Sherlock Hemlock



Sherlock Hemlock is a Muppet spoof of Sherlock Holmes, as seen on Sesame Street. Sherlock is the self-appointed "World's Greatest Detective," dressed in the iconographic Holmes deerstalker calp and Inverness cape, and usually brandishing a large magnifying glass. He prides himself on his powers of observation, and does succeed in deciphering small clues, but seldom arrives at a correct, final solution without assistance. When he does find a clue, he often shouts, "E-GAD!"

Sherlock first appeared in Episode 0131, the Season 2 premiere, looking for the missing half of Ernie's chicken salad sandwich. As it turns out, Sherlock himself ate half of the sandwich. Hemlock also appeared in the recurring Caveman Days sketches as "The Royal Smart Person." Though generally one of the less musical Muppets, Hemlock sang "X Marks the Spot!," a dire warning of what the letter/symbol X may signify, first on The Muppet Alphabet Album and then on the series itself.

In Season 21, he was given a sidekick of sorts: a faithful dog named Watson, who joined his master in Mysterious Theater segments, and occasional street appearances. Sherlock was last seen in a Season 27 episode, where the letter X wanted to quit the alphabet.

According to Sesame Street Unpaved, Nelson's performance is based on Basil Rathbone's portrayal of Holmes in the 1939 movie The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and its early 1940s sequels.

Book appearances

 * The Together Book (1971)
 * The Sesame Street Storybook (1972)
 * Sherlock Hemlock and the Great Twiddlebug Mystery (1972)
 * The Sesame Street 1, 2, 3 Storybook (1973)
 * The Sesame Street ABC Storybook (1974)
 * The Invention of Paper (1975)
 * Big Bird's Busy Book (1975)
 * The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook (1978)
 * The Sesame Street Cookbook (1978)
 * The Sesame Street Dictionary (1980)
 * The Sesame Street Pet Show (1980)
 * The Sesame Street Sun (1981)
 * Prairie Dawn's Upside-Down Poem (1981)
 * Sherlock Hemlock and the Creatures from Outer Space (1981)
 * Which One Doesn't Belong? (1981)
 * I Think That It Is Wonderful (1984)
 * A Bird's Best Friend (1986)