"Always carry a firearm east of Aldgate, Watson."
Oh dear. It has to be emphasised that Granada can hardly be blamed for the fact that this is one of Conan Doyle's less well-regarded short stories (Nicholas Meyer goes so far as to have Watson describe it as fake "drivel" in his excellent novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution), but they chose to adapt it where many other options were available- and this is a tale about a professor who chooses to inject himself with the essence of a primate in order to rejuvenate him ahead of a marriage to a girl about a third of his age.
Worse, the adaptation- while generally well-made and written- chooses to lean into the sci-fi silliness of its premise by adding a subplot of primates stolen from zoos, and features both a man in a gorilla suit, which makes one wince to see, and Charles Kay in a tree whooping like a gorilla. It's embarrassing to watch, and Watson's instincts at he beginning of the episode are quite correct..
There are redeeming features in pretty much everything other than the above. Brett and Hardwicke are never less than superb, and Charles Kay is excellent as the Professor, undignified though his final scene may be. The script, quite rightly, emphasises the ickiness of the Professor's proposed marriage to a girl he calls "my dear child". It's also good to see Colin Jeavons for the last time as probably the definitive Lestrade. Nevertheess, this episode is hardly the series' finest hour.
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