Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sherlock Holmes
Original opening title card. In subsequent series this wording would change.
Created by	Michael Cox
Starring	Jeremy Brett David Burke Edward Hardwicke Charles Gray Colin Jeavons Eric Porter Rosalie Williams
Composer(s)	Patrick Gowers
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	9 (including The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, plus 5 feature length specials)
No. of episodes	41 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	50 to 104 minutes
Production company(s)	Granada Television
Distributor	Granada Television International (1984–92) Granada LWT International (1993–94)
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	24 April 1984 (1984-04-24) – 11 April 1994 (1994-04-11)

The TV show Sherlock Holmes was made by ITV Granada in the United Kingdom. It aired from 1984 to 1994 and is based on the famous detective stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The series adapted 43 of the 60 original Holmes stories. These were shown as 36 one-hour episodes and five longer TV movies. The first two parts of the series were called The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Later parts used names from other Doyle story collections.

Jeremy Brett played Sherlock Holmes in the series. Dr. Watson, Holmes's loyal friend, was played by David Burke at first. Later, Edward Hardwicke took over the role of Dr. Watson.

Solving Mysteries with Sherlock Holmes

The show is set in the late Victorian era, a time when Queen Victoria ruled Britain. Sherlock Holmes is a very smart detective who helps people solve mysteries. He is known as the world's only "consulting detective." This means he helps others, including the police, with their hardest cases.

Holmes is great at finding clues that others miss. He uses his knowledge of science, like chemistry and anatomy, to figure things out. He also uses deductive reasoning, which means he uses facts to reach a logical conclusion.

Holmes lives with his friend, Dr. John Watson, at 221B Baker Street in London. Dr. Watson is a military veteran and helps Holmes with his cases. Sherlock Holmes loves solving difficult puzzles. If there are no interesting cases, he can become bored and sad.

Meet the Main Characters

The actors in Sherlock Holmes brought the famous characters to life.

The Main Cast

• Jeremy Brett played Sherlock Holmes from 1984 to 1994. Many people think he was the best actor to ever play Holmes. He had even played Dr. Watson on stage before.
• David Burke played Dr. Watson from 1984 to 1985. He later left the show to join a famous theater group.
• Edward Hardwicke took over as Dr. Watson from 1986 to 1994.
• Rosalie Williams played Mrs Hudson, Holmes and Watson's kind landlady, from 1984 to 1994.

Other Important Characters

• Colin Jeavons played Inspector Lestrade from 1985 to 1992. Lestrade is a police inspector who often asks Holmes for help.
• Eric Porter played Professor Moriarty from 1985 to 1986. Moriarty is Holmes's greatest enemy, a very smart and dangerous criminal.
• Charles Gray played Mycroft Holmes in some episodes. Mycroft is Sherlock's older brother and is even smarter than Sherlock, but he prefers to work for the government from his office.

Some actors played different characters in the series. For example, Jude Law played a small role in one episode. Years later, he became famous for playing Dr. Watson in new Sherlock Holmes movies.

Episodes and Series

The show had four main series and 41 episodes in total. Most episodes were about 50 minutes long. Five of them were longer, like TV movies.

Making the Show

The Baker Street set at Granada Studios

Michael Cox first produced the series, and later June Wyndham Davies took over. John Hawkesworth helped create the show for TV and wrote many episodes. Other writers also helped adapt Doyle's original stories.

Jeremy Brett was chosen to play Holmes in 1982. He wanted to make sure the show was very true to the original books. He often pointed out when scripts were different from Doyle's stories.

To film the show, a full-size copy of Baker Street was built at Granada's studios in Manchester. This set later became a popular part of the Granada Studios Tour for visitors.

The series ended in 1994. Sadly, Jeremy Brett passed away in 1995.

Stories Not Adapted

Even though the Granada series adapted many Sherlock Holmes stories, 19 stories were not made into episodes before the show ended. These included two longer novels and 17 shorter stories.

Where the Show Was Broadcast

The Sherlock Holmes series was shown on ITV in the UK. It was also popular in other countries. In the United States, it was shown on PBS stations as part of the Mystery! series. Later, a Boston TV station, WGBH, helped fund the show.

The series has been shown many times in the UK on channels like ITV3, ITV4, and even BBC Two. This is special because it's rare for a show made by one TV company (ITV) to be shown on another (BBC).

Home Video Releases

The series has been released on DVD and Blu-ray so fans can watch it at home. Many different versions have been released over the years.

Images for kids

• 

  Adlington Hall, Cheshire was used for at least five episodes

• 

  Tatton Hall, Cheshire was used for several episodes

• 

  At least five episodes were filmed at Croxteth Hall, Liverpool

See also

In Spanish: Sherlock Holmes (serie de televisión de 1984) para niños