Sherlock Holmes was a male Human detective from 19th century England often partnered with John Watson. A legendary figure thanks to his exploits being chronicled in stories and novels by author Arthur Conan Doyle -- to the degree that in the 20th century his existence as a real person was a matter of debate -- he was on several occasions involved in the adventures of the Doctor and Bernice Summerfield and in the affairs of Faction Paradox.
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Holmes had several notable relatives: Siger, Sherringford, Mycroft and Genevieve.
Early in his career, a murder investigation led Holmes to become involved with the intrigues of Faction Paradox and the Celestis (FP: Erasing Sherlock).
The Doctor lived for a year as practically a neighbor of Holmes as he abided in a house at 107 Baker Street in Victorian London (BFA: The Haunting of Thomas Brewster).
In 1887, Holmes and Watson assisted the Doctor in battling Azathoth (NA: All-Consuming Fire). At least in the Doctor's only timeline, the Doctor had met Holmes before (NA: Timewyrm: Revelation). Later that year, Holmes and Watson travelled to Cheldon Bonniface 2010 to attend the wedding of Bernice Summerfield and Jason Kane, uncovering the schemes of the Master during the festivities (NA: Happy Endings). Bernice's further adventures would eventually reaquaint her with Holmes's family (BFBS: The Adventure of the Diogenes Damsel).
Perhaps in tribute to Holmes, the Fourth Doctor adopted the detective's trademark style of dress during a visit to 19th century London. (DW: The Talons of Weng-Chiang)
Conan-Doyle got tired of writing fiction about Holmes, and wrote a (possibly fictional) story where a villain, Professor Moriarty, caused Holmes' death. This failed to stick. (DWM: Character Assassin)
Afterlife
Like all human and human-descended life, Holmes was reborn into the City of the Saved but, thanks to the Remembrance Tank technology of The Remote, multiple versions of him were created by the populace, most based on film and television versions of the character rather than on the historical figure himself. Many of these Holmes iterations joined together to establish the Great Detective Agency (FP: Of the City of the Saved...).
Other information
Holmes' status as fiction
A noted above, different accounts attribute disparate levels of "reality" to Holmes, variously suggesting that he existed as -
- A real person named Sherlock Holmes.
- A fictionalized version of a real person, not named Sherlock Holmes. This account holds that while Holmes and his friend John Watson were authentic historical figures, Holmes and Watson were not their real names, but that Watson rendered his experiences with the great detective into fiction and published them through his literary agent Arthur Conan Doyle (NA: All-Consuming Fire). To further disguise the identity of his clients, Conan Doyle instructed his illustrators to dress 'Holmes' in the deerstalker and cape the Doctor had been wearing when the writer met him in 1880 (MA: Evolution). In accordance with this, the most substantial information regarding Holmes' encounters with the Doctor and his companions has been provided in the subjective form of diary entries written by Bernice Summerfield and 'Watson' (NA: All-Consuming Fire, Happy Endings).
- A wholly fictional character. The Doctor himself once said so (DWM: Funhouse) or, in a a later incarnation implied as much (NA: Timewyrm: Revelation).
- Indeterminate. Some who've made his acquaintance, such as Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart, still seem to regard him as not-quite real (BFBS: The Final Amendment).
While specificlly discussing Holmes, The Doctor has hinted (NA: Timewyrm: Revelation, EDA: The Gallifrey Chronicles) that no clear boundary between "fiction" and "reality" exists.
Behind the Scenes
A further connection between the Doctor Who Universe and Holmesian fiction exists in that the Cold (TN: Time and Relative) reappears in one of Kim Newman's Diogenes Club short stories.
The ambiguity of whether an actual Sherlock Holmes existed, or if Doyle based his stories on the activities of a real man, has sparked ongoing real-life debate among Doyle aficionados.
See also
