Jeremy Brett was the perfect Sherlock Holmes and I love his performances. However, as you watch the later episodes, Brett looks buffy and not too healthy. This is because in reality he was dying...and his Rheumatic heart wasn't going to hold up much longer. While on the set making many of the later installments, he apparently had to sit or take oxygen to get through them. And so, in the penultimate installment, he was just too sick to star in the show...and instead 'bookended' the show...with a brief appearance in the beginning and at the end. To make up for this, the writers rewrote TWO stories...and had them star Holmes' brother Mycroft (Charles Gray) and Watson. The way they did it is understandable but disappointing because Brett was just so good...which ISN'T to say Gray did a bad job. He was still excellent.
The story begins with a huge diamond being stolen from a British museum. This is an even bigger problem because the British government had just announced that they were returning the stone to the French in order to help solidify a friendship between the two nations. When Sherlock isn't available, as he's supposedly in the Highlands investigating some case, Mycroft is persuaded to fill in for him. At the same time, Watson takes a case as well. Both cases seem totally unrelated...though they eventually merge into one. Can the fill-ins manage to solve the crime without Sherlock??
The story is strong and enjoyable and there really is nothing to complain about except for Brett's virtual absence. Still well worth seeing.
The story begins with a huge diamond being stolen from a British museum. This is an even bigger problem because the British government had just announced that they were returning the stone to the French in order to help solidify a friendship between the two nations. When Sherlock isn't available, as he's supposedly in the Highlands investigating some case, Mycroft is persuaded to fill in for him. At the same time, Watson takes a case as well. Both cases seem totally unrelated...though they eventually merge into one. Can the fill-ins manage to solve the crime without Sherlock??
The story is strong and enjoyable and there really is nothing to complain about except for Brett's virtual absence. Still well worth seeing.