Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century
Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century is a British/American animated television series in which Sherlock Holmes is brought back to life in the 22nd century.[1] The series is a co–production by DiC Productions, L.P. and Scottish Television Enterprises and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Special Class Animated Program.[2]
Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century | |
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Title card | |
Genre | Action/Adventure Crime Science fiction Mystery |
Created by | Sandy Ross (TV series) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) |
Developed by | Phil Harnage |
Directed by | Paul Quinn |
Starring | Jason Gray-Stanford John Payne Akiko Morison Viv Leacock Jennifer Copping Richard Newman Ian James Corlett William Samples Jo Bates |
Country of origin | United Kingdom United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of episodes | 26 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Andy Heyward Robby London Michael Maliani Elizabeth Partyka |
Running time | 30 minutes (with commercials) |
Production company(s) | DIC Productions, L.P. Scottish Television Enterprises |
Distributor | Scottish Television Enterprises (United Kingdom) Buena Vista International Television (Internationally) |
Release | |
Original network | United Kingdom ITV (CITV) Scottish Television United States Fox (Fox Kids) (Season 1) Syndication (Season 2) |
Picture format | 4:3 |
First shown in | United Kingdom |
Original release | 6 May 1999 – 21 July 2001 |
Overview
The concept for the series was created by Sandy Ross, a Scottish Television executive, who came up with the idea while skiing in Aspen, Colorado in 1996.[3] DIC Productions and Scottish Television had previously worked together to create other series and this continued the trend. Some issues were raised about language carrying different connotations between cultures, but alternative action and dialogue were used to overcome this.[3] There is a 2-part episode from the animated TV series BraveStarr that aired in September 1987 that has a similar idea in it.
Les Studios Tex was said to be working on this series, although they are not credited in the final product.[4]
Story
Set in the 22nd century in New London, Inspector Beth Lestrade of New Scotland Yard is chasing the 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. They go on to discover that this is not the original Moriarty, but is in fact a clone created from cells taken from his corpse, which Sherlock Holmes had buried in a Swiss ice cave. Lestrade 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. She takes the body from the basement and delivers it to biologist Sir Evan Hargreaves (who looks just like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) who has just invented a process of cellular rejuvenation. The biologist then uses his cellular rejuvenation technique to return life and youth to Holmes's body so that the detective can again battle Moriarty. Holmes also returns to his Baker Street rooms, which had been preserved as a museum. Lestrade's compudroid reads the original Watson's journals and assumes his name, face, voice and mannerisms in order to assist Holmes in both his crime-solving duties and his difficult assimilation to Great Britain 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 Chief Inspector Charles Grayson as hers, but they also work for private citizens. They are often assisted by the new Baker Street Irregulars: the football player Wiggins, the Cockney Deidre and the paraplegic Tennyson, who communicates through electronic beeps (which Holmes understands after learning about the advances in technology and Morse code). The primary villains are Moriarty and his henchman Fenwick, appearing as they do in almost half of the produced episodes.
Each episode is inspired by one of the literary works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.[5] Many of these are direct rewrites of the original stories, such as "The Adventure of the Empty House", "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", "The Five Orange Pips", "The Red-Headed League", and "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" - while others are drastically different from the stories on which they are supposed to be based.
Visually, the series is a blend of traditional 2-D and 3-D CGI animation.
Voice cast
- Jason Gray-Stanford as Sherlock Holmes: The great detective himself, Holmes was brought back in the 22nd century to combat the clone of his nemesis, Professor Moriarty. Despite initial trouble with adapting to the era, Holmes acclimatizes and uses his knowledge of the future to often help his allies out of death traps.
- John Payne as Dr. Watson: A compudroid that initially worked as Lestrade's assistant. He later read the original Dr. Watson's journals and was able to emulate his personality from them. He currently resides at 221B Baker Street with Holmes.
- Akiko Morison as Inspector Beth Lestrade: A descendant of Inspector G. Lestrade, Holmes' old ally from Scotland Yard. Often annoyed with Holmes' constant disregard for protocol, she nonetheless appreciates his continued help, despite direct orders from Grayson.
- Viv Leacock as Wiggins: Leader of the new Baker Street Irregulars. Wiggins was once a football player, but has since retired from the profession due to an injury. He has shown intelligence and reasoning skills that were enough to impress even Holmes.
- Jennifer Copping as Deidre, another of the irregulars, is a fashionable young woman with a Cockney accent. In contrast to the more outlandish rest of the cast, she provides the perspective of a more typical member of New London society.
- Richard Newman as Professor James Moriarty: A clone of the original created by Fenwick, hoping to use him as a brilliant servant. However, Moriarty was able to outwit Fenwick and reverse the roles on him, taking this new lease on life to re-create his old criminal empire.
- Ian James Corlett as Martin Fenwick: A deformed and insane French scientist who specializes in cloning. He created a clone of Moriarty to do his bidding. However, he ended up being reduced to the lackey in their relationship. Whether he does this because he knows that Moriarty could devise a horrible and painful way to dispose of him, or because he has been brainwashed by Moriarty, has never been revealed.
- William Samples as Chief Insp. Charles Grayson: Lestrade's superior who distrusts Holmes and reluctant of him interfering with his cases, due to him being born at a different age.
- Jo Bates as a newscaster who appears on broadcasts in the episodes, which provide clues in much the same way newspapers do in the original stories.
Additional voice cast
- Sharon Alexander
- Gillian Barber
- Kathleen Barr
- Lisa Ann Beley
- Sudsy Clarke
- Bernard Cuffling
- Michael Dobson
- Paul Dobson
- Erin Fitzgerald
- Vince Gale
- Merrilyn Gann
- Christopher Gaze
- MacKenzie Grey
- Jeff Gulka
- Phil Hayes
- Adam Henderson
- Saffron Henderson
- Terry Klassen
- Campbell Lane
- Blu Mankuma
- Cusse Mankuma
- Scott McNeil
- Maxine Miller
- Lachlan Murdoch
- Jane Perry
- Tamara Phillips
- Gerald Plunkett
- Laara Sadiq
- Alvin Sanders
- Malcolm Stewart
- Simon Webb
- Peter Wilds
- Kevin T. Williams
- Dale Wilson
Episode list
The show premiered in the United Kingdom in the late spring of 1999 on CITV and then premiered in the fall in the United States. In the U.S., the series was split into two seasons, with the first airing on Fox Kids, and the other which was planned to air on Kids' WB in 2001,[6] but instead aired on broadcast syndication. All 26 episodes were originally planned to air in the United States on PAX alongside fellow-DIC show Archie's Weird Mysteries as part of an hour-long block,[7] but was moved to air on Fox Kids.
Episode number | Production number | Script | U.S. airdate | Episode title | Plot | Sherlock Holmes story episode is based on |
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1 | 101 | Phil Harnage | 18 September 1999 | "The Fall and Rise of Sherlock Holmes" | Sherlock Holmes battles his nemesis Professor Moriarty over the Reichenbach Falls, leading to their supposed demise after they fall off the bridge. In the 22nd century, Beth Lestrade, descendant of Inspector G. Lestrade, Holmes' old ally from Scotland Yard, notices deranged French scientist Martin Fenwick making a getaway with a man who looks exactly like Moriarty. Unable to convince her boss, Chief Inspector Charles Grayson, of the possibility of Moriarty somehow returning from the dead, she breaks into the New Scotland Yard basement, where the body of Holmes had been preserved in honey; the detective had survived the fall and later retired, becoming a beekeeper in his later years. She takes him to a biologist named Sir Evan Hargreaves who has developed a process of cellular regeneration, which restores Holmes' youth and revives him. Lestrade gives Holmes some educational videos to bring him up to speed on the advancements in the world since his era. She also has her compudroid Watson read Dr. Watson's journals to learn how to better assist Holmes, with the compudroid emulating Watson's persona. | "The Final Problem" |
2 | 102 | Martha Moran | 25 September 1999 | "The Crime Machine" | Holmes leads Lestrade to an ice cave, where Moriarty's body is preserved in ice; however, they set off a trap that seals off the cave, leaving them unable to investigate further. In the meantime, citizens that have normally shown no criminal intent have suddenly begun stealing different pieces of technology without even knowing why. Holmes takes interest in the case, meeting a trio of children, whom he makes his new Baker Street Irregulars. With their help, Holmes finds that Fenwick is using a device to turn citizens into criminals to steal things that he needs; they destroy the machine, along with a portion of the old railroad. During the fight, Holmes comes to accept the robot Watson as his new companion. Later, Holmes moves back into his old lodgings and Watson gets an upgrade, receiving a prosthetic mask that mimics the original Dr. Watson's face. | The Valley of Fear |
3 | 103 | Martha Moran | 2 October 1999 | "The Hounds of the Baskervilles" | A trio of children on a field trip to a Moon base vanish. Along with this are sightings of a demonic dog on the Moon, simply called the Hound. Holmes investigates, learning that the Hound is simply a hologram based on old superstitions. The case of the missing children leads to the discovery that Moriarty had kidnapped a child to lure her father to the Moon base, so he could gain access codes to blow it up. During their confrontation, Holmes reveals that this Moriarty is a clone created by Fenwick (he had found a small drilled hole in the ice leading to Moriarty's hand in the previous episode), who intended to use the clone as his brilliant slave; unfortunately, Moriarty had outwitted Fenwick and become his master. Holmes manages to shut down the reactor, while revealing that he had Watson remotely reprogram Moriarty's getaway vehicle to go to the Yard. Unfortunately, upon reaching Earth, Moriarty managed to escape before the Yard could capture him. | The Hound of the Baskervilles |
4 | 108 | Marv Wolfman | 9 October 1999 | "The Adventure of the Empty House" | "The Adventure of the Empty House" | |
5 | 122 | Terence Taylor and Eleanor Burian-Mohr | 16 October 1999 | "The Crooked Man" | "The Crooked Man" | |
6 | 120 | Henry Gilroy | 23 October 1999 | "The Adventure of the Deranged Detective" | "The Adventure of the Dying Detective" | |
7 | 111 | Phil Harnage | 30 October 1999 | "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire Lot" | "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire" | |
8 | 105 | Ken Pontac | 6 November 1999 | "The Scales of Justice" | "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" | |
9 | 104 | Robert Askin | 13 November 1999 | "The Resident Patient" | "The Resident Patient" | |
10 | 121 | Phil Harnage | 20 November 1999 | "The Sign of Four" | The Sign of the Four | |
11 | 114 | Terence Taylor and Eleanor Burian-Mohr | 27 November 1999 | "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" | "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" | |
12 | 125 | Robert Askin | 4 December 1999 | "The Musgrave Ritual" | "The Musgrave Ritual" | |
13 | 112 | Seth Kearsley | 11 December 1999 | "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" | The Blue Carbuncle is a popular toy on sale at Christmastime; however, the last one to be sold is more of a collector's item that even the buyer thought. | "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" |
14 | 119 | Robert Askin | 31 January 2000 | "Silver Blaze" | "Silver Blaze" | |
15 | 106 | Greg Johnson | 7 February 2000 | "The Five Orange Pips" | "The Five Orange Pips" | |
16 | 113 | Martha Moran | 14 February 2000 | "The Red-Headed League" | "The Red-Headed League" | |
17 | 118 | Greg Johnson | 21 February 2000 | "The Man with the Twisted Lip" | "The Man with the Twisted Lip" | |
18 | 109 | Reed Shelly and Bruce Shelly | 31 March 2001 | "The Secret Safe" | "His Last Bow" | |
19 | 115 | Reed Shelly and Bruce Shelly | 21 April 2001 | "The Adventure of the Second Stain" | "The Adventure of the Second Stain" | |
20 | 117 | Ken Pontac | 28 April 2001 | "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" | "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" | |
21 | 123 | Woody Creek | 12 May 2001 | "The Gloria Scott" | A man's father goes missing, with only a cryptic message left behind. Following the clues, Holmes discovers that the man was once (falsely) imprisoned on the spaceship Gloria Scott. However, a fellow prisoner started a riot that led to damaging the ship and leaving it to drift in space, while he and the other prisoners manage to flee back to Earth and start new lives. | "The Gloria Scott" |
22 | 124 | Martha Moran | 19 May 2001 | "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" | A series of car robberies has New Scotland Yard baffled; there is nothing missing from the cars, the vehicles are just damaged. Holmes immediately realizes that there is something deeper about these burglaries, perhaps going back to the manufacturing. | "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" |
23 | 126 | Ken Pontac | 26 May 2001 | "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" | "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" | |
24 | 107 | Terence Taylor and Eleanor Burian-Mohr | 23 June 2001 | "The Adventure of the Beryl Board" | "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" | |
25 | 110 | Gildart Jackson | 30 June 2001 | "The Adventure of the Mazarin Chip" | "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" | |
26 | 116 | Robert Askin | 21 July 2001 | "A Case of Identity" | "A Case of Identity" |
Home media releases
In September 1999, Vision Video and Universal Studios Home Video UK released a VHS tape of the series in the United Kingdom, which contained the first three episodes in a feature-length format.[8]
In 2002, Lions Gate Home Entertainment and Trimark Home Video released The Fall and Rise of Sherlock Holmes, a VHS/DVD which, like the U.K. VHS, consisted of the first three episodes in a feature-length format. The episode "The Sign of Four" was also included on the DVD version.
In 2003, Sterling Entertainment released another VHS/DVD of the series titled Out of This World. The release contained the episodes "The Sign of Four", "The Adventures of the Dancing Men" and "Silver Blaze", with the episode "The Gloria Scott" as a bonus episode on the DVD.
On February 21, 2012, Mill Creek Entertainment released Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century...On the Case on DVD, consisting of the first 10 episodes of the series in production order, and also containing an episode of Stargate Infinity. On the same day, a box set called Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century: The Complete 26 Episode Series was released, containing all 26 episodes alongside five bonus episodes from other Cookie Jar owned series.[9] These releases have since been discontinued and are now out of print.
On April 3, 2018, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 as Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century: The Complete Series. This version also came with a digital download code.[10]
References
- Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 735–737. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- "Awards for "Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century"". Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- MIPCOM Report: Co-production diary: Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century
- Mallory, Michael (23 March 1997). "DIC eyes Euro market". Variety. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- "Sherlock Holmes In The 22nd Century". Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- https://www.awn.com/news/kids-wb-announces-2001-02-schedule
- https://variety.com/1999/tv/news/dic-sells-archie-holmes-to-pax-1117493065/
- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sherlock-Holmes-22nd-Century-VHS/dp/B00004R78D
- Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century - Mill Creek's 'Complete Series' Plus a Best-Of Disc Archived 2012-01-08 at the Wayback Machine
- Re-Release of 'Complete Series' on DVD, Coming this Spring from Mill Creek Archived 2018-03-09 at the Wayback Machine