The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

I suspect you've never seen the Brett version of "the solitary cyclist," boy do the boxing skills come out in that one! In the first series that Brett did for Granada, along side David Burke, he's really quite spry. It's only when he began to ail in real life that his Holmes became more melancholy and cerebral rather than physical.

Holmes in the early stories is described as tall, athletic, a first-rate boxer, outdoorsy.The description recalls Ian Carmichael's Peter Wimsey in a way, or many of David Niven's roles, without Wimsey's aristo aspects.The best example of this reading of Holmes is in Billy Wilder's marvelous "Private Life of Sherlock Holmes," with Robert Stephens in the title role.This view of Holmes makes more sense in many ways. He's part of a tradition of English "extraordinary gentlemen." Holmes is described as having his spells, when no case has turned up to occupy him. But when "the game's afoot" Holmes is extroverted.Rathbone emphasized the moody and introspective element. Fun, but with some inherent flaws. His Holmes so abuses Watson that no one really would have stood for it. Logically, then, Nigel Bruce makes his Watson so obtuse and half-witted he simply doesn't get it when Holmes razzes him. But could someone so dense have been able to get an MD?....Brett takes the Rathbone version to an extreme. Holmes in the books tussles with thugs; Brett looks like he can barely stand upright. Brett takes Rathbone's needling to the level of Paul Lynde. It's a Holmes of the 1980s and '90s, but not necessarily true to the original written version.Ronald Howard seems to capture the original Holmes better. His banter with Watson is gentler. Crawford"s Watson isn't the charming but implausible clown that Bruce's is. The first Holmes story says Watson got acquainted with Holmes at university, and they agreed to share rooms to save expenses. Tho Holmes of course thinks rings around Watson, the interplay is much more between two fellow human beings, not between a master and his dog.It is a relief to see a robust and hearty Holmes. Not someone fulfilling the false cliche that someone brilliant can't also be a decent person. "Urkel" probably set back the black community a couple decades with a comparable false image.However, the production values here and the direction are amusingly typical of early 1950s TV. See also "Lone Ranger" on Hulu. Or earlier Westerns. Clearly they're doing their best, and the incremental progress in sets, blocking, etc. in modern TV owes a lot to watching these pioneers.

This is the most terrible presentation of Holmes that I've seen. After watching how Jeremy Brett present Holmes these episodes do not seem like Homes at all. They don't represent the essence of Holmes at all. Instead, It's just like any other detective film. They do not seem to understand what Holmes is. Most of the stories sound as if someone is just saying things so that they'll be said, not because there is any logic in it. And the relationship between Holmes and Watson is very ridicules, especially the merry way both behave. These stories have nothing to do with Holmes....