Seeing ripples from Sherlock.

We expected to see a lot of television inspired by Sherlock Holmes this fall, but there's more than even the most hopeful Sherlockian probably saw coming. Take last night, for example.

The premiere of the CW superhero drama The Flash premiered, based on a decades old comic book character. And yet what do we see in the first five minutes of the show?

A forensic scientist at a crime scene . . . and his observations are appearing on the screen as white characters. Just like we saw first on BBC Sherlock. A career field that's been traditionally inspired by Sherlock Holmes and a screen visual inspired by his recent screen adaptation, both in one scene.

Of course, I was appropriately late in catching The Flash on TV, watching it on-demand the morning after, with the fast-forward ironically disabled, as I was out last night with friends. But when I walked back in the house shortly after nine, what was on the television?

Someone who looked a lot like Sherlock Holmes. A lot like Sherlock Holmes.

Well, he was a little good-looking for a classic Holmes, though many a fan of Holmes actors over the years would disagree. But there he was, laying flat on the floor stretched out to get a close look at some tracks. Pulling out his out-of-time forensic kit and working that scene to find clues missed by the official force.

I had seen Ioan Gruffud playing the immortal doctor in the new show Forever before, but walking in mid-program, I wasn't watching Forever, I was watching a passable Sherlock Holmes.

This new television season is getting very interesting. And a certain goofy show that borrowed the name of "Sherlock Holmes" without quite living up to the legend in the eyes of many had better step up its game. Because the competition seems to really know what Sherlock Holmes is about.

And it could be a very interesting year for Sherlockians . . . as the ripples from the recent Sherlock Holmes wave start to spread.