Popular Culture References To Sherlock Holmes - Characters Modelled On Holmes

Characters Modelled On Holmes

• The long running Japanese manga and anime Detective Conan (released as Case Closed in English due to copyright issues) was also heavily influenced by Sherlock Holmes, with the main character himself taking after Holmes and giving himself a nickname based on Sir Arthur's middle name. In the movie The Phantom of Baker Street Conan goes into a virtual Victorian London a computer simulated Holmes and Watson don't appear due to working on another case (Hound of the Baskervilles) but Moriarty and Irene Adler do.

• The main character in House M.D., Gregory House, is based on Sherlock Holmes, particularly with regard to drug use and his desire (and capacity) to solve the unsolvable. House uses Holmesian deductive techniques to diagnose his patients' problems. References to the sleuth range from the obvious (House's apartment number being 221B) to the subtle (his friendship with Dr. James Wilson and the similarities between the names House and Holmes, and Wilson and Watson). In the very first (pilot) episode the patient's last name is Adler, and in the last episode of season two, a character named Moriarty appears and nearly kills House.

• The character of Gil Grissom from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has a more than passing similarity to Sherlock Holmes. Like Holmes, Grissom is dispassionate with a fierce devotion to logic and little regard for societal norms of behavior; Grissom once smashed mustard jars in a grocery store to illustrate a theory, similarly, Holmes once practiced spearing a pig at a market to determine how strong a man would have to be to transfix a man with a harpoon. Grissom also possesses a Moriarty-like nemesis, Paul Millander, whom he pursues in several episodes. Coincidentally, "Paul Millander" has the same initials as "Professor Moriarty." There's also a woman, Lady Heather, in whom he takes an unusual interest, their relationship is similar to that of Irene Adler and Holmes. Both Irene and Lady Heather enchant Holmes and Grissom with their beauty, their wit and their resolution. Lady Heather is, almost always, wearing Victorian dresses which are reminiscent to Holmes' era.

• The character of Robert Goren from Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

• The characters and basic structure of the television series Monk were inspired by the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Adrian Monk's name is intended to be unusual like the name Sherlock Holmes. Other characters correspond to Holmes equivalents: Sharona Fleming and Natalie Teeger are the equivalents of Dr. Watson; SFPD Captain Leland Stottlemeyer is the equivalent of Scotland Yard's Inspector Lestrade; and Adrian's brother Ambrose Monk corresponds with Sherlock's brother, Mycroft Holmes. It was even revealed in one episode that Adrian's detective skills were brought about from when his father read him Sherlock Holmes stories every night before bed when he was little. He was apparently able to solve the crime early on in the story.

• The comic book character Batman was partially inspired by Sherlock Holmes. Over time the characters of the Batman family have started to assimilate certain characteristics of Doyle's characters. Batman resembles Holmes himself, making use of his wide knowledge of peculiar things in order to solve cases, as seen most prominently in Detective Comics. Also like Holmes Batman has an immense knowledge in different hand to hand combat techniques that range from boxing to Asian martial arts. Alfred Pennyworth was retconned and now is a former British Army Medic who serves as Batman's confidant in moments of doubt and in head-scratching cases, and in Superman/Batman it is revealed that he writes about Batman and his cases. Alfred also often shows concern for Batman's health. The character thus parallels Dr. Watson in many ways. Dick Grayson, the former Robin, was first conceived as Batman's "Watson" as then Batman writer and co-creator of Robin, Jerry Robinson, thought Batman "needed someone to talk to". The current Robin Tim Drake was introduced as an amateur detective who emulates Batman's methods and wants to learn from him. In this Tim resembles Inspector Stanley Hopkins. However, Batman is his own character, and most of these similarities have come naturally rather than forced. Indeed the similarities between Batman and Holmes could be compared to the similarities between C. Auguste Dupin and Holmes.