The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Series 2- The Final Problem

 "You have less frontal development than I should have expected..."

This episode is, like the short story to which it is almost entirely faithful except for the detail of having Moriarty behind The Red Headed League, completely unlike any other instalment. There is no mystery, no whodunit; this is an entirely different genre as Holmes is close to nailing Moriarty so he and Watson must flee to the Continent. 

I’m no fan of the short story, so it says quite something that I very much enjoyed this episode. The wonderful visuals- particularly the location filming in what I assume must be Switzerland and the actual Reichenbach Falls- are a huge part of this, of course. So are the magnificent performances of Jeremy Brett and Eric Porter. Their initial confrontation scene in Baker Street is mesmerising.

The case in France from the short story is also expanded to concern the theft of the Mona Lisa, which adds an extra element of fun, with Holmes finding a parallel in a skilled copyist of Old Masters- and is that J.P. Morgan to whom Moriarty was about to sell the forgery? 

It’s a fitting end to the first iteration of ITV’s version of Sherlock Holmes. Fortunately, though, it will continue in other titles, with a less wooden Watson than David Burke. And, as I have access to them all, I shall go on and onto the end...

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Series 2- The Greek Interpreter

"I'm not built for running, Sherlock!"

In what must have been one of the most long-awaited episodes we finally get to meet the legendary Mycroft Holmes, and the ever-splendid Charles Gray, reprising his role from The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, does not disappoint. The central mystery is engaging too and, again, dark.

Our introduction to the sedentary genius Mycroft is well-written, superbly acted and rather faithful to the books, although what leaps up to me is that this unparalleled genius seems to do no more for his living than to audit the books for a civil service department. No hints of espionage, then. At least not yet.

The entertainment value inherent in seeing the two brothers interacting again distracts us somewhat from the nastiness of what is going on, but there's no doubting the excellence of the episode. Two episodes in and this series is unfailingly excellent so far.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Series 1- The Naval Treaty

"Help yourself to tobacco from the Persian slipper!"

SPOILERS

Apparent diplomatic intrigue as a treaty is stolen, seemingly by an agent of the French or the Russians; there's even a red herring with a French-sounding name. But the real culprit is, of course, obvious; he's played by the most famous actor, which tends to be a dead giveaway, in this case the sometime star of Blake's 7.

There's a lot here to remind us of just how weird late Victorian times were, though. Percy Phelps is what they used to call "highly strung", a condition not much seen nowadays. But he's posh, well-connected, and has managed to get himself a much sought-after job in the foreign office as an... office dogsbody. Yes, this posh bloke does the late Victorian equivalent of the photocopying for a living.

The tale is well told, bookended by amusing scenes of Holmes doing chemistry with a proper chemistry set complete with various weirdly-shaped glass vessels and bubbling liquids. Holmes, contemplating a beautiful flower, reveals his belief in a superior being. And we have the first of many resentful and contrary inspectors, in contrast to The Dancing Men's fawning example. And that's two superb episodes in a row.