Rating: 
Summary: Stick with Rathbone
Review: Television production values; Brett didn't measure up to Rathbone's portrayal of Holmes.
Rating: 
Summary: the best adaptation of the Holmes stories ever!
Review: The film industry has always messed with Holmes from time to time and never quite managed to get it right. Here, with these stories, at last they did. Typically, Holmes and Watson surface as an insufferable egomaniac partnered improbably with a bumbling fool. Here, we see a flawed, brilliant man who is nonetheless capable of inspiring great loyalty and affection in a very capable assistant and friend.These particular stories are also quite good when compared to the later stories with Edward Hardwicke as Watson. There seemed to be a very relaxed coziness between Hardwicke and Brett that probably made for more enjoyable shoots, but bled the relationship between the two men dry of any energy. Brett and his Watson in these stories, David Burke, seemed to be different enough to give some spark to the on-screen friendship, with Brett using more stylized and stage-y acting and Burke a more modern-seeming technique. If you like the Holmes stories at all, you simply must own this collection. Buy it, own it, lose count of the number of times you watch it.
Rating:
Summary: Brett or Rathbone?
Review: Could there be a finer treat for Sherlock Holmes fans than twelve hours of wonderfully rendered Conan Doyle stories on DVD? This series was put together with reverence for authenticity. You won't find Holmes battling Nazis here (as he did in the Hollywood movies). So who makes a better Holmes - Jeremy Brett or Basil Rathbone? Rathbone was very good but Brett has fleshed out the character to a fascinating degree. Brett's Holmes is arrogant, manic, conceited, contemptuous of others, morose, having just a whiff of something unnatural and unwholesome about him. All of this is supported by the original stories by Doyle. Brett is a far better actor than Rathbone, which is especially obvious when Holmes is in disguise. Brett is clearly loving every minute of his portrayal and his exhilaration is infectious. I enjoy Rathbone's Holmes a good deal. I find that Brett 's Holmes gives one more to think about, however.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth the money
Review: This series is positively wonderful. Perfect casting, and the stories themselves are depicted just as they were written. The DVDs, though are a bit lacking, firstly in picture quality, and occasionlly the audio is a bit off on the lip sync. However, the series more than make up for this, as Brett's portrayal of Holmes is truly unforgetable. If you're going to spend the money, then this is definitly the Sherlock Holmes collection to spend it on.
Rating:
Summary: Expected to be disappointed but I wasn't
Review: I only discovered Sherlock Holmes several months ago so I never saw this show when it was on TV. I bought DVDs of the series based on all the positive reviews that I read. I really expected to be disappointed. I was sure that I would discover that the reviews were an exageration. To my surprise, they were not. I agree completely with those who love this show and Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Holmes. The episodes are very true to Doyle's stories. Jeremy Brett is simply indescribable as Holmes. If you've never seen him then just buy one of the DVDs right now. You won't be disappointed. I certainly wasn't. Also, the overall quality of the discs is good. There are minor sound and picture problems on the first disc, but the problems are not so bad that I would recommend avoiding it.
Rating:
Summary: A must have
Review: Buy it now. Buy it now.Buy it now. Looking forward to the rest of the series...
Rating:
Summary: Stupendous
Review: A great deal for your money. Brett is spectacular and the DVD is a collector's item
Rating:
Summary: The Best of All Holmesian Delights
Review: Jeremy Brett is the quintessential Sherlock Holmes; no one else should ever play him. The sound and visual quality of this set are wonderful; the apartment at 22B Baker Street is just as you can still see it if you visit the address in London. All the stories are among the very best; in fact "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Speckled Band" ARE the best. This is series for someone who has never seen Sherlock Holmes portreyed before, or someone who has seen only Basil Rathbone or other early imposters!
Rating:
Summary: It's never just the stories
Review: The main reason, in my opinion, why Brett's interpretation of the Holmes character has made such an enormous impression is that he was completely serious in his work. He did not just take directions from the original stories, trying to imitate the character described there, but developed a rationale for Sherlock Holmes's behaviour. This may not be the exact same rationale that Conan Doyle had when writing the Holmes stories, but it doesn't matter. Brett's behaviour is consistent with the Holmes we love from the stories, but with full depth of character. As an example, he knew exactly why Irene Adler held such a unique position among women for Holmes. The reason is rather mundane but perfectly believable, and therefore good. You can read about it in Bending the Willow. Brett's Holmes is his own, but it has depth as no other filmed Holmes ever had. That's why we love him. A more objective quality of the series is that it reinstated a long mistreated Watson. Conan Doyle's Watson is vigorous, brave, popular with women, and of at least average intelligence--not a bumbling fool that Holmes brings along for comic relief. When he boldly rummages through London's opium dens in search of lost patients, he's no coward. He catches on to Holmes's deductive techniques from time to time, and anticipates his explanations. According to Conan Doyle, he was, or at least had been, a habitual womanizer. Nigel Bruce? I don't think so. David Burke? Oh yes. Finally, the series is a superb period achievement, from the street scenes to costumes to the music. If you like these kinds of escapisms--and who doesn't--you can't go wrong with Granada's Sherlock Holmes.
Rating:
Summary: So glad I acted on an impulse!
Review: I ordered this set on a whim and regretted spending the money almost as soon I went offline, right up to the moment I dropped the first disk into the player. Since then I have accomplished little else. Jeremy Brett was Sherlock Holmes and this set offers a wonderful look at his adventures and times. I came back to Amazon today to see if the rest of the series was available. Strongly recommended to all Bakerstreet Irregulars!! The game's afoot!
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