Forget Sherlock, The Definitive Arthur Conan Doyle Adaptation Still Hasn’t Been Topped 32 Years Later

Published Sep 26, 2026, 8:15 AM EDT

Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2022, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel. 

Sherlock deserves its accolades, but if you're looking for the definitive Arthur Conan Doyle adaptation, look no further than this 32-year-old British drama. Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories have inspired dozens of TV shows and movies, and their collective high ratings are a testament to the story.

Everyone knows the story of Sherlock Holmes and his trusty assistant Dr. Watson, so making a successful adaptation involves figuring out a way to tell that story from a different viewpoint or with different considerations. If you're Sherlock, you focus on how someone like Holmes can be at once charismatic and robotic.

If you're Elementary, you consider how Dr. Watson can be read as a caretaker rather than a sidekick. If you are ITV's Sherlock Holmes series from 1984, you realize that everything you need for a compelling adaptation is on the page, and you become the most faithful adaptation of his work ever.

The series is sometimes referred to as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

The 1984 TV show ran for 10 years and four seasons, which includes 41 episodes, 5 of which are feature-length specials. Jeremy Brett stars as Holmes, and Dr Watson is played by David Burke in season 1 and by Edward Hardwicke in every season after. There is not much to differentiate the series from the books, with its similar Victorian-era setting and stories taken straight from Doyle's novels.

It's as faithful a series as any adaptation, and that's not a knock. Sherlock Holmes' ability to bring Doyle's stories to life is unrivaled. Most of the main cast of Doyle's stories appear in one degree or another, and the series makes them feel a part of the world rather than a bland pastiche of the novels.

ITV's Sherlock Holmes Series Is Still The Best Ever Made

ITV's Sherlock Holmes remains the best Sherlock Holmes TV show ever, as well as the most faithful. It impressively adapted 43 of Doyle's 60 stories, expertly crafting each mystery for the screen and putting together impressively detailed sets, costumes, and dialogue to bring the audience into the era.

Some liberties are taken with the stories, but nothing dramatic, such as Holmes ending his cocaine habit, which was always one of Holmes' few vices. Many shows use Doyle's stories as a jumping-off point, but it's ITV's Sherlock Holmes that gets right to the heart of what the author was trying to say and the stories he was trying to tell.

Jeremy Brett & David Burke Are The Ultimate Holmes & Watson

Credit: MovieStillsDB

Jeremy Brett and David Burke deserve special mention for their performances as Holmes and Watson, respectively, even if Burke only portrayed the character for one season. Brett gets the hyper-intelligence of the character perfectly but doesn't make him a cold, emotionless detective.

There's a warmth to his performance that blends well with his relationship with Watson. In previous iterations, Watson was often portrayed as bumbling, even dim-witted on occasion. It is Burke's wizened, sharp, athletic interpretation that has been the playbook for the character ever since.

While Burke provides just a hint of a stronger performance than Hardwicke, Hardwicke still deserves his flowers for his longtime role in Sherlock Holmes. Hardwicke takes the character even further away from the "clumsy assistant" stereotype of earlier adaptations, giving him an elegance and authority that's a pleasure to watch.