The Abbey Grange

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

Another entertaining episode featuring a brutal murder that needs the expertise of Sherlock Holmes to help bring the facts to light.

It begins in a wealthy manor where the lord of the house has been found dead from being hit over the head with a fire-poker. The lady of the house was a witness as she described to Holmes and the police that she walked in on three men robbing the house. She advised that she was beaten and tied up before her husband entered the room for her rescue. But instead, her husband was killed and the men left after stealing all the silver.

Holmes hears the story but seems interested in the woman's account of the story that involved the three men taking a drink out of the glasses on the counter. There is something to this part of the story that mesmerizes Holmes to the point of returning to the manor and again talking to the injured lady. And as we know when Holmes goes in for a second account of the story, the walls of fiction will be revealed.

Another fine episode featuring Jeremy Brett as the always interesting actor playing Sherlock Holmes. Jeremy is brilliant as his tics and facial expressions are just as compelling as the character he portrays. Good Watch.

This is not one of the more popular Sherlock Holmes episodes, yet it still remains a standout. Its plot is not unusual - a wealthy nobleman is brutally murdered, but it's the startling revelations that make it particularly memorable. It's also another example of Holmes rightly applying his own sense of justice. Stories in which Holmes reveals his humanity are among my favorites, and the strong sense of intrigue builds to a satisfying conclusion. It is artfully directed and photographed in a beautiful English countryside. Also, the music by Patrick Gowers is evocative, and Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke continue to shine as the quintessential Holmes and Watson.

Although the accent of course is on our protagonist Sherlock Holmes ferreting out a solution to a murder, in this particular story Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was years ahead of his time in using as a subject a battered wife of the Victorian Era. Options for battered women were quite a bit more limited than they are today.

For reasons he's not quite clear himself about, Scotland Yard's Inspector Hopkins (Paul Williamson) calls in Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke (Holmes and Watson) in on what looks like a break-in robbery of a Victorian mansion gone wrong right into a homicide. Perhaps because the victim was a titled individual and a rich one, Scotland Yard wanted to be sure.

Of course Holmes deduces it was not a break-in gone bad which left the man murdered and his much younger wife tied up. Rather quickly Brett says that Anne-Louise Lambert was the victim of long time abuse. And he also figures out that a sailor is somehow involved in this affair.

What to do about it, well all I can say is that Agatha Christie might have taken a bit from Conan Doyle when she wrote Murder On The Orient Express with her solution for Hercule Poirot when he found the murder.

As Arthur Conan Doyle was an observer of Victorian society, I believe that his victim/villain Lord Eustace Brackenstall may very well have been modeled on the Marquis of Queensbury who later made life miserable for Oscar Wilde. Queensbury had the same kind of temperament that Brackenstall displays and he certainly abused his family. Conrad Phillips plays Brackenstall with relish.

Good Holmes story and dramatization of same.

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