Rating: 
Summary: Great, funny, and all out Holmes ! ! ! ! !
Review: Matt Frewer is a great addition to the line of actors who have played this iconic sleuth. He and Mr. Welsh are very entertaining in their portrayals of Holmes and Watson. And had it not been for this line of tv movies, I might not have ever been tempted to make more of my passing interest in Sherlock Holmes, picked up a novel, and poured through it. It is more than a year later and I have since read every novella and all four novels in the "canon."
Plus have gone on to read Nicholas Meyer's take on Holmes in his three novels, am currently reading The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes, co-written by Conan Doyle's kin. And have also seen many of Jeremy Brett's appearences in the hour length dramas based closer to Doyle's works.
All in all this brings to life a way for the whole family to enjoy the legend of Sherlock Holmes, and has brought it to a multigenerational exceptance, much like Smallville did for another great hero, Superman...
Rating: 
Summary: Frewer skewers Holmes!
Review: Matt Frewer is completely miscast as SHERLOCK HOLMES in these valiant attempts to bring Arthur Conan Doyle's classic characters to life. Frewer's interpretation of the great detective borders on the ludicrous, made all the more obvious because everything else in these films works just fine. Excellent settings, photography and supporting cast are all wasted due to Frewer's amateurish, high-school level acting, filled with eccentric ticks and facial twitches that approach comedic proportions. These films are worth seeing just to experience Frewer's abysmally fake British accent.They're like the "Plan 9" of Sherlock Holmes movies. Since these Sherlock Holmes TV movies were filmed in Canada, Frewer might have been chosen for the lead role because, as a Canadian, he fulfilled the quota of casting Canadians in key roles which allowed the producers to get certain tax breaks in the production. He certainly wasn't chosen because of his suitability to play the part. Thankfully, Frewer's acting becomes slightly less ridiculous as the series progressed, but he still remains the goofiest Holmes ever! This series is best suited for people who think Kevin Sorbo's "Hercules" was faithful to the ancient Latin texts.
Rating: 
Summary: a collection of quality family fun
Review: My nine year old nephew loves this collection of Holmes mysteries. These episodes are mysterious, funny, action packed, and down right creepy at times. These adventures don't always follow Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, but as family oriented versions they are very good. Kids who are interested in Sherlock Holmes, and those who are still kids at heart, should enjoy this collection. I adore it.
Rating:
Summary: A fun take on the Sherlock Holmes stories
Review: Purists who study Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work will no doubt be dismayed by these four films, and Matt Frewer's portrayal of the world's greatest detective will probably have them running off screaming into the night, but to the average joe these are fun films to watch and serve as a good introduction for young people into the fascinating world of Sherlock Holmes. Frewer's more comedic, eccentric Holmes can be distracting at times, but it eventually grew on me, and his performance does improve as the series goes on. Kenneth Welsh fills the shoes of Doctor Watson quite comfortably and always turns in a solid performance. The production values are always first rate in these films, making them a joy to look at. The best story of the bunch is probably "The Sign of Four", which draws to an action-packed climax. My only complaint of this collection is that "The Royal Scandal" is broken up on discs one and two. I don't understand why the company just didn't put the entire movie on the second disc instead of breaking up the story the way they did. All in all, a small complaint.
Rating:
Summary: fun viewing and a real deal
Review: The four Holmes adventures in this set are all fun viewing. The actors playing Holmes and Watson make a great team, but Holmes is not what I expected. He's nothing like the other actors Ive seen in the role and that's not a bad thing. He's so humorous and eccentric that I loved it. He certainly is compelling to watch and keeps things energetic. I'm very glad I bought this set. The price of this is a real deal for four Holmes and Watson movies and all of them are enjoyable. The Whitchapel Vampire is my favorite and Holmes is at his best in that one. They really should make more of these. Give us a weekly series Hallmark!
Rating:
Summary: comedic, but superb
Review: The various reviews of this release indicate some slight disagreement as to its worth. The cause of the dispute is clearly the portrayal of Holmes. With my rating on record I will offer my opinion on the subject.
Firstly I consider myself a dedicated and serious Sherlockian. As such I believe that Matt Frewer is an excellent Holmes - in fact one of the best that I have seen (perhaps second only to Jeremy Brett). His main eccentricity is his youth - but experts declare that at the time of the Hound escapade Holmes was less than 35 years of age. Mr. Frewer fits this requirement perfectly. His physical appearance also is ideal. This Holmes seems to possess considerable nervous energy and is downright playful at times with Dr. Watson. We know that Holmes was subject to considerable mood swings; this Holmes is preponderantly upbeat.
This Dr. Watson, while himself satisfactory, makes an odd mix with this Holmes. Watson was supposed to be about 7 years older than Holmes; here he looks more like 25 years his senior. Indeed it sometimes seems that it is Watson who is the solid voice of reason, calming his occasionally overemotional associate. Anyone who likes a human Holmes will appreciate this arrangement. A simplified précis of Frewer/Holmes is that it is the exact opposite of Rathbone/Holmes.
The comment of one reviewer regarding incompetence of the acting I consider as purest twaddle from someone who simply didn't like this representation of Holmes. All the acting is professional and creditable.
My rating of the four episodes presented here: Hound - 5 stars, Sign of Four - 5 stars, Royal Scandal - 2 .5 stars, Whitechapel Vampire - 4 stars.
The two canonical novels are surprisingly good, due to excellent story editing and scripts. Both tend to be highly faithful to their sources, with judicious changes which are usually quite convincing. The climactic scene of the Sign of Four is the best I have seen for that story, much better than the tepid river chase. Also the clever twist to the character of Mary Morstan is welcome. The Hound is just plain good, with an amazing amount ot the original plot elements compressed into the time frame allowed. Casting is good, with boytoy Jason London as Sir Henry and Simon Wilcock as Stapleton, pious one moment and dangerous the next.
Highly recommended to all fans of Holmes.
Rating:
Summary: What! An eccentric Sherlock Holmes ! What next ?
Review: The various reviews of this release indicate some slight disagreement as to its worth. The cause of the dispute is clearly the portrayal of Holmes. With my rating on record I will offer my opinion on the subject.
Firstly I consider myself a dedicated and serious Sherlockian. As such I believe that Matt Frewer is an excellent Holmes - in fact one of the best that I have seen (perhaps second only to Jeremy Brett). His main eccentricity is his youth - but experts declare that at the time of the Hound escapade Holmes was less than 35 years of age. Mr. Frewer fits this requirement perfectly. His physical appearance also is ideal. This Holmes seems to possess considerable nervous energy and is downright playful at times with Dr. Watson. We know that Holmes was subject to considerable mood swings; this Holmes is preponderantly upbeat.
This Dr. Watson, while himself satisfactory, makes an odd mix with this Holmes. Watson was supposed to be about 7 years older than Holmes; here he looks more like 25 years his senior. Indeed it sometimes seems that it is Watson who is the solid voice of reason, calming his occasionally overemotional associate. Anyone who likes a human Holmes will appreciate this arrangement. A simplified précis of Frewer/Holmes is that it is the exact opposite of Rathbone/Holmes.
The comment of one reviewer regarding incompetence of the acting I consider as purest twaddle from someone who simply didn't like this representation of Holmes. All the acting is professional and creditable.
My rating of the four episodes presented here: Hound - 5 stars, Sign of Four - 5 stars, Royal Scandal - 2 .5 stars, Whitechapel Vampire - 4 stars.
The two canonical novels are surprisingly good, due to excellent story editing and scripts. Both tend to be highly faithful to their sources, with judicious changes which are usually quite convincing. The climactic scene of the Sign of Four is the best I have seen for that story, much better than the tepid river chase. Also the clever twist to the character of Mary Morstan is welcome. The Hound is just plain good, with an amazing amount ot the original plot elements compressed into the time frame allowed. Casting is good, with boytoy Jason London as Sir Henry and Simon Wilcock as Stapleton, pious one moment and dangerous the next.
Highly recommended to all fans of Holmes.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, family-oriented
Review: These four films, which originally aired in the US on the Hallmark/Odyssey Channel, look (for all intents and purposes) to be targeted at family audiences. They are bright and viewer-friendly, and hopefully have just enough to get younger viewers interested in the fascinating adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Though they have many positive attributes, they also have a few, mainly minor flaws. Arguably the weakest of the series is the first entry, "The Hound of the Baskervilles". It suffers from a serious lack of atmosphere, a thoroughly modern Sir Henry, a peculiar-looking Hound, and a Holmes so off-the-wall that he's almost painful to watch. Matt Frewer certainly has the right look, but in his debut he exaggerates Holmes's eccentric tendancies to the extreme. He tones it down considerably in the later three movies, and as a result his performance improves a great deal. This "Hound" benefits from an excellent Dr. Watson and suitably mysterious Barrymores, who may or may not be behind the murder that took place at Baskerville Hall. "The Sign of Four" sticks close to the original source, except for a few details. One wishes for a stronger Mary Morstan and a more eccentric Thaddeus Sholto, but a comically antagonistic Inspector Jones more than makes up for this lack. The appearance of the Baker Street Irregulars is a treat, as is an alternate, action-packed ending. Although it deviates from the ending described by Doyle in the original novel, it makes for a far more interesting one--especially for younger viewers. "The Royal Scandal" combines two original Conan Doyle stories, "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Bruce-Partington Plans" and molds them into a fairly decent 90 minutes. Of course, there is the requisite pairing of Holmes and Irene Adler in a romantic relationship, but fortunately it is less cheesily done than one might suspect. Sherlock's older brother Mycroft also appears, albeit altered to suit the plotline. This movie is also split into two halves for some reason. You get the first 30 minutes on Disc One. After that, you must switch over to Disc 2 for the last hour. Finally, "The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire" deals with the mysterious murders of members of a religious group in the Whitechapel district. The victims all have the bite marks of a vampire, naturally prompting suspicion to fall on a supernatural force. Speculation points to a demon who has come to wreak vengeance for a misdeed committed by the group's leader. Of course, Holmes is sceptical of all things supernatural, good and evil, and sets about finding out who is behind the murders and why they are taking place. By the end, his thoughts on the unexplainable are changed by a series of events. Overall, these films are an entertaining diversion for an evening at home with the kids or by yourself. Part of the fun is seeing if you can pick out redundancies (i.e. the director's choice to use the same minor actors in different parts, the number of times Holmes either says "My good man" or my personal fave "I don't know...yet"). The only real thing the discs lack is that there are no extras which should make up for the spent money on a DVD set containing four films, two of which were previously released on VHS. Other than that, these come highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best--but ok
Review: These storys are apparently put out by Hallmark. The filming is fine and provides a nice atmosphere and the performance by Kenneth Welsh as Dr. Watson is exceptional--however, the same cannot be said for Matt Frewer as Holmes. While his performance is better than Ronald Howard--it is no where near the standards of Basil Rathbone or my favorite Holmes-Jeremy Brett. These stories are still worth watching-and a good value! The strange division of "The Royal Scandal"-has no rational explanation--as this is a 2 disc set--with about 210 minutes on disc 1 and 150 minutes on disc 2--why it wasn't neatly divided ito 2 complete storys per disc is beyond me. While a minor complaint--I feel it's a valid complaint. Providing one does not expect a Brett/Rathbone performance from Frewer--these discs can be enjoyed--and Welsh is fantastic as Watson.
Rating:
Summary: family fun for sure
Review: This collection of Canadian is a lot of fun, and well worth the $18. There are only a few minor problems: 1. London seems too clean, and gives away the fact that ti is filmed on a soundstage. 2. The Dr. Watson character is too old. 3. Matt Frewer, who plays Holmes, is a bit of an overactor. Otherwise, all four films are a lot of fun to watch, well made and inexpensive movies.
|
