When one mentions the term ‘detective’, there is no doubt in my mind that the first name that comes to most people’s minds is Sherlock Holmes. He is easily one of the most recognized characters in the world of mystery novels. In the movies and on Television he has been portrayed by numerous actors, more than I can count. But only a handful of those actors are forever linked to the character. Over the last two years MPI Home Video has released three DVD sets that made the ‘whodunit’ world take notice, “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”, “The Return of Sherlock Holmes” and most recently “The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes.” This series starred the magnificent Jeremy Brett as Holmes and David Burke as Mr. Watson. Based directly on the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the series took you deep into the world of Sherlock Holmes to witness his triumphs as well as his failures, his strengths and his weaknesses like none other has done before.

Jeremy Brett has long been heralded as the definitive Sherlock Holmes, which is not to discount Basil Rathbone, whose name is synonymous with that of the great detective. The original series, “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” was produced between 1984-1985, and due to its popularity and faithfulness to the original stories, was brought back in the hopes of eventually filming all 60 of the canon. Unfortunately, this was not to be. After filming 45 episodes, poor health, brought on by severe depression due to the death of his wife, prohibited him from making any more. In 1995 Brett passed away.

Fortunately however, it is still possible for us to watch the episodes that were made thanks to the continuing DVD releases from MPI. This month, we get the final 6 episodes (listed below) in a 3-disc set, “The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.” The episodes in this and the previous set were where it really began to get interesting for me as I had never seen any of them before. I was familiar with most of the episodes on the first two sets, having seen most of them on TV, but here it was all new ground.

“The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes” takes up right where we left off, and continues with same quality that had already started in earlier episodes. Along with the great performances, the production’s attention to detail as far as sets and costumes make this series a must watch.

I’ve always been a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, and I have to admit to favoring the aforementioned Basil Rathbone as well as Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, because that it who I grew up watching. In my mind, they will always own the roles. But Brett does a magnificent job of taking the character into new areas, some of which are quite uncomfortable as they expose some of Holmes’ weaknesses. Those who are familiar with the original books seem to relish these though. During these final episodes, Brett’s failing health began to be quite noticeable, but in spite of this he still gave his all to the role.

In the series, the role of Dr. Watson was originally played by David Burke, but by the third ‘season’ he was replaced by Edward Hardwicke. He did a wonderful job with the character and continued in the role until the series ended. It was also a pleasure to see Charles Gray show up in the episode “The Mazarin Stone” as Holmes’ brother, Mycroft. Gray, in spite of a long and illustrious career in films, is probably best remembered for his role as the narrator in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

So far the DVD sets that have been released have included only a few extras, but they’ve always been good ones (quality over quantity, I always say…) and here is no different. “Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes” includes a commentary by screenwriter Jeremy Paul and Holmes expert David Stuart Davies as well as a welcome interview with Adrian Conan Doyle (Arthur’s youngest son and his literary executor).

All four of these collections (as well as releases of “The Sign of the Four” and “The Hound of the Baskervilles”) serve as a fitting tribute to Jeremy Brett. His performances served the character of Sherlock Holmes well, and they deserve to be preserved for future generations.

Episodes:
The Three Gables
The Dying Detective
The Golden Pince-Nez
The Red Circle
The Mazarin Stone
The Cardboard Box

Starring: Jeremy Brett, Edward Hardwicke
Extras: Commentary with Screenwriter Jeremy Paul and Holmes expert David Stuart Davies, An Interview with Adrian Conan Doyle, Production Notes
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: MPI
Release Date: 10/26/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes an A.