The Hound of the Baskervilles

Tom Baker did this film just after putting in 7 years as Dr. Who. There are traces of his eccentric turn as The Doctor that show up here. I enjoyed him as Holmes. The story is familiar to me so I could look at other things at leisure. It does look pretty good, considering it's a BBC-type tv production. This is neither the best nor the worst version of this story I've seen. The fact that Baker donned the Holmes outfit in a Dr. Who serial and that he had played Holmes on stage before must have made him very comfortable in the role, for he does so effortlessly. Tom Baker is such a joy to watch doing anything, and the chance to see him play one of my favorite characters gave me special thrill. His Holmes seems to enjoy life more. He dives into the chance to solve this most chilling of murder mysteries. The supporting cast is fine, and special kudos must go out to the set designers. All in all, I would give it a "6" out of "10".

I remember this adaptation, made for the BBC's Sunday Classic Serial slot. Tom Baker had just left 'Doctor Who' where he was 'fantastic' (of course!) I think this was the first time he had played the sleuth (he starred as Holmes on stage in 'The Mask of Moriarty' in 1985) but do not remember his performance here! I do remember Terence Rigby as Watson turned in another in a long line of Nigel Bruce impressions.

Thank goodness we soon had David Burke to set a new example for Edward Hardwicke and Ian Hart! What I do remember favourably is Carl Davis' haunting theme music and the animated titles. The music was very much in the vein of Davis' sombre theme for 'Winston Churchill - The Wilderness Years.' The animated titles (following the Hound's shadow from rock to rock over a bleak, dark-skied Dartmoor) would have served well as a storyboard for part of the never yet correctly filmed 'legend of the Hound!' Oh well - we can dream!

Despite the naysayers Tom Baker does an excellent and more than possible portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. In a bit of an overused story he brought a freshness to it. If you get a chance watch this and you'll see what I mean. Pity it wasn't hailed as one of the better Sherlock Holmes outings.

I've had this production tucked away for over a decade and never seen it, until now. As a die hard Tom Baker fan (Doctor Who) I have struggled on occasion to get to grips with him in other roles, but as always he totally came up trumps. My initial thoughts of him being miscast were unfair and wrong, he gave a very strong, down to Earth, honest performance, adding character and presence, not dramatics as I had expected. Terence Rigby made for a very good Watson too, finally not made to be a bumbling buffoon, he was a worthy sidekick to the great detective.

I was very impressed by the production values and the closeness of the original text, it didn't seem like they'd tinkered about with the script a great deal. The costumes and set designs look spot on, that quality you always expect from the BBC.

My only negative would be the casting of Nicholas Woodeson, and his character, a fine actor, but I found the character lacking in any warmth, unsympathetic almost, I picture Henry Baskerville as handsome and lacking harshness. If our Henry here had been dog food, I'd not have lost a huge amount of sleep.

It's an excellent production, it's well worth obtaining.

8/10.

This was like watching a high school senior play in which the teenaged actors were directed by a bored drama teacher to employ every stereotype they had ever seen (or heard) of Holmes and Watson. It's completely understandable that Tom Baker would later apologize for his portrayal. Even by 1982 standards, the production quality was sorely lacking.