John Watson

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This article is about the general character from Sherlock Holmes fandom. For the counterpart played by by Martin Freeman in Sherlock BBC, see John Watson (Sherlock).
Character
Name: John Watson
Occupation: retired army doctor, writer
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes (roommate and friend), Mary Morstan (wife), Mrs. Hudson (housekeeper)
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes
Other:
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Dr. John Watson is a main character in the Sherlock Holmes books and their various adaptations. The majority of the stories are written in the first person from Watson's POV. He is the friend, roommate, and "biographer" of Sherlock Holmes.

Canon

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had a friend named James on whom he based Watson[1] and originally intended to call the character "Ormond Sacker" rather than John Watson.[2]

He was wounded in action (either in the shoulder or the leg, depending on the story)[3] while serving as a assistant surgeon in India and Afghanistan. While recovering in a base hospital in Peshawar, he contracted enteric fever, and after months near death and then convalescing, he was invalided back to Britain in 1891, where he sought work and lodgings. Looking to share accommodation to cut the costs, he was introduced to Sherlock Holmes, a consulting detective, by their mutual acquaintance, Stamford. Holmes and Watson soon became close friends, and Watson took to accompanying Holmes on cases, and becoming his unofficial chronicler. He met his wife, Mary Morstan, during the course of a case.[4]

In stark contrast to his roommate, Watson is a ladies' man. He also enjoys following Holmes on his cases and is endlessly fascinated by Holmes's deductions. His characterization shifts in the later stories.

Versions

Rathbone Films

Watson was portrayed by Nigel Bruce beside Basil Rathbone's iconic Sherlock Holmes in a series of 14 films between 1939-1946. This Watson is very unlike canon and used for comic relief. Fans are not amused.

Soviet/Russian TV (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson)

Watson was portrayed by Vitali Solomin.

Sherlock Holmes (Granada)

Watson was initially portrayed by David Burke in the first series. Edward Hardwicke took over for the remainder.

Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century

Robot!Watson voiced by John Payne.

House, M.D.

Just as the character Gregory House was inspired by Sherlock Holmes, House's friend James Wilson was inspired by John Watson. Wilson is portrayed by Robert Sean Leonard. See James Wilson.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Watson is portrayed by Jude Law.

Sherlock (BBC)

Watson is portrayed by Martin Freeman. See John Watson (Sherlock (BBC)).

Elementary

Elementary features a female Watson, named Joan Watson. She is portrayed by Lucy Liu.

Hark! A Vagrant

The many versions of the Watson character, from BAMF!Watson to Bumbling!Watson, are the subject of two Hark! A Vagrant cartoons, The Case of the Two Watsons and Another Case of Watsons. Hark! A Vagrant is a popular Yuletide fandom, and fanfiction has been written for the cartoons.[5]

Sherlock & Co.

This version of Watson is a podcaster documenting the cases of Sherlock Holmes. He is voiced by Paul Waggott.

Wives Debate

Exactly how many wives Watson had is a matter of considerable debate. As long as there has been a Sherlock Holmes fandom, Watsonian fans have debated whether the timeline errors indicate one wife or two. Some fans have even suggested as many as six wives![6]

At one point in the stories, Watson marries Mary Morstan, a character from The Sign of Four. This is the wife most often used in adaptations and fanworks. Continuity errors in The Five Orange Pips and A Scandal in Bohemia imply that Watson had a wife prior to Mary.[3] In The Empty House, Watson refers to his wife's death, but in stories that seem to be set later, Watson has again moved out to live with a wife.

Fandom

Terminology

Because of the proliferation of Sherlock Holmes adaptations, many fans on sites like Tumblr, Twitter, etc will often put a prefix before or a suffix after Watson's name in order to indicate to which Watson they are specifically referring. The prefix/suffix usually includes one of two things: either the actor's name or the adaptation, and it may or may not include a !, for examples: hardwicke!Watson would indicate Edward Hardwicke's version of Watson from the latter half of the Granada TV series, "jude law watson" would indicate Watson from the Ritchieverse films, and "john watson bbc" would indicate Watson from the BBC Sherlock TV series. Nigel Bruce's Watson from the Basil Rathbone films is sometimes tagged with "Bumblebee Watson", because he is the bumbling version of Watson.

Pairings

The most popular pairing for Watson, and the overall fandom OTP, is Holmes/Watson. There is also several fanworks that pair Watson with his canonical wife Mary Morstan, although they tend to be more of a background pairing in fanworks then the main focus. All other pairings for Watson tend to be rare, one example being Lestrade/John Watson. There is a also a great deal of gen fanworks, most commonly focused on his friendship with Holmes.

Common Tropes and Storylines and Fanworks

  • Watson's Journal: Watson canonically has a notebook where he keeps notes about Holmes' investigations, but fans will often expand on this, with Watson's notebook being more of journal where he records his privates thoughts and ideas outside of cases.
  • War Wound: because canon is unclear about where Watson's war wound is located, leg or shoulder, fans will often chose one for fanworks or sometimes give him both. Watson experiencing chronic pain from his wounds is a common trope.
  • PTSD: Watson having nightmares or dealing with painful memories from his time as an army surgeon is quite common.
  • Bisexual Watson: it is not unusual for fans to characterize Watson as bisexual, mostly so he can be paired with Holmes, but it is also not uncommon for stories to include references to Watson having experimented or had relationships with fellow soldiers in his past while he served in the army.
  • Casefic: similar to canon, fan stories where Watson assists Holmes in solving mysteries. There are also a few stories where Watson has to try and use Holmes' methods and conduct a case by himself, usually because Holmes is incapacitated in some manner.
  • Backstory: because we know only the highlights of Watson's past—their immediate family (parents and brother) are deceased pre-canon, they studied medicine, and went into the army serving in India and Afghanistan—it leaves it open for fans to fill in the gaps of Watson's upbringing and time as a young person before meeting Holmes.
  • Post-canon: many fanworks are set post-canon. What occurs varies greatly, but because the story the "Last Bow" is set just before WWI it is not unusual to find fanworks where Watson returns to the army to treat soldiers or for him to remain in London and be treating wounded soldiers and others in hospital as they return from the front. Another popular storyline is to have Watson joining Holmes in his retirement in Sussex.
  • Leonard McCoy: McCoy, the Star Trek: TOS character, portrayed as John Watson, see Sherlock Holmes and Star Trek and Sherlock Tropes.

Watson's Birthday

Watson's birth date is never explicitly stated in canon. There is some debate in the fandom on whether his birthday is July 7[7] or August 7[8]. The August 7th date appears to trace back to the Baker Street Irregulars and their Baker Street Journal[8]. The Baker Street Irregulars where responsible for giving Holmes his birth date, so it is quite possible they did the same for Watson. Although, at some point the conflicting date of July 7th was chosen by others. Watson's birthday is not really celebrated to the same degree that Holmes' is in the fandom, but you will still occasionally see posts/fanworks online wishing him a happy birthday[9].

Fanworks

Fanfiction

Books

Ritchieverse

Sherlock & Co

Meta

Books

Example Art Gallery

Archives and Links

Resources

References

  1. ^ "Sherlockian.Net: Canonical cruxes". Archived from the original on 2012-11-25. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  2. ^ "Sherlock Holmes". International Superheroes. Archived from the original on 2008-09-13.
  3. ^ a b "Sherlockian.Net: Canonical cruxes". Archived from the original on 2012-11-25. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  4. ^ "Dr John Watson". International Superheroes. Archived from the original on 2009-02-11.
  5. ^ Hark! A Vagrant works @AO3 (accessed 27 November 2012)
  6. ^ Brad Keefauver (2002-03-09). "The Wives of Dr. Watson – Couting Watson's Wives". Sherlock Peoria. Archived from the original on 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  7. ^ "Happy Birthday, Dr. John H. Watson!". Archived from the original on 2025-06-14.
  8. ^ a b "Happy Birthday, Dr. John H. Watson!". Archived from the original on 2025-06-14.
  9. ^ "Happy birthday to our favourite Boswell, Dr. John Watson". Archived from the original on 2025-06-14.
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