The pilot episode of this fascinating series from 2000 is a must see for any Holmes fan.The care taken with even the smallest details shows in every scene and the period is beautifully recreated.It's all about how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle came to create the character of Sherlock Holmes.<br /><br />Any fan will know that he based him on his friend and teacher,Dr.Joseph Bell.Bell taught him at University and had talents which had to be seen to be believed.<br /><br />The series opens with an older Doyle facing a public backlash over the publication of the Final Problem,which sees Holmes fall to his death during a bitter struggle with Professor Moriaty.People believed in Holmes so much that they couldn't except his death.(Doyle brought him back in The Empty House.) <br /><br />We are then taken back to the 1800's where Arthur Conan Doyle(Robin Laing)is a medical student at Edingborough Univeristy.He signs up for a class taken by the esteemed surgeon Dr.Joseph Bell(Ian Richardson)who has remarkable powers of deduction which astound those he teaches.<br /><br />Doyle thinks it's all a trick,however accepting the job of clerk and assistant to Bell soon makes him change his mind.He falls in love with fellow student Elspeth Scott(Dolly Wells)one of a small group of women students desperate to be treated as equals by the men.<br /><br />Things turn deadly when a prostitute is attacked and Bell discovers a room covered in blood,but which contains no body.Soon Bell and Doyle are in a race against time to stop madman Thomas Neill(Alec Newman)from going on a killing spree.Neill was in real life a fellow student of Doyle's and a suspect in the Jack The Ripper case.<br /><br />WIth strong performances and some truly chilling moments Murder Rooms is a fascinating and well made crime series.Holmes fans will enjoy seeing which Holmes traits were taken from Bell.These include his appearance,powers of deduction,intellect and at times cold and detached manner(looking at a case without emotion.) Also starring Charles Dance as Sir Henry Carlyle.And Aly Bain as a fiddler,who's murder is the first in a bizarre and frightening line of dark events which draw Doyle and Bell closer together as they try and stop it.<br /><br />Future episodes saw the growing friendship between Doyle and Bell and the beginnings of Doyles interest and belief in spiritualism.This is well worth watching especially if your a fan of Sherlock Holmes.