BBC Worldwide and PBS have decided that it's time for a new 'Sherlock Holmes.' The 1984 series, which ran ten years and 41 episodes, had Jeremy Brett as Sherlock and is still widely regarded as the best Holmes since Basil Rathbone's incarnation in the movies, but after the success of Guy Ritchie's kinetic Robert Downey Jr. version last Christmas, the people in a position to make things happen are ready to give us a 21st century variation on Holmes and Watson and 221B Baker Street.

Thus far the casting is promising. Martin Freeman, who is best known as the British version of Jim in the UK 'The Office,' will play Dr. Watson. In the role of Sherlock, the actor chosen is named Benedict Cumberbatch. That's a great name for an actor cast as Holmes; it just sounds so British. But Benedict also has the look of a Holmes, and he was in 'Atonement' and was nominated for a BAFTA playing Stephen Hawking in a BCC drama.

As a traditionalist, I enjoyed Brett's arch interpretation of Holmes, and keeping the stories in period were a plus. When you hear 21st century spin, you get weird ideas that they're going to reinvent Sherlock a bit too much. Ritchie did, making him more of a brawler than a thinker. All that martial arts and grundge was not very Holmesian, but movie audiences still bought the last 'Sherlock Holmes.' Here's hoping the BBC/PBS version is closer to the Brett that the Ritchie.

Also coming from BBC/PBS is the remake of 'Upstairs Downstairs' which we reported on in 2009. And Rufus Sewell is coming back to TV. After the failure of 'Eleventh Hour,' he'll be doing a three-episode series based on the stories of Italian detective named Aurelio Zen by novelist Michael Dibden.