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 cap 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 he seldom arrives at a correct, final solution without assistance. When he does find a clue, he often shouts, "Egad!" He speaks with a British accent and his earliest appearances were often signaled by "detective music" (as Ernie called it), a series of dramatic stings on a piano.

Sherlock first appeared in Episode 0131, the Season 2 premiere, looking for the missing half of Ernie's chicken salad sandwich. Clues revealed that Sherlock himself ate half of the sandwich (he likes chicken salad, doesn't like bread crusts, and one of his buttons was found in Ernie's lunchbox).

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 heard on The Muppet Alphabet Album and then on the series itself.

In Season 21, Sherlock Hemlock starred in all of the Mysterious Theater segments, and by this time he was given a sidekick of sorts: a faithful dog named Watson, who joined his master in the segments and occasional street appearances. Most notably, in a season 22 episode, Sherlock and Watson try to find Maria's sock on a laundry day in her basement, accompanied by the Mysterious Theater theme and host Vincent Twice.

In 1996, Sherlock Hemlock and Watson starred as playable characters in the computer game Search and Learn Adventures. Sherlock also appeared in the 1998 computer game Elmo's Reading Basics.

Sherlock's last major appearance occurred in a season 27 episode, where the letter X wanted to quit the alphabet. After this, he was only seen in old sketches until the early 2000s. Then, in 2010 for the show's 40th season, Sherlock reappeared on Sesame Street in a brief speaking cameo at Hooper's Store in Episode 4206. He also made a background cameo in The Furchester Hotel episode, "Mystery Weekend."

According to Sesame Street Unpaved, Nelson's performance is based on Basil Rathbone's famous portrayal of Holmes in the 1939 movie The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and its early 1940s sequels. However, the voice, particularly in the early sketches, is modeled after the clipped diction of another British movie star, Ronald Colman.

Street Scenes

 * Episode 2326‎‎

Sketches
For more sketches, see Mysterious Theater

Book appearances

 * The Sesame Street Storybook, frontispiece only (1971)
 * The Together Book (1971)
 * More Sesame Street Finger Puppets (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 Postcard Book (1976)
 * The Sesame Street Mystery Coloring Book (1977)
 * The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook (1978)
 * The Sesame Street Cookbook (1978)
 * A Day on Sesame Street (1979)
 * Early Bird on Sesame Street (1980)
 * The Sesame Street Dictionary (1980)
 * The Sesame Street Pet Show (1980)
 * The Case of the Missing Duckie (1980)
 * The Sesame Street Sun (1981)
 * Prairie Dawn's Upside-Down Poem (1981)
 * Put & Play Magic Show (1981)
 * Sherlock Hemlock and the Creatures from Outer Space (1981)
 * Which One Doesn't Belong? (1981)
 * The Sesame Street Question and Answer Book About Animals (1983)
 * Big Bird's Alphabet Book (1984)
 * Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? (1984)
 * I Think That It Is Wonderful (1984)
 * Trace & Color Alphabet (1984)
 * Ernie's Finish the Picture (1985)
 * I Can Count to Ten and Back Again (1985)
 * Sign Language ABC (1985)
 * A Bird's Best Friend (1986)
 * I Want a Hat Like That (1987)
 * The Sesame Street ABC Book of Words (1988)
 * My Name Is Big Bird (1992)

Character Merchandise

 * Sherlock Hemlock Little People toy
 * Sherlock Hemlock Questor finger puppet
 * Sherlock Hemlock Heimo PVC figure & pen holder
 * Sherlock Hemlock Grolier christmas ornament
 * Sherlock Hemlock Tyco beanbag (two variants)
 * Sherlock Hemlock Happy Meal Mini Bean Pal (Singapore)
 * Sherlock Hemlock Gund mini plush