The Sherlock Holmes Collection: 50 Cases

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The various reviews of this release indicate some slight disagreement as to its worth. The cause of the dispute is clearly the portrayal of Holmes. With my rating on record I will offer my opinion on the subject. Firstly I consider myself a dedicated and serious Sherlockian. As such I believe that Matt Frewer is an excellent Holmes - in fact one of the best that I have seen (perhaps second only to Jeremy Brett). His main eccentricity is his youth - but experts declare that at the time of the Hound escapade Holmes was less than 35 years of age. Mr. Frewer fits this requirement perfectly. His physical appearance also is ideal. This Holmes seems to possess considerable nervous energy and is downright playful at times with Dr. Watson. We know that Holmes was subject to considerable mood swings; this Holmes is preponderantly upbeat. This Dr. Watson, while himself satisfactory, makes an odd mix with this Holmes. Watson was supposed to be about 7 years older than Holmes; here he looks more like 25 years his senior. Indeed it sometimes seems that it is Watson who is the solid voice of reason, calming his occasionally overemotional associate. Anyone who likes a human Holmes will appreciate this arrangement. A simplified précis of Frewer/Holmes is that it is the exact opposite of Rathbone/Holmes. The comment of one reviewer regarding incompetence of the acting I consider as purest twaddle from someone who simply didn't like this representation of Holmes. All the acting is professional and creditable. My rating of the four episodes presented here: Hound - 5 stars, Sign of Four - 5 stars, Royal Scandal - 2 .5 stars, Whitechapel Vampire - 4 stars. The two canonical novels are surprisingly good, due to excellent story editing and scripts. Both tend to be highly faithful to their sources, with judicious changes which are usually quite convincing. The climactic scene of the Sign of Four is the best I have seen for that story, much better than the tepid river chase. Also the clever twist to the character of Mary Morstan is welcome. The Hound is just plain good, with an amazing amount ot the original plot elements compressed into the time frame allowed. Casting is good, with boytoy Jason London as Sir Henry and Simon Wilcock as Stapleton, pious one moment and dangerous the next. Highly recommended to all fans of Holmes.

These four films, which originally aired in the US on the Hallmark/Odyssey Channel, look (for all intents and purposes) to be targeted at family audiences. They are bright and viewer-friendly, and hopefully have just enough to get younger viewers interested in the fascinating adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.Though they have many positive attributes, they also have a few flaws. Arguably the weakest of the series is the first entry, "The Hound of the Baskervilles". It suffers from a serious lack of atmosphere, a thoroughly modern Sir Henry, a peculiar-looking Hound, and a Holmes so off-the-wall you have to look twice to make sure it's not Jim Carrey donning the deerstalker. Matt Frewer certainly has the right look, but in his debut he exaggerates Holmes's eccentric tendancies to the extreme. He tones it down considerably in the later three movies, however, and as a result his performance improves a great deal. This "Hound" benefits from an excellent Dr. Watson and suitably mysterious Barrymores, who may or may not be behind the murder that took place at Baskerville Hall."The Sign of Four" sticks close to the original source, except for a few details. One wishes for a stronger Mary Morstan and a more eccentric Thaddeus Sholto, but a comically antagonistic Inspector Jones more than makes up for this lack. The appearance of the Baker Street Irregulars is a treat, as is an alternate, action-packed ending. Although it deviates from the ending described by Doyle in the original novel, it makes for a far more interesting one--especially for younger viewers."The Royal Scandal" combines two original Conan Doyle stories, "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Bruce-Partington Plans" and molds them into a fairly decent 90 minutes. Of course, there is the requisite pairing of Holmes and Irene Adler in a romantic relationship, but fortunately it is less cheesily done than one might suspect. Sherlock's older brother Mycroft also appears, albeit altered to suit the plotline. This movie is also split into two halves for some reason. You get the first 30 minutes on Disc One. After that, you must switch over to Disc 2 for the last hour.Finally, "The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire" deals with the mysterious murders of members of a religious group in the Whitechapel district. The victims all have the bite marks of a vampire, naturally prompting suspicion to fall on a supernatural force. Speculation points to a demon who has come to wreak vengeance for a misdeed committed by the group's leader. Of course, Holmes is sceptical of all things supernatural, good and evil, and sets about finding out who is behind the murders and why they are taking place. By the end, his thoughts on the unexplainable are changed by a series of events.Overall, these films are an entertaining diversion for an evening at home with the kids or by yourself. Part of the fun is seeing if you can pick out redundancies (i.e. the director's choice to use the same minor actors in different parts, the number of times Holmes either says "My good man" or my personal fave "I don't know...yet"). The only real thing the discs lack is that there are no extras which should make up for the spent money on a DVD set containing four films, two of which were previously released on VHS. Other than that, these come highly recommended.

The stories were very entertaining.

Matt Frewer is a great addition to the line of actors who have played this iconic sleuth. He and Mr. Welsh are very entertaining in their portrayals of Holmes and Watson. And had it not been for this line of tv movies, I might not have ever been tempted to make more of my passing interest in Sherlock Holmes, picked up a novel, and poured through it. It is more than a year later and I have since read every novella and all four novels in the "canon."Plus have gone on to read Nicholas Meyer's take on Holmes in his three novels, am currently reading The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes, co-written by Conan Doyle's kin. And have also seen many of Jeremy Brett's appearences in the hour length dramas based closer to Doyle's works.All in all this brings to life a way for the whole family to enjoy the legend of Sherlock Holmes, and has brought it to a multigenerational exceptance, much like Smallville did for another great hero, Superman...

Light hearted and delightful performance turned in by Matthew Frewer as he takes his turn as Sherlock Holmes. As his faithful companion Watson, Kenneth Welsh does a marvelous job of balancing out the two principal characters.If the viewer is familiar with the team of Rathbone and Bruce, then they will likely be quite surprised to find that the roles have been largely reversed. Frewer comes out swinging by playing a cheeky, slightly bumbling, yet mostly competent Holmes in the first installment of the series, while Welsh firmly grounds the team by fleshing out the character of Watson. By adding a quality to his character that is immediately likable, and quite capable in his own right, Welsh certainly manages to hold his own on screen.If you are a fan of the great detective and his trusty sidekick, then you owe it to yourself to own this collection. I think you will find it breathes a breath of fresh air into the characters.

This was a CTV mini-series, Matt Frewer plays a slightly quirky Holmes, Kenneth Walsh is excellent as Watson. There are 4 episodes in the series, and production values are excellent. Very enjoyable are the scenes of London. 4 episodes include: Hound of the Baskervilles, The Royal Scandal, Sign of the Four and the Case of the Whitechapel Vampire. Great viewing and I enjoyed it immensely. I highly recommend this series.

Excellent quality, fast delivery

Love these old movies

Great old Sherlock Holmes movie