Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 2 [Slim Case]

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Mediocrity and stereotypes in 1950s tv, 2005-07-28
Comfortable stereotypes. The detective genius, always perfectly sure of himself and always right. The fuddy duddy Dr Watson, foil for humor. There is no reality in this tv series, only stereotypes, but the stories are fairly entertaining. br / br /Episode 1 is about a murder that takes place in a confined area surrounded by a moat. Holmes determines the truth of the matter shortly before the one hour time limit for the episode is up. Congratulations, old boy. br / br /Episode 2 features a pretty girl for a change. She is a stereotype American cowgirl from Texas, Annie Oakley played for comedy. Someone was murdered, and the body was left in her room along with the tomahawk she uses in her wild west show touring Europe. It goes without saying that she is innocent of the murder, and Holmes figures out who the guilty party is shortly before the hour is up. Pip pip, old chap. br / br /Episode 3 has a ghost punching Dr Watson in the eye, then coming back to tweak his nose. Holmes uses his ESP (or his foreknowledge of the script) to determine that a specific painting has been stolen from a museum, and sure enough, just as the hour is about to end, he has solved the crime. br / br /A good detective story depends on realism and detail. This series has neither. The turns of the plot usually make no sense at all. This series is just a vehicle to give us the two stereotyped characters in some sort of action or other. It is a good example of the silly mediocrity of mid 1950s television. Not that current tv is better. br / br /Since none of the shows was particularly good, my favorite episode was the second one, in contrast with the other review on this site. That's because the girl was cute to look at. The plots of all three were pretty sad. The silly stereotyped characters weren't bad to watch. It was okay.

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3 episodes from the only American TV series of Holmes cases, 2005-05-22
They'll let just about anybody write and produce a Sherlock Holmes mystery, and that has led to some very bad pastiches, films, and TV series. I'm not saying The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1954-55) was a bad television series, but I'm certainly not saying it was a good one, either. There is just something very wrong with filming Sherlock Holmes episodes in France, for one thing. The real weakness of the show (at least insofar as I can tell from the three episodes collected here on this DVD), though, has to be the writing. The three cases featured here are far from worthy of the Great Detective, and one of them in particular is the worst Sherlock Holmes mystery I have ever come across in any form. Ronald Howard (the son of Leslie Howard, by the way) isn't all that bad in the role, but Howard Marion Crawford's Dr. Watson seemed a little too befuddled (and grouchy) for my liking. It is important to note, however, that The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is, as far as I know, the only truly American Holmes series ever produced. That may explain why too much time is wasted on attempts at humor rather than the construction of strong plots. br / br /The Case of the Pennsylvania Gun does at least have a few hallmarks of a good Holmesian story - a dead body inside a moat-encircled, all but impregnable, island fortress. Since it would be all but impossible for anyone to get in to the place at the time of the murder, Inspector McCloud assumes that one of the two other people in the castle at the time must be the murderer. Holmes is even less than forthcoming than usual, infuriating Watson and the Inspector by going fishing in the moat. Naturally, there is much more to this murder mystery than Scotland Yard can see. br / br /The third episode is The Case of the Belligerent Ghost, and it is the most entertaining entry on the DVD. Watson encounters a heart attack victim on the street, helps him home, but can do nothing to prevent his death. A short while later, the "ghost" of the dead man turns up and punches him in the eye. As you might expect, Watson is completely flummoxed by the whole situation, especially when he meets the ghost again the next night and suffers a nose-tweaking from him. There is no doubt that the man Watson assisted did die, but Holmes noses out a scheme of art theft behind all of the shenanigans. The kicker comes in the episode's final revelation, which I have to say is extremely funny. br / br /I skipped the second episode, The Case of the Texas Cowgirl, for a reason - would that I had skipped the episode itself when viewing this DVD. This episode is absolutely horrible. A young American rodeo lass from Texas finds a man killed with her tomahawk in her hotel room, seeks the help of Holmes (whom she continually addresses as "Sherlock"), and subjects us to all sorts of Western stereotypes and embarrassingly bad action (the "fun" is just starting when she lassoes poor Watson in the study). There is absolutely nothing good I can say about this episode. br / br /In the final summation, this DVD just barely manages to earn three stars from me. Just keep in mind that this is far removed from the true Sherlock Holmes, and producer Sheldon Reynolds is no Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It's not very hard to see why the series only lasted through 39 episodes.