Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century |
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Title card
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Genre | Action/Adventure Crime Science fiction Mystery |
Created by | Sandy Ross |
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 |
Composer(s) | Eric Allaman |
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 Entertainment, L.P. Scottish Television Enterprises |
Distributor | United States DIC Entertainment United Kingdom Scottish Television Enterprises Internationally Buena Vista International Television |
Release | |
Original network | United Kingdom ITV (CITV) Scottish Television United States Fox Kids (Season 1) Syndication (Season 2) |
Picture format | 4:3 |
First shown in | United Kingdom |
Original release | 6 May 1999 | – 21 July 2001
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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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 compu-droid 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. 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, 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, but was moved to air on Fox Kids.
Only the first 13 episodes were broadcast on ITV in 1999, ending with "The Musgrave Ritual" in August 1999. In the US, 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 in the U.S.
No. | Title | Written by | Original air date | U.S. airdate | Based on | |
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1 | "The Fall and Rise of Sherlock Holmes" | Phil Harnage | 6 May 1999 | 18 September 1999 | "The Final Problem" | |
In 1891, Sherlock Holmes battles his nemesis Professor Moriarty over the Reichenbach Falls, leading to their supposed demise after they fall off the bridge. In May 2103, 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 compu-droid Watson read Dr. Watson's journals to learn how to better assist Holmes, with the compudroid emulating Watson's persona.
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2 | "The Crime Machine" | Martha Moran | 13 May 1999 | 25 September 1999 | The Valley of Fear | |
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.
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3 | "The Hounds of the Baskervilles" | Martha Moran | 20 May 1999 | 2 October 1999 | The Hound 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.
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4 | "The Adventure of the Empty House" | Marv Wolfman | 27 June 1999 | 9 October 1999 | "The Adventure of the Empty House" | |
In July 2103, Holmes and Moriarty are apparently vaporized after falling into a laser grid. Watson and Lestrade investigate the case of Ronald Adair, a competitor in a laser-shooting tournament who was found frozen solid. He was frozen by a shooter with a ranged freezing weapon. It is revealed that Holmes and Moriarty survived, and the same shooter is after Holmes.
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5 | "The Crooked Man" | Terence Taylor and Eleanor Burian-Mohr | 20 June 1999 | 16 October 1999 | "The Crooked Man" | |
An argument is overheard between James Barclay and his wife, Nancy. Mr. Barclay disappears and Mrs. Barclay is found unconscious. Holmes and Watson interview Mrs. Barclay's friend while Lestrade looks into Mr. Barclay's company, Biotech. The case also involves Victor Morris, who was genetically altered as the result of a sabotaged experiment.
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6 | "The Adventure of the Deranged Detective" | Henry Gilroy | 4 July 1999 | 23 October 1999 | "The Adventure of the Dying Detective" | |
Holmes and Watson investigate after Lestrade suddenly becomes mindlessly aggressive during the investigation of a nanotechnology theft. The neurosurgeon Culverton Smith says she has had a mental breakdown but Holmes is sceptical. Holmes soon appears to have a breakdown himself.
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7 | "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire Lot" | Phil Harnage | 25 July 1999 | 30 October 1999 | "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire" | |
Lestrade asks Holmes and Watson to help investigate a vampire that has been seen draining data from government and bank computers. Moriarty intends to recruit the vampire as his ally.
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8 | "The Scales of Justice" | Ken Pontac | 4 June 1999 | 6 November 1999 | "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" | |
In August 2103, a theft occurs at a biotechnology company. Holmes finds an odd snake scale at the scene. This leads him Dr. Grimesby Roylott, an expert in snakes who may have been involved in the incident.
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9 | "The Resident Patient" | Robert Askin | 27 May 1999 | 13 November 1999 | "The Resident Patient" | |
Fenwick and Moriarty's other henchmen assume disguises, using technology invented by Dr. Blessington to make their DNA unrecognizable.
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10 | "The Sign of Four" | Phil Harnage | 18 July 1999 | 20 November 1999 | The Sign of the Four | |
Holmes and Watson accompany their latest client, Mary Morstan, to the moon, where she has been asked to meet someone named Thad Sholto.
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11 | "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" | Terence Taylor and Eleanor Burian-Mohr | 11 June 1999 | 27 November 1999 | "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" | |
A married couple, Hilton and Elsie Cubitt, are found unconscious. One of the clues about what happened to them is an email with a code in the form of a cartoon.
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12 | "The Musgrave Ritual" | Robert Askin | 1 August 1999 | 4 December 1999 | "The Musgrave Ritual" | |
Moriarty's henchman Fenwick steals the Musgrave sword, which has a cryptic ritual inscribed on it, from the British Museum. Holmes investigates and deciphers the ritual using a replica of the sword.
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13 | "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" | 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.
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14 | "Silver Blaze" | Robert Askin | 11 July 1999 | 31 January 2000 | "Silver Blaze" | |
Holmes investigates the disappearance of Silver Blaze, a racing spacecraft which is supposed to be piloted by John Straker in the upcoming Asteroid Belt Grand Prix.
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15 | "The Five Orange Pips" | Greg Johnson | – | 7 February 2000 | "The Five Orange Pips" | |
Joseph Openshaw, an "anti-tech" who dislikes modern technology, is startled when he receives five orange seeds and is apparently poisoned. He sends his young son John to bring Holmes to him. Holmes insists on bringing Watson despite objections from John and John's uncle Elias, who also distrust modern technology.
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16 | "The Red-Headed League" | Martha Moran | – | 14 February 2000 | "The Red-Headed League" | |
A restaurant owner named Carter Wilson is chosen to join the Red-Headed League, an exclusive society of red-headed men. Holmes is intrigued and investigates the League.
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17 | "The Man with the Twisted Lip" | Greg Johnson | – | 21 February 2000 | "The Man with the Twisted Lip" | |
Lois St. Clair asks Holmes to find her husband Neville. The investigation leads to a panhandler with a twisted lip.
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18 | "The Secret Safe" | Reed Shelly and Bruce Shelly | – | 31 March 2001 | "His Last Bow" | |
A burglary occurs at 10 Downing Street. It appears that only an African doll was taken, though Holmes suspects that the security system plans in a hidden safe were copied. A reclusive man called Lord Bork appears to be involved.
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19 | "The Adventure of the Second Stain" | Reed Shelly and Bruce Shelly | – | 21 April 2001 | "The Adventure of the Second Stain" | |
A holodisc containing a security code is stolen from an intelligence agent named Mark Trenton. Holmes is brought in by the intelligence agency to find the disc. Trenton's wife and another agent named Edward Lucas appear to be connected to the case.
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20 | "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" | Ken Pontac | – | 28 April 2001 | "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" | |
A blood regenerating device is stolen from the safe of a scientist named Victor Hatherley. Hatherley's thumbprint is needed to open the safe.
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21 | "The Gloria Scott" | Woody Creek | – | 12 May 2001 | "The Gloria Scott" | |
Victor Trevor comes to Holmes believing his father is being blackmailed by a man named Hudson. Victor found a cryptic message in his father's papers which contains the words Gloria and Scott. Following the clues, Holmes discovers that Mr. Trevor was once (falsely) convicted and transported on a prison shuttle, the Riley (the ship's full name was the Gloria Scott Riley). However, a fellow prisoner started a riot on the spaceship and left it adrift in space while he and the other prisoners fled to Earth and started new lives.
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22 | "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" | Martha Moran | – | 19 May 2001 | "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" | |
One of the last six Napoleon Excelsior cars ever built is vandalized, though nothing is taken and only the decorative crystals on the luxury car are damaged. Another of the cars is also vandalized in the same manner. Holmes believes that there is something deeper about these incidents, perhaps going back to the manufacturing.
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23 | "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" | Ken Pontac | – | 26 May 2001 | "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" | |
Alice, Lestrade's friend from college, is engaged to Professor Jacob Presbury. Holmes investigates after a strange gorilla-like creature appears at Alice's window. Meanwhile, Edith, Lestrade's other friend from college, is Professor Presbury's daughter and believes Alice is after her inheritance.
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24 | "The Adventure of the Beryl Board" | Terence Taylor and Eleanor Burian-Mohr | – | 23 June 2001 | "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" | |
The Beryl Board, a new processor, was stolen from the home of Alexander Holder, where Holder was keeping the board as collateral for a loan. Holder's son was caught with a piece of the board and arrested for the theft, but Holmes believes he may be innocent.
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25 | "The Adventure of the Mazarin Chip" | Gildart Jackson | – | 30 June 2001 | "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" | |
Moriarty and Fenwick steal the Mazarin Chip, a microchip which can be used to create virtual environments instantly, and kidnap the Prime Minister. Holmes uses a waxwork likeness of himself to catch Moriarty in a trap.
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26 | "A Case of Identity" | Robert Askin | – | 21 July 2001 | "A Case of Identity" | |
Lestrade is told she must work with a rookie partner, Constable Abner Angel. Holmes searches for a jewel thief named Linus Beaumont who escaped after being caught by New Scotland Yard.
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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.
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. 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.
See also
In Spanish: Sherlock Holmes en el siglo XXII para niños