HOUSE AND HOLMES

By this time it's no big secret that Hugh Laurie's character House, from the show of the same name, is based in part on Sherlock Holmes. There are a plethora of connections between the two characters, and series creator David Shore has said: "...Anytime one says 'puzzle' and 'brilliant deduction' in the same sentence, one can't help but think of the great fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick, Dr. Watson. And indeed, Holmes -- and the real-life physician that inspired him, Dr. Joseph Bell -- were very much inspirations for 'House.'"
The photo shows House's best friend Wilson (Wilson=Watson?) outside House's apartment, (221B, of course!) showing that the awareness and the references are there to be noticed and commented on by savvy fans. (As an aside: as Holmes is addicted to cocaine, so is House addicted to Vicodin. Each tablet of Vicodin is stamped with the letter 'W,' which stands for Watson Labs.)
The connections are so thick that I suggested at last years Wold-Newtonian conference (held semi-regularly at the San Diego Comic-Con (see you there this year) that the two characters are related in some way, House being a third or fourth generational descendant of Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler. I am forced to admit that so far there's no evidence in the series for that great leap of logic.
Anyway, this is all just a roundabout way of pointing you in the direction of a weird little blog that takes this whole idea as its reason for existence. At the House and Holmes blog you can read in-depth analysis of each episode of House and learn about hidden connections that may have previously eluded you. Is Dr. Cuddy a stand-in for Inspector Lestrade? Are those three young, good-looking doctors the Baker Street Irregulars?
Adding to the fun (or confusion) is this fanfic, in which Holmes and House team-up. I will admit to having not read it in its entirety (it's a work in progress) so I don't know if a case is made for the characters being related. Writer Michael Weyer gets the story going fast, as Dr. Cuddy and Dr. House are here re-imagined as living in Victorian London, so it's not actually the same House and Cuddy we see on TV each week, but Victorian counterparts.
In future postings I don't know if I can get geekier than House fanfic, but I aim to give it a try.