Love him or hate him, one can't deny the presence Sherlock Holmes has had over the past hundred years. Arguably the first pop culture icon, Sherlock has shown up on TV, in movies, on the radio, in comics, as action figures, etc. Before we had Trekkies, we had Holmies. There are groups, mostly in Britain, who gather together and try to figure out things like Sherlock's extended family. Never mind the fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle hasn't written a Sherlock story since 1927, and until we learn how to produce Trioxin, you guys have all the clues you're going to get (even if we did bring Sir Doyle to life, I think he'd be a bit occupied eating paramedics).

Many people have played the great detective over the years. For the most part, the title of "The Best Sherlock Holmes" comes down to Basil Rathbone vs. Jeremy Brett. Other actors include Alan Napier, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Frank Langella, Tom Baker, Edward Woodward, Charlton Heston, Roger Moore, Leonard Nimoy, Peter O'Toole and even Matt Frewer

. Now, something most of these actors have in common is that they play Sherlock Holmes as a very serious, possibly all-knowning, you-just-don't-want-to-mess-with-this-guy guy. Also, Sherlock's partner, Dr. Watson, is usually a big buffoon who has no idea what he is doing, a perfect counterpoint to Sherlock.

But what if? What if Sherlock was a goofy, life-loving guy who just happened to be super smart and a detective? What if Watson was pretty smart in his own right, and just as overly-British

Then you'd get "Sherlock Holmes," a 1954 American television show starring British actors and filmed in France. The show holds both the title of the first time Sherlock Holmes appeared on television, as well as being the only American-produced Sherlock series thus far.

The show was created by Sheldon Reynolds, who became one of the first successful television producers with his first show, "Foreign Intrigue." Looking for his next big thing, he decided to be the first person to adapt the great detective to the small screen. He chose to film in France (for money reasons, I'm sure), and hired two sons-of-famous-people to play the roles of Sherlock and Watson.

Though the show only ran one season, it was still a success, and despite being so different from most other adaptions of the great detective, it's still looked upon warmly by long-term TV fans. The follow are three episodes that aired through November of 1954.

The Case of the Pennsylvania Gun - FIRST AIRED NOVEMBER 1st, 1954

It should be pointed out that only one of Lord Doyle's stories was directly adapted for the show. The remaining 38 episodes were all original stories, many of them written by Sheldon Reynolds himself.

This episode begins with Holmes and Watson discussing a murder in Sussex, in which the Squire Douglas had his face blown off with a sawed-off shotgun in his home, a large mansion surrounded by a moat. The bridge was raised, and only two other people were in the mansion at the time: Douglas' wife, who is ruled other quickly, and Douglas' former business partner, John Morelle. Sherlock finds himself more interested in the moat then the murder, and decides he might as well take his fishing gear along.

Sherlock Holmes is played by Ronald Howard. Both an actor and poet, he seemed to find more success in his books then in his roles. For the most part, he was in crappy B-movies up through the 70s. Criterion Collection fans might recognize him as Gilbert in Anthony Asquith 1951 film The Browing Version (which is probably my favorite in the "british-boarding-schools-are-pretty-rotten" genre), but for the most part, Sherlock would become his most famous role.

Ronald Howard is probably best known as the son of Leslie Howard. A World War I vet turned actor, Leslie became a pretty popular star in Britian, his most famous role being that of Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. He also assisted Humphrey Bogart jump-start his career. However, World War II broke out, and Leslie felt the need to return to duty. He was killed when his plane was shot down by the Germans.

Anyway, back to Ronald Howard and Sherlock Holmes. As I mentioned before, this version of Sherlock Holmes is much more of a goofball then any other version. It's not say he isn't as talented at solving crimes as the other versions, he just simply does it with a smirk on his face instead of a frown. And it works. It really works. Sherlock is warm and inviting, and you feel much more drawn to him then his colder alternates. If your normal version of Sherlock Holmes is Batman, then the Ronald Howard version is Spider-Man in Batman's costume.

Sherlock and Watson make their way to Suxxex, where they meet up with the local Inspector MacLeod. He's convinced that John murdered Douglas, while John insists that a man swam across the moat, killed Douglas, and then jumped out the window and swam back out. MacLeod disproves this, however, by finding a spider web that would have been disturbed if someone jumped out the window. It seems like an open-closed case.

Of course, Sherlock knows better. Why does he know better? Because there's only one dumbbell in the house, and dumbbells comes in twos. This is how most of these episodes work. Sherlock presents the main clue half way into the story, but refuses to explain why it's a clue in the first place till the end. This is how it goes down:

-The other dumbbell was used to weigh down a package so it would sink in the moat.
-The package contained clothes.
-The clothes belong to the dead man.
-The dead man is not actually Douglas, but instead another business partner who got double-crossed.
-Douglas shoots him in the face, and puts his clothes on the dead body, sinking the dead guy's clothes in the moat.
-Douglas then makes his escape via secret passage.

All that, from a missing dumbbell. This is actually one of the more complicated episodes in the series, the rest of them are really a lot more simple. In fact, despite the fact that Sherlock spends half the episode fishing, it's probably the nearest in tone to an actual Doyle Sherlock Holmes story. Which can not be said about the next episode.

The Case of the Texas Cowgirl - FIRST AIRED NOVEMBER 8th, 1954

Yeeeah.

The episode opens with a covered wagon pulling up to Baker Street with "Bison Jake's Wild West Rodeo" printed on the side. Let me take a moment to say that the Baker Street set is really very nicely done, and you wouldn't have the faintest idea while watching the series that it was filmed in France.

In walks cowgirl Minnie O'Malley, caring a six-shooter and a lasso, and she's got a problem. She also has the most god awful "texas" accent you've ever heard, which sounds more like a lumpy Georgia accent. I know how American actors who try to imitate European accents generally get laughed at, but let's face it, the people over the sea are just as bad imitating us.

Anyway, despite her cheerful attitude, she's got a dead body on her hands. It seems that someone hacked up some fellow in her hotel room pretty good with a tomahawk. Instead of going to the police, O'Malley decides to hire Sherlock and Holmes to move the body to another room in the hotel. Why, what a nice girl.

Watson was played by Howard Marion-Crawford, and he's just perfect for the real. In fact, he played Watson-esque roles for most of his career. His most famous role outside of Sherlock was that of Dr. Petrie in several Dr. Fu Manchu movies through the 60s. Just like how Sherlock became funny without losing his skill, this version of Watson is smart without losing his super-Britishness. He actually helps Sherlock on his cases for once. Imagine that.

So, Sherlock and Watson, struck by O'Malley's theoretical beauty, move the dead body to the room across the hall. But then Sherlock leaves the murder weapon, which belongs to O'Malley, on the body. Hence, the clue that Sherlock will not explain till the end.

Actually, you know what, I'm not really sure how Sherlock solved this one. It turns out to be the guy in the room across the haul, who was the dead man's partner (it seems having a partner in anything is hazardous). I... I really don't know how this one is solved, and I just watched this episode.

Anyway, we're introduced to the third regular on the show, the bumbling Inspector Lestrade, the Sherlock Holmes anti-thesis. Here he's played by Archie Duncan, probably best remembered for playing Little John in the late 50s "Adventures of Robin Hood." The most noteworthy scene in this episode is Lestrade talking to the rodeo's trademark Native American.

Ah, good ol' 1950s bad taste.

The Case of the Belligerent Ghost - FIRST AIRED NOVEMBER 15th, 1954

Let's get on with it, shall we?

Watson has a story to tell. On his way from the pub, he stumbled on a man in far worse shape. Watson took the man to the man's apartment, just in time to watch his die. Sad for his inability to help the man, he stumbles back to the pub, drinks some more, and goes off the Sherlock's place, but on the way, runs into the dead man. Only he's not dead. He's so not dead, he's punching Watson in the face.

Well, that sets Watson off real good, so he and Sherlock go to check on the dead guy.

And he's dead again.

Ok, this one's real easy. Another guy dressed as the dead guy. In fact, most of these are pretty easy. That's the comment I've heard the most about this series. It's easy. Like they expect it to be an Encyclopedia Brown that they have to solve themselves. This isn't a bad thing, I think. The lack of complexity, the smile on Sherlock's face, this here is the TV equivalent of a popcorn movie. It's shallow, but rather enjoyable. There isn't a lot too it, it's just a show to let yourself go.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Some of the bigger Sherlock Holmes fans might find this show lacking. They want super-druggie in-deep-thought Sherlock, and they are not going to get it here. What for me, this show is fun. A bit simple, but fun. I wish more people would follow Ronald Howard's lead and try Sherlock Holmes as a more humorous, life-loving character. If your interested in the series, All 39 episodes are available through Mill Creek.

SCORE: B

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