View source for A Variant of Unknown Significance

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[[File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-watson-adlers.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Dr. Watson, Irene and Angus Adler.]]
[[File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-title0.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Watson.]]

''A Variant of Unknown Significance'' is the 8th episode in season 1 of the American TV series [[Watson (TV series)|Watson]] aired on 30 march 2025 on CBS, starring [[Morris Chestnut]] as [[Dr. Watson]]. 43 min.

Irene Adler visits the Holmes Clinic because her son Angus Adler has temporary paralysis, and she hints that Angus might be Sherlock Holmes' biological child, which pulls Dr. Watson in emotionally. Watson splits his team of doctors between diagnosing Angus Adler and investigating Irene Adler, then sends Shinwell Johnson to London to Mycroft Holmes at The Diogenes Club to secure the only known sample of Sherlock Holmes' DNA. The DNA and background digging expose the con: Irene Adler has still been running frauds, Angus has been faking his symptoms, and Irene steals the DNA to sell it to Baron Gruner in Austria, but Dr. Watson and Shinwell Johnson use a tracker to intercept her as she tries to flee. The twist is that Irene Adler is the one who is truly ill and was trying to secure money for Angus' future. Watson offers her a possible clinical-trial path and even agrees to be Angus' tutor if she dies.

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== References to the original Sherlock Holmes stories ==

* "Shinwell Johnson" : He was a former criminal allied to [[Sherlock Holmes]] to provide information from among the underworld. He appeared only in [[ILLU|The Illustrious Client]] (1924).

* "Lesser-known royal kick you off" : Irene Adler had an affair with the King of Bohemia in [[A Scandal in Bohemia]] (1891).

* "To Holmes, she was always ''the'' woman" : [[Sherlock Holmes]] admired [[Irene Adler]] in [[A Scandal in Bohemia]] (1891).

* "To a great mind, nothing is little" : Quote of [[Sherlock Holmes]] in [[A Study in Scarlet]] (1887).

* "Sir Charles Barkley, Yorkshire terrier" : [[Sherlock Holmes]] had no such dog in the original stories.

* "Mycroft Holmes, the 'Unfindable Man'" : The brother of [[Sherlock Holmes]] in the original stories, but not mentioned as the "Unfindable Man". But he worked for the government.

* "Gregson of Scotland Yard" : Inspector Tobias Gregson in [[A Study in Scarlet]] (1887).

* "The Diogenes Club" : Mycroft Holmes was one of the founders of ''The Diogenes Club'' in [[GREE|The Greek Interpreter]] (1893).

* "Mycroft Holmes box" : The box is labelled "Adventures Pt. 1" with 5 titles which are the real 5 first short stories in the collected volume "[[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]" (1892) : [[A Scandal in Bohemia]], [[The Red-Headed League]], [[A Case of Identity]], [[The Boscombe Valley Mystery]], [[The Five Orange Pips]].

* "The Bruce-Partington Plans" : The plans are the ones of the Bruce-Partington, a secret submarine in [[BRUC|The Bruce-Partington Plans]] (1908).

* "Criterion bar" : The ''Criterion'' is the restaurant in Regent Circus, Picadilly, where [[Dr. Watson]] met young [[Stamford (acquaintance)|Stamford]] in [[A Study in Scarlet]] (1887).

* "Adelbert Gruner" : Baron Adelbert Gruner was an Austrian murderer and art collector in [[ILLU|The Illustrious Client]] (1925). Irene Adler was not his friend or client in the original story.

* "Knife in letters on Watson's desk" : In [[MUSG|The Musgrave Ritual]] (1893), [[Dr. Watson]] described [[Sherlock Holmes]]' apartment with: ''"his unanswered correspondence transfixed by a jack-knife into the very centre of his wooden mantelpiece."''

* "Fight Sherlock vs Mycroft" : not from the original stories.


== Photos ==

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-dr-watson.jpg|''Dr. John H. Watson'' ([[Morris Chestnut]])
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-shinwell-johnson.jpg|''Shinwell Johnson'' ([[Ritchie Coster]])
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-dr-derian.jpg|''Dr. Ingrid Derian'' ([[Eve Harlow]])
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-dr-lubbock.jpg|''Dr. Sasha Lubbock'' ([[Inga Schlingmann]])
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-dr-stephens-croft.jpg|''Dr. Stephens Croft'' ([[Peter Mark Kendall]])
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-dr-adam-croft.jpg|''Dr. Adam Croft'' ([[Peter Mark Kendall]])
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-irene-adler.jpg|''Irene Adler'' ([[Whoopie Van Raam]])
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-angus-adler.jpg|''Angus Adler'' ([[Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez]])
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-mycroft-holmes.jpg|''Mycroft Holmes'' ([[Vincent Gale]])
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-maintenance-man.jpg|''Maintenance Man'' ([[Vivin Oommen]])
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-ruby.jpg|''Ruby'' ([[Jan Kamar]])
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-diogenes-receptionist.jpg|''Club Receptionist'' ([[Lauren Maynard]])
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-box.jpg|Box with Mycroft Holmes files.
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-bruc.jpg|The Bruce-Partington Plans.
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-letters.jpg|Letters on Dr. Watson's desk.
File:2025-watson-cbs-s01e08-the-diogenes-club.jpg|The Diogenes Club.
</gallery>



== Cast ==

* '''Dr. John H. Watson''' : [[Morris Chestnut]]
* '''Shinwell Johnson''' : [[Ritchie Coster]]
* '''Dr. Ingrid Derian''' : [[Eve Harlow]]
* '''Dr. Sasha Lubbock''' : [[Inga Schlingmann]]
* '''Dr. Stephens Croft / Dr. Adam Croft''' : [[Peter Mark Kendall]]
* '''Croft twins <ref>'''Peter Mark Kendall''' = playing both roles of Adam & Stephens Croft (acting + speaking). '''Andrew Dobbie & Riley Orr''' = physical doubles used to make the twin scenes possible.</ref>''' : [[Andrew Dobbie]], [[Riley Orr]]
* '''Irene Adler''' : [[Whoopie Van Raam]]
* '''Mycroft Holmes''' : [[Vincent Gale]]
* '''Angus Adler''' : [[Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez]]
* '''Maintenance Man''' : [[Vivin Oommen]]
* '''Ruby''' : [[Jan Kamar]]
* '''Ilsa (Club Diogenes receptionist)''' : [[Lauren Maynard]]


== Crew ==

* '''Director''' : [[Larry Teng]]
* '''Screenplay''' : [[Anna Mackey]]
* '''Executive Producer''' : [[Morris Chestnut]], Aaron Kaplan, Shäron Moalem, Erin Moffitt, Brian Morewitz, Sallie Patrick, Craig Sweeny, Larry Teng
* '''Producers''' : Scott Graham, Geoffrey Hemwall, Aren Ophoff
* '''Music''' : Paul Leonard-Morgan





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<references />
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* [[Watson (TV series)|Back to Watson TV series]]
* [[Conan Doyle on screen]]