Holmes and Watson are back again to solve the various mysteries that plague late Victorian England. A new series of fairly faithfully adapted Arthur Conan Doyle tales are featured in the first season (1991). The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax is particularly good as it has Watson detailing his vacation in correspondence to Holmes only to see Holmes arrive to say Lady Frances was in grave danger. Watson once again plays Archie Goodwin to Holmes' Nero Wolfe. I wonder if Rex Stout was inspired by this story. The Mystery of Thor's Bridge is another standout. Also of note, a very young Jude Law appears in Shoscombe Old Place. Highly recommended.
Season 2 consisted of only one feature-length episode - The Master Blackmailer - in which the normally likeable Robert Hardy has a turn as one of Holmes' most daunting foes. Hardy is downright creepy as Charles Augustus Milverton, the ruthless blackmailer. The ruination of his various victims dramatically expanded what had been detailed in the short story.
Season 3 followed in the footsteps of Season 2 by producing feature-length TV movies, but with considerably less success. The Last Vampyre is turned on its head and sees bonus characters trained in hypnotism, an outbreak of influenza for Dr. Watson to attend, and an old story about vampires from a century earlier. Very disappointing. Then it became worse with a mishmash of The Noble Bachelor and The Veiled Lodger. Efforts to squeeze the two stories together resulted in a complete mess. Villains become victims and victims become villains. Worse, Holmes suffers nightmares that prove to be premonitions of the coming mystery, including scenes that do unfold as shown in his dreams. Really? Holmes has become a seer, not a detective.
The Case-Book starts strong but ends poorly.
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