I do love the Granada Sherlock Holmes series to death, they are so well made and acted as well as interesting and most of them only get better on repeated viewings. Of the Returns series(if we were for a minute to exclude the feature length adaptations Sign of Four and Hound of the Baskervilles, both of which are superior in my opinion to this one), the best of that series is The Devil's Foot, followed by The Empty House. The Man With the Twisted Lip is not one of my favourites of the series like The Crooked Man, The Blue Carbuncle, The Dying Detective, The Final Problem, The Cardboard Box and The Devil's Foot, but it is still a solid enough episode. There have been more compelling stories of the series and perhaps more swifter-paced ones too, but The Man With The Twisted Lip is memorable for a wonderful denouncement and a scene in an opium den that is an all too haunting reminder of what drugs then and now could do to you. It is as always a splendidly made episode, it not just looks great though but also the atmosphere actually makes you feel you were there. The music is hauntingly beautiful and the writing has been stronger before but especially with the reflective and powerfully written final fifteen minutes or so it does show evidence of thoughtfulness. The acting is fine. Eleanor David of the support cast is the one who captivates, though Dennis Lill is an excellent Inspector Bradstreet and Clive Franis is good as St Clair. Edward Hardwicke is a subtle and composed Watson, contrasting wonderfully with the ever commanding Holmes of Jeremy Brett. All in all, solid enough but not one of the better episodes of the series. 8/10 Bethany Cox