| Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century | |
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Opening titles |
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| Genre | animation |
| Created by | Sandy Ross |
| Written by | Eleanor Burian-Mohr Arthur Conan Doyle |
| Directed by | Paul Quinn |
| Starring | Michael Dobson Jason Gray-Stanford John Payne Akiko Morison |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Distributor | DiC and Scottish Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original airing | 6 May 1999: UK 18 September 1999: USA, |
Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century is an animation series, in which Sherlock Holmes is brought back to life in the 22nd century. The series is a co–production by DiC and Scottish Television and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Special Class Animated Program.[1]
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The concept series was created by Sandy Ross, a Scottish Television executive, who came up with the idea while skiing in Aspen in 1996.[2] DiC and Scottish Television had previously worked together to created other series and this continued the trend. Some issues were raised about word choice, but alternative action and dialogue were used to overcome such issues.
Set in 22nd Century in New London, Inspector Beth Lestrade of New Scotland Yard is chasing grotesquely deformed French rogue geneticist Martin Fenwick, when she realizes that his companion is none other than the 19th century criminal mastermind, Professor James Moriarty. (This is not the original Moriarty but in fact his clone, created from cells taken from his corpse, which Holmes had buried in a Swiss ice cave.) Famous biologist Sir Evan Hargreaves (who looks just like Doyle) has just invented cellular rejuvenation. Beth knows that Holmes survived and actually lived to a ripe old age, and further knows that his corpse is preserved in a glass-walled, honey-filled coffin in the basement of New Scotland Yard. (This may be both a reference to the legend that Alexander the Great's body was preserved in honey, which does not rot, and also to the fact that, as stated in the original stories by Doyle, Holmes became a beekeeper once he retired.) She takes the body from the basement and delivers it to Sir Evan. The biologist then uses his cellular rejuvenation technique to return life and youth to Holmes's body, so that the detective can combat Moriarty.
As a descendant of the original Inspector Lestrade, Beth has inherited Dr. Watson's journals. When she has her law enforcement robot, or compudroid (whom she calls Watson) read them for information about Holmes, it ends up emulating the personality of the good doctor. Holmes also ends up getting his old Baker Street rooms back (they'd been preserved as a museum). Lestrade's compudroid assumes the name, face, voice, and mannerisms of Dr. Watson to assist Holmes in both his crime-solving duties and his difficult assimilation to England in the 22nd century.
During the series, Holmes and Watson often work on retainer for New Scotland Yard, with Beth Lestrade as their supervising officer and Superintendent Greyson as hers, but they also work for private citizens. They are often assisted by the new Baker Street Irregulars:soccer player Wiggins, the Eliza Doolittleish Deidre, and the paraplegic Tennyson, who communicates through electronic beeps only Holmes seems to comprehend (ironically). However, Wiggins and Deidre understand and communicate with Tennyson in The Adventure of the Dancing Men. The primary villains are Moriarty and his henchman Fenwick, but they only appear in about half of the episodes.
Many episodes are direct rewrites of the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle—such as "The Empty House", "The Speckled Band", "The Five Orange Pips", "The Red-Headed League", and "The Engineer's Thumb" — while others are drastically different from the stories on which they are supposed to be based. The series itself seems to be a sci–fi pastiche. The series is visually a blend of traditional 2-D and 3-D CGI animation. Each episode is inspired by one of the literary works of Arthur Conan Doyle.[3]
A similar concept sent Sherlock Holmes into the 23rd century in a two-part episode of the Filmation series BraveStarr, first aired in 1988. In the story, based on the Sherlock Holmes short story The Adventure of the Final Problem, Sherlock Holmes falls down Reichenbach Falls after a struggle with Professor Moriarty, falling through a natural time storm, hurtling him forward in time and imbuing him with electrical powers. Professor Moriarty in turn uses cryogenics to follow Holmes into the Future.
This show's method for preserving Professor Moriarty and bringing him back to life should not be confused with the cryogenic method used by the 1987 Michael Pennington/Margaret Colin TV movie/failed pilot, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, or the suspended animation in the 1993 Anthony Higgins/Deborah Farentino Sherlock Holmes Returns TV movie.
the show premièred in the UK in late spring of 1999, and premièred in the USA in the Autumn .
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Production number/ US airdate
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Second Season (2001)
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