History Series / SherlockHolmes

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: At first it appears that the villains of "The Solitary Cyclist" have won, since Woodley has forced Violet to marry him by the time the heroes find them and Carruthers doesn't manage to kill him -- but Holmes points out that firstly, the priest involved in the plot was defrocked and not legally allowed to officiate a wedding, plus they very likely got the marriage license through dishonest means; and second, a forced marriage is not only not recognised by English law, it's a serious felony.

* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: In both the original story and episode "The Priory School" Holmes snarkily taunts the Duke, first over his reluctance for Holmes to investigate his son's disappearance, and later when demanding payment for solving the case before telling the Duke the solution. In the story, Holmes does so as a strategy, because [[spoiler:he has already deduced the Duke has recovered his son and is shielding the kidnapper]]. The episode changes this but keeps the snarking, making Holmes seem needlessly cruel.[[note]]However, Holmes' snarking could also be recontextualized as that he still knows that the Duke knows who the kidnapper is.[[/note]]
** Because "The Norwood Builder" was adapted for the second series of the Adventures rather than the Return, the adaptation drops Holmes' reference to Professor Moriarty (who hasn’t yet been introduced in the show), but retains Holmes' complaint that there are no more interesting crimes in London. Two episodes later, in The Red-Headed League, Holmes displays clear and presumably long-standing familiarity with Moriarty's work, painting him as the backbone of the criminal world and one of his most formidable antagonists, which rather undercuts his earlier complaints of boredom.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Mortimer Tregennis, in "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot"]], to the point where Holmes and Watson actually ''let his murderer go free.''

* BigWordShout: "''HOOOLMES!''"

** There's really no reason why we should see Holmes's silver cigarette case at the end of "The Red-headed League"... except for the fact that we then recognize it for what it is at the climax of "The Final Problem".

** In "The Greek Interpreter", [[spoiler:Harold Latimer]] was stabbed off-page after escaping England. Here, he attempts to escape Holmes by jumping off a train... and the door swings into another train's path.

** In "The Greek Interpreter", Paul Kratides was gassed to death in the original story. Here it's stated he was beaten to death.

* GetOut: At the end of "The Blue Carbuncle," the terrified and guiltstricken culprit begs Holmes for mercy. Holmes tells him, somewhat disgustedly, simply to get out (meaning that he will not report the crime).

* OlderThanTheyLook: Jeremy Brett and David Burke usually look no older than forty, though they were about ten years older when the episodes were filmed. To turn this thing on its head, Holmes and Watson themselves ought to be YoungerThanTheyLook, as neither of them would have been older than their thirties in most of these episodes. As for Jeremy Brett and Charles Grey, Grey actually was seven years older than Brett, the exact age difference between Mycroft and Sherlock, but Grey looks a lot older than that - standing side by side, you'd think that Mycroft in the series is at least seventeen years Sherlock's senior rather than seven.

* OrphanedPunchline: shows up in ''The Copper Beeches''.

* OvershadowedByAwesome Watson's a pretty intelligent, capable soldier, but he always stands in Holmes's shadow. In real life, this was one of the reasons David Burke left the show, as he felt that he didn't really do much of anything.

** An appropriately Holmsian one in "The Solitary Cyclist", after Woodley backhands Holmes and Holmes [[TheCoatsAreOff calmly removes and hangs up his coat]].

* PromotedToOpeningCredits: In the adaptations of the canonical stories featuring Mycroft - "The Greek Interpreter" and "The Bruce-Partington Plans" Charles Gray was billed as a guest star. But when he was brought in to fill in for Watson and Sherlock for two episodes during "The Memoirs" season he was billed in the opening titles.

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Holmes's retort to Watson's mild remonstrance at the end of "The Blue Carbuncle." After a startling outburst, Holmes explains that he "may be commuting a felony, but I am saving a soul."

* WhatTheHellHero: Holmes and Watson’s first conversation in “A Scandal in Bohemia” involves Watson tearing into Holmes because of his drug addiction because it will destroy his deductive powers as time goes on.
* WickedStepmother: "The Speckled Band" has a wicked step''father'' who dominates his stepdaughters, kills one, and plots to kill the other so their marriages don't take away his portion of their mother's inheritance.

* AbsenteeActor: Edward Hardwicke was off filming ''Film/{{Shadowlands}}'' when "The Golden Pince-Nez" was in production, so Mycroft replaces Watson. An even more extreme example was Brett's illness preventing him from appearing in more than three minutes of "The Mazarin Stone" - again, Charles Grey stepped in as Mycroft.[[note]]Both episodes are generally highly regarded by fans, and Brett's three minutes in "The Mazarin Stone"are used to excellent effect. Interestingly that story is one of the few from which Watson is originally (mostly) absent, and not the narrator, since ACD originally created it as a stage play.[[/note]]

* SpotOfTea: In "The Norwood Builder", Watson returns home to find Holmes in utter despair over the case and refusing to eat. Watson's first move is to pour him a cup of tea.

* ContrivedCoincidence: "Dying Detective" has Holmes give a ''blistering'' lampshade on the "coincidence" of Culverton Smith inheriting a fortune from a relative who just died of an exotic disease - a disease that Smith happens to be the only authority on in London.

** As does [[spoiler: the murderer of the drunken, abusive Sir Eustace Brackenstall in "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange"]].

** The Eligible Bachelor - based on The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor - turns its [[spoiler:title character from simply an arrogant aristocrat into a sadistic BigBad who [[TheBluebeard kills his first wife]] and imprisons his second.]]

** [[spoiler:The eponymous Eligible Bachelor becomes a true villain, which he was not in the original story]].

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Mortimer Tregennis]], to the point where Holmes and Watson actually ''let his murderer go free.'' [[spoiler: Milverton's killer]] gets the same treatment.

** Moriarty becomes the mastermind of "The Red-Headed League" as a nice bit of foreshadowing before the next episode, ''The Final Problem"

** Because “The Norwood Builder” was adapted for the second series of the Adventures rather than the Return, the adaptation drops Holmes’ reference to Professor Moriarty (who hasn’t yet been introduced in the show), but retains Holmes’ complaint that there are no more interesting crimes in London. Two episodes later, in The Red-Headed League, Holmes displays clear and presumably long-standing familiarity with Moriarty’s work, painting him as the backbone of the criminal world and one of his most formidable antagonists, which rather undercuts his earlier complaints of boredom.
*** This is compounded by Holmes making a very similar complaint in “The Copper Beeches”, just two episodes before “The Norwood Builder”.

** [[spoiler:Lady Hilda’s card]] in “The Second Stain” is later shown by Holmes to [=MacPherson=], the constable outside the Lucas house. When the constable recognizes it, Holmes ascertains that [[spoiler:Lady Hilda was the one responsible for moving the carpet and stole the document he’s been tracking.]]

** “The Cardboard Box” is set during Christmas time. It’s during the opening of gifts that the pair of severed ears are found.

** In “The Greek Interpreter”, Paul Kratides was gassed to death in the original story. Here it’s stated he was beaten to death.
** In “The Priory School”, Heidegger is beaten to death by Reuben Hayes in the original short story. Here, he is strangled.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Discussed in “The Abbey Grange” as Holmes and Inspector Hopkins wonder why Lady Brackenstall wasn’t killed like her husband.

* HatedByAll: Everyone claps when Holmes beats up Woodley in “The Solitary Cyclist”.

* HollywoodDarkness: in "The Empty House", the titular building is much more well lit than its ''pitch black'' book counterpart.

* SparedByTheAdaptation: In the original story “The Greek Interpreter”, Kemp was KilledOffscreen, presumably by Sophie. Here, he is arrested.

* StreisandEffect: In-universe in "The Crooked Man". Major Murphy makes every effort to keep the press away from the matter, which only makes clear to them that there's a big story.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Everyone claps when Holmes beats up Woodley in “The Solitary Cyclist”.

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Holmes and Watson, as a matter of fact. Their clothing seems to very deliberately reflect not only their coloring but their personalities, as well. Holmes is ALWAYS in black or grey (but usually black) - the only episode in the entire ''series'' in which he wears a color (cream) is in "The Naval Treaty". Watson, on the other hand, tends to wear brown, or a warm shade of grey (except for the ChristmasEpisode, in which he wears blue).

* EvolvingMusic: The violin solo that is the center piece of the theme song is reorchestrated to be more intricate every season.

** In "The Speckled Band", Watson has [[TheGhost an unseen man]] named Coombes who was in Calcutta around the same time that Dr. Roylott was, and it is he who tells Watson about Roylott's behavior outside of England.

* BigBad / DiabolicalMastermind / EvilGenius: Moriarty. He even gets an extra appearance in the series, courtesy of a FandomNod.

* DeadpanSnarker / GentlemanSnarker / TallDarkAndSnarky: Brett's Holmes lives and breathes this trope, as befits the original stories.

* ThemeTuneCameo: The music box Holmes displays at the end of "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" plays the series theme.

* CovertPervert: “The Six Napoleons” opens with the Venucci patriarch watching a woman washing herself from across the street while his children argue.

-->”The criminal mind has its quirks of conscience and scruples, in that respect it is as individual and curious as any other. A noted miser may be secretly charitable, so this violent Randall may draw the line at murdering an unconscious woman.”

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: At first it appears that the villains of "The Solitary Cyclist" have won, since Woodley has forced Violet to marry him by the time the heroes find them and Carruthers doesn't manage to kill him -- but Holmes points out that first the priest involved in the plot was unfrocked and not legally allowed to officiate a wedding, plus they very likely got the marriage license through dishonest means; and second, a forced marriage is not only not recognised by English law, it's a serious felony.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: At fist it appears that the villains of "The Solitary Cyclist" have won, since Woodley has forced Violet to marry him by the time the heroes find them and Carruthers doesn't manage to kill him -- but Holmes points out that firstly the priest involved in the plot was unfrocked and not legally allowed to officiate a wedding; and second, a forced marriage is not only not recognised by English law, it's a serious felony.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: At fist it appears that the villains of "The Solitary Cyclist" have won, since Woodley has forced Violet to marry him -- but Holmes points out that firstly the priest involved in the plot was unfrocked and not legally allowed to officiate a wedding; and second, a forced marriage is not only not recognised by the law, it's a serious felony.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: At fist it appears that the villains of "The Solitary Cyclist" have won, since Woodley has forced Violet to marry him -- but Holmes points out that firstly the priest who officiated the wedding was unfrocked and not legally allowed to perform the ceremony; and second, a forced marriage is not only not recognised by the law, it's a serious felony.

* ChekhovsGun: There's really no reason why we should see Holmes's silver cigarette case at the end of "The Red-headed League"... except for the fact that we then recognize it for what it is at the climax of "The Final Problem".

* ChristmasEpisode: "The Blue Carbuncle," complete with instrumental Christmas carols.

* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: In “The Priory School”, Heidegger is beaten to death by Reuben Hayes in the original short story. Here, he is strangled.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Holmes. He has his definite JerkAss moments, but it's equally clear that he has a good heart, and cares about justice and his clients' well-being as more than a simple exercise of intellect.

* ShoutOut:
** To Paget's original illustrations, amazingly enough. Keen-eyed fans can spot moments where Paget's illustrations for the story are reproduced ''exactly'', down to the furniture, and each person's ''position, pose and gesture''. The illustrations to each story are usually displayed in a montage during the closing credits.

* UnexplainedAccent: Wilson Kemp, a British almost Dickensian name, played by George Costigan, a British actor. So WhatTheHellIsThatAccent? Sounds like Jim Broadbent in Series/{{Blackadder}}.

* OldFriend: Athelney Jones' introductory attitude towards Holmes.

* SignatureLaugh: Not only is it one of the most adorable things about Brett's Holmes, it's one of the things his fellow actors remember the best about him.

** Basically the gist of Holmes's remonstrance to Watson after Watson's attempted reconnaissance in "The Solitary Cyclist".

* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: In both the original story and episode "The Priory School" Holmes snarkily taunts the Duke, first over his reluctance for Holmes to investigate his son's disappearance, and later when demanding payment for solving the case before telling the Duke the solution. In the story, Holmes does so as a strategy, because [[spoiler:he has already deduced the Duke has recovered his son and is shielding the kidnapper]]. The episode changes this but keeps the snarking, making Holmes seem needlessly cruel.