Il taccuino di Sherlock Holmes

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

My only problem with this series was that three short stories('The Master Blackmailer', 'The Last Vampyre', and 'The Eligible Bachelor') were expanded into feature-length, rather than the standard hour-long format, when it wasn't really necessary. In the case of 'The Eligible Bachelor', I felt that for the only time in the whole overall series, the creators stumbled, since I felt it was bloated and tedious, with unwise changes to the story.

Fortunately, I did like the other two expanded adaptations, and the regular episodes were equally superb, so I can't complain there, I just wish that for "Casebook", the producers remembered the old saying "If it isn't broke, don't fix it!" The team of Brett & Hardwicke are still superb though, which is to be expected.

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.

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

The fascinating Granada series with the incredible Jeremy Brett as the master sleuth Sherlock Holmes continued well into the 1990's with episodes pertaining to the later life of the great detective. The stories, in read form, are quite fascinating and when brought to the screen, they were, as always carried over with care and panache.