The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1991-93)

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.

The Sign of Four (1987)

Mary Morston (Jenny Seagrove) arrives at Baker Street to consult Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett).  Watson (Edward Hardwicke) is immediately drawn to her beauty.  She explains how her mother died when she was an infant and her father, who was posted in India, sent her to live in England.  When she was 17, her father was to visit.  She went to his hotel, and he was absent.  She did recover a peculiar map that bore a mark, 4 in Sanskrit.  "The Sign of Four," Holmes remarked.  That was 10 years ago, and she has no idea what happened.  However, six years ago, she received a pearl.  There was a note enclosed that said she had been wronged and the pearl was payment.  Each year since then, another pearl has arrived.  Holmes grew impatient with her tale.  That morning, she had received a summons and was allowed to bring two companions, provided they were not police.

The trio arrived at the home of Thaddeus Sholto (Ronald Lacey), son of Major Sholto.  Coincidentally, Sholto was a former comrade of Mary's father in India.  Thaddeus explains that Mary's father had confronted his father about a treasure, died of a heart attack during the argument.  His father died six years ago, failing to reveal the location of the mysterious treasure to his sons though he did have a necklace adorned with pearls, the very pearls that Mary had been receiving.  His brother has finally located the treasure and Thaddeus is determined to share with Mary.

The four depart to meet with Bartholomew Sholto but find him dead in a room locked from the inside.  The treasure is gone.  The police immediately arrest Thaddeus.  Can Holmes unravel the clues and locate the murderers?  Obviously.  Like The Crooked Man, this mystery tracks back to events during the Indian Mutiny (1857).  It is just a matter of Holmes laying hands on the criminal and then having him explain the backstory.

Very entertaining.  Holmes makes use of the Baker Street Irregulars, which is both funny and brilliant.  His band of street urchins comb the city to make a search that he could not hope to perform.  Holmes also demonstrated his talent for disguise.  The one failing is that young actors should have portrayed some of the characters during the mutiny; the same man playing both 20 and 50 just didn't work.

Highly recommended.

The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1986-1988)

It is 1894 and Watson (Edward Hardwicke) is a practicing physician.  It has been four years since the death of Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett).  Inspector Lestrade wants his input on a recent murder, which Watson is only too happy to provide.  The two decide this was just the sort of murder that would interest Holmes.  Upon returning to his office, Watson is accosted by an elderly man who wants to sell him some books.  Watson is disinterested but polite.  The man proves to be Sherlock Holmes, resurrected!  Holmes explains the true events at Reichenbach Falls and his subsequent 3-year absence.  The remains of Moriarty's gang is still pursuing Holmes, but this recent murder offers a chance to turn the tables.  Holmes and Watson resume their old ways to take down the final threat in "The Empty House."  Holmes and Watson have another 10 adventures in this series.

David Burke, who played Watson throughout The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, was replaced by Edward Hardwicke.  This was a bit jarring initially, as Hardwicke is a smaller and older man, but he proves to be an excellent Watson.

One peculiarity was that Brett insisted that Holmes overcome his drug additions.  As part of The Devil's Foot, a side plot has Holmes overcoming his cocaine addiction and burying his hypodermic on a lonely beach.  Though outside of canon, Brett didn't want to be a bad influence on children who admired his portrayal of Holmes.  Fair enough.  This is one of the few versions of Holmes that included his use of cocaine; Rathbones' Holmes was a paragon by comparison.

Tales of the literary Holmes continue.  Very entertaining and highly recommended.