The Bruce Partington Plans

A very nice episode, certainly. Conan Doyle seemed to get caught up on some plot elements, however. From "Scandal in Bohemia" to the present effort, we have people who have either carelessly or through victimization, lost some sort of item of worth, be it a photograph, a set of blueprints, or a letter, Holmes spends a goodly amount of time trying to recover these things. Of course, in most situations, there have been other crimes committed, even murder. Often the fate of the world hangs in the balance, as in the "Bruce Partington Plans. A body has been found by a railroad track with three pages of a major plan to build a submarine in his pocket. What is interesting is that he apparently didn't die in this setting but was moved there. This leads Holmes and Watson to deal with two things: recovering the document and figuring out what happened to this man. It's all about location and opportunity. This is a very well done mystery with lots of twists and turns and a not-so-simple solution.

I was surprised that of all the Sherlock Holmes stories that they would make "The Bruce Partington Plans". After all, they filmed two similar previous stories with Jeremy Brett ("The Naval Treaty" and "The Second Stain")...all about missing state secrets or treaties.

The story begins with something only a state problem could accompany...Mycroft coming to 221B Baker Street to see his brother, Sherlock. This also happened with "The Naval Treaty".... Mycroft leaving his sanctuary of the Diogenes Club. It seems a man was found dead...and with some state secrets on his body. But some of the stolen documents are still missing...such as the plans for a revolutionary submarine.

This is a decent but very familiar episode. Worth seeing but one that is easy to mix up with the other two similar stories. Well done apart from that.

I recall looking forward to this episode. It would feature Charles Gray as Mycroft Holmes. I remember the character being played by Christopher Lee in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.

The episode begins with a bored Holmes, lamenting on the lack of crime in London. Mycroft calls on his brother on a matter of national importance. Confidential designs on a secret submarine project have gone missing. A government clerk, Cadogan West has been found dead. He is the likely suspect for the theft. His body was found next to the railway line with some pages of the plans on his body.

Holmes needs to visit all the people who had the keys to the safe where the plans were stored. One of whom has subsequently died before Holmes can get to talk to him.

Of course Holmes soon realises that there is more to this theft as it points towards international espionage. The clerk it seems was killed elsewhere and his body placed on the railway.

This is a more thoughtful case and it needs more deductions from Holmes. It also involves Holmes breaking and entering. Gray was an imposing Mycroft and would go on to appear a few more times as Mycroft, mainly as cover for an ill Jeremy Brett.

The Bruce Partington plans is another great episode from a top notch series, the story itself isn't particularly deep or complex, it is simply a case of find the missing papers, but it is hugely absorbing, beautifully acted, and superbly produced.

The appearance of Mycroft always elevates an episode, Charles Gray a fantastic performer, who seemed to inspire Brett. There's a great scene where Mycroft dismisses Holmes vocation as something minor, almost pointless, but of course Sherlock has the last laugh.

The episode is fast paced, energetic, edgy and has an energy to it that wasn't evident in the last few episodes. Not the standard of The Devil's Foot (What is though?) but certainly better then Silver Blaze and Wysteria Lodge.

Excellent. 9/10

Sherlock Holmes is urgently contacted by his brother Mycroft. Top secret submarine plans have been stolen and the man believed responsible, Cadogan West, found dead on a train track with some of the plans on his person. The most important parts of the plans of the plans are still missing. Mycroft needs Sherlock to find the missing plans before they land in the hands of a foreign power.

An interesting, intriguing mystery. A tale of espionage, murder and honour.

As always, Jeremy Brett is excellent as Sherlock Holmes and Edward Harwicke is great as Dr Watson. Good to see Charles Gray back as Mycroft. It's a pity he only appears in two Holmes episodes: he and Sherlock make a great combination and it's wonderful to think that there's someone Sherlock regards as more intelligent than himself.