Rating: 
Summary: Get it for the episodes, not the special features
Review: Sherlockians everywhere: Jeremy Brett is the Master. If you haven't seen these episodes, or any of the others featuring the late Mr. Brett, you're missing a treat. I was a great fan of Basil Rathbone until I stumbled upon the Brett/Burke duo some dozen years ago. Now I can't imagine anyone else bringing Sherlock Holmes to life.This collection features thirteen great episodes actually based on what Conan Doyle wrote. This is Holmes in all his moody eccenticity, from the mouse coloured dressing gown to the seven percent solution. This is also a Watson I was relieved to see, not the bumbling idiot that Nigel Bruce made him, but a solid reliable citizen with his own sort of intelligence: the perfect foil for a Holmes who pointedly ignores social convention. (Edward Hardwicke took up the role of Watson after this season, but I really prefer David Burke's portrayal.) The translation from page to screen is not exact -- e.g., bits of conversation from "The Sign of Four" appear in "Scandal in Bohemia" -- but there's nothing that came out of the blue. AS far as a DVD collection goes, this is an odd one. The special features are nothing to write home about and the 13 episodes are formatted weirdly onto five discs where 3 or 4 certainly would have done. In some of the early episodes the sound is quite distorted, as if the DVDs were copied from well worn video tapes without the copy being cleaned up in any way. But all of that made no difference to me, because I'm so pleased to have these episodes and be able to watch them any time I want. NOw if only they'd release the rest of the series in DVD sets!
Rating:
Summary: Essential--let's have the remaining 72% of the series ASAP!
Review: This boxed set of 5 DVDs contains the first outstanding 13 episodes (which aired 1984-85) of the acclaimed Grenada TV series (1984-94) starring Jeremy Brett (3 Nov. 1933-12 Sep. 1995) as Holmes and David Burke (born 25 May 1934) as Watson (Edward Hardwicke, born 7 Aug. 1932, played Watson on the remaining episodes). This series totaled 41 episodes: 36 episodes (ca. 50-55 minutes each) in 6 series plus 5 double-length episodes (The sign of four, The hound of the Baskervilles, and three very deviant episodes: The master blackmailer, The last vampyre, and The eligible bachelor). The boxed set is of the first 2 TV series entitled "Adventures" and does not correspond to the "Adventures" of the published short stories.
The "Adventures" DVD box is a four-part plastic affair and not simply 5 DVD cases that slip into a large cardboard box. The six-page booklet simply lists "chapter selections" and bonus materials. Disappointingly, the booklet lacks the brief plot summaries and episode pictures on the back covers of the individually sold volumes. Volume 1 is a two-sided disk with 4 episodes and corrects the defect of the original volume 1 where Side A was B and Side B was A. The warbling sound on "The dancing men" is inherent with the source material. Volumes 2-5 are one-sided disks (with 3 episodes on volume 5) that bear a curious design in the 3:00 position that looks like a surface defect but isn't. Picture quality is very good, especially considering that the series was filmed in 16mm.
It took MPI one and a half years to release these first 13 episodes. This is only about 28.2% of the total series (not counting two short episodes). One hopes that the remaining 23 single-length and 5 double-length episodes are issued more expeditiously (the complete series has been available in Japan for well over a year). ...
Rating:
Summary: Simply the Best!
Review: What else is there to say, these series are masterpieces! The whole thing is superbly done.
Jeremy Brett and David Burke are amazing. This set is a must have for any Holmes fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining adaptations
Review: This is the interpretation of Sherlock I grew up with, even though I was too little to have seen them during their original airing on PBS' Mystery! series. But thanks to later broadcasts (primarily on the cable station A&E), I am well acquainted with this new vision of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic stories. The casting of these particular actors in the roles of Holmes and Watson is inspired, although sometimes the acting (and scripting) can get a little campy. This happens much less frequently in the "early" episodes Granada produced, all gathered here in a neat little box set. Jeremy Brett makes an interesting, quirky Holmes and David Burke a very endearing Watson. It's too bad he didn't stay on for the rest of the series. The standout episodes in this group are: The Speckled Band, The Copper Beeches, The Dancing Men, The Solitary Cyclist, and The Naval Treaty. These exemplify good acting, screenwriting, and directing combined. Though a few later episodes in the "Return of Sherlock Holmes" series are good (e.g. The Second Stain), this batch is my absolute favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful series -- disappointing DVD
Review: Grenada's Sherlock Holmes series are, for my money, the finest adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective stories ever filmed, or likely to be. The casting, locations, scripting, direction and atmosphere are beyond reproach. Grenada's aim was to create the definitive Sherlock Holmes, and so they did. Sadly, Jeremy Brett passed away with some twenty of the stories remaining to film, and in the last several shows his illness made him almost painful to watch.... but in this first series of Adventures, he's at the top of his game, as is David Burke, who is the perfect Watson to go with Brett's perfect Holmes. I wish I could be as enthusiastic about MPI's treatment of the series on disc. The extras are all fine, but Disc One has some distressingly bad sound quality, and the video transfer quality on all the discs is uniformly poor. It makes one wish very strongly that A&E had gotten the DVD rights, as their treatment of such classics as MONTY PYTHON and THE AVENGERS is top-notch. It is the quality control problems on these discs that keep me from awarding the full five stars. That having been said: for the Sherlock Holmes fan, this series is worth having on disc whatever the shortcomings.
Rating:
Summary: Jeremy Brett Is The One And Only Sherlock Holmes
Review: I grew up watching this wonderful series. I honestly think that Jeremy was the perfect choice for Holmes. Unlike a lot of Sherlock Holmes I have seen. The one thing that I dearly love about Brett's performance. Is that he brings a sort of sweet touch of humanity to Holmes. That most actors do not.
I love every moment with Brett as the most famous fictional detective in the world. There is allows a sweet sense of humor that Brett gives Hlomes that a lot of actors do not do.
Most actors build around to Holme's intelligent and busy body side.
There is just something wonderful and real that Jeremy Brett brings to the long list of players as Sherlock Holmes.
If you want to get any set of movies on Holmes then please get this one, and if you plain on doing even more watching on Sherlock Holmes. Then I suggest the next great version is with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.
Rating:
Summary: Worth it!
Review: It is very gratifying to see so many younger people carrying on the Sherlock Holmes legacy. These period pieces are quite up to the task. My first viewing of these episodes on PBS were a bit of a disappointment as I thought Jeremy Brett's choices were too feminine too often. After three episodes, my opinion changed quite dramatically. Playing off an intelligent Watson...well, not intelligent so much as not the buffoon, Brett does major justice to the character. For all you "Rathbone is the only Holmes" types: Relax...Brett is a worthy Holmes. Costumes; Locations; and dialogue strictly Victorian. Enjoy
Rating:
Summary: Jeremy Brett is THE Sherlock Holmes
Review: I have been a fan of Sherlock Holmes since I read the first story written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I watched these DVDs and found that this was the Holmes I had read of. Jeremy Brett does a magnificent job portraying the detective even down to his addiction to the 5% cocaine. David Burke is an excellent Watson as he tries to use Holmes' methods but draws the wrong conclusions. The stories follow very closely to those written by the author although there were times when they had to extend the story to fill up the episode's time. The villians were, shall I say, villianous. I cannot have a favorite episode as they are all above the highest rating I can give. It shows us the phrase, "Elementary, my dear Holmes." It was Watson who actually said that phrase. The acting is so powerful that I almost wept as I watched The Final Problem. If you want to see the character Holmes come to life before your eyes then I suggest that you watch these DVDs. They are the best and Jeremy Brett is THE Sherlock Holmes. God Bless them all.
Rating:
Summary: the game is afoot!
Review: I very much enjoyed the older Basil Rathbone series, and this one is even better. Holmes is portrayed by Jeremy Brett in a Dark and preditorial way, as I would imagine Doyle would have wanted. The cinematography is beautiful to look at, and the plots speak for themselves.
Rating:
Summary: Best Holmes to date
Review: This collection is fantastic. I'll grant that the audio/visual quality is sometimes spotty but Jeremy Brett is the best Sherlock Holmes I've seen to date. All of the characters are well portrayed and the stories are accurate to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original short stories.
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