The Abbey Grange

Holmes is excited when Inspector Hopkins requests his attendance over the death of Sir Eustace Brackenstall. He was found dead in his country house after being hit on the head by a poker.

His battered wife tells Holmes that the house was broken into by three robbers who attacked them, they left with some stolen silver.

Something about her story does not add up and it concerns Holmes. He wonders why the robbers left her alive when she could have identified them.

Holmes regards Sir Eustace has a hot tempered drunk who married a younger wife who has joined him from Australia. Holmes and Watson are looking for another man who is of interest to them.

There is an amusing scene after Holmes has castigated Watson for his writing style. They meet Mr Viviani the managing director of the London office of a shipping line. He is a diligent reader of Watson's writings and he puts into practice what he has learned of Holmes methods which leads to them getting an important lead.

In many ways this is a standard Holmes mystery, yet Holmes is intrigued by the description of Captain Croker by Mr Vivavni. It does lead to a different outcome.

I have always been a fan of the Sherlock Holmes Granada series, and while not my favourite of Return...(between The Devil's Foot and The Sign of Four) or of the series(too many to choose from), it is one of the stronger episodes and deserves to be better known. The story is not unfamiliar territory, but it is still as compelling as you'd expect a Sherlock Holmes story to be. What I also liked about the story, aside from how it drew you in with the suspense and the twists and turns, was not only that it didn't feel like a retread of another episode with a similar premise but I too like the episodes that show a more human side to Holmes and The Abbey Grange is one of those. The writing is intelligent, the music is hauntingly beautiful and the episode is splendidly and evocatively made. The supporting cast are solid, but the two leads are the stars. Edward Hardwicke is a loyal and quietly intelligent Watson, and Jeremy Brett's Holmes is as superb as you would expect. Overall, one of the better episodes of the "Return" series and falls into the category that deserves to be better known. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Holmes is urgently called to Abbey Grange in Kent at the request of Inspector Hopkins. Sir Eustace Brackenstall has been murdered. However, Lady Brackenstall was a witness to proceedings and from her testimony the case seems cut and dried - a notorious gang of thieves was responsible.

A reasonably interesting episode of The Return of Sherlock Holmes. Not entirely intriguing: from the start something is amiss - the case is (apparently) solved very easily and everything is too neat and complete. The implication for this is that we know who the perpetrator is, or at least that they're an accomplice of the perpetrator.

And so this feeling of unease proves justified. This doesn't make the episode a waste though as Holmes still has to figure out what actually happened and the back story is a very interesting one.

It's hard to think of any such quality one hour mysteries being produced nowadays, I'm glad I grew up in an era of Poirot and Sherlock Holmes. One of the most memorable of episodes for me is 'The Abbey Grange,' a wonderful mystery, brought vividly to life by all concerned. It's a murder mystery caught up in a love story, with glorious production values, a first rate outing for the detective duo, the banter between them over Watson's writings, and the delightful performance of Anne-Louise Lambert, as Lady Mary, who dazzles with a soft, innocent beauty. I love the ending too, there is a reality in the showdown between Jack and Sir Eustace.

Sure enough the elements are all there, Abbey Grange is a first class episode, one of the best. 9/10

The Abbey Grange was the first episode shot with Edward Hardwicke as Dr. Watson, but you can already notice the chemistry between Holmes and his new companion.I really liked David Burke, but Edward is just as great as he has been.

What I like in this story the most is the deep sympathy Holmes feels towards Lady Brackenstall, who is tortured by her husband. In the Canon Holmes is portrayed as someone who has no emotions at all and who does not care about women.In this episode he tries to help a lady, we see emotions, sympathy, worry and strong sense of justice.Jeremy is so irresistibly young and handsome, he shows more of his true personality.He is calm, understanding and caring, a real gentleman.

The ending scene is perfectly arranged: just watch how Holmes responds to a quite natural thing - Lady Brackenstall tries to hug him. There we see another Sherlock: a solitary, introverted creature, who does not like to be close to someone, who is impatient. This is the miracle of him, he is so multi-layered and complex, he can always surprise us with a move or a sentence.