Sherlock Holmes is the overall title given to the series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations produced by the British television company Granada Television between 24 April 1984 and 11 April 1994.
Of the 60 Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle, 43 were adapted in the series, spanning 36 one-hour episodes and five feature-length specials. Episode 35 "The Eligible Bachelor" has material from both "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor" and "The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger", while episode 40 incorporates the plot lines of both "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" and "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs".
The series was broadcast on the ITV network in the UK and starred Jeremy Brett as Holmes. Watson was played by David Burke in the first series (Adventures) and by Edward Hardwicke from the second series (Return) onwards.
REAR COVER
The Hound of The Baskervilles
Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead in strange circumstances and Sherlock Holmes is asked to investigate. Holmes instructs Watson to become his heirs bodyguard and it soon appears that Sir Charles was in love with Stapleton, the butterfly collector.
Meanwhile, his servants are keeping the escaped murderer Seldon's whereabouts a secret but eventually reveal all. It transpires that there is the underlying presence of a demonic hound on the loose and pieces begin to fall in to place.
Director: Sarah Harding
Producer: Michael Cox, June Wyndham Davies
OVERALL PLOT
In the late Victorian era, Sherlock Holmes is the world's only consulting detective. His practice is largely with private clients, but he is also known to assist the police, often in the shape of Inspector Lestrade, when their cases overlap. His clients range from private citizens of modest means to members of royalty. His ability to spot clues easily overlooked by others, and to apply both specialist knowledge—chemistry, botany, anatomy—and deductive reasoning, enable him to solve the most complex cases. He is assisted in his work by military veteran Dr. John Watson, with whom he shares rooms at 221B Baker Street.
Holmes craves mental stimulation, and is known to relapse into depression, and drug use when there are no sufficiently complex cases to engage him.
MAIN CAST
Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes (1984–1994). Brett had earlier portrayed Dr Watson on stage in the Los Angeles production of The Crucifer of Blood. Brett's portrayal remains very popular and is accepted by many as definitive.
David Burke as Dr. Watson (1984–1985). He earlier played the villain in "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" for the 1965 BBC series starring Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock). He left to join the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Edward Hardwicke as Dr. Watson (1986–1994). He earlier had a role in an adaptation of "The Greek Interpreter" for the 1968 BBC series
Rosalie Williams as Mrs Hudson (1984–1994)
SUPPORTING STAFF
Colin Jealous as Inspector Lestrade (1985–1992). He also played Moriarty in The Baker Street Boys (1982)
Eric Porter as Professor Moriarty (1985–1986). He appeared in "The Red-Headed League", "The Final Problem" and "The Empty House". Archive footage was also used for "The Devil's Foot" and "The Eligible Bachelor".
Charles Gray as Mycroft Holmes (1985, 1988, 1994). Played the same character in the 1976 film The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
Brian Miller as Inspector Bradstreet on "The Blue Carbuncle" (1984),
Denis Lill as Inspector Bradstreet (1986, 1988, 1994) on "The Man with the Twisted Lip", "The Bruce-Partington Plans" and "The Mazarin Stone"
John Labonowski as Inspector Athelney Jones in "The Red-Headed League" (1985)
Emrys James as Inspector Athelney Jones in "The Sign of Four" (1987)
Paul Williamson as Inspector Stanley Hopkins in "The Abbey Grange" (1986)
Nigel Planer as Inspector Stanley Hopkins in "The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez" (1994)
Tom Chadbon as Inspector Hawkins in "The Red Circle" and "The Cardboard Box" (1994)
The role of the servant Joe Barnes who impersonates Lady Beatrice in the 1991 episode "Shoscombe Old Place" was played by Jude Law, who later played Dr. Watson in the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes and its 2011 sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.
Freddie Jones made two guest appearances in the show as different characters, appearing in "Wisteria Lodge" as Inspector Baynes and "The Last Vampyre" as a pedlar. Michael Wynne also made two guest appearances in the show as different characters, appearing in "Shoscombe Old Place" as Josiah Barnes and "The Mazarin Stone" as Commissionaire Jenkins. Helen Ryan also made two guest appearances in the show as different characters, appearing in "The Norwood Builder" as Mrs McFarlane, and in "The Mazarin Stone" as the Princess of Wales (a role she previously played in Edward the Seventh). Kenneth Connor made his last filmed appearance in "The Red Circle" as Mr Warren, which was broadcast posthumously in 1994, a year after his death.
PRODUCTION
The series was initially produced by Michael Cox, with later episodes produced by June Wyndham Davies. It was developed for television by screenwriter John Hawkesworth, who also wrote many of the episodes (all based on individual Doyle stories). Other writers to adapt Doyle's short stories in the series included Alexander Baron, Jeremy Paul, T. R. Bowen, and Alan Plater.
Brett had been approached in February 1982 by Granada to play Holmes. The idea was to make a totally authentic and faithful adaptation of the character's best cases. Eventually Brett accepted the role and was very attentive to discrepancies between the scripts he had been given and Doyle's original stories.
To shoot the series, a full-scale outdoor replica of Baker Street was constructed at Granada's studios in Quay Street, Manchester, which later formed a central part of the Granada Studios Tour tourist attraction, before that venue's closure in 1999.
Most of the locations used for filming can be found in Cheshire, Liverpool and Manchester.
The series came to an end owing to the death of Brett at the age of 61 from heart failure in 1995. He had suffered from ill health during filming of the later series due to adverse reactions to the medicine prescribed for depression. It was an affliction he was prone to, episodically, throughout his life. In his later life, it worsened.