Sherlock Holmes And The Baker Street Irregulars
Episode synopses
Episode One
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In the gloomy backstreets of Victorian London, 16-year-old Jack rifles through a briefcase he has just stolen, looking for valuables. But his search is interrupted when a gun is pointed at his head.
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Jack runs, triggering a desperate chase through the warren of wharves and alleys around the docks. But it's no use – Jack can't outrun the assassins and is forced to plunge into the icy waters of the Thames, where he vanishes, presumed dead.
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But Jack wasn't a street hoodlum – he was the leader of the Baker Street Irregulars, the gang of street kids who assist Sherlock Holmes with intelligence-gathering and "ear-to-the-ground" missions. And Jack or no Jack, the Irregulars have to carry on.
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Reluctantly, the next oldest boy, Finch, steps in and takes over, guiding the gang successfully through a daring heist at the Pomeranian Embassy to recover a stolen diamond on behalf of Holmes.
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Meanwhile, Holmes is onto the next case: someone has started murdering London policemen. Inspector Stirling fears a curse has been put on Scotland Yard but Holmes's rational deduction and careful examination of the crime scene yield a far more concrete lead: a Chinese jade spoon found under the body.
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The Irregulars also beg Holmes to investigate Jack's death. He agrees, but only after he has solved the police murders – they are far more urgent.
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The stakes are dramatically raised when another policeman is found dead and another jade spoon is found at the murder scene.
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It looks as if the hunt is on for a serial killer, as each spoon is carved with a symbol from the Chinese zodiac, meaning that there could be another 10 murders of Scotland Yard's men.
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Holmes refuses to be intimidated. He performs some tests on the spoons and proves that they are fakes and the work of jeweller Benjamin Mallory. But before he can pursue his investigation, Inspector Stirling bursts into 221b Baker Street and arrests Holmes on suspicion of murdering the policemen...
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For more programme details, including a synopsis of episode two, visit ´óÏó´«Ã½ Television Programme Information.