Clyde is Sherlock Holmes' Horsfield tortoise.
Biography
Clyde is a tortoise previously owned by Len Pontecorvo. Sherlock Holmes and Len both visited the same conspiracy theory forums, so when no one had heard from Len, Sherlock decides to visit his house where he finds him dead. While Sherlock is looking for evidence, he finds Clyde and brings him home with him. From his sarcastic comments that tortoises make an excellent soup, Joan Watson initially thinks Sherlock intends to fatten and eat Clyde, but by the end of the episode it becomes clear that Sherlock is in fact fond of Clyde and never intended to harm him; he loves tortoises, remarking that "Clyde will likely outlive both of us."
Clyde is occasionally seen around the brownstone or Watson's apartment. He usually resides in a terrarium, but is often being used by Sherlock as either a prop in a crime-scene model or as a paperweight. He is immensely fond of lettuce and other greens, which are fed to him by Watson and Holmes.
Season One
| Clyde makes his first appearance at 5:55 in his terrarium at Len Pontecorvo's home. Holmes takes him home in order that he won't starve to death. Holmes finds a listening device hidden in a fake rock in Clyde's terrarium leading him to believe that Len's paranoia may be justified. ("The Red Team") At 35:22, Holmes uses Clyde to represent an ambulance on a map of New York City in order to deduce how a real ambulance evaded a series of road blocks during a winter storm. ("Snow Angels") |
Season Two
| At 13:58, Watson is woken by a lettuce eating Clyde whom Holmes has put on her bed to wake her. Holmes is endevouring to be a more considerate flat mate and believes this manner of waking Watson to be polite. Watson brings Clyde downstairs to his terrarium. ("We Are Everyone") At 28:27, Holmes uses Clyde to again wake Joan up. Clyde is wearing a blue "turtle cozy" that looks like a shark fin knitted for him by Ms. Hudson. ("The Many Mouths of Aaron Colville") |
Season Three
| After Holmes abruptly leaves for England, Clyde is seen being cared for by Watson at her apartment at 4:03. ("Enough Nemesis To Go Around") At the episode beginning, Clyde is eating lettuce while Kitty complains to Holmes that she won't take Clyde to Joan's apartment in Chelsea. Holmes indicates that Clyde resides with him on weekends and with Joan on weekdays. ("Bella") At 1:04, Clyde is taking part in an experiment with Kitty in which he presses a lever to shock her or to get food. Holmes wants to find out if reptiles can display empathy but warns Kitty that Clyde may want her to be harmed. ("Rip Off") At 29:11, Clyde paints a canvas on the floor using a device Sherlock has attached to his back while Watson discusses meeting Andrew's father and realizes she doesn't want a normal relationship. ("Hemlock") At 10:10, Clyde is seen eating lettuce and listening to music Holmes is playing while trying to determine the identity of Everyone member "Sucking Chest Wound". Holmes catalogues the songs Clyde likes and dislikes. ("One Watson, One Holmes") At 23:03, Clyde is seen eating lettuce from a plate in the centre of the kitchen table while Holmes reviews plant manuscripts. ("Under My Skin") |
Season Four
| At 0:45, Holmes is seen cooking snacks for Clyde to help increase his mineral intake. At 14:23, Clyde is seen in his terrarium beside Holmes while he works on a computer. Watson comments that Clyde is enjoying the snacks Holmes made and may also be enjoying his "dinner date" since Holmes is dressed in a tuxedo. Holmes indicates that his dinner date is his father, Morland Holmes and compares his father to Clyde as both are "cold blooded reptiles". ("Tag, You're Me") At the episode beginning, Watson discovers a box in the refrigerator containing Clyde who Holmes has placed there to hibernate. Clyde usually hibernates in a burrow in the back yard but Holmes considers the New York winter's climate too unpredictable. ("Murder Ex Machina") At 36:42, Clyde has emerged from hibernation and is in his terrarium while Sherlock does hot yoga. ("Hounded") At 26:20, Lin Wen says she likes Clyde but he isn't seen. ("All In") |
Season Five
| At 36:02, Clyde is seen crawling on the floor as Holmes has placed a venomous snake in his terrarium. ("Ill Tidings") |
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Season Six
Trivia
Clyde is played by two Russian tortoises,[1] which are rotated out after each take.[2]
References
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