Unfortunately, these Sherlock Holmes stories are shortchanged as they are only half-hour (in fact, a few minutes less). It's difficult to do a truly mysterious mystery in that length of time as it's usually obvious who the culprit is--in fairness, they won't introduce a new character in the last five minutes. It's a shame, as the series (largely not based on Arthur Conan Doyle) shows promise, without all the shouting from its forebear, the Howard/Holmes series, which they probably did back then to compensate for shoddy early TV sound equipment.
The casting makes this series worth watching for the Holmes compleatist. Before the Brett/Holmes series cranked up a few years after this one, Holmes TV shows and movies were weak either in Holmes (Roger Moore? Robert Stephens? Good actors, yes, but . . .) or (more often) Watson (with notable exceptions like Colin Blakely or, like him or hate him, the cuddly Nigel Bruce) or (most likely) Lestrade. While no one touches the early Brett/Holmes episodes, they were Canon. These mostly "made-up" tales are a different animal altogether.
Patrick Newell ("Mother" on "The Avengers," who went on to feature in one of the tip-top early Brett/Holmes episodes) is a more than adequate Lestrade, if a little too slow for comic effect.
Donald Pickering is a first rate Watson and his name must not be overlooked in the Pantheon of Watsons.
This time around the weak link is Geoffrey Whitehead as Holmes. He's tall and gaunt but his voice, which I've heard without offense on numerous BBC radio shows (try "Rigor Mortis" for one) is too high and slight for Holmes fans accustomed to the more careful or sharper voices of, say, Rathbone, Gielgud, Hobbes or Brett. His Holmes, IMHO, lacks authority. But if you disagree I won't be offended.
Also, since the Brett/Holmes revolution was still in the offing, Whitehead is lumbered with the deerstalker cap, cape and pipe in downtown London. Don't get me wrong, that look was what enticed me to read Holmes stories in the first place, and half a century on I still wear my own deerstalkers with pride. And the casual (i.e., non-obsessive) Holmes-watcher won't care. I have a cousin enjoying a more modern Holmes series who never heard of Jeremy Brett, and he's my age.
Just be aware that while Newell and Pickering are just fine, Whitehead, whatever you think of his tone, plays an unreconstructed Holmes.
One delightful thing is the pizzicato incidental music. Violin music is a must for Holmes shows and I wonder why I've never heard that sort of background playing before. And though Arthur Conan Doyle's stories could be bleak, these episodes have scattered touches of humor. I just wish the episodes had more elbow room to develop.
