So is the 21st century Sherlock Holmes of the new television series true to the spirit of Conan Doyle's original? And is it any good? Abbie Read offers an expert opinion.
Like Doctor Who, there have been many who have gone before. Everyone seems to have wanted a go at the great man, no matter how unlikely. Consider Buster Keaton, Peter Cushing, Roger Moore, and even, God help us, Michael Caine.
But when you eliminate the impossible, whoever remains, however improbable,
must be the true Holmes.
Enter Benedict Cumberbatch, who turned down the role of Doctor Who to claim the title role in this new BBC drama - coincidentally current Time Lord Matt Smith failed his audition for the part of the other doctor (Watson) in this series because he was seen as too much the leading man.
And it's no surprise that both shows share similar demographic appeals; they boast the same screenwriters, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, and ardent fanbases who allow no room for meddling with the established myths.
Thankfully, having already seen the series, I can say that this is no Guy Ritchie action flick. As entertaining as his whiz-bang 2009 blockbuster was, Robert Downey jnr's womanising swashbuckler owed nothing to Conan Doyle's dispassionate, antisocial and erratic, yet brilliant, original.
This time round, everything from the staging and cinematography to the plotlines pay due reverence to the literary version.
Tomorrow night's first episode is a clever reworking of Holmes' 1887 debut A Study in Scarlet - the lucky break that gave Beeton's Christmas Annual an unexpected place in history - and Holmes aficionados will enjoy asserting their geekery by spotting the sly references hidden within the remake.
In the original Watson meets an old friend in a pub, the Criterion. This time round he meets Stamford yet again, but this time in a park. The Criterion makes its appearance as a brand-name on the side of their coffee cups.
Then there is the address of the murdered woman and the word she scrawled on the floor using her fingernails. In both cases, as in the original, Holmes overcomplicates its meaning and heads off down a blind alley.
Happily, the writers seem to want us to play along - unlike that other Holmes wannabe, Hugh Laurie's character in House (Holmes/ House and Watson/ Wilson, geddit?) - all the clues are there, even if you need a replay to pick them all up.
As for Cumberbatch, he lacks Holmes' regal Nasal profile, but he is inventive, eccentric, analytical and maddening in correct measure.
He is still stubbornly devoid of empathy even as his super anti-hero powers of perception and deduction astound and bemuse his not quite so bumbling sidekick Watson (Martin Freeman).
The unlikely duo are now gallivanting around in present day London, with Watson as moral compass - less Boswell than blogger - and Holmes as chief bloodhound, solving clues and dodging quips about his ambiguous sexuality.
Though Holmes' Victorian-era inventiveness has been transported to the digital age, it still remains a costume drama of sorts, just more Burberry than deerstalker and meerschaum calabash.
Which is just fine with me as both were the invention of an illustrator applying a touch of creative licence anyway. Consider the pipe as a sartorial equivalent of Star Trek's "Beam me up Scotty".
And being a contemporary adaptation it's chock full of multimedia add-ons and a Holmesian attention to detail that we are invited to spot and then explore ourselves. The websites featured (The Science of Deduction) and Watson's blog are all there for anyone wanting to look (beware of spoilers).
Now I will go to my grave believing that Basil Rathbone's 1940's portrayal is the definitive Holmes, with Jeremy Brett's 1984 Granada remake the best semi-recent adaptation, but Benedict Cumberbatch is a worthy 21st century addition to the canon.
But that's just me. Everyone has their favourite James Bond, Beatle, Wiggle, or Doctor Who, so who is your Holmes? The game is indeed afoot.
LOWDOWN
What: Sherlock
When and where: TV One, Sundays 8.30pm
* Abbie Read is an associate member of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London and is an avid collector of Holmes memorabilia.
- TimeOut
