My Critique of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The series’ defining strength is Jeremy Brett’s exacting performance, which grounds the Holmesian puzzle in a credible, restless intellect. This precision is matched by production design that avoids theatricality, embracing a sober Victorian texture that feels genuinely inhabited rather than display.
Yet the format’s rigidity yields diminishing returns across the run, with formulaic client beats and episodic resets that blunt momentum, and supporting characters often function as utility rather than individuals. Compared to contemporaneous British drama, it favors textual fidelity over psychological complexity, placing it closer to high-end heritage than revisionist crime narratives.
For modern viewers, it remains a benchmark for canonical fidelity, but its deliberate pacing and lack of character-driven arcs may test attention. It matters as a definitive baseline—rigorously realized, yet stylistically conservative.
Principal Characters & Performances
Sherlock Holmes
Jeremy Brett’s performance as Sherlock Holmes is the series’ cornerstone, a portrayal that has since become a benchmark. He captures the character’s mercurial energy, from languid repose by the Baker Street fire to sudden, electrifying bursts of deductive action.
Brett’s Holmes is not a cold machine but a man of intense, often volatile, passions. You see the intellectual arrogance, the theatrical flair for disguise, and the deep wells of melancholy.
His physicality is precise—the sharp gestures, the piercing gaze—conveying a mind constantly at work.
This interpretation is celebrated for its fidelity to Arthur Conan Doyle’s descriptions, bringing a literary authenticity to the screen. Brett embodies the detective’s genius and his flaws, creating a compelling, three-dimensional figure who dominates every scene he inhabits.
Dr. John Watson
David Burke’s Dr. Watson is the perfect foil to Brett’s Holmes.
He plays Watson not as a bumbling sidekick but as a capable, intelligent man—a former army surgeon whose solidity grounds Holmes’s volatility. Burke brings warmth, loyalty, and a touch of exasperated humour to the role.
His Watson is the audience’s conduit, reacting with genuine surprise and admiration to Holmes’s deductions. The chemistry between Burke and Brett feels natural and lived-in, establishing the foundational friendship at the series’ heart.
This partnership is crucial, making the intellectual puzzles emotionally resonant.
Burke’s tenure, though limited to this initial series, defined a Watson of great dignity and heart. His performance ensures the character is an active participant in the investigations, a trusted friend rather than a mere chronicler.
Notable Support & Guest Stars
The series is bolstered by a strong roster of supporting and guest actors who bring Conan Doyle’s world to life. Rosalie Williams provides a steadfast, occasionally flustered presence as Mrs.
Hudson, the landlady of 221B Baker Street. Colin Jeavons portrays Inspector Lestrade with a wonderful blend of professional pride and grudging respect for Holmes.
Eric Porter’s Professor Moriarty, introduced in “The Red-Headed League,” is a masterclass in menacing intellect. He exudes a calm, sinister authority that makes him a credible nemesis.
Guest stars like Gayle Hunnicutt, who delivers a poised and clever Irene Adler in “A Scandal in Bohemia,” leave lasting impressions.
Similarly, Jeremy Kemp’s terrifying Dr. Grimesby Roylott in “The Speckled Band” epitomises the gothic villainy Holmes often faced.
These performances are never caricatures; they are grounded, detailed portrayals that enrich the series’ texture and period authenticity.
Key Episodes & Defining Stories
A Scandal in Bohemia
This episode, the series premiere, had the monumental task of introducing Jeremy Brett’s Holmes to the world, and it succeeded brilliantly. The core plot sees Holmes hired by the King of Bohemia to retrieve a compromising photograph from the American adventuress Irene Adler.
Gayle Hunnicutt plays Adler with a captivating mix of charm and cunning, while Wolf Kahler is the anxious monarch. The episode, directed by Paul Annett, is a masterful game of cat and mouse involving disguises and staged crises.
It matters because it immediately establishes the series’ tone: literate, visually sumptuous, and respectful of its source material. Fans remember it for the iconic twist where Adler outsmarts Holmes, earning his lasting admiration as “the woman.” It set a high standard for character depth and narrative sophistication from the very start.
The Red-Headed League
This story is a quintessential Holmes puzzle, presented here with a significant narrative expansion. Pawnbroker Jabez Wilson is baffled by a lucrative, pointless job copying an encyclopedia, a scheme Holmes deduces is a front to dig a tunnel into a bank vault.
The adaptation, produced by John Hawkesworth, cleverly weaves in Professor Moriarty as the mastermind, played by Eric Porter. This addition transforms a standalone mystery into a chapter in a larger conflict, building continuity for the series.
Fans cherish this episode for its perfect blend of humour and intrigue. It showcases Holmes’s sheer delight in an absurd intellectual challenge.
The climax in the dark, dusty vault is a triumph of atmospheric direction, making the solution as visually satisfying as it is intellectually clever.
The Speckled Band
Often considered one of Conan Doyle’s finest tales, this adaptation captures every ounce of its gothic horror. Helen Stoner fears for her life in the oppressive country house of her stepfather, Dr.
Grimesby Roylott, following her sister’s mysterious death.
Jeremy Kemp is terrifying as Roylott, a man of brute force and simmering rage. The episode, directed by John Bruce, builds unbearable tension through its setting: a decaying manor with false bell-ropes and mysterious whistles in the night.
It is remembered for its faithful and suspenseful execution of a classic plot. The revelation of the murder weapon—a venomous snake—is handled with chilling effectiveness.
This episode exemplifies the series’ ability to shift genres seamlessly, delivering a genuinely frightening country-house mystery rooted in character and atmosphere.
The World of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The series builds a tangible, immersive late Victorian London. Exteriors were famously filmed on Granada Television’s purpose-built Victorian street set in Manchester, a marvel of production design that gives Baker Street and its environs a consistent, lived-in feel.
This is a world of fog-wreathed cobblestones glowing under gas lamps, of horse-drawn carriages clattering past, and of interiors dense with patterned wallpaper, heavy furniture, and clutter. The costume design meticulously reflects the period, from Holmes’s iconic dressing gown and deerstalker to the elaborate gowns of clients like Irene Adler.
The attention to detail extends to modes of transport, social customs, and the very texture of daily life. This commitment to environment is not just backdrop; it is essential to the stories, shaping the crimes and the methods used to solve them.
You don’t just watch these mysteries; you are invited to step into their world.
Origin Story
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The first episode, “A Scandal in Bohemia,” aired on 24 April 1984.
John Hawkesworth served as the principal producer and a main writer, steering the project with a clear vision for fidelity to Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories.
Filmed largely at Granada’s studios in Manchester and on location across England, it was a purely British production at its start. The series was commissioned to bring a new, definitive television interpretation of Holmes to life, capitalising on the enduring appeal of the character and setting a high bar for period drama.
Narrative Style & Tone
The series adopts a classical, deliberate narrative style. Each episode is a self-contained mystery, following a clear structure: the client’s arrival, the investigation, and Holmes’s final explanation.
The pacing allows scenes to breathe, prioritising conversation and deductive reasoning over action.
The tone is one of intelligent naturalism. The scripts retain much of Conan Doyle’s dialogue, and the direction avoids flashy techniques, focusing instead on character and plot.
Watson’s perspective guides the viewer, with the orchestral score underlining tension and period atmosphere. It is storytelling that trusts the source material and the audience’s intelligence.
How is The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes remembered?
The series is remembered as a landmark in television adaptation, frequently cited as one of the most faithful and sophisticated renderings of Sherlock Holmes. Jeremy Brett’s performance is its enduring legacy, a portrayal that continues to define the character for many fans and critics alike.
Its reputation is built on consistent quality—the meticulous production design, the strong supporting cast, and the literate scripts. Decades after its original broadcast, it maintains a high regard on review platforms and continues to find new audiences through rebroadcasts and home media releases.
For enthusiasts of British crime drama and detective fiction, it is often the first and highest recommendation. It set a standard for the Granada Holmes cycle that followed and remains a benchmark against which other adaptations are measured, prized for its authenticity, atmosphere, and unparalleled central performance.
In Closing
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes offers a masterclass in character-driven mystery. It is a richly detailed, impeccably performed journey into the world of Arthur Conan Doyle, anchored by a definitive portrayal of literature’s greatest detective.