Line #274 Series/SherlockHolmes


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1_rdhzx.jpg]]
2	%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
3
4	->''"My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people do not know."''
5	-->-- '''Sherlock Holmes, The Blue Carbuncle'''
6
7	There have been numerous television adaptations of Literature/SherlockHolmes. See the [[DerivativeWorks/SherlockHolmes main page]] for a list. This page covers the franchise of television series produced by British television company Granada Television between 1984 and 1994, staring Creator/JeremyBrett as the titular GreatDetective. Of the 60 Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 42 were adapted in the series spanning 36 one-hour episodes and five feature-length specials.
8
9	The first two seasons are referred to as ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes''. These series co-starred David Burke as Doctor Watson, reversing the commonly held view of Watson as TheWatson epitomized by Nigel Bruce in the 1940s and 50s, portraying Holmes' biographer as a strong, intelligent, humorous but never bumbling man of action, often learning from Holmes in the art of deduction. Rosalie Williams proved a real gem as the long-suffering Mrs. Hudson, and the supporting cast was magnificent, including an early appearance by Creator/NatashaRichardson.
10
11	In ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes'', the producers pulled a daring but successful trick in changing Watsons, since the original Watson, David Burke, left for a variety of reasons. Creator/EdwardHardwicke (personally recommended by Burke) [[TheOtherDarrin replaced him]], and though the two interpretations are different, both are extremely successful in challenging TheWatson impression.
12
13	For ''The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes'', after a three year break necessitated by Creator/{{Jeremy Brett}}'s health, professional difficulties and various projects, the series returned in 1991 under the oversight of the original producer, Michael Cox. Unfortunately, the number of truly strong stories left in the canon of original Holmes material had started drying up and some of the remaining strong ones needed a bust in the budget (travels to France for instance), leaving the production team an unenviable choice: stay faithful (the original mandate of the series) and pump out low quality episodes, or make quality television but deviate dramatically from the source material. They wavered between the two options during this series, resulting in an uneven six episodes. It was followed by a set of three tv movies featuring [[AdaptationExpansion expanded adaptations]] of short stories. ''The Master Blackmailer'' (adapting "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton"), ''The Last Vampyre'' (adapting "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire"), and ''The Eligible Bachelor'' (mostly adapting "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor").
14
15	''The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes'' was the final series, airing in 1994. At this point in time, Brett's health was massively unstable due to childhood heart problems, medication prescribed to deal with his bipolar disorder, and complications from chain-smoking his entire life. Adding to the performance difficulties (Brett could often only sustain seconds-long takes before collapsing) were scheduling crunches (the producer, June Wyndham Davies had originally wanted a year to do the series, but after ExecutiveMeddling was given scant months to scramble together scripts and productions schedules), leading to actor replacements (Edward Hardwicke, who played Watson, was unavailable for one episode, and Brett himself had to bow out for an episode, leading to the inclusion of Creator/CharlesGray as Holmes' brother Mycroft to replace both characters in two episodes).
16
17	The series as a whole is generally regarded as one of the most accurate attempts at depicting the original stories ever put to screen (barring certain changes in order to facilitate adaptation from print to television), and Brett's portrayal is often praised as at very least one of the best Holmes out there, if not the definitive portrayal. It is telling that the next major [[Film/SherlockHolmes2009 feature film adaptation]] starring Creator/RobertDowneyJr decided to take a jarringly different interpretation of the character to get out of Brett's shadow.
18
19	!!Episodes
20
21	[[AC:''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'']]
22	[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Adventures_of_Sherlock_Holmes_DVD_158.jpg]]
23	!!!First Series (1984)
24	# A Scandal in Bohemia
25	# The Dancing Men
26	# The Naval Treaty
27	# The Solitary Cyclist
28	# The Crooked Man
29	# The Speckled Band
30	# The Blue Carbuncle
31	!!!Second Series (1985)
32	# The Copper Beeches
33	# The Greek Interpreter
34	# The Norwood Builder
35	# The Resident Patient
36	# The Red Headed League
37	# The Final Problem
38
39	[[AC:''The Return of Sherlock Holmes'']]
40	[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Return_of_Sherlock_Holmes_DVD_4883.jpg]]
41	!!!First Series (1986)
42	# The Empty House
43	# The Priory School
44	# The Second Stain
45	# The Musgrave Ritual
46	# The Abbey Grange
47	# The Man With the Twisted Lip
48	# The Six Napoleons
49	# The Sign of Four (feature length adaptation, 1987)
50	!!!Second Series (1988)
51	# The Devil's Foot
52	# Silver Blaze
53	# Wisteria Lodge
54	# The Bruce-Partington Plans
55	# The Hound of the Baskervilles (feature length adaptation, 1988)
56
57	[[AC:''The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes'']] (1991)
58	[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Casebook_of_Sherlock_Holmes_DVD_1110.jpg]]
59	# The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
60	# The Problem of Thor Bridge
61	# Shoscombe Old Place
62	# The Boscombe Valley Mystery
63	# The Illustrious Client
64	# The Creeping Man
65
66	[[AC:Feature-length Episodes]]
67	# The Master Blackmailer (1992)
68	# The Last Vampyre (1993)
69	# The Eligible Bachelor (1993)
70
71	[[AC:''The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes'']] (1994)
72	[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Memoirs_of_Sherlock_Holmes_DVD_7747.jpg]]
73	# The Three Gables
74	# The Dying Detective
75	# The Golden Pince-Nez
76	# The Red Circle
77	# The Mazarin Stone
78	# The Cardboard Box
79
80	----
81	!!Provides Examples Of:
82	* ActionPrologue: The opening of "The Final Problem". Holmes dodges carriages, masonry, and ruffians, all bent on killing him. Eesh.
83	* AdaptationDecay: Invoked in "The Copper Beeches" when Holmes lectures Watson on emphasizing the details of crimes rather than Holmes' deductions--since crime is ubiquitous, he thinks that the ''logic'' is the key feature of his adventures.
84	* AdaptationDistillation: Episodes run the spectrum from stringently faithful to the Conan Doyle originals, to barely resembling the stories they are based on.
85	* AdaptationalNameChange: The Duke of Holdernesse's wife from "The Priory School is named Francesca instead of Edith.
86	* AdaptationalVillainy:
87	** The Eligible Bachelor - based on The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor - turns its [[spoiler:title character from simply an arrogant aristocrat into a sadistic villain who [[TheBluebeard kills his first wife]] and imprisons his second.]]
88	** Sophy Kratides in "The Greek Interpreter", who in the original story avenges her brother's death in the end whereas here she still remains loyal to her boyfriend even after learning that he killed her brother, which causes Sherlock to remark that she is cold and without compassion.
89	** Moriarty becomes the mastermind of "The Red-Headed League" as a nice bit of foreshadowing before the next episode, ''The Final Problem".
90	** The "Norwood Builder" is arguably improved by turning the titular character into an actual murderer who killed a tramp to provide a corpse so he could [[FakingTheDead fake his own death]] instead of, as Doyle wrote it, depicting Scotland Yard as a bunch of idiots who mistake rabbit bones for those of a human!
91	* AdaptationInducedPlotHole:
92	** In both the original story and episode "The Priory School", Holmes snarkily taunts the Duke, first over his reluctance for Holmes to investigate his son's disappearance, and later when demanding payment for solving the case before telling the Duke the solution. In the story, Holmes does so as a strategy, because [[spoiler:he has already deduced the Duke has recovered his son and is shielding the kidnapper]]. The episode changes this but keeps the snarking, making Holmes seem needlessly cruel.[[note]]However, Holmes' snarking could also be recontextualized as that he still knows that the Duke knows who the kidnapper is.[[/note]]
93	** Because "The Norwood Builder" was adapted for the second series of the ''Adventures'' rather than the ''Return'', the adaptation drops Holmes' reference to Professor Moriarty (who hasn’t yet been introduced in the show), but retains Holmes' complaint that there are no more interesting crimes in London. Two episodes later, in The Red-Headed League, Holmes displays clear and presumably long-standing familiarity with Moriarty's work, painting him as the backbone of the criminal world and one of his most formidable antagonists, which rather undercuts his earlier complaints of boredom.
94	*** This is compounded by Holmes making a very similar complaint in "The Copper Beeches", just two episodes before "The Norwood Builder".
95	* AdaptationalRomanceDowngrade: In a bit of canon revisionism, Watson doesn't propose at the end of "The Sign of Four" (although the attraction between him and Ms. Morstan is strongly hinted at).
96	* AffectionatePickpocket: Mycroft combines this with PercussivePickpocket in "The Greek Interpreter", sharing a close handshake with Kemp after an amiable dinner and then pretending to be shaken by the train into pulling him close, lifting his revolver.
97	* AfterActionPatchUp: Watson for Holmes after the chase in "The Final Problem". Well, he is a doctor after all.
98	* AfterActionVillainAnalysis: Sherlock Holmes, remember? Of ''course'' there's going to be villain analysis when all's said and done.
99	* AloofBigBrother: Averted with Mycroft in this adaptation who's rather close to Sherlock and has a rather jovial attitude compared to other incarnations.
100	* AlternateUniverse:
101	** ''Technically'', the series is this as they decided to leave Mary Morstan Watson completely out of the ''Adventures'' run and keep Watson a bachelor. (It at least helps avoid the questions of how long Watson was married, or even how ''many'' times, given some of the contradictory clues arising from the stories Anachronistic Order.)
102	** Also, the episodes run in a very different chronological order than the stories/don't have much chronology at all, and both Holmes and (especially) Watson are many years older than they were in most of the stories, since the series takes place over the course of only a few years, while the stories take place over the course of more than two decades (even when not counting a handful of outliers that stretch it to nearly four decades).
103	* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: Woodley and (originally) Carruthers' plan in "The Solitary Cyclist". Holmes, Watson, and Carruthers arrive too late to prevent the priest proclaiming "man and wife." However, Holmes points out that even if they hadn't hired a ''defrocked'' priest to do the job, England does not recognized forced marriages and in fact treats the matter as a serious felony.
104	* AnimalAssassin: Discussed in "The Empty House", where Watson and Lestrade note the fact that the murderer of Ronald Adair left no markings, sarcastically suggesting that the murderer was either a monkey or had wings.
105	* ArchEnemy:
106	** Professor Moriarty to Sherlock naturally.
107	** Mycroft gets one too in the form of Count Negretto Sylvius.
108	* ArtImitatesArt: Keen-eyed fans can spot moments where Paget's illustrations for the story are reproduced ''exactly'', down to the furniture, and each person's ''position, pose and gesture''. The illustrations to each story are usually displayed in a montage during the closing credits.
109	* ArtisticLicenseBiology:
110	** From the original text, the "swamp adder" in "The Speckled Band." There was and is no snake with that common name, although the cobra is considered the most likely candidate.
111	** The "Devil's Foot" plant was invented by Doyle.
112	* AsideComment: In the closing narration of "The Final Problem," Watson speaks directly to the viewer when he offers his final summation of Holmes' character.
113	* AssholeVictim:
114	** [[spoiler:Mortimer Tregennis, in "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot"]], to the point where Holmes and Watson actually ''let his murderer go free.''
115	** [[spoiler: Milverton's killer in "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton"]] gets the same treatment.
116	** As does [[spoiler: the murderer of the drunken, abusive Sir Eustace Brackenstall]] in "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange".
117	* TheAtoner: Carruthers in "The Solitary Cyclist" was originally in on the plot to get Violet Smith to marry Woodley; but he fell in love with her himself and realised how dreadful their plan was, and refused to have anything more to do with it or Woodley. He keeps an eye on Violet over the next few weeks to protect her from his former cronies, and when Woodley abducts her to forcibly wed her, Carruthers shoots him in an effort to free Violet from being married to such a brute. In the end he only has to serve about six months in prison, since the court recognises his reasons for injuring Woodley.
118	* BadBoss: When Moriarty's subordinate reports failure at the end of "The Red-headed League," just ''look'' at how ''scared'' the man is, and compare that to his earlier [[SmugSnake smugness]].
119	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Watson, as is fitting and proper.
120	* BigBad: Moriarty. He even gets an extra appearance in the series, courtesy of a FandomNod.
121	* BigWordShout:
122	** "''HOOOLMES!''"
123	** Watson, of course. It's really heartbreaking, because, of course, he doesn't get an answer.
124	** Holmes' frequent cries of "Mrs. HUDSON!" (though I suppose this might technically count as two words; however, the emphasis is always on "Hudson").
125	* BilingualBonus:
126	** In "The Red-Headed League," Holmes makes two separate quotes in Latin and then French.
127	** "The Greek Interpreter" is made of this trope. Lots of Greek spoken here - even ''Holmes'' can speak modern, conversational Greek!
128	** "The Six Napoleons" is an interesting case; in the original story, Pietro Venucci is killed between scenes and his sister Lucrezia is mentioned once. In the Granada adaptation, [[AdaptationExpansion Lucrezia has her own subplot, having several conversations with her father in Italian]].
129	** "A Scandal In Bohemia" is one of the only dramatic Holmes adaptations where Irene Adler's name is pronounced as it would be in German. (ee-REN-uh AHD-ler)
130	* BitchInSheepsClothing: Dr. Grimesby Roylott. Actually it's pretty ill-fitting clothing, as he's abusive to his stepdaughters--however, he makes no objections to their courtships and even has Helen's fiance over to the house. [[spoiler:He just plans to murder them with a poisonous snake so he doesn't lose their money.]]
131	* BittersweetEnding: The end of "The Final Problem". The "sweet" part comes in when Watson demonstrates just how much Holmes has meant to him.
132	* BloodlessCarnage: When [[spoiler:Eduardo Lucas]] is stabbed in "The Second Stain", no blood comes out from being stabbed in the heart... onscreen at least.
133	* BookEnds: "The Copper Beeches" opens with Holmes complaining bitterly about Watson's writing. It ends with Watson reading out his narrative of the titular case and Holmes declaring it an admirable account.
134	* BoxingBattler: Holmes demonstrates his classical pugilistic prowess on a few occasions.
135	* BreakingTheFourthWall
136	** In the "The Copper Beeches", the final scene has Watson reading aloud from his account of the adventure that he and Holmes had just concluded. Then to Holmes, who had earlier expressed criticism of Watson's writing, he sarcastically asks, "You don't think I put too much color and life into it, do you?" Holmes replies, "I leave all questions of literary style to your expertise!" before turning and looking directly into the camera with a hint of a smile.
137	** In "The Final Problem", Watson speaks into the camera to address his final words to the audience.
138	* BrickJoke:
139	** At the beginning of "A Scandal in Bohemia," the King of Bohemia ignores Watson's offer to shake hands; at the end, Holmes ignores the ''King's'' offer to shake hands, and Watson caps things off by shaking hands uninvited. And it is ''hilarious''. The look on Watson's face is what really perfects the whole scene.
140	** At the beginning of "The Solitary Cyclist", Holmes is about to perform a chemistry experiment that a case he's investigating hinges on when Violet shows up with the focus case of the episode. At the end of the episode, Holmes once again attempts the experiment, saying that the reaction it creates will determine the result of the case. The reaction in question is [[spoiler:the room filling with smoke, Holmes and Watson shoving their heads out a hastily opened window to get breathable air, and someone in the street below calling the fire department. This was apparently the chemical reaction that Holmes was expecting.]]
141	* BriefAccentImitation: Holmes as a tramp in "The Norwood Builder".
142	* BritishBrevity: 7 episodes for the first season, 6 for the second. It doesn't get better in future runs.
143	* BritsLoveTea: In "The Norwood Builder", Watson returns home to find Holmes in utter despair over the case and refusing to eat. Watson's first move is to pour him a cup of tea.
144	* BrokenAesop: Jeremy Brett received permission from the Doyle estate to show Sherlock Holmes beating his drug habit in "The Devil's Foot" because he feared that young fans would find Holmes' drug use appealing, but he apparently had no such misgivings about Holmes' (and Brett's own) prolific on-screen smoking.
145	* ChekhovsGun:
146	** There's really no reason why we should see Holmes's silver cigarette case at the end of "The Red-Headed League"... except for the fact that we then recognize it for what it is at the climax of "The Final Problem".
147	** [[spoiler:Lady Hilda's card]] in "The Second Stain" is later shown by Holmes to [=MacPherson=], the constable outside the Lucas house. When the constable recognizes it, Holmes ascertains that [[spoiler:Lady Hilda was the one responsible for moving the carpet and stole the document he's been tracking.]]
148	* ChekhovsSkill: We know Watson's a doctor, but, like in the original stories, his medical knowledge only makes rare appearances.
149	* ChristmasEpisode:
150	** "The Blue Carbuncle," complete with instrumental Christmas carols.
151	** "The Cardboard Box' is set during Christmas time. It's during the opening of gifts that the pair of severed ears are found.
152	* ClickHello: Wilson Kemp gets one from Mycroft during "The Greek Interpreter." With his own weapon.
153	-->'''Mycroft''': I believe this is your revolver, sir.
154	* TheCoatsAreOff: In "The Solitary Cyclist", Woodley slaps Holmes across the face. Holmes proceeds to calmly remove his hat and coat, hang then up and then lay a serious beatdown on Woodley.
155	* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Holmes and Watson, as a matter of fact. Their clothing seems to very deliberately reflect not only their colouring but their personalities, as well. Holmes is ALWAYS in black or grey (but usually black) - the only episode in the entire ''series'' in which he wears a colour (cream) is in "The Naval Treaty". Watson, on the other hand, tends to wear brown, or a warm shade of grey (except for the ChristmasEpisode, in which he wears blue).
156	* CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority: It doesn't get much better than this...
157	-->'''Holmes:''' You don't mind breaking the law?\
158	'''Watson:''' ''(stoutly)'' Not in the least.\
159	'''Holmes:''' Or running the chance of arrest?\
160	'''Watson''' ''(firmly)'' Not in a good cause.\
161	'''Holmes:''' Oh, the cause is excellent.\
162	'''Watson:''' Well, then I am your man.\
163	'''Holmes:''' ''Splendid''.
164	* CostumePorn: The detail and authenticity of the clothing is just astounding. Irene Adler's dresses are utterly ''gorgeous''.
165	* CovertPervert: "The Six Napoleons" opens with the Venucci patriarch watching a woman washing herself from across the street while his children argue.
166	* CrazyJealousGuy:
167	** In the later years of his marriage, Colonel Barclay angrily demands of his wife Nancy that she assure him she has only ever loved him.
168	** Oldacre of "The Norwood Builder." He was once engaged to young [=McFarlane's=] mother, but she broke it off after realizing his two-faced cruelty and married a kind man. On her wedding day, Oldacre sent her picture back with the face burnt off.
169	* CurbStompBattle: The drunken Woodley never has a chance against Holmes in "The Solitary Cyclist" - nor do the ruffians at the beginning of "The Final Problem".
170	* DarkerAndEdgier:
171	** Later Granada episodes would play this trope hard, but the most notable instance of it in the ''Adventures'' run is the ending of "The Greek Interpreter," which includes the run's one moment of FamilyUnfriendlyViolence.
172	** In "The Norwood Builder," the decoy bones used in the staged fire are ''human'', rather than rabbit. (Bravo to Granada. C'mon, Sir ACD, ''rabbit bones''? Not even Scotland Yard could possibly mistake them for being a human's!)
173	** "The Eligible Bachelor", Granada's adaptation of "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor", transforms the story from a villainy-free comedic romance into a very dark gothic horror piece involving multiple murders, insanity, imprisonment and physical and psychological torture.
174	* DeadHandShot:
175	** An inversion is used in "The Empty House" when Ronald Adair is seen sitting down with his hands on a desk, counting coins. Then a groan is heard, and Adair's hands disappear...
176	** Used in "The Priory School" when Holmes and Watson find Heidegger.
177	-->'''Watson''': The German master.
178	-->'''Holmes''': What's left of him.
179	* DeadpanSnarker: Brett's Holmes lives and breathes this trope, as befits the original stories.
180	* DeathByAdaptation:
181	** In "The Priory School", [[spoiler:James Wilder]] is exiled in the original short story. Here, he falls off a ledge.
182	** In "The Last Vampyre", [[spoiler:young Jack]] jumps to his death from the roof in a delusional attempt to fly like a vampire. This did not happen in the original story, "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire".
183	** "The Eligible Bachelor":
184	*** [[spoiler:Flora Miller]], originally an off-screen character to whom nothing happens, is murdered just outside her dressing room.
185	*** [[spoiler:Lord St. Simon]], who is [[AdaptationalVillainy a villain in this version]], receives a KarmicDeath at the hands of [[spoiler:his captive wife]].
186	* DeathGlare: If Moriarty's doesn't freeze you over, ''nothing'' can.
187	* DidntThinkThisThrough: In "The Solitary Cyclist" Woodley and Carruthers plotted to get hold of Violet Smith's fortune, which they knew she'd be inheriting it from an acquaintance of theirs, via one of them marrying her. However, they didn't consider that a) Violet would likely already ''have'' a sweetheart or fiancée and b) no sane woman would be interested in marrying Woodley (granted, he was the candidate purely because they 'played cards for her' during the voyage and he won).
188	* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage:
189	** The music box Holmes displays at the end of "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" plays the series theme.
190	** Holmes also scratches it out on his violin at one point.
191	* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation:
192	** In "The Greek Interpreter", Paul Kratides was gassed to death in the original story. Here it's stated he was beaten to death. Also, [[spoiler:Harold Latimer]] was stabbed off-page after escaping England. Here, he attempts to escape Holmes by jumping off a train... and the door swings into another train's path.
193	** In "The Priory School", Heidegger is beaten to death by Reuben Hayes in the original short story. Here, he is strangled.
194	* DigitalDestruction: A modern remaster sought to make the show, originally shot in 4:3, fit 16:9 screens. This was achieved by simply cropping out the top and bottom of the frame, often resulting in a claustrophobic feeling as the series relied on tight framing of the actors and the cropping made everything even tighter. Plus all but one episode[[note]]"The Sign of Four"[[/note]] was shot on [=16mm=] film, so the cropping further resulted in fuzzy[=/=]blurred shots as the remaining image is stretched across a larger area.
195	* DisneyDeath: Holmes, although we don't know this for certain until "The Empty House" - apparently, Granada ended "The Final Problem" with the possibility that Holmes was dead in case their ratings weren't high enough to continue the series.
196	* DisneyVillainDeath:
197	** A Victorian example - Moriarty falling into the Reichenbach Falls.
198	** James Wilder in ''The Priory School.''
199	* DistinguishedGentlemansPipe: Holmes's veritable collection of pipes. In one episode, Watson says that he should have known Holmes was in a bad mood by the particular pipe he's chosen.
200	** As noted above, the one time he smokes the infamous calabash is on the trek through the Swiss Alps.
201	* DoubleEntendre: A non-sexual version when Holmes and Watson discuss the horse and ''trap'' ordered to transport Violet home in "The Solitary Cyclist".
202	* DrivenToMadness: During “The Last Vampyre”, Robert Ferguson is so horrified by events that [[spoiler:he carves a wooden stake to attack the corpse of John Stockton, a recently-deceased man rumoured to be descended from a family of vampires, who he blames for his family’s current situation]].
203	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Watson's voiceover at the beginning and end of "A Scandal in Bohemia" did not become a trend, although he later would sometimes read aloud from his writing onscreen.
204	* EnfantTerrible: In "The Copper Beeches," Violet's new charge as governess greets her by trying to hand her a dead bird.
205	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Watson and Holmes's first scene together, in "A Scandal in Bohemia," is a beautiful establishing moment for them both. Watson is shown to be soldierly, stern, concerned for Holmes's wellbeing, and willing to listen to and put up with Holmes. Holmes, on the other hand, is shown to be careless with his health, easily bored because of his fast mind, absolutely ''dependent'' upon mental stimulation, brilliant, quirky, fond of "his Boswell"... And just look at him when he's sitting all folded up before the fire - it's a powerful image. He's just ''alone'', and he'll always be a bit alone.
206	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Discussed in "The Abbey Grange" as Holmes and Inspector Hopkins wonder why Lady Brackenstall wasn't killed like her husband.
207	-->"The criminal mind has its quirks of conscience and scruples, in that respect it is as individual and curious as any other. A noted miser may be secretly charitable, so this violent Randall may draw the line at murdering an unconscious woman."
208	* EvilCounterpart: Not played so strongly with Holmes and Moriarty as in other adaptations - the closest we get to this idea is when Holmes tells Watson that Moriarty will do "what I should do. Engage a special train." In fact, Granada seems almost to stress Holmes's goodness in opposition to Moriarty's wickedness, quite different from other adaptations.
209	%%* EvilLaugh: See next trope...
210	* EvilRedhead:
211	** Mr. Woodley in "The Solitary Cyclist", a predatory ruffian who assaults Violet and later attempts to forcibly marry her.
212	** The handsome young Moriarty agent in the ''Mona Lisa'' backstory in "The Final Problem".
213	* EvolvingMusic: The violin solo that is the centrepiece of the theme song is reorchestrated to be more intricate every season.
214	* ExactWords: When arriving at Charlington to protect Violet in "The Solitary Cyclist", Watson asks who would want to harm her on such a fine morning.
215	-->'''Holmes:''' I hope nobody.\
216	'''Watson:''' Then why did you bring your revolver?\
217	'''Holmes:''' You talked about my hope, not my ''expectations.''
218	* FaceDeathWithDignity: Holmes's attitude towards Moriarty throughout "The Final Problem," and his farewell note to Watson.
219	* FailedASpotCheck: Holmes upbraids himself for not accounting for the earlier train out of Surrey and arriving too late to get between Violet and her attackers on the way back to the station.
220	* {{Fanservice}}: The bathing girl from ''The Six Napoleons'', and the nude model from ''The Final Problem'' don't seem to serve any other purpose.
221	* FateWorseThanDeath: Carruthers calls the plan to marry Violet Hunter "the worst fate that can befall a woman," and it's why he wants to put another bullet in Woodley when Watson pronounces the wound non-fatal--Holmes assures him, however, that the marriage is in no way legally binding.
222	* FauxAffablyEvil:
223	** Wilson Kemp again. The man just doesn't stop ''smiling'', even when he's threatening terrible things!
224	** Moriarty starts out as this when he confronts Holmes at 221B. His attitude pretty quickly spirals down from there.
225	* {{Flashback}}: Used extensively, as per the Canon.
226	* FlashbackWithTheOtherDarrin: "The Empty House" was the first episode to feature Edward Hardwicke as Watson. He reenacted a scene from "The Final Problem" in a flashback, consisting of Watson at the waterfall shouting to Holmes and reading his letter, which had been performed by David Burke.
227	* ForensicAccounting: In "The Norwood Builder," Watson searches through Oldacre's documents while Holmes examines the rest of the property and discovers that there are a number of papers which ''should'' be there but aren't.
228	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
229	** The lithograph that hangs over the fireplace mantelpiece at 221B Baker Street is entitled ''The Upper Cascade of the Reichenbach''. It's there throughout the series, but it gets a nice lingering close-up in "The Final Problem".
230	** There are moments of this throughout the run, but "The Red-headed League" takes the prize for being one big foreshadowing to "The Final Problem" by adding Moriarty into the mix.
231	* FourEyesZeroSoul:
232	** Wilson Kemp, once more. He is perhaps the creepiest villain in the entire series, what with his [[SlasherSmile constant grin]], [[GigglingVillain wicked snicker]], [[MoodSwinger sudden outbursts of rage]], and a vocal delivery that has hints of Creator/PeterLorre.
233	** Charles Augustus Milverton. His killer makes a point of crushing his glasses underfoot.
234	* FourIsDeath: When Ronald Adair is counting his money in "The Empty House", he's about to lay down a fourth coin when he is shot.
235	* FriendOnTheForce: Lestrade, of course. Also Inspector Baynes of the Surrey Constabulary, the only police officer to gain Holmes' approval for his skills.
236	* GetOut: At the end of "The Blue Carbuncle," the terrified and guilt-stricken culprit begs Holmes for mercy. Holmes tells him, somewhat disgustedly, simply to get out (meaning that he will not report the crime).
237	* GoodIsNotNice:
238	** Not always, in Holmes's case. He can actually be downright creepy, at times.
239	** Lestrade fits this trope for most of "The Norwood Builder". True, he's doing his job, but he comes across as a definite SmugSnake ''until'' Holmes reveals the true perpetrator.
240	* GoryDiscretionShot:
241	** We don't actually see Harold Latimer get torn apart by an oncoming train, but you know it happens when the door he was hanging from swings shut, devoid of Latimer and quite a bit of the window glass.
242	** From Watson's reaction, the victim is in an unsightly state at the beginning of "The Empty House," but all we see is the bloody sheet covering him.
243	** When [[spoiler:Captain Croker stabs Eustace Brackenstall]], it's marked by a splash of blood on Mary's dress.
244	* HatedByAll:
245	** Everyone claps when Holmes beats up Woodley in "The Solitary Cyclist".
246	** Charles Augustus Milverton lives in a fortified house and is armed whenever he leaves it, for fear of retribution from his many victims. One elderly gentleman recognises his carriage parked outside [=221B=], runs to get a hatchet and vandalizes it in broad daylight.
247	* HeldGaze: Brett's Holmes is pretty good at this, conveying a lot of emphasis with his big hazel eyes.
248	* HeroicBSOD: Holmes's reaction to Irene's departure in "A Scandal in Bohemia".
249	** And again (albeit briefly) at Lestrade's "little cock-a-doodle of victory" after finding evidence further incriminating Holmes's client of murder in "The Norwood Builder".
250	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Holmes and Watson.
251	* {{Homage}}: Holmes and Watson's first scene in "The Resident Patient", which is a retelling of a Doyle-written parody called "Watson Learns the Trick". In both versions, Watson is trying to apply Holmes's methods to deduce what is wrong with the detective. He has a bit more success in the Granada scene.
252	* HollywoodDarkness: In "The Empty House", the titular building is much more well-lit than its ''pitch black'' book counterpart.
253	* IconicOutfit: Averted; Holmes is usually dressed in a suit and tophat. He only wears the deerstalker when he has a case out in the country and the dress is appropriate.
254	* IdenticalStranger: This is the reason for Mr. Rucastle's strange interest in Violet Hunter as a governess.
255	* ImplacableMan: Mycroft during the climax of ''The Mazarin Stone.'' No matter where Count Sylvius turns, Mycroft is walking toward him.
256	* ImpoverishedPatrician: Roylott of "The Speckled Band" is the scion of an ancient Saxon family and had a rich wife, but the investments that formed his income have tanked, leaving him desperate not to lose funds.
257	* InsistentTerminology: "Private [or "Unofficial"] consulting detective," thank you very much - as stated by Holmes in "A Scandal in Bohemia" and then by Watson in "The Red-headed League" as a possible CallBack.
258	* InsufferableGenius: Jeremy Brett plays this to perfection.
259	* InterfaceScrew: The screen goes blurry when Watson faints in "The Empty House."
260	* ItsWhatIDo: Holmes's general attitude to praise after having solved a case.
261	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Holmes. He has his definite {{Jerkass}} moments, but it's equally clear that he has a good heart, and cares about justice and his clients' well-being as more than a simple exercise of intellect.
262	* {{Keet}}: Jeremy Brett's version of Holmes comes across as a very energetic, excitable, theatrical person trying desperately to maintain a facade as aloof and serious. Unfortunately, he had to tone it down in the later series because of his ill health. Then again, Jeremy Brett was a real-life example. He's waaay more light-hearted and flamboyant in interviews.
263	* LaserGuidedKarma: After repeatedly threatening people with the mastiff, Rucastle gets mauled by his own guard dog at the end of "The Copper Beeches". Watson even seems to hesitate for a few moments before shooting the beast.
264	* LastNameBasis: Between Watson and Holmes, though it is briefly averted in "The Devil's Foot" after Watson drags Holmes out of the room.
265	* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: Holmes occasionally plays a violin piece that is heard over the closing scene.
266	* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: In "The Master Blackmailer" a disguised Holmes convinces a maid he intends to marry her, then he and Watson commit breaking-and-entering and arson to destroy the villain's trove of blackmail material, and finally they cover up for a murderer [[AssholeVictim because they sympathise with her motives.]] When Watson goes to write up the case, Holmes asks him not to because he isn't proud of how he handled it.
267	* LoveMakesYouCrazy / [[LoveMakesYouEvil Evil]]: Sophy Kratides in "The Greek Interpreter," courtesy of the script writers going for DarkerAndEdgier.
268	* MadDoctor: Dr. Grimesby Roylott in "The Speckled Band." He doesn't actually use medicine for evil, but Holmes believes anyone clever enough to be a doctor is particularly dangerous when they turn to evil.
269	* ManlyTears: Watson, upon finishing Holmes's note at Reichenbach. Holmes also sheds some at the end of "The Six Napoleons" after Lestrade tells him that Scotland yard really appreciates his work.
270	* MasterOfDisguise:
271	** Okay, so Brett can't disguise his voice very well, but, dog''gone'', it's ''deplorably'' difficult to recognize him as that groom in "A Scandal in Bohemia"!
272	** He also uses a clergyman get-up twice in the run.
273	** Mycroft shows himself to be quite adept at disguises when he takes over a case for his brother in the heavily rewritten "The Mazarin Stone" (in reality, Jeremy Brett was far too ill to make more than a cameo appearance in the episode).
274	* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: In "The Empty House", you can see [[spoiler:Holmes removing his disguise in a reflection on a glass bookcase]].
275	* MrFanservice: Jeremy Brett is easily one of the prettiest Holmeses ever to grace Sherlockiana with his presence. David Burke is scarcely less easy on the eyes, one of the youngest and fittest Watsons yet at the time. Colin Jeavons' Lestrade is also pretty cute, as is the youngish actor who plays Athelney Jones in "The Red-headed League" (Granada would later use a ''much'' older actor for the same character).
276	* MsFanservice: In any story where a female plays a central role, she is invariably gorgeous, much to Watson's obvious delight.
277	-->WATSON: "What an attractive woman."
278	-->HOLMES: "Was she? I hadn't noticed."
279	-->''The Sign of Four''
280	* NamedByTheAdaptation: In the original "The Six Napoleons", Beppo [[OnlyOneName had no surname]]. Here, in a FreezeFrameBonus of his execution notice in the final scene, his full name is Beppo Cicollini.
281	* NervesOfSteel: Holmes and Watson. Yes, they share a ''lot'' of heroic characteristics.
282	* NewspaperThinDisguise: In "The Greek Interpreter", Harold Lattimer is revealed to have sneaked into the Diogenes Club, using a newspaper to conceal his face.
283	* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
284	** The gist of Holmes's remonstrance to Watson after Watson's attempted reconnaissance in "The Solitary Cyclist". The adaptation leaves out the line towards the end of the original story where Holmes admits that one observation Watson made during his recon (the mystery cyclist appearing to adjust his necktie) should've told him everything he needed to know about the case, and he also earlier admits that his own visit to the area wasn't much more successful.
285	** In "The Greek Interpreter," Mycroft places a missing persons notice in the paper after hearing Mr. Melas' story. This, of course, alerts Kemp and Latimer that Melas has betrayed their secret and they abduct him at gunpoint.
286	* NobleMaleRoguishMale: Watson and Holmes (though "roguish" in a gentlemanly sort of way).
287	* NotSoStoic: Do you know the only time Holmes ever looks like he's losing his cool? When he's facing Moriarty in 221B. Jeremy Brett's subtle expressions and gestures indicate that Holmes is rather unnerved, especially when he pulls his robe tightly around him and falters slightly while making his parting shot at Moriarty.
288	* ObfuscatingStupidity: The series' hypothesis about Watson. Here, he sometimes gets bits and pieces of Holmes' dialogue from the original stories, and can do the occasional SherlockScan with Holmes giving him just a few nudges in the right direction.
289	* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Inspector Gregson in "The Greek Interpreter," intensified from the original story.
290	* OffstageVillainy: Moriarty. The only crimes we see him masterminding are the Red-headed League and the ''Mona Lisa'' theft - the rest are left to the imagination.
291	* OffTheWagon: Played with. In an early scene in ''The Adventure of the Devil's Foot,'' Holmes buries his cocaine and paraphernalia in the sand [[note]]a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot as Brett had become concerned that young fans would be impressed by Holmes' drug use, and got permission from the Conan Doyle estate to thus show Holmes quitting drugs[[/note]]... and then, by the end of the second act, has deliberately exposed himself to a powerful hallucinogen and goes on what can be best described as an [[MushroomSamba acid trip]]. All ForScience, of course.
292	* OldDarkHouse:
293	** Roylott's ancient Saxon seat in "The Speckled Band." He keeps it surrounded with his dangerous menagerie from India and allows Roma to live on the property (thanks to ValuesDissonance this is a mark of his wickedness).
294	** The Copper Beeches in Hampshire. Actually it's occupied and well-kept, but the goings-on within are quite sinister. In this story, Holmes expresses his belief that ''all'' country manor houses are liable to be more dangerous than the city. In crowded places, aggravated neighbors will report screams, but in the quiet isolation of the country, criminals can act with impunity.
295	* OlderThanTheyLook: Jeremy Brett and David Burke usually look no older than forty, though they were about ten years older when the episodes were filmed. To turn this thing on its head, Holmes and Watson themselves ought to be YoungerThanTheyLook, as neither of them would have been older than their thirties in most of these episodes. As for Creator/JeremyBrett and Creator/CharlesGrey, Grey actually was seven years older than Brett, the exact age difference between Mycroft and Sherlock, but Grey looks a lot older than that - standing side by side, you'd think that Mycroft in the series is at least seventeen years Sherlock's senior rather than seven.
296	* OldFriend:
297	** Athelney Jones' introductory attitude towards Holmes.
298	** In "The Speckled Band", Watson has [[TheGhost an unseen man]] named Coombes who was in Calcutta around the same time that Dr. Roylott was, and it is he who tells Watson about Roylott's behaviour outside of England.
299	* OneSteveLimit: Averted with Violet Smith in "The Solitary Cyclist" and Violet Hunter in "The Copper Beeches."
300	* OnlySaneMan: It seems that Watson sometimes considers himself to be this. It's a justified belief.
301	* OrphanedPunchline: Shows up in ''The Copper Beeches''.
302	--> "This is the piece of cod which passeth all understanding."
303	* OvershadowedByAwesome: Watson's a pretty intelligent, capable soldier, but he always stands in Holmes's shadow. In real life, this was one of the reasons David Burke left the show, as he felt that he didn't really do much of anything (which makes one wonder if Burke had any familiarity with the source material before accepting the role).
304	* PeekABooCorpse: At the very end of "The Musgrave Ritual."
305	* PlotHole: In "The Mazarin Stone", Count Sylvius visits a jeweler asking if the title gem can be cut ... only for it to be established the Count had no intention of ever having the stone cut.
306	* PreAsskickingOneLiner:
307	** An appropriately Holmsian one in "The Solitary Cyclist", after Woodley backhands Holmes and Holmes calmly removes and hangs up his coat.
308	--> "Everybody here will bear witness to the fact that I am acting in self-defense."
309	** Carruthers gets a good one at the end of the same episode. It was meant to be a PreMortemOneLiner, but the gunshot proved non-fatal.
310	-->'''Woodley:''' You're too late. She's my wife!\
311	'''Carruthers:''' No, she's your widow. [BANG]
312	* PrecisionFStrike: Holmes rarely swore in the canon, and Brett as Holmes swore even less. Thus, his ''spat-out'' "g-dd--n" after seeing the sniper across the street in "The Final Problem" carries a ''motherload'' of weight.
313	* PromotedToOpeningCredits: In the adaptations of the canonical stories featuring Mycroft - "The Greek Interpreter" and "The Bruce-Partington Plans" - Creator/CharlesGray was billed as a guest star. But when he was brought in to fill in for Watson and Sherlock for two episodes during "The Memoirs" season he was billed in the opening titles.
314	* ReactionShot: We never actually see the corpse in "The Empty House", but from how everyone reacts to his [[BoomHeadshot fatal headshot]], it's a horrible sight.
315	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure:
316	** In "The Norwood Builder," Lestrade is from the point that Holmes tells him he doesn't have ''all'' the evidence.
317	** In "The Red-headed League," Athelney Jones is this all the way.
318	* TheReveal: "Watson, do you mind if I smoke a cigarette in your consulting room?"
319	* RevealingInjury: When Holmes and Watson meet Reuben Hayes in "The Priory School", Watson sees a set of scratches on Hayes' neck, the equivalent of three finger-tracks. When they find the dead schoolmaster, Watson examines his fingernails and confirms the skin under them is consistent with the scratch.
320	* RevengeByProxy: Attempted in "The Norwood Builder." [[spoiler:Oldacre wills all his money to John Hector [=McFarlane=] and then fakes his own death so that the young man will be framed for murder, since his mother had refused to marry Oldacre years ago.]]
321	* RightBehindMe: Holmes is asking the barman at Surrey about the gentlemen at Charlington Hall and is just getting to the man with the red mustache when who should walk in behind him, but the red-mustached Woodley. Holmes is not at all abashed, even when Woodley backhands him.
322	* RippedFromTheHeadlines: ''The Final Problem'' is a somewhat unusual example; Moriarty's plot to steal the Mona Lisa in order to sell multiple copies to several bidders (which does not appear in the original short story) seems to have been inspired by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincenzo_Peruggia a real-life plot]] to do exactly the same-- in '''1911''', 73 years before this series' adaptation of the story was released (the incident had previously been the basis for the 1979 ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath "City of Death"]]).
323	* RuleOfDrama:
324	** Occasionally invoked by Holmes, who has a flair for it. After solving the case in "The Naval Treaty", he invites Percy Phelps to breakfast and offers him a covered tray--when Phelps demurs for lack of appetite Holmes resorts to asking Phelps to help him. Beneath the lid: the treaty poor Phelps has been literally fainting over for the past two months. Holmes subsequently has to apologize for almost inducing another attack of nerves.
325	** There's also the way he reveals himself to Watson after faking his death in "The Final Problem." The poor doctor faints dead away.
326	* RunningGag:
327	** Holmes waking Watson up at all hours of the night and morning, much to Watson's annoyance.
328	** Holmes' loose intepretation of housekeeping, usually to Mrs. Hudson's dismay.
329	** Watson's appetite vs. Holmes' lack of interest in food.
330	* ScareChord: Used in "The Empty House" when Lestrade shows the corpse to Watson.
331	* ScareEmStraight: Jeremy Brett's performance in climax of the "The Blue Carbuncle" is probably infamous for this - dashed if Holmes isn't going all out for scaring James Ryder straight!
332	* ScaryShinyGlasses: Wilson Kemp and Charles Augustus Milverton.
333	* SceneryPorn: Not just the detail of 221B and the Baker Street set, either, though Granada is very notorious for that. There's plenty of gorgeous countryside scenery, and the Granada crew was the first and only one to film the climatic fight between Holmes and Moriarty on location at the honest-to-goodness Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland.
334	* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Holmes' retort to Watson's mild remonstrance at the end of "The Blue Carbuncle." After a startling outburst, Holmes explains that he "may be commuting a felony, but I am saving a soul."
335	* SharpDressedMan: Holmes. He's almost never without his sharp black getup, so much so that Jeremy Brett called it the "damaged penguin" look.
336	* ShellShockedVeteran: In "The Crooked Man," Colonel Barclay was noted to sometimes go quiet and distant when discussing old campaigns. This is not uncommon for soldiers of long service, but in his case it's lingering guilt.
337	* SherlockScan:
338	** It ''is'' Sherlock Holmes, after all. The makers would occasionally give Watson some of these to demonstrate that he wasn't the bungler of previous adaptations and had taken on some of Holmes' methods -- a common variant would be for Holmes to make his usual lofty pronouncements about a visitor to 221B Baker Street and then for ''Watson'' to then politely explain to the appropriately astonished visitor exactly how Holmes reached his conclusions.
339	--->'''Holmes:''' I assure you, Sir, that outside of the fact that you are a Freemason, a solicitor, a bachelor and an asthmatic, I know absolutely nothing about you at all.\
340	''[the visitor has a dumbfounded expression]''\
341	'''Watson:''' Your watch chain, sheaf of legal papers, untidy dress and ''[waggles hand]'' slightly irregular breathing.
342	** At the start of "The Resident Patient", Watson is given the opportunity to perform a Sherlock Scan on Holmes himself, to explain Holmes's apparent bad mood and unexpected presence at the barber. Sherlock responds with a list of plausible alternate explanations for the clues that Watson picked up on, but finally he grudgingly admits that Watson was, in fact, [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments right all along]].
343	* ShipperOnDeck: Averted. In the original version of "The Copper Beeches," Watson remarks at the end of his narrative that he was disappointed that Holmes didn't get romantically involved with Violet Hunter. At the end of the Granada version, Watson is reading his tale aloud to Holmes, and so the only hint we get as to any romantic sparks between Holmes and Ms. Hunter is the way he can't seem to help touching her hair.
344	* ShootOutTheLock: Watson shoots out the lock to the turret room in "The Copper Beeches" when Rucastle locks him, Holmes and Violet Hunter there.
345	* SignatureHeadgear: Guess what kind of hat Jeremy Brett's Holmes is best known for. It's the hat you're most likely to see in promotional and cover photos. Can you guess? A sharp, black top hat!
346	* SignatureLaugh: Not only is it one of the most adorable things about Brett's Holmes, it's one of the things his fellow actors remember the best about him.
347	* SinisterMinister: The defrocked priest Williamson from "The Solitary Cyclist" happily performs a force marriage and keeps a gun in his Bible during the ceremony.
348	* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Dr. Roylott. His stepdaughter's fiance promises to try and improve his own chess game for his next visit to the estate.
349	* SmokingIsCool: Brett makes Holmes smoking a cigarette look so utterly graceful, it shouldn't be legal!
350	** Unfortunately, Brett's prolific smoking contributed to his poor health and untimely death, which isn't so cool
351	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: There tends to be only one or two females present in each episode - sometimes not even that.
352	* SourSupporter: Inspectors Forbes and Gregson, of "The Naval Treaty and "The Greek Interpreter" respectively.
353	* SparedByTheAdaptation: In the original story "The Greek Interpreter", Kemp was KilledOffscreen, presumably by Sophie. Here, he is arrested, along with Sophie.
354	* StreisandEffect: In-universe in "The Crooked Man". Major Murphy makes every effort to keep the press away from the matter, which only makes clear to them that there's a big story.
355	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: At first it appears that the villains of "The Solitary Cyclist" have won, since Woodley has forced Violet to marry him by the time the heroes find them and Carruthers doesn't manage to kill him -- but Holmes points out that first, the priest involved in the plot was defrocked and not legally allowed to officiate a wedding (plus they very likely got the marriage license through dishonest means); and second, a forced marriage is not only not recognised by English law, it's a serious felony.
356	* TakingYouWithMe: When Moriarty literally ''pulls Holmes off the cliff with him'' in "The Final Problem's" version of the Reichenbach fight ("The Empty House" shows us an entirely different conclusion).
357	* TemporarySubstitute: The series dealt with Creator/JeremyBrett's illness by invoking giving his role to Watson and Mycroft. This gave Watson back some of the competence his traditional portrayals had lacked, and made Mycroft a lot more active than he ever was in the canon.
358	** To be clear, Mycroft was really only involved in "The Mazarin Stone," as Brett was (to put it bluntly) dying. In other episodes, Watson does have more of a role, and even some of Holmes' lines (such as "The Solitary Cyclist") - this was not done for Brett's health, but to even the relationship and make it clear Watson wasn't the bumbling idiot that popular opinion holds so dear.
359	* ThrowTheDogABone: The original ending of "The Crooked Man" has Holmes casually giving Watson [[AsTheGoodBookSays the chapter and verse]] of King David's UriahGambit. In the Granada adaptation, Watson looks it up and catches Holmes out for looking up the reference beforehand, although the clue that tipped him off -- he'd marked the page with a recent receipt -- is so obvious as to look like a deliberate giveaway.
360	* TroubledFetalPosition: Holmes could be seen sitting with his knees close to chest at times when he has to go into deep thought. There's an [[ShoutOut illustration of this]] in the original books.
361	* TruerToTheText: Many adaptations play up Irene Adler's role in the canon, entangling her romantically with Holmes and turning her into a recurring character. This adaptation kept true to the text as a major guest character for a single episode who intrigues Holmes by being one of the few able to outsmart him.
362	* UnexplainedAccent: Wilson Kemp, a British almost Dickensian name, played by George Costigan, a British actor. So WhatTheHellIsThatAccent? Sounds like Creator/JimBroadbent in ''Series/{{Blackadder}}''.
363	* UpThroughTheRanks: The victim in "The Crooked Man", Colonel Barclay, began as a private sergeant who gained officership during an uprising in India. His second-in-command notes that his rise through the ranks subsequently has been unusually rapid.
364	* UnreliableNarrator: The ending of “The Last Vampyre” suggests that Watson did this deliberately for this particular case; the original tale (“The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire”) just involved Jack Ferguson as a disturbed boy trying to poison his new sibling out of jealousy, but here [[spoiler:Jack is partially crippled and outright delusional, believing that he and his self-appointed “mentor” John Stockton are actual vampires. After Jack’s actions lead to the death of his infant half-brother, his father is DrivenToMadness and actually stakes Stockton’s corpse in the belief he was a true vampire, and Jack dies when he tries to fly off an old castle]]. As Holmes and Watson prepare to leave by train, Holmes asks if Watson will write up this case, and Watson’s words suggest that he will edit it to make it more palatable for the public.
365	* UrbanLegend: “The Last Vampyre” includes the historical detail that the family St.Clair, who lived in the area where the case is taking place, were rumoured to be vampires, and the last known descendant of the family, John Stockton, has moved back into the area.
366	* TheUriahGambit: In "The Crooked Man". This is how Colonel Barclay came to marry Nancy, and the reason she shouts "David" during their argument--she's not talking about a lover, she is calling ''him'' David for sending her other suitor to be killed (the Uriah).
367	* VariationsOnAThemeSong:
368	** "The Resident Patient" runs the credits over a humorous scene with Holmes's violin practice disturbing Watson as he tries to start writing up the adventure.
369	** "The Red-Headed League" uses a more sinister and brooding variation on the usual theme for the end credits, to mark Moriarty's introduction to the show.
370	** "The Greek Interpreter" plays the theme tune not on strings, but on a Greek bouzouki.
371	** "The Solitary Cyclist" plays the theme on a piano during the postscript, while "The Priory School" uses a vibraphone variation during the climax.
372	%%* VictorianLondon
373	* VillainWithGoodPublicity:
374	** Averted to an extent with Moriarty. In "The Red-Headed League", Inspector Jones knows ''exactly'' what Holmes is getting at, when he starts to realize that it is one of Moriarty's schemes. But the Inspector also notes that Scotland Yard really doesn't know much about Moriarty or what he even looks like, only that "his name echoes and re-echoes throughout the underwold."
375	** Played straight with Count Negretto Sylvius, a close friend of the Royal Family. Only Sherlock and Mycroft know what kind of man he really is.
376	* VillainousBreakdown:
377	** Moriarty, when he jumps Holmes at Reichenbach. The man is downright ''scary.''
378	** At the end of "The Mazarin Stone", Count Sylvius is defeated when he falls into the mud. After looking up at Mycroft in defeat, he pounds the ground in impotent rage.
379	* WhatTheHellHero: Holmes and Watson's first conversation in "A Scandal in Bohemia" involves Watson tearing into Holmes because of his drug addiction because it will destroy his deductive powers as time goes on.
380	* WickedStepfather: Dr. Grimesby Roylott in "The Speckled Band" who dominates his stepdaughters, kills one, and plots to kill the other so their marriages don't take away his portion of their mother's inheritance.
381	* WorthyOpponent: Moriarty regards Holmes as this. Holmes's canonical reciprocation is curiously left out.
382	* YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious: Holmes and Watson always use surnames with each other, as was customary at the time. The exception is in "The Devil's Foot". Holmes shouts "John!" when Watson brings him out of the hallucinations caused by the titular plant.
383	* YouDoNotHaveToSayAnything: In "The Norwood Builder," Lestrade arrives to arrest [=McFarlane=] before he can tell his story. Holmes asks him to do so, but advises him that everything he says will be entered into evidence since the police are there.
384

Context Series / SherlockHolmes