4 January 2000 (2000-01-04) – 2 October 2001 (2001-10-02)
Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes is a televisioncrime drama series created by David Pirie, and co-produced by the BBC and WGBH Boston, a PBS station.[1] Six episodes were made and were first broadcast on BBC Two, the first two on 4 and 5 January 2000, and the other four from 4 September to 2 October 2001.[2]
The series was inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's choice to base the character of Sherlock Holmes on Dr Joseph Bell, who had been his tutor at the University of Edinburgh and occasionally worked as a forensic expert for the Edinburgh Police. The series exaggerated the similarities between Bell and Holmes for dramatic effect, with Doyle acting much as Doctor Watson acts in Doyle's stories, and included several scenes from the books, the implication being that these inspire Doyle's fiction.[2]
Writing
One of the most notable references to Sherlock Holmes is a version of a scene in The Sign of Four in which Holmes deduces that a pocket watch provided by Watson was formerly owned by a drunkard, upon which a furious Watson believes that Holmes has callously acquired information about his unfortunate brother, to whom the watch had belonged, for the sake of a cheap trick. The series' version of the scene has Bell deduce the mental state of Doyle's father, inspiring much the same reaction. (This scene also appears in the otherwise unrelated drama The Strange Case of Arthur Conan Doyle, also by David Pirie.)
David Pirie also wrote three novels related to the series: The Patient's Eyes, The Night Calls and The Dark Water.[3]
The pilot, also sometimes referred to as a "Christmas Special", was first broadcast in two parts on BBC Two.[5] On 24 March 2003 the pilot was released on a DVD on which the two parts were edited into a single 100-minute film, removing more than 20 minutes of footage from the original broadcast.[6] The U.S. release of the DVD, for which the series was retitled Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle, followed in 2006. It retains the original two-part format.[7]
Following the "death" of Sherlock Holmes Doyle finds himself reflecting on his friendship with Dr Joseph Bell, as well as his long-ago romance with a fellow student, Elspeth Scott (Dolly Wells), the victim of a killer whom he and Bell failed to capture.
2
"The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes: Part 2" "Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle: Part 2 (U.S. Title)"
Paul Seed
David Pirie
5 January 2000 (2000-01-05)
4.27
When Elpseth's sister Lady Sarah Carlisle falls ill Doyle comes to believe that her husband, Sir Henry Carlisle, who is a Member of Parliament, may be behind some of the killings.
Series (2001)
After the pilot was critically acclaimed a series of four episodes was commissioned for BBC One. Although the response was initially positive, viewing figures quickly declined and the final episode of the series drew fewer than three million viewers. These episodes were released on DVD on 16 January 2012, but many fans criticised the decision to reduce the original 16:9 picture ratio to 4:3.[9] The U.S. release, which first circulated in 2006, retains the original 16:9 picture format.[10]
Doyle and Bell investigate the case of a woman who believes that she is being followed by an apparition of the man who killed her parents some years before, but Bell assures her that the killer was hanged many years ago and that there has to be another explanation.
Doyle and Bell investigate the deaths by strangling of two people whose bodies are found floating in a river. While Doyle finds himself captivated by spiritualism, Bell's suspicions lead him to a photographer who believes that he saw his wife's soul leave her body at the moment of death.
A museum curator hires Bell and Doyle to unwrap an Egyptian mummy, but they are surprised to discover that the body is that of a man who has been dead for only three weeks. The subsequent investigation uncovers a group of expatriate rebels plotting to create havoc.
Bell helps the police to investigate the murder of a moneylender, but an old animosity between him and the officer in charge leads to conflict. Matters become worse when Doyle sees merit in the lieutenant's theories rather than in Bell's.
Reception and cancellation
The series was produced by BBC Films, rather than the drama division. Following the conclusion of the four-episode series the decision was made not to recommission the series despite the critical acclaim for it. One BBC insider wryly commented that it was "too successful for the wrong department".[11]
