Sherlock Holmes has been reinterpreted countless times across film and television. From the modern brilliance of Benedict Cumberbatch’s consulting detective to the action-heavy interpretation played by Robert Downey Jr., each generation seems to reinvent Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary sleuth. But long before those versions appeared, one of the strangest and most entertaining takes on Holmes arrived in the form of a 1976 television movie titled The Return of the World’s Greatest Detective.
Today, the film is mostly remembered as a curious footnote in Holmes’ history, but it holds a few surprising distinctions. It features one of the earliest female Watson characters on screen, and it stars none other than Larry Hagman, years before he became famous around the world as the scheming oil baron J.R. Ewing in Dallas.
The premise of the film is delightfully bizarre. Hagman plays a Los Angeles police officer named Sherman Holmes. During a routine police operation, Holmes suffers a serious head injury and falls into a coma. When he awakens, he is convinced that he is not Sherman Holmes at all, but the legendary consulting detective Sherlock Holmes.
Rather than treating the concept purely as a joke, the film leans into the idea that Holmes’ mind has essentially been “rewired” by the accident. Sherman Holmes suddenly begins displaying extraordinary deductive abilities. He studies crime scenes with obsessive attention to detail, makes rapid observations about people around him, and applies Holmes-style logic to solving cases.
Naturally, the police department has mixed reactions to his newfound personality. Some colleagues see him as unstable, while others quickly realise that his methods actually produce results. What follows is a lighthearted detective story in which Sherman Holmes begins solving crimes using the techniques of Conan Doyle’s famous sleuth.
An Early Female Watson
One of the most interesting elements of the film is its Watson equivalent. Instead of the traditional Dr. John Watson, Sherman Holmes is assisted by Dr. Joan Watson, played by actress Jenny O’Hara. While modern audiences might associate a female Watson with the CBS series Elementary, this 1976 film quietly introduced the concept decades earlier.
Dr. Watson in the film serves a similar narrative purpose to the traditional Watson character. She acts as both a medical professional monitoring Holmes’ unusual condition and as a sounding board for his deductions. At times she questions whether Holmes’ belief that he is Sherlock Holmes is healthy, but she also becomes intrigued by the brilliance behind his methods.
The relationship between Sherman Holmes and Joan Watson provides much of the film’s charm. Their interactions echo the classic Holmes and Watson dynamic while adding a slightly different tone that reflects the film’s comedic and experimental nature.
Larry Hagman’s performance is another highlight. Known primarily for playing larger-than-life characters, Hagman approaches Sherman Holmes with a mix of enthusiasm and theatrical flair. His interpretation of Holmes captures the character’s arrogance, intellect, and occasional eccentricity, though filtered through the lens of a man who may or may not be entirely sane.
It is easy to imagine audiences in the 1970s being amused by the spectacle of a modern American police officer suddenly behaving like a Victorian consulting detective. Hagman clearly enjoys the role, delivering deductions with confidence and relishing the chance to portray such an unusual version of Holmes.
While The Return of the World’s Greatest Detective never became a major franchise or cultural phenomenon, it remains a fascinating experiment in adapting Sherlock Holmes. The film demonstrates how flexible Conan Doyle’s creation has always been. Holmes can exist in Victorian London, modern-day New York, or even inside the mind of a confused police officer who believes he has become the world’s greatest detective.
In hindsight, the film also foreshadowed many of the creative liberties later adaptations would take with the character. Gender-swapped Watsons, unconventional settings, and radical reinterpretations of Holmes’ personality have all become part of the long tradition of Holmes storytelling.
For fans of Sherlock Holmes history, the movie stands as a reminder that experimentation with the character is nothing new. Long before streaming platforms and cinematic universes began reinventing classic characters, television writers were already asking unusual questions about Holmes.
What if Holmes lived in modern America?
What if Watson were a woman?
And perhaps most intriguingly…
What if someone simply believed they were Sherlock Holmes?
The Return of the World’s Greatest Detective may not be the most famous Holmes adaptation, but its strange premise and charming performances make it a delightful curiosity. For dedicated Holmes enthusiasts, it remains one of the more entertaining oddities hiding in the long and ever-growing history of the world’s most famous detective.
If you’re interested in a more recent take on the legendary detective, be sure to also check out our review of the Young Sherlock pilot episode, which explores the character’s early years and introduces a new interpretation of Holmes and Moriarty’s relationship.
