The Great Sherlock Holmes Debate focused on which modern adaptation is contributing most to Holmes' legacy. BBC Sherlock was presented as true to the canon while updating elements for modern audiences. It attracts a wide, diverse fan base and has won many awards. Warner Brothers' films were said to entertain mass audiences but may not introduce them to the original stories. The Traditionalists argued each generation rediscovers Holmes in their own way through different adaptations. The audience would vote after the debate to determine the winning side.

2. The Great Sherlock Holmes Debate 10 th November 2011 8pm GMT

13. True To The Canon “ Come at once if convenient -- if inconvenient come all the same.” - The Adventure of the Creeping Man

14. True To The Canon: Sherlock “’ Try the settee,’ said Holmes, relapsing into his armchair and putting his finger-tips together, as was his custom when in judicial moods.” - The Red Headed League “ It is quite a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes.” - The Red Headed League

15. True To The Canon: John “ The campaign brought honours and promotion to many, but for me it had nothing but misfortune and disaster. I was removed from my brigade and attached to the Berkshires, with whom I served at the fatal battle of Maiwand. There I was struck on the shoulder by a Jezail bullet, which shattered the bone and grazed the subclavian artery…” - A Study In Scarlet John Watson is a crack shot, and a better marksman than Holmes. He carries a service revolver with him. Most notable use in The Problem Of Thor Bridge wherein Holmes uses it to test a theory on how a homicide occurred.

16. True To The Canon: A Study In Pink “… his unanswered correspondence transfixed by a jackknife into the very centre of his wooden mantelpiece…” - The Musgrave Ritual "Quite so. The W. suggests your own name. The date of the watch is nearly fifty years back, and the initials are as old as the watch: so it was made for the last generation. Jewelry usually descends to the eldest son, and he is most likely to have the same name as the father. Your father has, if I remember right, been dead many years. It has, therefore, been in the hands of your eldest brother." - A Study In Scarlet

17. True To The Canon: A Study In Pink “ As he spoke, his nimble fingers were flying here, there, and everywhere, feeling, pressing, unbuttoning, examining, while his eyes wore the same far-away expression which I have already remarked upon. So swiftly was the examination made, that one would hardly have guessed the minuteness with which it was conducted.” - A Study In Scarlet "Why," I cried, "you have an aortic aneurism!" "That's what they call it," he said, placidly. "I went to a Doctor last week about it, and he told me that it is bound to burst before many days passed. It has been getting worse for years..." - A Study In Scarlet

18. True To The Canon: The Blind Banker - The Adventure of The Dancing Men Cipher that can only be broken with a similar book and a woman fleeing from a group of criminals. - The Valley of Fear

19. True To The Canon: The Great Game “ I have always held, too, that pistol practice should be distinctly an open-air pastime; and when Holmes, in one of his queer humours, would sit in an armchair with his hair-trigger and a hundred Boxer cartridges and proceed to adorn the opposite wall with a patriotic V. R. done in bullet-pocks, I felt strongly that neither the atmosphere nor the appearance of our room was improved by it.” - The Musgrave Ritual "But the Solar System!" I protested. "What the deuce is it to me?" he interrupted impatiently; "you say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work.“ - A Study In Scarlet

20. True To The Canon: The Great Game “ ‘ All that I have to say has already crossed your mind,’ said he.” “ ‘ Then possibly my answer has crossed yours,’ I replied.” - The Final Problem “ I would try to convince you, but everything I have to say has already crossed your mind.” “ Probably my answer has crossed yours.” - The Great Game

21. John Watson: The Original Narrator John Watson is the original narrator and audience surrogate. Audience members are meant to identify with him to a certain extent. Doyle wasn't always kind to him and said himself that he thought him “rather stupid”. In the modern update, John is a well-educated man who has enough medical and military training and education under his belt to have been a field medic in the war in Afghanistan. However, he returns home traumatised, injured, and without friends. Living with Sherlock allows him to put to use the skills he has, and to cope with the mundanity of civilian life. By developing him as a character and giving him a great amount of quality screen time, it's made clear that he is more than just a sidekick.

22. London We contend that rather than being a barrier, the modern setting is an incredible asset to the series’ presentation, not least in it’s depiction of London as not just a city, but also effectively an additional, secret character. Against the dodgy geography, historical inaccuracy, and steampunk flavour of the Ritchie version, the city in ‘Sherlock’ is grounded, mysterious and very real, more so than any period version of the place could hope to achieve. The major unsung benefit of the modern day setting is the ability to use the city as it is, rather than rely on green screen, soundstages, and historic buildings which is an approach both a traditional adaptation or the Warner Brother’s film must take, thus grounding us completely and allowing the narrative and characterisation to sing incredibly strongly.

23. The Updated Setting The updated setting is a key point to the new show's success. Amazing as Sherlock Holmes is, we generally tend to feel that he is inextricably linked to the Victorian age. Updating the setting in a way that shows that Sherlock Holmes still has something to say in an age where modern forensics exist is a great idea, and the execution is magnificent. The world is completely modern and the episodes are enjoyable even for people who have not read the original stories, yet they are also rife with canon references, some of them so obscure that they please old-time Sherlockians (most prominently, James Philomel as the name of the boy who went to fetch his umbrella).

24. The Updated Setting We love the ingenious way in which Arthur Conan Doyle's characters have been adapted for the 21st century. Holmes, Watson, Lestrade, Mycroft Holmes, Mrs Hudson - they are the same personalities, but they are people of today and entirely at home in our world. They are not Victorian characters awkwardly slotted into a world of electronics and all those scientific and social advances that we now take for granted. Not everyone understands/appreciates/enjoys what the Victorian setting is about. Sherlock makes Sherlock Holmes more accessible to people. The average person may not be able to connect to the idea of handsome cabs, Victorian London, or telegrams. But people today can easily relate to a London black cab, cell phones/text messages, and blogging.

28. BBC Sherlock’s Popularity The series won the BAFTA award for “best drama series”, with Martin Freeman winning "best supporting actor" for his role as Doctor Watson. The show was also nominated for the "YouTube Audience Award" and Cumberbatch had been nominated for “best actor.”

30. BBC Sherlock: The 21 st Century’s Sherlock Holmes Sherlock is the ultimate proof that as long as you treat classic characters with complete and total respect, it doesn’t matter where you place them in time. They will endure. So really, what better way to contribute to Holmes in the 21 st century than an adaptation set in the present day that thus focuses on the characters, rather than the era in which it is set? What BBC Sherlock does is prove Sherlock Holmes is a character that translates to an audience no matter what time period he is presented in. Anyone who watched BBC Sherlock knows, even though it's set in 21st century London, it's still Sherlock Holmes. The man who sees things no one else can. It's the stories ACD wrote over a hundred years ago that people are enjoying. It doesn't matter where it's set.

31. Sherlock screen caps from http://sc.aithine.org/sherlock Many thanks to The Baker Street Babes (Kristina, Ardy, Jenn, & Taylor), Sherlockology (Emma, Jules, & David), Dan Andriacco, Charlotte Walters, Roger Johnson, Tracy Revels, and Kate Workman for their amazing help and arguments.

33. Holmes-a-Vision: That’s Entertainment! A world market for adventure that expects explosions, thrills, excitement… $500 million USD = 50 million people worldwide?

34. Holmes-a-Vision: That’s Entertainment! Head cocked to the left. Partial deafness in ear. First point of attack. Two. Throat. Paralyze vocal cords. Stop screaming. Three. Got to be heavy drinker. Floating rib to the liver. Four. Finally, drag the left leg. Fist the patella. Summary prognosis: Conscious in 90 seconds Martial efficacy: quarter of an hour at best. Full faculty of recovery, unlikely. - I like the hat. - I just picked it up. Worthy adversaries – Holmes’ powers shown …

35. “ Canonicity” Informed by the fabric of Conan Doyle…

36. Canonicity People we know well, in a re-imagined 19 th century London….

37. Rebooting the Characters Each generation rediscovers Holmes and Watson, and makes them their own…

38. Rebooting the Characters

39. Mass Medium, Mass Audience Death of Conan Doyle ‘ 39 Hound Rathbone 1942-1946 Hammer Hound (‘59) 7% Solution Jeremy Brett 1984 - 1994

47. Team 3 – The Traditionalists