Sublime Sherlocks: The Great Detective’s Brainy Descendants | Underwire | Wired.com: Jeremy Brett (1933-1995)
Whodunit: In The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, actor Jeremy Brett nailed Arthur Conan Doyle's super-sleuth cold from 1984 to 1994.
Drug of choice: Mania. A manic-depressive, Brett submerged himself in Holmes, determined that the show must go on. It was a hyper-real merge: Both were obsessively prone to mental breakdowns and breakthroughs, and needed drugs to stay balanced. Holmes was partial to cocaine, while Brett needed lithium.
Weapon of choice: Devotion. An openly authentic production, the British series stuck to Holmes's old-school arsenal: a gentleman's cane, riding crop, his fists and his bottomless wits.
What's elementary? Brett's portrayal of Holmes was so seamless it's doubtful it will ever be bested. The two were too close for comfort: "It has all got too dangerous," Brett famously worried.