I hate to be the party pooper at the big Sherlock Love-in, but the Great Detective isn't looking so great at the moment. Or rather, his writers aren't. The original stories are not known for their fairer treatment of the fairer sex, largely painting women as either frantic and emotional or cold and calculating, with only occasional whisps of character. It is notable, then, when Irene Adler is referred to in the books as ' the woman', since to Holmes she was the only one worth really bothering with. To Watson, Mary Morstan is surprising and attractive, “with a firm step and an outward composure of manner”, and swiftly becomes his wife. Both these characters have made their mark on the BBC’s Sherlock fans, but in ways completely different to their original counterparts. Of course, adaptations don't have to stick to the original, but this means that all Holmesian retellings I've seen have drawn up a romantic subplot between Holmes and Irene Adler, despit