when i forget to log into ao3 and i have to click proceed to see an adult fic, i actually get a kick out of it. like i am an old timey queen and my bard is apologetic: “gentle lady, dicks doth touch in this next ballad. would you prefer another?” and i give him a gesture of command like, “nay, you may proceed, minstrel. bring forth the tale of dicks”
Nika Goltz illustrations for the fairy tales of Oscar Wilde.
Nika Goltz (1925 – 2012) has been called, “one of the most talented and productive Russian children’s book illustrators.” In a career lasting over five decades, Goltz illustrated more than 100 children’s books.
Sherlock Holmes became an adaptation of an adaptation.
By watching several adaptations, it is possible to see how Holmes' personality begins to change over time, and how some adaptations are very similar to each other, not because they are based on the same book, but because they are based on each other instead of being based on the canon.
For example, the stereotype that Holmes is cold and emotionless, even though in the book Watson indeed says that Holmes is "a machine", Watson still describes him as sensitive, gentle, Holmes compassionate towards the clients who need it most. In addition to the explicit affection he has for Watson and how he respects Watson's feelings.
In older adaptations, Holmes has a personality and attitudes that are more faithful to the books, until the 2000s, Holmes' personality was consistent with the canon.
From the 2000s onwards, the adaptations became increasingly distant from the canon and began to be based on existing versions of the character instead of the canon, and thus a whole new perception of the character was created that did NOT match AT ALL with his original counterpart.
(very long post)
And it's not just Holmes' personality that is affected, but his dynamic with Watson and the history and personality of the other characters ends up being affected. For example, Irene Adler.
Although the interpretation of Irene as Holmes' romantic partner has existed for decades, since the 19th century, and even though she appeared in ONE short story, and was the only woman to beat the great detective, her relevance in having been a woman at that time and having been smarter than Holmes was transformed and reduced to her being Holmes' love interest, BUT even then, there isn't THAT many adaptations where Irene is portrayed this way how people think
First, there is Alice Faulkner, Holmes' romantic partner created by William Gillette, an original character inspired by Irene Adler, but very different from Irene. Holmes helps her and falls in love with her, kinda cute. (almost everyone knows) William Gillette is also responsible for the image of Holmes with the big pipe and the famous phrase never said by the canon Holmes "Elementary, my dear Watson". This is where the first influence on the other adaptations begins.
William Gillette's Holmes inspired the adaptations by Clive Brook and John Barrymore. Brook's version Holmes has a wife like Alice, and Barrymore's version is an adaptation of Gillette's film.
‼️This is all referring specifically to visual media such as movies and tv shows.
From decades before until the 1950s (not included), there is no Irene Adler. Of the more than 30 adaptations, four of them have an original female character as a romantic partner to Holmes. From the 50s to the 80s (not included), there are 30 other film and television adaptations. Where Irene only appears in 1976 in “Sherlock Holmes In New York” with Roger Moore as Holmes, and I believe that this is perhaps the FIRST version where Irene and Holmes really have a romance.
In this movie, half of the time, it is shown how Holmes loves Irene Adler and misses her, until a case ends up taking him to New York, to meet the woman he loves so much, BUT in the end, after he discovers that he has a son with Irene, he simply decides that he cannot stay with her and their son, because he has a whole life in London and cannot leave everything like that. Father of the year.
Before that, of course, there is “The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes” in 1970 by Billy Wilder, where he has the character of Gabrielle, which may have been the starting point for Irene Adler's transformation.
There were two adaptations in the 1970s where a man ends up in a type of psychosis that makes him believe he is Sherlock Holmes and a doctor named, by coincidence of course, Watson, and she is the one who helps him. In the first film, “They Might Be Giants,” Holmes and Dr. Watson fall in love.
At this time, it has the movie “The Seven Per-Cent Solution,” where Freud helps Holmes overcome his “aversion to women” and at the end of the movie, Holmes meets a potential female love interest.
Of all the 33 films from this period [50s-80s], there is ONE movie where Holmes is implicitly homosexual, ONE movie where H&W fall in love, ONE movie where Holmes has an original female romantic partner and ONE movie where Holmes and Irene Adler were a couple.
Irene only appears then in the “Soviet Holmes” series from (1979), where although it seems that Holmes may have feelings for her, she is not a love interest.
From the 80s to the 2000s (not included), of the almost 40 film and television adaptations, Irene Adler only appears THREE TIMES.
In 1984 in the film with Peter Cushing “The Mask of Death”, where Holmes seems grumpy with the mere presence of Irene and complains about how he lost to a woman. In the same year also Irene appears in “Granada Holmes” which is probably the most faithful adaptation of the tale of the Scandal in Bohemia.
Irene only appears AGAIN in 1991 in “The Leading Lady” with Christopher Lee, where Irene has no self-respect whatsoever and has only one mission in this movie, which is to marry Holmes. She literally says that she DOESN’T CARE IF HOLMES DOESN’T LOVE HER, she wants to marry him and ends baby trapping him.
In 1994, there was the pilot episode of the series that would be called “Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Returns”, which is a remake of the 1987 pilot episode “The Return of Sherlock Holmes”. In the first version, Holmes wakes up from cryogenics and meets Watson’s granddaughter, Jane, and from her, he learns that it is okay to be gay in the 80s. In the second version, Holmes is found by a doctor named Winslow who falls in love with him, but Holmes shows no interest in her.
In the late 90s, there is “Shirley Holmes”, who is Holmes' great-great-granddaughter-niece (?), her father is a Holmes and her mother is a doctor named Joanne. There is also “My Dearly Beloved Detective” where H&W kiss, the movie is mainly about love.
From this period, of the three times that Irene appears, only once she is a love interest and other THREE adaptations that put H&W in a romantic position.
So until the 2000s, of the more than one hundred adaptations, Irene is Holmes' love interest ONLY TWICE.
Of about 61 film and series adaptations produced since the 2000s till this day, EIGHT adaptations have Irene Adler as Holmes' romantic partner and another EIGHT adaptations where Holmes has other originals female characters as romantic partners.
And hust because I'm a math teacher:
It's worth noting that the number of adaptations (movies and tv shows) in 25 years is almost equivalent to the number of adaptations (movies and tv shows) in ONE CENTURY.
From the first sample of adaptations (movies and tv shows) from the period 1900-1999, there were 104 adaptations.
Irene as a romantic partner: 2 (± 2%)
Original Female Character: 4 (± 3.8%)
H&W in a romantic situation (corresponding or not, explicit or not): 4 (± 3.8%)
From the second sample of adaptations (movies and tv shows) from the period 2000-2025, there were 61 adaptations.
Irene as a romantic partner: 8 (± 13%)
Original Female Character: 8 (± 13%)
H&W in a romantic situation (corresponding or not, explicit or not): 7 (± 11.5%)
Irene Adler as love interest from the 2000s onwards:
“The Royal Scandal” with Matt Frewer, their relationship is implicit, this movie sucks, but other Frewer movies are good, as is Clive Merrison, Frewer is one of the only actors who has a voice that most closely matches the description of Holmes' voice in the canon. Also in the television film “Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars”, where Irene spends most of the movie disguised as a man, because of course that the ONLY WOMAN Holmes could fall in love with, dresses as a man. And then we have the Robert Downey Jr. films where despite explicitly showing the romantic relationship between Holmes and Irene at the same time it implicitly shows the romantic feelings between Holmes and Watson. And then we have “Elementary” (2012-2019), “Шерлок Холмс” (2013), “Sherlock Gnomes” (2018) and the most recent “CBS Watson” (Holmes is dead but they still made sure to let us know that Irene and Holmes had an affair.)
So, it was here, in the 2000s that the adaptations really began to change and became adaptations of each other. Holmes lost his personality and became another character. The canon stories were replaced by “fanfics” of other adaptations. (Irene Adler case)
I consider that three adaptations are mainly responsible for the CURRENT image of Sherlock Holmes, and that it is from these three adaptations that the image that we have (in the contemporary era) of Sherlock Holmes was perpetuated and is the basis for the adaptations produced more recently.
The first is House M.D. (2004-2012). Although the general public does not know that it is based on Sherlock Holmes, House influenced other adaptations, especially the personality that Holmes has today. The cliché of the super-intelligent, cold, calculating, emotionless male character begins here. Even though House is not exactly that trope. The image of Holmes being insensitive to clients/patients, his arrogance and being an ASSHOLE starts in House. Including the way he treats or mistreats Watson/Wilson.
The second adaptation is the Robert Downey Jr. films as Holmes (2009-2011). He turns Holmes into an action hero, which Holmes is not, his personality does not match the canon at all (in these movies, this is not a problem). But the main influence of RDJ Holmes is Holmes as an action hero, and being SLOPPY. He dresses badly and does not keep a clean appearance. It looks like he has not showered in months. I know he STINKS.
And then we have the third adaptation, which is where the adaptations of other adaptations begin: BBC Sherlock (2010-2017). BBC Sherlock could almost be an adaptation of “The Private of Sherlock Holmes” considering the amount of similarities and references to Billy Wilder's film and the number of times Moffat and Gatiss said that this was their favorite film and INSPIRATION. BBC Sherlock is set in the modern era as Basil Rathbone's film series was then, it also makes references to the 1965 BBC series with a background appearance by Douglas Wilmer, they made reference to “Granada Holmes” in “The Abominable Bride”. And considering that RDJ Holmes is (I believe) the FIRST adaptation that decided to have Irene Adler working for Moriarty, it can be considered that Irene Adler from BBCSH, besides being an adaptation of Gabrielle from “Private Life of Sherlock Holmes”, is also inspired by Irene from the movie.
Still, controversy, but BBC Sherlock also suffers from the influence of House, mainly in Sherlock’s PERSONALITY. He has a personality quite similar to House’s.
So we have BBC Sherlock that is inspired by other adaptations and other adaptations that are inspired by BBC Sherlock. They are adaptations based on others adaptations, where the original Holmes gets lost and it is no longer possible to recognize him.
House influenced BBC Sherlock, Elementary and CBS Watson. Although Elementary suffered from the obvious comparisons to BBC Sherlock, it clearly follows a House approach style, including the opening of the show is inspired by the 1965 BBC series. And even with the influences of other adaptations, Elementary managed to maintain a personality more in keeping with Holmes, despite the sexual appeal that Elementary Holmes has (I believe it's House's fault). This Holmes has character development and takes a more serious approach to being neurodivergent and queer, and to his addiction. Unlike both House and BBCSH, which do not fully address Holmes' autistic, or his sexuality, and in the case of BBCSH at no point does it seriously address Sherlock's addiction problem.
And again, possibly influenced by Irene from the Warner Bros. films, we have an Irene Adler who works with Moriarty, and spoiler alert, not only does she work with Moriarty but is actually Moriarty herself. In addition to having a romantic involvement with Holmes, and Moriarty (her own counterpart) being an obstacle in their relationship (as in the film).
CBS Watson series has a big problem, being from the same producers as Elementary, even though Elementary managed to maintain consistency and a certain fidelity to Holmes' personality, CBS Watson ends up having almost no personality, being similar to House, and with a Watson that seems trying to be Holmes at all times. In a way, CBS Watson is an adaptation of another adaptation: House, which is inspired by Sherlock Holmes.
RDJ Holmes has influenced two Russian adaptations, “Sherlock Holmes” from 2013, where despite expectations that it was inspired by the Soviet series from 1979, the new Russian Holmes is very similar to the ways of RDJ Holmes, sloppy and careless. The series plot is that Watson narrates the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, but the Holmes he writes about is not the same as the real Holmes he lives with. Even though in this context, fidelity to the canon somehow does not need to exist. It still shows the influence of RDJ's films. And again, Irene Adler here is Holmes' romantic partner.
As for the NEW Russian series “Sherlock in Russia” (2020), despite its originality and very well produced, we have an almost sloppy Holmes, long hair and a goatee, that yes, is RDJ's fault.
Being the most influential of the post-2000s adaptations, BBC Sherlock influenced several other adaptations, such as: “Miss Sherlock” (2018) which is not only inspired by BBC Sherlock, but clearly an adaptation of BBC Sherlock in a modern Tokyo setting where Sherlock and John are women. (An adaptation of another adaptation that was inspired by other adaptations). “Sherlock Untold Stories” (2019-2022) which is also heavily inspired by BBC Sherlock visually, but unlike Miss Sherlock it manages to be more original.
Moriarty the Patriot's Sherlock. Both the manga and the anime are, in my opinion, the best adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, both in the original plot and in how they adapted Moriarty and the canon to the context of the manga universe. However, Sherlock is clearly inspired by BBCSH's Sherlock. Some parts of the manga are also very similar to the events of BBC Sherlock.
And the most controversial one: Sherlock and Co. And I say this not as if they deliberately decided this. It's undeniable the impact that BBC Sherlock had on the general public's perception of WHO SHERLOCK HOLMES IS. Considering that the producer himself said that they had three audiences that they had to balance when making this adaptation, one of them being the "Johnlocker Community". Evidencing the HUGE impact that BBC Sherlock has even on the general Sherlock Holmes fandom, and yet, the producer said that he didn't know about queerbaiting when the allegations started that SH&Co. could be queerbaiting, remembering that no adaptation is obligated to make H&W a couple. This fact happened precisely because of the public's perception of how SH&Co. is similar to BBCSH and not just because it is set in the modern era. Observing the fandom, especially in the beginning, it was perceptive that SH&Co. was being treated as an extension of BBC Sherlock. So by EXTERNAL CONSEQUENCES, I will consider that SH&Co. Whether willingly or not, he suffers from the direct influence of BBCSH (and its fandom).
And then there's the Netflix problem. I haven't read the Enola books (yet), and I have no idea how Holmes is adapted in her books. But Henry Cavill Holmes is a consequence of BBCSH and RDJ. It's as if they had a son, but he clearly pulled Sherlock's hair more (BBCSH).
And Irregulars, only Netflix know where they got their inspiration from to do that. And Holmes is sloppy again, it's RDJ's fault. And taking inspiration from Sherlock in New York, Netflix's Holmes also abandons his daughter even though he says he loves the child's mother more than anything. Eleven worse, Irregulars Holmes neglects his daughter for FIFTEEN YEARS, but her mother is the love of his life and could let the world end if they could be together. And for some reason Watson loves that jerk.
(also is like benedict and jonny lee miller had a child)
And the light at the end of the tunnel came, unexpectedly, from the CW. Finally an adaptation that is not based on another adaptation, that despite the original approach, it is still noticeable that it is in fact based on the canon and does not suffer from the influence of other adaptations.
This is based on a twitter discussion, but mostly on a comment from an oomf.
English is not my first language, I am smarter in Brazilian Portuguese
This is incredibly interesting and insightful, and I would like to add a few comments, as someone else who can't help but feel slightly disappointed by certain adaptations.
Generally, I (surprisingly) find older Holmes adaptations, such as Rathbone/Bruce, somehow more faithful to the canon, even though there are clear problems with characterisations (I mention Bruce, despite finding his version of Watson very far removed from the canon). On the whole, these Holmeses are more connected to the 'oddness' which is integral to Holmes: he is never written to be a smooth, suave, debonair seducer, he's noted to be quite unusual and struggles to follow social cues, but not to the point of extreme rudeness. In fact, his peculiarity makes him somewhat charming. So, yes, Peter Cushing's Holmes could be quite harsh at times, but he was still human (it's been a while since I've watched Cushing adaptation's, so correct me if I'm wrong) and wasn't presented as 'eye candy'.
Of course, I can hardly forget Jeremy Brett's Holmes, and will never forgo an opportunity to gush over him and his commitment to accuracy. Personally, I believe that the Brett/Hardwicke/Burke adaptation is the most accurate.
Then we move to the 2000s, and OP is entirely correct on the focus shift to Irene Adler, a character who was only in one story and not mentioned much afterwards. That's not to say she wasn't important, she certainly was, but not in being a sort of sexual awakening as many adaptations make her out to be.
Modern Holmeses are, yes, quite different from the canon, that goes without saying. Part of me argues that, perhaps this is to match the effect of Holmes' character on a Victorian audience with a modern day audience. Meaning, certain features of his character which might not be a big deal now might have been a massive focus when originally written. To use an example entirely different from this, if a 19th century author might want to convey that a character was 'indecent' they might mention a 'reveal' of an ankle or even a thigh, maybe a hairstyle not done as neat as others (God forbid, a woman might have her hair down in the presence of a man). These days, if an author wanted their character to be a bit slutty, there will be a reveal of more than just a thigh... So, these two separate audiences will still have the same emotion conveyed upon them. Going back to Holmes, what was considered rude in the Victorian era isn't as rude these days (or the social etiquette has differed all round), so modern Holmeses need to be ruder than the canon, so we still have that effect.
But here, I disagree with myself, because even in the Victorian era, Holmes was never as rude as House, for example. Or, in the case of RDJ, Holmes was never described to be a slob; his rooms were untidy, yes, but his appearance mattered to him and he made sure to look after himself (in this case, I have to argue that the likes of Cumberbatch with his expensive hair products and Burberry coat are more akin to the canon).
Now that I have mentioned BBCSherlock, I have to admit that I do really enjoy this show still, despite holding back screams at certain moments (most moments). Honestly, I think Watson is mischaracterised just as often in all adaptations, both modern and 20th century, but in terms of the BBC version, I think this Holmes is the closest to canon. Arguments of queerbait aside, (yes, I maintain that they were queerbaiting, but enough has been said about that) I think Cumberbatch!Holmes is more applicable for the argument that his characterisation was trying to have the same effect on the audience as the canon, rather than matching the canon. Yes, rude, but there were just as many moments of genuine human kindness, love even, and he had big emotions, just like the canon. (He did call himself a sociopath but I maintain to this day that was him trying to find a word for himself and being very incorrect, but enough about BBCSherlock.)
I have never liked Enola Holmes (no hate to the creators or people involved); not because I thought the movie was bad, I just wonder why they bothered to relate it to Sherlock Holmes if it was going to be so far removed. I understand that it was an adaptation of a children's book series, so I won't comment on the plot, but I specifically remember watching the movie and wondering what the point of Cavill's Holmes was. It wasn't that he was 'too' good-looking, but he was, dare I say, useless. I'll admit, I can't remember the story entirely, but I was underwhelmed by Holmes' intelligence. No, he needn't be a superhuman, but being clever is a pretty difficult point to miss from Holmes' character.
All this being said (and, yes, I could go on and on about my opinions on all the adaptations I've consumed), I'm going to offer a little bit of mercy to Holmes adapters. As much as I would want a perfect near enough word for word adaptation of the canon (with Johnlock, of course) I understand that, in the modern day, people always want something new. It must be difficult to remain faithful to a story which has been told over and over without boring the audience. Therefore, there's an action movie Holmes made when superhero movies were popular; a TV series whose budget substantially increased and had a wider audience then intended, so had more convoluted storylines which slowly became less connected to the canon; and a Holmes which was more appeasable to a younger crowd, specifically targeted at younger girls and giving them a new character to look up to (even though I dislike it, I recognise that Enola Holmes was intended to be a role-model, and I do respect that).
Take Shakespeare for example: so many people are adaptating his works into so many different versions; i.e, Romeo and Juliet in modern-day America with guns and ecstasy; The Merchant of Venice set during WW2; The Taming of the Shrew with swapped genders; and so on. Writers constantly want to excite/confuse/intrigue the audience in ways which haven't been done, and after many years and many adaptations, the list begins to run out.
Still, I do feel disappointed by what Holmes has become. OP's original statement, 'Sherlock Holmes became an adaptation of an adaptation' is so true, and it does come to a point where it's not an adaptation but an inspiration. In my opinion, I'd argue that House MD is more inspired by Holmes then adapting the canon, since there aren't really many exact plot points included, aside from (spoilers!!) a faked death, drug usage and homoerotic longing. I seriously don't think there's a problem with that, we can't reinvent the wheel, but it would be nice if creators would recognise that the Holmes and Watson they are presenting are not the real Holmes and Watson.
On that note, Fawx&Stallion is a Holmes adaptation worthy of being mentioned- those creators understand Holmes, and that is clear to see.
drew over something i wrote for a class and liked :] sorry the cars are lowkey ugly, its because I fucking hate cars and cant be bothered to learn what they look like beyond ominous hunks of metal
i truly cannot tell if you're some kind of lesbian or gay man or cis guy or bisexual or a straight woman or a furry or some fucked up combination but i do know you're a cunt
please please please talk about christian art history and the meanings behind how halos are depicted
[DISCLAIMER: I was raised Roman Catholic and I studied Religious Philosophy/Italian Renaissance Art- I am not associated with the Catholic church currently but I have interest towards keeping information accurate and effective in this field.]
