The Red Headed League

You can sense Holmes figured out early a mastermind was involved. I like very little is explained until approaching the end. I really enjoy a detective mystery how this story was laid out., then revealed. Some reviewers are commenting the episodes aren't true to the original story. Well, to me, Jeremy Brett is the perfect Sherlock Holmes. No one comes close.

Jabez Wilson comes to Sherlock Holmes with a perplexing case and strange request. It seems Jabez answered an ad for the 'Red-Headed League'...a seemingly charitable trust guaranteeing easy money for simple work. In this case, he was hired to stay in a room for four hours a day and copy from the Encyclopedia...a tedious but very well-paying task. Oddly, dim Jabez never questioned any of this...he just wanted Holmes to find the people from this organization and help him get his job back, as they simply disappeared! Holmes sees that there is a hidden motive for Wilson's being recruited...and that motive is crime!

I have always enjoyed this story and always thought Jabez was an incredibly dim guy. After all, he never questioned any of this and just assumed everything they told him was on the up and up. So what is really going on here? Well, see the show and find out yourself.

This is once again a beautifully made episode...one that is enjoyable and also gives you an introduction to Holmes arch nemesis, Moriarty. Well worth seeing.

I am a big fan of the Granada Sherlock Holmes series as I have said many, many times. This may not be exactly faithful to the original story, while Moriaty was a very welcome presence compared to the original story he feels rather thrown in and there are some very memorable and humorous bits of dialogue that didn't quite make it on screen.

However, on its own terms The Red Headed League is very, very good and reinforces what I love so much about the series. As always, a lot of care is taken into how well constructed the adaptation is visually. The photography is very skillful, the costumes beautifully tailored and the scenery and sets wonderfully meticulous and atmospheric. I was too taken with how Sarasate was portrayed and the lengths that were made to make the actor look like the violin virtuoso.

The music is once again wonderful, with themes that are both beautiful and haunting. The story is well paced and interesting, the dialogue is sometimes humorous but very often thought-provoking and the direction is solid. The acting is excellent as is consistently the case with this series. Jeremy Brett with his towering presence and gritty baritone of a voice gives a very commanding title role performance, and David Burke is a thoughtful and composed Watson. Eric Porter also does very well with his appearance as Moriaty, his performance is somewhat brief but that was a decision for the better, too much Moriaty and I personally don't think this would have been as effective.

In conclusion, maybe not as strong as The Norwood Builder, The Crooked Man and The Speckled Band, but a strong episode. 9/10 Bethany Cox

While not one of my favorites this one is certainly one of Granada's top Holmes adaptations. The story is slick, interesting, and elegantly unfolds itself. It starts out as a laughable case but it becomes serious with a bigger picture beginning to emerge and something sinister lurking beneath. It manages to be both a detective mystery and a crime story with nice touches of build up and humor. Professor Moriarty (played by Eric Porter, giving genuine meaning to word "diabolical ") makes his first appearance even though it is brief (although it was not in the original story). However, nothing is wrong with that as the series wisely used Moriarty sparingly and he would have a much larger role in the story right after this one "The Final Problem".

A man named Jabez Wilson consults Holmes with a curious case: Although he already owns an antique shop, for the last few weeks he had been employed by a certain Red Headed League to copy out the Encyclopedia Britannica. He accepted because the pay was very good and the job not that hard, but the most curious point was that he was chosen for the job because of the color of his hair. When the Red Headed League is suddenly dissolved, he contacts Holmes to find out what it was all about.

This episode has more humor than usual, but the standout moment is, of course, the introduction of Eric Porter in the role of Professor Moriarty. Roger Hammond provides the comic relief as the confused Jabez Wilson, and Tim McInnerny is very good as the noble criminal John Clay. It's a memorable episode for the imaginative crime, a must-watch for any fan of the series.