Q. Why did Sherlock Holmes measure the Monopoly Board?
A. To see if the game was a-foot.
With humour like that, it's no wonder we were passed over as script writers for the new adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, which begins on BBC1 this Sunday at 9pm. The show is scripted, however, by two of Britain's finest: Steven Moffat of Dr Who fame, and Mark Gatiss, late of the League of Gentlemen.
Sherlock punts the famous detective into our own times, with ponderously syllabled Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role and The Office's Martin Freeman as Dr Watson. Rupert Graves also features, as Inspector Lestrade.
It's not the first time the duo have sleuthed outside their customary era. The execrable Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century saw Holmes revived, Futurama-style, in the far future and paired with a robotic Watson. And then, of course, there was the patchy and canonically troubling Young Sherlock Holmes, set a couple of decades before the Conan-Doyle stories.
This new set-up begins with a three-part adventure cheekily dubbed 'A Study In Pink'. You can watch the trailer, which features numerous eye-candy shots of modern London landmarks, here.
See also:
All the Sherlock Holmes stories mapped.
Our interview with Lionel Wigram, creator of the recent Sherlock Holmes movie.
Proof that Vladimir Putin is Sherlock Holmes.
A genuine and touching letter from a fan to Sherlock Holmes.
