Amazon.com reviews for
"The Return of Sherlock Holmes" (1986)

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Sherlock Holmes: Abbey Grange (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: "We have not yet met our Waterloo, Watson, but this is our Marengo, for it begins in defeat and ends in victory," says Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett), in the midst of a bloody mystery with significant moral and ethical implications. Holmes and Watson (Edward Hardwicke) are summoned to the Abbey Grange, where Sir Eustace Brackenstall has been brutally murdered, apparently by a local gang of thieves. But the case proves much more complex, and ends with one of Holmes's rare but decisive and personal interpretations of justice. An early episode in the new onscreen association of Brett and Hardwicke (who ably replaced the departed David Burke), the two actors seem as perfectly meshed as their allied characters. This fine production is as enjoyable for the casual viewer as it is for the most dedicated Sherlockian. --Tom Keogh

Sherlock Holmes: Musgrave Ritual (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett) and Dr. John Watson (Edward Hardwicke) are brought to Hurlstone Manor by Reginald Musgrave (Michael Culver) to look into the disappearance of his butler, Brunton (James Hazeldine). Various clues (a crumpled piece of paper, a brass key, a peg of wood with string attached) suggest that Brunton's disappearance is somehow related to the "Musgrave ritual," an arcane practice compelling young Musgrave family members to recite an odd riddle that might have to do with buried treasure. Holmes's methodical approach to the problem is a lot of fun, and Brett and Hardwicke seem to be having a particularly good time outdoors, pursuing the solution under a bit of sunshine. Jeremy Paul, who adapted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story for this teledrama, won an Edgar Award for his script. --Tom Keogh

The Return of Sherlock Holmes - The Second Stain (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Arguably the most entertaining and satisfying episode from the entire Granada Television series about Sherlock Holmes, The Second Stain finds Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous sleuth facing intertwining problems, each with very different consequences. On the one hand, a saber-rattling letter to the British government from a "foreign potentate" has disappeared from the hands of the Rt. Honorable Trelawney Hope (Stuart Wilson), which could incite a major war if it turns up in some visible way. On the other hand, Hope's wife, Lady Hilda (Patricia Hodge), appears to know something about the letter's disposition, but she won't say on pain of some undefined disaster to her marriage. Holmes (Jeremy Brett in his finest hour) and Dr. Watson (a wonderful performance by Edward Hardwicke) can't unravel one mystery without tackling the other, and then there is a murder to boot. The results are well worth the story complications that ensue. The look of epiphany on Brett's face when the ever-clueless Inspector Lestrade (Colin Jeavons) tells Holmes about an odd detail in the murder victim's home--the placement of a certain bloodstained rug doesn't correspond to the location of the soaked-through stain on the floor below--is enormous fun. --Tom Keogh

The Return of Sherlock Holmes - The Empty House (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Did Sherlock Holmes survive his apparent demise at the hands of Professor Moriarty in The Final Problem? Clearly so, as his resurrection three years later in this story is a dramatic and happy event--though it causes his old friend Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke) to faint at the sight of him. Jeremy Brett is outstanding as the famed sleuth, whose return from what Sherlockians call the Great Hiatus is challenged by one of Moriarty's most murderous lieutenants (Patrick Allen), already a killer on the run in London. The action is swift and exciting, and the colorful reentrance of Holmes into the life of Dr. Watson is a highly memorable event. With Rosalie Williams in a more extensive part than usual as the wonderful Mrs. Hudson, Holmes's Baker Street landlady. --Tom Keogh

Sherlock Holmes: Man With the Twisted Lip (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: One of the most ingenious of the Sherlock Holmes stories, The Man with the Twisted Lip presents the famous detective with one of his strangest cases. A gentleman named Neville St. Clair (Clive Francis) is missing, after having been briefly seen (looking quite agitated) by his wife (Eleanor David) in an upstairs window of a disreputable pub. Upon investigating, Mrs. St. Clair can only find traces of blood in the location; later, her husband's coat, mysteriously stuffed with pennies, turns up on a mud bank. Police have detained a notorious street beggar on suspicion of foul play, but Holmes (Jeremy Brett) and Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke) believe there is more to the case than meets the eye. This highly enjoyable installment from the long-running Granada Television series is satisfying from beginning to end, with a witty conclusion and unexpected moral about class pressures. --Tom Keogh

Sherlock Holmes: Priory School (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: One of the most interesting stories from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes canon makes for a particularly taut and exciting episode in the Granada Television series about the famous detective. Holmes (the outstanding Jeremy Brett) and Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke) are summoned by the desperate founder of an exclusive prep school for boys to locate the missing son of a duke. The investigation uncovers a nefarious plot, and the major clue (a controversial one at the time Doyle wrote the story) involves nothing more than the direction of bicycle tracks. The suspense never lets up in this excellent program, and Brett and Hardwicke are at their best. --Tom Keogh

Sherlock Holmes: Six Napoleons (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Yup, that is Counselor Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation, looking particularly glum in this episode from Granada Television's Sherlock Holmes series. Troi--or rather actress Marina Sirtis--is part of the cast of this wild mystery, which suggests that a madman with a grudge against Napoleon Bonaparte is smashing clay busts of his likeness all over London. Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke) proposes that the criminal has a psychological obsession, but Holmes (Jeremy Brett) scoffs at that idea. There is indeed much more going on than meets the eye in this story, as plainly evidenced when a notorious Mafia figure turns up dead. Meanwhile, anyone in possession of ornamental Bonapartes is in danger--and only Holmes knows why. This exciting installment in the series is also noteworthy for its rare glimpse of a softer side of Holmes, as seen in a memorable coda to the story. Brett is brilliant as the famed sleuth. --Tom Keogh

The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Silver Blaze (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle caught a fair amount of flak for getting a lot of details wrong in this story about the training and racing of horses. Nevertheless, it is one of his most popular yarns and makes a fine basis for this vigorous 1988 episode from the Granada Television series about Sherlock Holmes. The Great Detective (Jeremy Brett) and his chronicler and ally Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke) hurry to Devonshire, following the murder of a trainer and the disappearance of Silver Blaze, a swift horse heavily favored to win the big-money Wessex Cup. Holmes takes some snarly barbs from Blaze's rich owner in stride--though he has his revenge on the arrogant fellow later. The mystery is a keen one and the solution is among Doyle's most inventive. Brett and Hardwicke are at their best as the dynamic duo. --Tom Keogh

The Return of Sherlock Holmes - The Devil's Foot (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: One of the most interesting stories in the Sherlock Holmes canon, The Devil's Foot finds the Great Detective's friend and ally, Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke), pressuring the exhausted sleuth (Jeremy Brett) into joining him on a vacation on the Cornish coast. Instead of relaxation, however, Holmes and Watson encounter one of the most horrifying multiple murders they have yet come across. Though our heroes nearly die from Holmes's effort to prove the cause of death, they carry on until Holmes finally unmasks the identity of the culprits--and then makes a controversial decision about the fate of one. Brett and Hardwicke excel as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous team, who are under more duress than usual in this fascinating tale. --Tom Keogh

Sherlock Holmes: Wisteria Lodge (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett) and Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke) are drawn into the investigation of the murder of Garcia (Arturo Venegas), for which Scott Eccles (Donald Churchill), a guest of Garcia's at Wisteria Lodge, has been arrested--possibly mistakenly. An extreme rarity in the Holmes canon, a policeman of real competence named Inspector Baynes (Freddie Jones), is also on the case, making this tale all the more interesting for Holmes fans interested in comparing and contrasting investigative styles. Brett and Hardwicke, as always, are exceptionally good as the Great Detective and his famous ally. --Tom Keogh

Sherlock Holmes: Bruce Partington Plan (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: A junior clerk working for Britain's defense planning dashes off in the middle of a date with his fiancée, and turns up dead along some railroad tracks--apparently having been pushed from a train while carrying several secret documents related to England's development of a submarine warship. Was he a traitor? If so, who killed him? The case is brought to the attention of Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett) and his ally, Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke), by none other than Mycroft Holmes (Charles Gray), brother of the Great Detective and indispensable repository of government business. Sherlock's conclusions, however, prove there is more to the truth than meets the eye. Brett, as always, is the perfect Holmes while Hardwicke is the ideal Watson for the latter years of their crime-fighting career. A strong story with some of the sleuth's most impressive investigatory work, The Bruce-Partington Plans is a worthy part of the long-running Granada Television series, based on Arthur Conan Doyle's famous character. --Tom Keogh