Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century is an animated television series in which Sherlock Holmes is brought back to life in the 22nd century. The series is a co-production by DIC Entertainment, L.P. and Scottish Television Enterprises and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Special Class Animated Program.

Development

The series was conceptualized by Sandy Ross, a Scottish Television executive, while skiing in Aspen, Colorado in January 1996. DIC Productions and Scottish Television, who had previously collaborated on other series, produced the show. Some issues were raised about language carrying different connotations between cultures, but alternative action and dialogue were used to overcome this. The series was originally planned to be called Sherlock Holmes in the 21st Century, but as the planned air date of September 1998 was near the new century, the show's name was changed.

Plot

Set during 2103 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. She then discovers that this is not the original Moriarty, but rather a clone created from cells taken from his corpse, which Sherlock Holmes had buried in a Swiss ice cave after Moriarty's death in 1891. Lestrade knows that Holmes died of natural causes many years later and 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 resembles Holmes' creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), who has just invented a process of cellular rejuvenation. Hargreaves uses his process to return life and youth to Holmes's body so that the detective can again battle Moriarty. Holmes also returns to his old Baker Street rooms, which had been preserved as a museum. Lestrade's compudroid reads the original journals of Dr. John H. Watson 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 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 22nd-century advances in technology and Morse code). The primary villains are Moriarty and Martin Fenwick (whom Moriarty has manipulated into being his loyal henchman), 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. 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 based.

Visually, the series is a blend of traditional 2D and 3D CGI animation.

Characters

Main

  • Sherlock Holmes (voiced by Jason Gray-Stanford): The Great Detective himself, Holmes was brought back in the 22nd century to combat a memory clone of his nemesis, Professor Moriarty. Despite initial trouble with adapting to the era, he eventually acclimatizes quite nicely, learns to love this new era he has been bought to, and uses his knowledge of the future to often help his allies out of death traps. Holmes has taken to playing a hand-sized keytar in place of his classic violin. He commonly uses the phrase "eyes and brain" to encourage thinking or explain his reasoning.
  • Watson (voiced by John Payne): A compudroid that initially worked as Lestrade's assistant. He later read the original Dr. John H. Watson's journals, and Lestrade unknowingly made breakthroughs in a lot of areas that day. He was able to emulate his persona from them, which led to other breakthroughs that involve a prosthetic mask that resembles Watson's face. While not able to feel emotions as a human would eventually develop and learn how, Watson can vocalize and react realistically. In public, Watson dons a cloak to better fit in. He currently resides at 221B Baker Street with Holmes.
  • Inspector Beth Lestrade (voiced by Akiko Morison): 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. Holmes likewise respects Lestrade as an extremely competent officer, more competent than her ancestor.

Supporting

  • The Baker Street Irregulars: A trio of young people who assist Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade on some cases.
  • Wiggins (voiced by Viv Leacock): The 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. Wiggins is dedicated to follow Holmes' requests of the Irregulars.
  • Deidre (voiced by Jennifer Copping): Another of the Irregulars who 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.
  • Tennyson: Another member of the new Baker Street Irregulars who was left mute and partially paralyzed due to an accident where he moves around in a special hoverchair. He is an expert in the arcades and gaming, and a genius and brilliant mind on a computer and keyboard.
  • Chief Inspector Charles Grayson (voiced by William Samples): Lestrade's superior who distrusts Holmes and is reluctant of him interfering with his cases, due to him being born at a different age.
  • Newscaster (voiced by Jo Bates): An unnamed newscaster who appears on broadcasts in the episodes, which provide clues in much the same way newspapers did in the original stories.

Villains

  • Professor James Moriarty (voiced by Richard Newman): The primary antagonist of the series. This Moriarty is a memory clone of the original Moriarty was 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. Though Moriarty constantly fails, largely due to fallout of his schemes not having the same debilitating impact as in the 1800s; leaving him with nothing but setbacks. This is also because Sherlock is there. But Sherlock Holmes comes to admit for all intents and purposes he is Moriarty.
  • Martin Fenwick (voiced by Ian James Corlett): A deformed and insane French scientist who specializes in cloning. He created a clone of Moriarty to do his bidding, but 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.

Episodes

The show premiered in the United Kingdom in the late spring of 1999 on CITV and then premiered that fall in the United States. In the U.S., the series was split into two seasons, with the first airing on Fox Kids, with the second planned to air on Kids' WB in 2001, but instead aired on broadcast syndication. All 26 episodes were originally planned to air in the United States on PAX (now Ion Television) alongside fellow-DIC show Archie's Weird Mysteries as part of an hour-long block, but was moved to air on Fox Kids. The two shows did, however, air together in reruns on Ion's defunct sister network Qubo from May 13, 2013 to May 26, 2018.

Only the first 13 episodes were broadcast on ITV in 1999, ending with "The Musgrave Ritual" in August. In the U.S., 17 episodes were broadcast on Fox Kids starting in September 1999, in a different order, and ending with "The Man with the Twisted Lip". The remaining episodes aired in 2001.

The series was pre-sold internationally through Buena Vista International Television.

Season 1 (1999-2000)