All ends meet at 221 B Baker Street

It started with my 13th Birthday when my dad gifted me a copy of The Hounds of Baskerville. And then when we got the whole collection of Sherlock Holmes Novels and Stories, which I read cover to cover and just as easily forgot. Just like the many rites of passage- Agatha Christie, PG Wodehouse, Enid Blyton- A. Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes was also one.

Cut to 8 years from then, I discovered House. The most brilliant thing I had ever seen on television. Creator David Shore is said to have created the main character on Holmes, his name, House, also being a subtle homage to the fictional detective. His best friend, Wilson, with an all too similar name to Watson, and his team of doctors play his Watson, and he bounces ideas off of them, just like Holmes would do with Watson.

There are several references and homage to Holmes throughout the show... but the biggest being the character of Gregory House. Irreverent, luminescent, your regular 'high functioning sociopath', Hugh Laurie's sensational portrayal of Dr. House is what TV legends are made of.

He is contemptuous with a vengeance, obsessed with puzzles to a fault, so much that the 'answer' is more important than his patient, he is disrespectful of anything that moves (or doesn't), addicted to narcotics, not to mention is permanently damaged, physically and emotionally, and is an intuitive genius. Classic Holmes!

That he is capable of some form of love, and is can be remotely romantic is what perhaps seperates him from Holmes.

Hugh Laurie is an immensely talented actor. Well, anyone who plays Holmes well has to be, and the fact that the Oxford born actor plays an American (perfect accent) merits him the highest praise. But, having watched him at many of the talk shows that he has appeared in, he appears quite pale in comparison to the wildy colourful character he embodies on screen. You expect him to be stunning and eloquent, vicious and witty, cunning and cranky, which Laurie, good for him, isn't!

My personal record of most TV (on laptop) watched in a day is 15, yes 15, 40 hour episodes of House. 10 hours well spent! Now I just wait for Monday to download the latest episode and watch it. I don't have a plan for once they decide no more House, no next seasons. May be I should. I'll have withdrawal symptoms, much like my favourite TV character.

But, worry no more; I have discovered Sherlock, again. No, not the movie. All I can think of when the movie is mentioned that they let Iron Man play Sherlock Holmes. Uggghhhh! Yeah that's the best word in my vocabulary to describe how I feel about Robert Downey, Jr. playing it. (Jude Law, you are the saving grace. More power to you!)

Coming back to the point, I have rediscovered this fantastic fictional character in the BBC series Sherlock. My only regret- it happened last week, and not in 2010, when the series was first aired.

A text-happy Sherlock. A Watson back from Afghanistan. A "genuinely properly frightening" Moriarty who works with assassins, serial killers, terrorists alike. A Mycroft who continues to be "the British Government". A Mrs. Hudson, who, well, is a darling. Not to mention Molly, Lestrade, and of course, the Woman, Irene Adler.

No mobile phone, website, GPS or blog (Watson's, in this case) and take the Doyle away from Sherlock. Mark Gatiss & Steven Moffat have recreated the magic that Doyle weaved 125 years ago. Add to this magic a puff of Cumerbatch and Freeman, and you have glorious perfection.

A reviewer writes, "It understands that Holmes isn't really about plot but about charisma ... Flagrantly unfaithful to the original in some respects, Sherlock is wonderfully loyal to it in every way that matters."

This charisma, brought to life by Benedict Cumerbatch, underscores a clever screenplay, superb cinematography and a splendid musical score. He plays Sherlock so flawlessly that he almost erases any image I had of Sherlock Holmes from the books, and replaces it with his.

They say that a book is always better than the TV/movie adaptation. Absolutely. No exception in this case as well. But, what is it that is so perfect about Cumerbatch? His "beautiful voice"? His brilliant screen presence (Wanderer above the Sea of Fog; Scene from The Hound of Baskerville: breathtaking)? His piercing gaze? His, much referred to even in the series, cheekbones? His long, charcoal black coat? His frightful nemesis, Moriarty? Portrayed to absolute delight, his Mycroft? Perhaps, him being juxtaposed against an understated, steadfast Watson?

I really don't know. All I know is that I have been grappled with Sherlock fever, and the only cure is, well Sherlock himself. Waiting for 90 minutes of pure bliss: episode 3 (season 2). Haven't thought of live after.

Something for Sherlock fans: What links Fry & Laurie to Sherlock Holmes? (Part of the answer is in my note itself.)