REVIEW; THE ORIGIN OF THE SERIES A GLIMPSE OF ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

Mystery fans have something to puzzle over and cheer about this weekend with ``Murder Rooms: The Dark Origins of Sherlock Holmes'' and ``The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery.''

Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective has gone beyond his creator's original intention. Holmes is the most filmed detective character in history for sure, and one survey has him as the most filmed character - period. And the hints Doyle left in his writing about the sleuth with the amazing powers of deduction who was also guarded about his past have fascinated writers and filmmakers for generations.

One of the more successful of these was the 1976 film ``The Seven Percent Solution,'' adopted by Nicholas Meyers from his own novel, which finds Holmes on a cocaine binge (the 7 percent refers to the amount of the drug in a dose) trying to exorcise demons from his past.

While speculation about those demons usually centers around Holmes' fictional past, writer David Pirie took a look at the early life of the detective's creator, who had been a medical student at Edinburgh University in 1878.

It was there that Doyle worked as a clerk for pioneer forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Bell, thought by many to be the inspiration for Holmes. Most of Doyle's personal papers have been withheld from the public, but it is known that Bell, while a professor at the university, did investigations for the police.

The film begins in 1893 with Doyle (Robin Laing) having caused a public uproar by having Holmes apparently die in the detective's latest adventure. For Doyle, who first introduced Holmes in the 1887 novel ``A Study in Scarlett,'' his creation's popularity had become a burden. (Doyle, of course, was eventually forced to bring back the sleuth.)

But the moment is used as a way for Doyle to reflect on his time with Bell, played with great flair by veteran British actor Ian Richardson. Pirie's script is as clever as any Holmes mystery, but it is the dark shadings he uses to fill in the past that make this production intriguing.

Set against the background of an investigation into the murders of a prostitute and a beggar, ``Murder Rooms'' also serves as a glimpse into Victorian England, where the victims are considered to be of no importance and their deaths not worth investigating, where women are treated as second-class citizens and the rich get away with, well ... you'll have to watch.

Pirie is careful not to make Bell a carbon copy of Holmes, but there are nuances that parallel the detective's life; Bell treats drug addicts, while Holmes may have been one. (Ironically, Richardson played Holmes in an HBO series in the '80s.)

And the film offers an interesting scenario to events in Doyle's life that would be put into his writing. While this is not a true story, there is a wonderful blending of fiction and truth (including the fact that a member of Doyle's circle at the time was later hanged as a serial killer and may have been Jack the Ripper) that makes ``Murder Rooms'' superior television.

After having middling success with Gene Wilder's ``Murder in a Small Town'' telefilms and with Joe Mantegna as Robert Parker's ``Spenser,'' A&E has finally found a detective to compete with Hercule Poirot of the BBC. Based on the novels by Rex Stout, Nero Wolfe in ``The Golden Spiders'' is suitably odd, suitably brilliant and expertly played by veteran character actor Maury Chaykin.

Like Poirot (and Holmes for that matter), Wolfe is guarded about his personal life - so guarded that he never leaves his apartment in Manhattan, leaving the legwork in a case to Archie (a jaunty Timothy Hutton), so odd that his meals must be served precisely on time with exactly the right seasoning or he's put off, and so fussy that his obsession for orchids rivals that of Poirot's for his mustache wax.

Yet, like Poirot and Holmes, he has a strong moral sense, and underneath his rigid exterior is a soft spot for people's troubles. In ``The Golden Spiders'' this is shown when he agrees to split the fees on a possible case with a young boy who has seen what he believes is a woman being abducted. When the boy is subsequently run down, Wolfe pursues the case anyway in order to bring the boy's killers to justice. The case eventually involves three murders, money, the plight of European refugees after World War II and, of course, a pair of gold spider earrings.

While ``Spiders'' is a well-plotted tale with an Agatha Christie-style ending (``Come to my parlor and I'll tell you which of you is a killer''), the joy is in the eccentricities of the characters. Chaykin and Hutton make a wonderful team. Chaykin blusters over silly things, but only betrays the slightest emotion when he is obviously touched. Hutton shows a light comedic flair that he hasn't been able to use much in his career.

And Archie's team of investigators under Wolfe's direction give the proceedings a razzle-dazzle feel, never letting the action flag.

If the people at A&E are smart, they will order up a a lot more Nero Wolfe mysteries. They have a winner.

THE FACTS

--The show: ``Murder Rooms: The Dark Origins of Sherlock Holmes.''

--What: A mystery that looks into the background of Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

--The stars: Ian Richardson, Robin Laing, Charles Dance and Dolly Wells.

--Where: BBC America.

--When: Part 1: 6 and 10 tonight. Part 2: 6 and 10 p.m. Sunday.

--Our rating: Three and one half stars.

--The show: ``The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery.''

--What: A whodunit based on the Rex Stout detective.

--The stars: Maury Chaykin, Timothy Hutton and Saul Rubinek.

--Where: A&E.

--When: 7, 9 and 11 tonight.

--Our rating: Three stars.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Robin Laing, left, as Arthur Conan Doyle and Ian Richardson as Joseph Bell in ``Murder Rooms: The Dark Origins of Sherlock Holmes'' on BBC America.

(2) Maury Chaykin, left, and Timothy Hutton star in ``The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery,'' tonight on A&E.

Box: THE FACTS (see text)