Not unlike the "Encyclopedia Brown" series, "The Adventures of Shirley Holmes" focusses on young Shirley, the great-grand-niece of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous Sherlock Holmes. Meredith Henderson started the role at 12, and as the series goes into it's fourth (and final) season, has two Gemini nominations behind her belt.

The show focuses on Shirley, who is bright, kooky, and prepared for everything -- her sleuthing kit contains everything from a magnifying glass to state-of-the-art cell phones and laptops. Although the plot lines are often stretching the realms of believability, both Henderson herself and the excellent writing behind the series lend credence to it. The writers have managed to successfully combine both action and comedy, something that tends to fail on Canadian television ("John Woo's Once a Thief" being the perfect example).

Shirley is aided in her sleuthing by Bo Sawchuk (Sherlock's Dr. Watson, Encyclopedia's Sally), and wins despite the efforts of her nemesis, Molly Hardy (Sherlock's Moriarty, Encyclopedia's Bugs Meany). For many years, there was one mystery that plagued her more than any other -- the mystery of her mother's disappearance -- but that question was finally answered for fans in the third season.