Saturday, April 7, 2018

'Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century' CS DVD+Digital: Perfect Animated Blend of Past and Future


The futuristic scifi aspect of the 1999-2001 animated series "Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century" makes the April 3, 2018 Mill Creek Entertainment CS DVD release including a code for a digital download very apt. The numerous reasons to love this one include Holmes material always being welcome, the clever concept being well-executed, and the theme song totally rocking.

This release also coincides with the spectacular Creek Blu-ray release of the (reviewed) 1965 live-action Holmes film "A Study in Terror." This one pits Holmes against Jack the Ripper.

The following YouTube clip of the opening credits of "Holmes" provides a good sense of the quality animation and overall well-done scifi elements of the series,


"Holmes" commences with a multi-story arc that perfectly ties traditional Holmes lore in with the fantastic (in both senses of the word) concept of the series. Police Inspector Beth Lestrade dealing with a previously effective process for literally eliminating the criminal element from the brains of neer-do-wells no longer working and this detective sighting the infamous 19th century Napoleon of Crime Professor James Moriarty prompts our feisty crime fighter to call in the big guns Jurassic Park style.

The effectively 400-pound T Rex this time is the body of Holmes, which has been preserved in honey in the period between his early 20th century death until 2123. This process goes smoothly, and the first consulting detective in the world soon is ready, willing, and able to work.

The next few episodes soon establish how a little help from his friends allows Moriarty to look so good for his age. We further witness a robocop transform into a reasonable facsimile of original Holmes partner-in-crime solving Dr. John Watson.

Getting everyone settled allows the space-age incarnations of Holmes, Lestrade, and Watson (with a little help from the junior squad known as the Baker Street Irregulars) get down to business. Many of these fun adventures are based on the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories that comprise pure Holmes canon.

These start with a moon-based version of "The Hounds of the Baskervilles." A Hell beast attacking teens prompts Holmes to investigate. As always is the case, employing "eyes and brains" and examining what remains after eliminating the impossible reveals the truth. In this case, the threat is far more serious than a scheme to probe Uranus.

These lead to a reworking of "The Adventure of the Empty House," which involves the typical episode element of using advanced science for evil rather than good, and a version of "The Crooked Man" that is more H.G. Wells than Arthur Conan Doyle. Two other notable homages that greatly respect the spirit of the source material are "The Red Headed League" and "The Sign of Four."

Deduction suggests that many parents will conclude that the most cool thing about this very cool series is that it diabolically encourages kids to read the Holmes stories while making them think that doing so is their own idea.

Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Holmes" is encouraged either to email me or to connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.









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