History YMMV / TheAdventuresOfShirleyHolmes

* CompleteMonster:[[HumanTraffickers El Condor]] from "The Case of the Precious Cargo" is a gangster who, with the help of a corrupt diplomat named Charles Tucker, smuggles people out of South America and into Canada. The refugees are led to believe that they will be released once they reach their destination, but in reality [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil they are enslaved]] and put to work in sweatshops overseen by El Condor. When one refugee, a little girl named Luisa, escapes, El Condor abducts Luisa's aunt and threatens to kill her unless she helps him reclaim Luisa, also threatening to use his connections to have Luisa's imprisoned mother murdered back in South America. After Charles captures Luisa, as well as [[KidDetective Shirley Holmes]], El Condor elects to [[WouldHurtAChild murder the girls]] and Rita and make it look like they were killed by Charles, who he is also going to kill, having decided [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness the latter had outlived his usefulness]].

* CompleteMonster: "The Case of the Precious Cargo": [[HumanTraffickers El Condor]] is a gangster who, with the help of a corrupt diplomat named Charles Tucker, smuggles people out of South America and into Canada. The refugees are led to believe that they will be released once they reach their destination, but in reality [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil they are enslaved]] and put to work in sweatshops overseen by El Condor. When one refugee, a little girl named Luisa, escapes, El Condor abducts Luisa's aunt and threatens to kill her unless she helps him reclaim Luisa, also threatening to use his connections to have Luisa's imprisoned mother murdered back in South America. After Charles captures Luisa, as well as [[KidDetective Shirley Holmes]], El Condor elects to [[WouldHurtAChild murder the girls]] and Rita and make it look like they were killed by Charles, who he is also going to kill, having decided [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness the latter had outlived his usefulness]].

* JerkassWoobie: Molly Hardy. While Shirley has outright called her evil, she has also admitted that she pities her because Molly is "empty" and, with the exception of her pet horse, is largely incapable and unwilling to form attachments or bonds with anyone because of her sociopathy and the fact that her own parents do not appear to love her, as hinted at in "The Case of the Maestro's Ghost."

* AdaptationDisplacement: The show was based on a series of four children's books published by Winklemania that starred an eight year-old Shirley. Fans tend to be more familiar with the show than with the source material.
* BizarroEpisode: Any of the episodes that featured outright and unambiguous paranormal elements, like the {{Seer|s}} or the ghost or the alien or the frigging SeaMonster.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: While the show usually did typical KidDetective stories, every so often there was an UnexpectedlyDarkEpisode which pitted Shirley against the likes of human traffickers/slavers, a serial arsonist, terrorists, spies, a murderous CorruptCorporateExecutive, assassins, a violently psychotic man with Noah delusions, an (admittedly nerdy) cult leader who believed in creating an intellectually superior MasterRace, etc. Hitler and the Nazis get namedropped, Shirley's mother disappeared during the Rwandan Genocide, and Bo's parents are Ukrainian refugees who were persecuted by the Soviets and jailed (after being informed on by the son of one of their own friends) by the KGB.

* AdaptationDisplacement: The show was based on a series of four children's books published by Winklemania that starred an eight-year-old Shirley. Fans tend to be more familiar with the show than with the source material.

* GrowingTheBeard: The show finds its footing in Season 2, where the mysteries become more mature and complex, and a few story-arcs start popping up. Season 3 ramps this up by fleshing out Shirley and Bo's friends, making them more involved with the plots and giving them more to do.
* JerkassWoobie: Molly Hardy. While Shirley has outright called her evil, she has also admitted that she pities her because Molly is "empty" and, with the exception of her pet horse, is largely incapable and unwilling to form attachments or bonds with anything because of her sociopathy and the fact that her own parents do not appear to love her, as hinted at in "The Case of the Maestro's Ghost."
* OlderThanTheyThink: Apparently dates to the 1960s, at least. Also, there was a 1986 Soviet comedy featuring a DistaffCounterpart to Sherlock Holmes named Shirley. That's about where the similarities end.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: While the show usually did typical KidDetective stories, every so often there was a UnexpectedlyDarkEpisode which pitted Shirley against the likes of human traffickers/slavers, a serial arsonist, terrorists, spies, a murderous CorruptCorporateExecutive, assassins, a violently psychotic man with Noah delusions, an (admittedly nerdy) cult leader who believed in creating an intellectually superior MasterRace, etc. Hitler and the Nazis get namedropped, Shirley's mother disappeared during the Rwandan Genocide, and Bo's parents are Ukrainian refugees who were persecuted by the Soviets and jailed (after being informed on by the son of one of their own friends) by the KGB.

* GrowingTheBeard: The show finds its footing in season 2, where the mysteries become more mature and complex, and a few story arcs stop popping up. Season 3 ramps this up by fleshing out Shirley and Bo's friends, making them more involved with plots and giving them more to do.
* OlderThanTheyThink: Apparently dates to the 60-s at least. Also, there was a 1986 Soviet Comedy featuring a DistaffCounterpart to SherlockHolmes named Shirley. That's about where the similarities end.
* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/RyanGosling played Sean the gang leader in "The Case of the Burning Building."
* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Back in the day, this show was met with a lot of surprise for its plots. The show tackled a surprising amount of mature ideas, such as murders, kidnapping, cults, and human trafficking. A couple of episodes also had mentions of Nazis and Hitler.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/RyanGosling played the gang leader in "The Case of the Burning Building."

* OlderThanTheyThink: Apparently dates to the 60-s at least. Also, there was a 1986 Soviet Comedy featuring a DistaffCounterpart to SherlockHolmes named Shirley. That's about where the similarities end.

* OlderThanTheyThink: There was a 1986 Soviet Comedy featuring a DistaffCounterpart to SherlockHolmes named Shirley. That's about where the similarities end.

* OlderThatTheyThink: There was a 1986 Soviet Comedy featuring a DistaffCounterpart to SherlockHolmes named Shirley. That's about where the similarities end.

* FanPreferredCouple: Shirley and Bo.