Il taccuino di Sherlock Holmes

Last night "The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes: The Creeping Man" aired on the Biography Channel. It started out scary but with a typical British flair for understatement. But it ended up amazingly! Charles Kay, a marvelous character actor if ever there was one, played a widower with a daughter engaged to his assistant. One morning she tells her father she has seen an intruder at her window. Her father gives her the "there-there" treatment, saying she was only dreaming because her bedroom is too high up for an intruder. But when the truth comes out, the story becomes a feat of sheer amazement, especially the end which I shall not spoil by giving it away here. All I can say is Charles Kay should have gotten the British equivalent of an Emmy for that performance. I think he even surpassed the (late) GREAT Jeremy Brett, whose Sherlock Holmes is so wonderful. Mr. Kay, if you can read this, I hope you know how much I enjoyed that scene last night and how much I've enjoyed all your works. And I wish with all my heart I could tell Jeremy Brett how marvelous I always thought he was, whether he was playing a toy soldier in 19th century Russia (Nicholas in "War & Peace,"), a martinet in "My Fair Lady" (even if he didn't really sing "On the Street Where You Live" to Audrey Hepburn) or as Sherlock Holmes. I used to think there was only one Sherlock Holmes - Mr. Basil Rathbone. Now I see there are 2. And I hope they're in heaven, talking to one another about Sherlock and talking with the "discoverer" (author) of Sherlock Holmes, namely, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Anyway, if you didn't see the episode last night, then wait until it comes back again or if you don't want to wait, then order the Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. This was a marvelous episode in a truly marvelous series.

Jeremy Brett is ( possibly next to William Gillette, Basil Rathbone or Arthur Wontner ) the greatest Holmes portrayer of all time. He, with Edward Hardwicke (son of Sir Cedric) make the stories come alive with actors just like the characters. If you love Holmes, try to catch this on TV (I'll admit it's not always on).

The Case book of Sherlock Holmes isn't perhaps the golden era for Jeremy Brett and co, it's still an almost brilliant run for the enigmatic detective. The production values are phenomenal, each story looks incredible with sumptuous costumes and exquisite costumes.

Brett remained incredible as Holmes from start to finish, Hardwicke continued to impress as Watson, I loved Burke, but always felt that Hardwicke was more in keeping with the character in the books.

The Problem of Thor Bridge and The Master Blackmailer are my personal favourites, but each has something to offer, The Last Vampyre perhaps being the weakest entry. Some terrific guest performances, Cheryl Campbell and Robert Hardy being two of note.

All in all, excellent. 8/10

I just love anything to do with Sherlock Holmes, and while the Casebook of Sherlock Holmes isn't quite as good as Return or Adventures, it is a wholly creditable series, with superb acting and precise period detail.

The episodes are superbly adapted, yes maybe with a few liberties, but they are splendidly done all the same. The camera work is sensitive and brooding, and the period detail never fails to be splendid and precise. And I have to mention the music- the main theme is as I keep saying beautiful and also haunting, with rich background scoring.

The acting is of high calibre- Holmes is a very complex character, and while there are one or two subtle differences, Jeremy Brett is the perfect Holmes and by far the definitive one. Edward Hardwicke is just as superb as Watson; while David Burke is more humorous and younger, Hardwicke's the one I am admittedly more familiar with, and the truer of the two to the Watson in the books.

All in all, fascinating and splendidly done. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Thank goodness for the wonderful folks at Granada Television. In the mid 1980s, they created the absolute best Sherlock Holmes ever to make it to the big or small screen. Unlike all the previous versions, which LIBERALLY deviated from the Conan Doyle stories, the Granada films tried to be perfect in every detail.

Unlike the caricature of Holmes that you see in previous films where he wears a deerstalker hat, smokes a curved pipe and spouts "elementary, my dear Watson", this Holmes is true to the original character. Additionally, Dr. Watson is not the bumbling idiot as portrayed by Nigel Bruce (Bruce should burn in Hell for how he ruined this character).

The first mini-series by Granada was exceptional and Jeremy Brett was the greatest Holmes ever. The second picked up exactly where it should have as did this third series.

Intelligently written and wonderful throughout. See these films and get hooked!!