Line #26 Characters/SherlockPolice


1	[[Characters/{{Sherlock}} Back to Sherlock Character Index]]
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3	[[foldercontrol]]
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5	[[folder:DI Greg Lestrade]]
6	!!Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade
7	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lestradeseries4.png]]
8	[[caption-width-right:350:''"Well, don't let it get to you, '''I''' always feel like screaming when you walk into a room. In fact, so do most people."'']]
9	->'''Played By:''' Creator/RupertGraves
10
11	A Detective Inspector of Scotland Yard, and one of Sherlock's few friends. He is well aware that Sherlock is a stuck-up prick, but unlike the rest of the force, is also willing to admit that he genuinely is better at solving crimes than the police.
12	----
13	* BadassLongcoat: The few times he is badass, a long black overcoat is usually involved.
14	* BigGood: Moriarty, of all people, even compares him to Myth/KingArthur.
15	* BrilliantButLazy: WordOfGod is that Lestrade is capable of solving the crimes he brings Sherlock to consult on by himself, it's just that most of them are extremely high-profile with a lot of media coverage, so he uses Sherlock as a shortcut, because in his own words he's "desperate". (And if the case involves murder, Sherlock solving it faster can mean fewer people die.) Case in point is the opening of "The Sign of Three" where Lestrade is infuriated that a criminal pair of brothers is always walking out of court Scot free, so he spends months with Donovan pursing them until they have an iron-clad case.
16	* BusmansHoliday: How he becomes involved in "Hounds".
17	* ButtMonkey: Is apparently one to the rest of the police force, over his support of [[spoiler: the "fraud" detective]] Sherlock Holmes.
18	* CompositeCharacter: He's a combination of Inspectors Lestrade and Gregson from the books. Lestrade's first name is even revealed to be Greg.
19	* DeadpanSnarker: Not as often as Sherlock and John, but he definitely gets some good one-liners in.
20	* DemotedToExtra: In Series 3, the main focus is how John and Mary's marriage has changed the dynamic of the show. Lestrade's still in all the episodes but he doesn't do ''that'' much plotwise.
21	* DistractedByTheSexy: Molly's Christmas dress in "Scandal" causes Lestrade to need to [[http://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_maxeqyWjj71rrc3vio1_500.png pick his jaw back up off the floor.]]
22	* DonutMessWithACop: When Sally startles Lestrade in his office at the beginning of "Reichenbach", it's to find him with his feet up on his desk, classily stuffing his face with a doughnut and talking with his mouth full.
23	%%* FairCop
24	* FriendOnTheForce: To Sherlock. The ''only'' one. The rest of Scotland Yard is nearly 100% comprised of jealous, arrogant, bullying douchebags who would happily do anything to incriminate Holmes if needed.
25	* GiveMeBackMyWallet: He is one of the many people Sherlock [[StickyFingers steals from to break in somewhere]].
26	* HeroOfAnotherStory: Cast by Moffat and Gatiss specifically because Rupert Graves gave off this trope when he played the role.
27	* InspectorLestrade: Played with. He goes to Sherlock Holmes when he has cases that he is unable to solve himself. The creators comment that Sherlock Holmes is not stupid enough to accept being SurroundedByIdiots, so they present the diligent, methodical {{Determinator}} Lestrade of the later Holmes stories, not the ComicRelief Lestrade of ''A Study in Scarlet.'' In this series he's Sherlock's FriendOnTheForce - and the only member of the Yard who doesn't turn on him during the smear job of 'The Reichenbach Fall.'
28	* LastNameBasis: Sherlock only knows him as Lestrade and is genuinly surprised when he finally learns his first name.
29	* ManipulativeBastard: He'll resort to it. "What, this? This is a drugs bust."
30	* MustHaveNicotine: Shows off his own patch to Sherlock.
31	* NiceGuy: Very easy to get along with. There's a reason he's the only officer on the force whom Sherlock likes.
32	* NoNameGiven: Only has a first initial of "G" , until "[[Recap/SherlockS02E02TheHoundsOfBaskerville The Hounds of Baskerville]]", when Sherlock mocks him for going undercover to spy on him with a lame alias of "Greg".
33	-->'''John:''' That's his ''[[FirstNameBasis name]]''.\
34	'''Sherlock:''' Is it?\
35	'''Lestrade:''' Yes! If you ever ''bothered'' to find out!
36	* OnlySaneEmployee: The ''only'' cop in Scotland Yard willing to put up with Sherlock, because he gets results.
37	** And the ''only'' cop who doesn't immediately jump to the conclusion that Sherlock is a fraud in "[[Recap/SherlockS02E03TheReichenbachFall The Reichenbach Fall]]".
38	* OnlySaneMan: Frequently, especially when Sherlock's around.
39	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The only police officer willing to let Sherlock do what he must to solve the mystery at hand, often against his own better judgement.
40	* SilverFox: Gray-haired and quite handsome.
41	* TeamDad: Most notably in ''Many Happy Returns'' where he checks in on both [[spoiler: Anderson]] and John with genuine concern. Also often talks to Sherlock like a stern father or authority figure.
42	** He being the only person (that we see) to hug Sherlock upon his return reinforces this.
43	* UndyingLoyalty: In "The Sign of Three", leaves an important case that has both plagued and infuriated him for over a ''year'', leaving someone else to get the credit for the bust, simply because Sherlock texted him saying that he needed his help urgently because [[AFriendInNeed he was in trouble]]. Lestrade immediately calls for backup and storms over there... [[spoiler: only to find that Sherlock was having trouble writing his best man speech]].
44	* VitriolicBestBuds: Despite his loyalty to Sherlock, he takes great pleasure in Sherlock's misery - using every opportunity to get an embarrassing photo and refusing to keep his voice down when John and Sherlock are hung over.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:DS Sally Donovan]]
48	!! Detective Sergeant Sally Donovan
49	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sallydonovan_4742.jpg]]
50	[[caption-width-right:350:"''You're still hanging round him? You should get yourself a hobby. Stamps, maybe. Model trains? Safer.''"]]
51	->'''Played By:''' Vinette Robinson
52
53	One of the more prominent police officers, Donovan hates Sherlock with a sort of cold apathy. As far as she's concerned, he's going to turn bad eventually, and she is well-prepared for that.
54	----
55	* BullyingADragon: Sherlock exposes her affair with Anderson at a crime scene just by taking a whiff of her. Doesn't stop her from calling him 'freak' or encouraging John to leave him. Not to mention, she was convinced at the time that Sherlock was a cold-blooded psychopath who would one day murder someone out of sheer boredom.
56	* ByTheBookCop: Does ''not'' approve of Sherlock's consulting. To her, he's always "Freak".
57	%%* CanonForeigner:
58	* {{Catchphrase}}: "Freak.", mainly to Sherlock. In fact if one goes to John's blog, her ''only comments'' on the first few posts on Sherlock and John's cases are just "Freak".
59	* DeadpanSnarker: Has her moments.
60	* TheDogBitesBack: It doesn't pay to have enemies in the police force, Sherlock, no matter how lowly they seem.
61	* DrivenByEnvy: She appears more than a little resentful of Sherlock's abilities, especially when the media start painting him a hero.
62	* FairCop: Unless Sherlock is involved.
63	* InspectorJavert: She is very quick to determine that Sherlock is a criminal.
64	* {{Jerkass}}: Towards Sherlock. Sally rationalises her antagonism towards him as a being a result of Sherlock enjoying his work a little too much.
65	* KarmaHoudini: Goes unpunished for her shitty attitude and unlike Anderson, doesn't feel any remorse in being manipulated by Moriarty against Sherlock.
66	* PetTheDog: She did try and calm Greg down when the latter had a flipout after they kept failing to arrest a gang of robbers at the beginning of ''The Sign Of Three.''
67	* TheLancer: To Lestrade.
68	* TheStoic: Unlike Anderson, she doesn't seem to have any guilt over her role in Sherlock's "death".
69	* UnwittingPawn: To [[spoiler:Jim Moriarty]].
70	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Disappeared for a while after "The Sign of Three", and then around Series 3 was DemotedToExtra, unlike Anderson.
71	* {{Womanchild}}: Her attitude to Sherlock and calling him freak invokes less a grown woman and more of a snotty high-schooler.
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Philip Anderson]]
75	!! Philip Anderson
76	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sherlockanderson_1025.jpg]]
77	[[caption-width-right:350:"''Never mind that, we found the case! According to ''some''one, the murderer has the case, and we found it in the hands of our favourite psychopath.''"]]
78	->'''Played by:''' Jonathan Aris
79
80	A prominent forensics investigator, Anderson is much louder about his hate of Sherlock than Donovan and others. Sherlock responds by constantly belittling him and making him look like a fool (not that he needs much help).
81	----
82	* TheAtoner: In "Many Happy Returns", he's come to regret the part he played in Sherlock's downfall, and is obessed with proving Sherlock's still alive to the point where he lost his job because of it.
83	-->'''Anderson:''' I believe in Sherlock Holmes!\
84	'''Lestrade:''' Yeah, well, that's not gonna bring him back, is it?
85	* BadCopIncompetentCop: It's unclear if he's actually good at his job or not, since all we hear is Sherlock trashing him. In the original pilot, Lestrade seems to treat him better.
86	** Implied that he's not completely incompetent, considering Sherlock asks for him specifically in "Reichenbach" (despite reluctance in "A Study in Pink", which he claimed was because "Anderson won't work with me").
87	* BeardOfSorrow: Has one in the minisode "Many Happy Returns" and in Season 3, due to guilt over the part he played in Sherlock's downfall.
88	* BullyingADragon: Sherlock only has to ''sniff'' him to figure out he's having an affair with DS Donovan.
89	* ButtMonkey: Sherlock can't stand him, and as such, treats him horribly.
90	-->'''Sherlock:''' Anderson, don't talk out loud, you lower the IQ of the entire street.
91	** Or:
92	-->'''Anderson:''' Not much use, it doesn't lead us to the kidnapper.\
93	'''Sherlock:''' Brilliant, Anderson.\
94	'''Anderson:''' Really?\
95	'''Sherlock:''' [[BaitAndSwitchComment Yes, brilliant impression of an idiot]].
96	* CanonForeigner: He is not from the original series.
97	* CassandraTruth: In "Many Happy Returns," he has tracked Sherlock's movement and come to the conclusion that he is alive and coming back. No one believes him (at least, Lestrade doesn't.)
98	* EveryoneHasStandards: He didn't like Sherlock, but when he discovered that he had been used by Moriarty to drive Sherlock to suicide he took it '''hard'''.
99	* {{Expy}}: To Brett Partridge from ''Series/TheMentalist'', not only in role as forensics, ill relationship with the protagonist and [[spoiler:connection to the bad guy]], but also down to the actors's physique and mannerisms. The first scene in the series between him and Sherlock is direct ShoutOut to the similar scene between Partridge and Jane.
100	* GratuitousGerman: Apparently knows enough to tell Lestrade and Sherlock that "Rache" is German for revenge.
101	* LabRat: An in-the-field version, as he's a crime scene tech.
102	* LastNameBasis: It wasn't until Series 3 that we learned his first name.
103	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Implied to have one of these between Series 2 and "Many Happy Returns", over the role he played in Sherlock's downfall. Despite how much he hated him, Sherlock's death has weighed heavily on his conscience.
104	* NoJustNoReaction: His reaction to a YaoiFangirl in his Sherlock fanclub suggesting that [[spoiler: [[FoeYayShipping Moriarty and Sherlock]] faked their deaths so they could run off into the sunset together]].
105	* SanitySlippage: Guilt for his part in Sherlock's death apparently lead him to become obsessed with the case, lose his job and concoct increasingly bizarre theories for how Sherlock is alive and how he faked his death. He's ''right'' of course, but no-one believes him. Even when Sherlock tells him how he supposedly did it, he immediately begins questioning the explanation and appears to go a little [[GoMadFromTheRevelation mad from the revelation]]. He does however get better, and get his old job back.
106	* ShipperOnDeck: Sherlock/Molly, apparently. His theory on Sherlock's survival ends with Sherlock crashing through a window at Bart's and kissing Molly.
107	* StrawFan: He leads the Empty Hearse, a society which appears to be the in-universe representation of Sherlock's fandom.
108	* TookALevelInKindness: He goes from hating Sherlock to becoming one of people Sherlock’s brain conjures up to save his life when he’s been shot.
109	* UnwittingPawn: To [[spoiler: Moriarty.]]
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:DI Dimmock]]
113	!! Detective Inspector Dimmock
114	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dimmock_3422.jpg]]
115	--> '''Played by:''' Paul Chequer
116
117	A one-episode character who fills Lestrade's role in "[[Recap/SherlockS01E02TheBlindBanker The Blind Banker]]".
118	----
119	* ContinuityCameo: Briefly appears in "[[Recap/SherlockS04E01TheSixThatchers The Six Thatchers]]" asking Sherlock for help.
120	* InspectorLestrade: Plays this role in "The Blind Banker", as temporary replacement for the real Lestrade. (Soak up the irony!)
121	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: While he is initially dismissive of Sherlock's claims about the link between the murders in the case, once he is comprehensively proven wrong, he gives Sherlock all the support he needs.
122	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: For Lestrade.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:DI Stella Hopkins]]
126	!! Detective Inspector Stella Hopkins
127	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sherlock_series_4_teaser16.jpg]]
128	--> '''Played by:''' Creator/EleanorMatsuura
129
130	A DI attached to INTERPOL who like Lestrade also goes to Sherlock for help on cases. She keeps trying to convince Sherlock to assist her in finding the Borgia Pearl, a case Sherlock considers very boring and has no interest in solving.
131	----
132	* AdaptationalNameChange: Due to the GenderFlip she goes from being Stanley Hopkins to ''Stella'' Hopkins.
133	* ButtMonkey: Sherlock really isn't polite when he refuses to find the Borgia Pearl for her.
134	* TheDeterminator: She really wants Sherlock to find that Borgia Pearl.
135	* FairCop: She's very good looking.
136	* GenderFlip: In the Conan Doyle originals she was a naturally a man - Stanley Hopkins, since women weren't allowed in the police force in the Victorian Era.
137	* NiceGirl: From what she see she's a very nice woman.
138	* ShipTease: There are definitely sparks between her and Greg.
139	[[/folder]]
140

Context Characters / SherlockPolice