Oh, you should at least check out at least some of the Holmes canon. If you can't get through the stories/novels, I don't blame you because, if Doyle didn't even like his own creations, why should you? If not, I highly recommend Granada's Jeremy Brett version, which is awesome. Sherlock is actually even more awesome when you know some of the canon. The fact that Moffat managed to explain Watson's floating injury (he starts out with a shoulder injury, and then it's suddenly a leg wound because, again, Doyle didn't give a crap) is the most superb thing in the world because no one else bothers; mainly, everyone assumes leg wound. Plus! You can squee at lines like "I'd be lost without my blogger," which is a take on "I'd be lost without my Boswell." There are about a million canon references, generally in the first and third episodes.

Omg, that look! I love their progression into each other's planes of existence, how they're now on each other's wavelengths. So awesome!