Sherlock Holmes

This 40 minute gem is currently being rerun on a Saturday afternoon on BB2 in England. Jeremy Brett makes a fantastic Holmes. Always slightly on edge with the right accent & demeanour, he really makes this programme the perfect example to how Holmes should be played. David Burke also plays a perfect Watson without appearing the slightest bit "bumbly" like in the rest of the adaptations. A definate 10/10

I must confess that until a few years ago I fully believed in the deer-stalker wearing, beak-nosed incarnation of Sherlock Holmes as seen on bill-boards and children's cartoons. Then one night my father persuaded me to watch this series on TV and after that I just had to read the stories to find out what had happened.

Ever since then I have watched every Sherlock Holmes movie that ever came on TV just so I could shout abuse at it, all except this series. Of course it has its faults as does every good thing but there can be little denying that when it came to the casting of the lead it could have not been more perfect.

Brett brings such an energy to the part that is sorely missing in other adaptations. Few other Holmes's have thrown themselves onto dusty floorboards with such gusto or made the veins stand out on their brows in anger. He is deceptively charming and at the same time faintly unsettling, not to mention immensely funny at the correct moment. With him we get a Holmes who, it can be said, is a full human being, flawed but only in the way that a diamond may be flawed, that does not mean it is not still a diamond.

The supporting cast is also excellent with David Burke and Edward Hardewick providing slightly different but equally good Watson's.

Anyone who claims to be a great fan of the stories but does not like this adaptation should look again at the narratives and hang their heads in shame.

Jeremy Brett is by far the best Holmes to date and his passing is truly a great shame. All of his representations of Holmes should not be missed. The rest of the cast are excellent. The sets and costumes are supurb as well.

This is a Sherlock Holmes series that is absolutely faithful to the original stories. The excellent cast with Jeremy Brett in the lead leaves no wishes open. Many roles were given to icons of British drama and cinema, such as Charles Gray, Eric Porter, John Castle, Joss Ackland and Eric Sykes. Others went to upcoming stars of the late 80s such as Marina Sirtis and Natasha Richardson. The mise-en-scene was certainly not only developed true to the books, but it was also inspired by Sidney Paget's drawings, which were published together with the early stories in the "Strand Magazine" from the beginning of the 1890s onwards. Compare, for example, the King of Bohemia, who faces Holmes as a masked stranger, or the struggle of Holmes and Moriarty at the Reichenbach falls in Switzerland.

This series is a true masterpiece of television.

I have only seen a few episiodes of the Jeremy Brett version of 'Sherlock Holmes' but already (to me) Jeremy Brett is THE 'Sherlock Holmes'. He gives the character a real personality and not only plays the character but BECOMES the character. I know that Jeremy Brett was not always comfortable with the character and lacked confidence in his portrayal of 'Sherlock Holmes' but to me he is the ULTIMATE Sherlock!!!! It's so unfourtunate that a character who ultimately brought such pleasure to so many people brought the actor such a mix of joy and misery!!!! Jeremy Brett was a great actor and a great man and thats why he is one of my all time favourite actors!!!!!