' believe that the series' main character
Patrick Jane Patrick Jane is a fictional character and the protagonist of the CBS crime drama ''The Mentalist'', portrayed by Simon Baker. Jane is an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation, and helps by giving advice and insight from ...
is inspired by the Sherlock Holmes. Jane can read a crime scene with his observation skills and uses his team as his own version of John Watson/
Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel ...
and has an enemy with
Red John Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...
being Patrick's own version of Professor James Moriarty.


Animation

In
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
long-running ''
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.
'' cartoon show,
Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon fictional character, character created for Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic American black duck, black ...
did a turn as "Dorlock Holmes" in the episode "Deduce, You Say", first shown in 1956. In this episode, Dorlock Holmes (festooned in deerstalker cap and residing on Beeker Street) and his assistant Watkins (played by
Porky Pig Porky Pig is an animated character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his celebrity, star power, and the animators created ma ...
) must track down the Shropshire Slasher. Several
Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''Detroit Mirror'', and it ...
animated cartoons centre around a white bulldog, helmeted like a London bobby, named Hemlock Holmes.
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
is extremely popular in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and was an inspiration for the
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
and
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
, ''
Case Closed ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994, with its ch ...
'' (''Detective Conan'' in Japan), where the main character,
Jimmy Kudo , known in some major English adaptations as Jimmy Kudo, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the manga series ''Case Closed'', created by Gosho Aoyama. A high school detective, he is forced to ingest the lethal poison after an en ...
(Shin'ichi Kudo), takes his pseudonym, Conan Edogawa, from two detective fiction authors,
Edogawa Rampo , better known by the pen name was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery and thriller fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogoro Akechi, who in later books was the le ...
and
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
. Incidentally
Edogawa Rampo , better known by the pen name was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery and thriller fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogoro Akechi, who in later books was the le ...
took his name from
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
, the American writer known as the 'Father' of detective fiction. In addition, many of the characters of Detective Conan are inspired by characters from Doyle's original canon. Most notably is that Kudo himself is a take on Sherlock Holmes. This connection is made even more obvious by the naming of some of its fictional locations like Beika City and Haido City named after Baker Street and Hyde Park respectively. The Kudo family residence is even located at no. 21 of the second block in Beika Town.


Video games

The Other Guys has released in 2016 an app called ''Sherlock Holmes: Lost Detective''. Divided into two seasons, the main character is a young Scotland Yard agent; in this game there is a professor of English literature claiming to be Sherlock Holmes. Originally for iOS and Android, at present time can be found only on iTunes. ''Doctor Watson: Mystery Cases'' (also ''Doctor Watson: Treasure Island'') and ''Doctor Watson 2: The Riddle of the Catacombs'' are two casual games (hidden object games with 3D capabilities) released by German software house UIG in which the main character is loosely inspired by the original Watson. Holmes himself, however, does not appear. SecretBuilders Games has released in 2018 a casual game, ''Dr. Watson Mysteries – Hidden Objects Game'', where the protagonist is Dr. Watson, not Sherlock Holmes, but it features many Conan Doyle's stories such as ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'', ''The Valley of Fear'', ''The Speckled Band'', ''The Silver Blaze'', ''The Musgrave Ritual'', ''The Gloria Scott'', and ''The Copper Beeches''. Crisp App Studios has developed a crime-comedy casual game named ''Sherlock Pug'' where the main character is an anthropomorphic dog who is also a police officer, assisted by a superhero (Super Al) to defeat the evil Skindiver who has seized Oddopolis; mainly targeted to a children audience, it is available on Steam and, freely, on Microsoft website. Big Fish Games and Elephant Games have released three games with a main character named "Ms. Holmes", a female detective so called in honour of Holmes himself, who investigates in England during the absence of Sherlock Holmes after his disappearance at Reichenbach Falls. Some recurring Holmes' characters such as Professor Moriarty and the Baskervilles are cited in the games.


Manga

Throughout '' Gender-Swap at the Delinquent Academy'', the main character Torao Kadoki occasionally dons a
fake moustache A fake moustache or false moustache is an item of prosthetic make-up used in dressing-up, acting, espionage and crime. Fake moustaches are made in different ways, but usually require the wearer to use adhesive to affix the moustache to their face ...
and deerstalker hat to investigate mysteries as "Herlock Sholmes".


Audio

''
The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra ''The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra'' is the seventh comedy album produced by the Firesign Theatre and released in January 1974 by Columbia Records. It is a send-up of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, " The Giant Rat of Sumatra", which was not wri ...
'' is a comedy album created by
The Firesign Theatre The Firesign Theatre (also known as the Firesigns) was an American surreal humour, surreal comedy troupe who first appeared on November 17, 1966, in a live performance on the Los Angeles radio program ''Radio Free Oz'' on station KPFK FM broad ...
featuring Hemlock Stones and Flotsam.


See also

*
Fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settin ...
* Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd.


References


Bibliography

* Text was copied fro
Influence of Sherlock Holmes
at the Baker Street Wiki, which is released under
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license
* Peter Ridgway Watt, Joseph Green, ''The alternative Sherlock Holmes: pastiches, parodies, and copies'',
Ashgate Publishing Ashgate Publishing was an academic book and journal publisher based in Farnham ( Surrey, United Kingdom). It was established in 1967 and specialised in the social sciences, arts, humanities and professional practice. It had an American office i ...
, 2003, * Bernard A. Drew, ''Literary afterlife: the posthumous continuations of 325 authors' fictional characters'', McFarland, 2009, , pp. 110–117


External links

*A Thoroughgoing Listing of Sherlockian Pastiche Novels: http://home.earthlink.net/~glennbranca/unclubables/id12.html
''Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol''
a play by John Longenbaugh, world premiered at Taproot Theatre Company in Seattle in 2010 {{Sherlock Holmes by others
Pastiches A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...