Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It's a tale of contrasts of two fine actors, Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett. Brett joked that, as an actor, he was rarely allowed into the 20th century and never into the present day. In many ways he was a throw back to an earlier era; in personality amongst other traits. He was also one to suffer from manic depression. In addition, Brett had a speech impediment as a child for which he had to have surgery and subsequently had to seriously work on his diction and enunciation (that's why, no doubt, thanks to his dedication in this regard, his command of each was something others eventually envied him for). By contrast, Basil Rathbone was a fencing swashbuckler, athletic and dashing; a talented actor who loved the stage. Rathbone made a fine Holmes in my opinion and most of his 14 films as this famed sleuth are most enjoyable. But when reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, one's mind, I'd say, surely conjured up a far more complicated man than that played by Mr. Rathbone. Mr. Brett brought much of that man to life, I'd argue, and, at least in part, some of that was no doubt helped along by Mr. Brett's own experiences as a talented, but troubled, individual. After all, geniuses do not seem to be cut from the same cloth as most folk; in the sense that abnormality, in some measure, seems to make extraordinary talent a bit more possible. Sherlock Holmes was such a extraordinary character. That's what makes Mr. Brett's performances herein so interesting. Jeremy Brett most certainly brings to the fore the depth of a true Sherlock Holmes type character and makes Mr. Holmes a lot more real. After watching any of these fine episodes you too ought be inclined to be happy that Mr. Brett's audition to replace Sean Connery as James Bond was less than successful, allowing Mr. Brett to eventually find the role measurably more suitable for him and one in which he thoroughly excelled.