Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
In the Victorian period that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote his stories with these characters, it was not unusual for men to be more intimate with their male friends and colleagues than with the women in their lives. Keep in mind, that intimacy is very different from sexual interactions or romance -- not to say that didn't happen. Remember also, that homosexuality (often called sodomy, buggery or "unnatural acts", even now) was then-illegal in Great Britain and carried severe penalties -- think Oscar Wilde and his years of "hard labour", monetary fines, and ensuing social exclusion. Women were generally viewed by men as inconsequential and incapable of higher thought, unless a woman was a Sovereign or a Saint; men shared their intellectual pursuits/questions and often their aspirations/anxieties with one another.
That being said, I never got any homoerotic hints from the characters in the books. There was
some in the way Jeremy Brett portrayed the consulting detective, but for me he seemed more of an asexual, self-obsessed dandy.
As for the recent series "Sherlock", which I quite enjoy, both Sherlock (portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson (portrayed by Martin Freeman) both claim disinterest and disinclination, I get a feeling that they could at some point cross that line -- probably after some initial misgivings and confusion, although it would most likely end up in a dysfunctional, if not disastrous, relationship. There is a tension between the characters, as they play them, that is slightly more than simple dramatic tension.
A couple of TV characters that hint at homoeroticism:
Joey Tribiani and Chandler Bing from "Friends". Joey is a
very sexual being and I could imagine Chandler going with it just to make Joey happy. While Joey would probably just consider it an outlet and some fun, Chandler would (of course) obsess over it.
Kevin Ryan (Seamus Dever,
né Séamus Patrick Dever) and Javier Esposito (Jon Huertas,
né Jon William Scott Hofstedt) from "Castle".
Often the way these two talk to and look at each other just sets off bells in my mind. The story arc that had them investigating male strippers -- where Ryan was referred to as "skinny Twilight guy" and Esposito as "A-Rod" -- as well as their obsessions with and debates about those nicknames, was both hilarious and hinted at homoeroticism. Sometimes the writers try to titillate the viewers that there may be more between them than is revealed, especially with Ryan. I occasionally get the feeling Ryan may be infatuated with or even crushing on Esposito; I'm not sure Esposito knows or wants to, though. I think it also depends on who wrote which episode, because it isn't always there and other times it's barely simmering below the surface.
