0:00:07.799,0:00:10.474 More than a century after first emerging 0:00:10.474,0:00:14.500 into the fog-bound,[br]gas-lit streets of Victorian London, 0:00:14.500,0:00:18.231 Sherlock Holmes [br]is universally recognizable. 0:00:18.231,0:00:21.483 Even his wardrobe and accessories[br]are iconic: 0:00:21.483,0:00:22.998 the Inverness cape, 0:00:22.998,0:00:24.445 deerstalker hat, 0:00:24.445,0:00:26.250 and calabash pipe, 0:00:26.250,0:00:29.725 and figures such as his best friend[br]and housemate Doctor Watson, 0:00:29.725,0:00:31.785 arch-nemesis Moriarty, 0:00:31.785,0:00:33.974 and housekeeper Mrs. Hudson 0:00:33.974,0:00:37.161 have become part of the popular[br]consciousness, 0:00:37.161,0:00:40.860 as have his extraordinary,[br]infallible powers of deduction 0:00:40.860,0:00:42.959 utilized in the name of the law, 0:00:42.959,0:00:44.660 his notorious drug use, 0:00:44.660,0:00:49.230 and his popular catchphrase,[br]"Elementary, my dear Watson." 0:00:49.230,0:00:52.420 And yet many of these most recognizable[br]features of Holmes 0:00:52.420,0:00:56.155 don't appear in Arthur Conan Doyle's[br]original stories. 0:00:56.155,0:01:00.499 Doyle's great detective solves[br]crimes in all sorts of ways, 0:01:00.499,0:01:02.240 not just using deduction. 0:01:02.240,0:01:08.162 He speculates, and at times even guesses,[br]and regularly makes false assumptions. 0:01:08.162,0:01:10.901 Furthermore, Mrs. Hudson [br]is barely mentioned, 0:01:10.901,0:01:13.823 no one says, "Elementary, my dear Watson," 0:01:13.823,0:01:18.208 and the detective and his sidekick[br]live apart for much of the time. 0:01:18.208,0:01:21.707 Moriarty, the grand villain, [br]only appears in two stories, 0:01:21.707,0:01:25.508 the detective's drug use is infrequent[br]after the first two novels, 0:01:25.508,0:01:29.309 and Holmes is rarely enthralled[br]to the English legal system; 0:01:29.309,0:01:32.944 He much prefers enacting his own form[br]of natural justice 0:01:32.944,0:01:35.261 to sticking to the letter of the law. 0:01:35.261,0:01:38.607 Finally, many of the most iconic elements[br]of the Holmesian legend 0:01:38.607,0:01:40.444 aren't Doyle's either. 0:01:40.444,0:01:44.500 The deerstalker cap and cape[br]were first imagined by Sidney Paget, 0:01:44.500,0:01:47.042 the story's initial illustrator. 0:01:47.042,0:01:51.195 the curved pipe was chosen by[br]American actor William Gillette 0:01:51.195,0:01:55.094 so that audiences could more clearly see[br]his face on stage, 0:01:55.094,0:01:57.605 and the phrase, [br]"Elementary, my dear Watson," 0:01:57.605,0:02:01.722 was coined by author and humorist[br]P.G. Wodehouse. 0:02:01.722,0:02:04.487 So who exactly is Sherlock Holmes? 0:02:04.487,0:02:07.771 Who's the real great detective,[br]and where do we find him? 0:02:07.771,0:02:10.356 Purists might answer [br]that the original Sherlock 0:02:10.356,0:02:15.593 inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle's [br]university mentor Dr. Joseph Bell 0:02:15.593,0:02:17.011 is the real one. 0:02:17.011,0:02:21.768 But the fact remains that that version[br]of Sherlock has been largely eclipsed 0:02:21.768,0:02:24.477 by the sheer volume of interpretation, 0:02:24.477,0:02:28.048 leaving Doyle's detective [br]largely unrecognizable. 0:02:28.048,0:02:29.958 So there's another, more complex, 0:02:29.958,0:02:33.169 but perhaps more satisfying[br]answer to the question, 0:02:33.169,0:02:37.353 but to get there, we must first consider[br]the vast body of interpretations 0:02:37.353,0:02:39.159 of the great detective. 0:02:39.159,0:02:42.537 Since Conan Doyle's first story in 1887, 0:02:42.537,0:02:45.825 there have been thousands [br]of adaptations of Holmes, 0:02:45.825,0:02:50.939 making him perhaps the most adapted[br]fictional character in the world. 0:02:50.939,0:02:54.319 That process began with Victorian[br]stage adaptations, 0:02:54.319,0:02:57.083 and accelerated [br]with the emergence of film. 0:02:57.083,0:03:00.303 There were more than 100 film adaptations[br]of Holmes 0:03:00.303,0:03:03.784 in the first two decades [br]of the 20th century alone. 0:03:03.784,0:03:07.097 And since then, there have many thousands[br]more in print, 0:03:07.097,0:03:08.190 and on film, 0:03:08.190,0:03:09.063 television, 0:03:09.063,0:03:09.842 stage, 0:03:09.842,0:03:10.997 and radio. 0:03:10.997,0:03:13.727 Holmes has been reinterpreted[br]by people everywhere, 0:03:13.727,0:03:17.203 in remarkably different,[br]and often contradictory ways. 0:03:17.203,0:03:20.587 These adaptations demonstrate[br]both Holmes's popularity 0:03:20.587,0:03:22.746 and his malleability. 0:03:22.746,0:03:27.569 For instance, he featured in a number[br]of allied anti-Nazi propaganda films 0:03:27.569,0:03:29.311 during World War II. 0:03:29.311,0:03:32.074 And both Winston Churchill[br]and Franklin Delano Roosevelt 0:03:32.074,0:03:34.134 were avid enthusiasts, 0:03:34.134,0:03:37.586 the latter even joining [br]the Baker Street Irregulars, 0:03:37.586,0:03:39.997 a Holmesian appreciation society, 0:03:39.997,0:03:43.567 and nicknaming one secret service[br]hideout Baker Street. 0:03:43.567,0:03:45.397 And yet, at the very same time, 0:03:45.397,0:03:49.399 Holmes also appeared in various[br]German-language film adaptations, 0:03:49.399,0:03:54.385 some of which were said to have been[br]much-loved favorites of Adolf Hitler. 0:03:54.385,0:03:56.058 So let's return to our question. 0:03:56.058,0:03:59.185 Would the real Sherlock Holmes[br]please stand up? 0:03:59.185,0:04:03.910 The truth is that this world of adaptation[br]has made him into a palimpsest. 0:04:03.910,0:04:06.005 Sherlock is a cultural text, 0:04:06.005,0:04:11.382 repeatedly altered over time as each new[br]interpretation becomes superimposed 0:04:11.382,0:04:13.601 over those that proceed it. 0:04:13.601,0:04:16.369 This means that Sherlock [br]continually evolves, 0:04:16.369,0:04:20.323 embodying ideas and values [br]often far removed 0:04:20.323,0:04:22.521 from those found in Conan Doyle. 0:04:22.521,0:04:26.931 And after each particular story ends,[br]Sherlock rises again, 0:04:26.931,0:04:28.760 a little changed, perhaps, 0:04:28.760,0:04:32.626 with a new face and fresh mannerisms[br]or turns of phrase, 0:04:32.626,0:04:36.192 but still essentially Sherlock,[br]our Sherlock.