Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

I haven't yet seen the whole series. Just the first two episodes. Being a firm Conan Doyle/Sherlock Holmes fan, I was always curious to see the series. It was never shown in my country, so you can imagine how much I welcomed Mill Creek's 2012 DVD. You can also imagine how disappointed I was with Episode One. I thought the writing flaccid, the acting poor, the direction under-directed, and production values skimpy. I was going to turn the DVD off and throw the whole lot away, but by the time I'd made up my mind, episode two had already started. To my surprise, it gripped my attention right from the outset. The plot was intriguing, production values quite good by the humble standard of television, the direction skillful, and the acting from all concerned much more assured. (To be continued),

I remember seeing this series on local television in New Orleans in 1955 when I was seven years old.It was one of my favorites then, but I haven't seen it since. I just finished looking at it on IMDb.I am glad to see that it still holds up pretty well.Too bad that there aren't more episodes.One thing that no one has mentioned is that this is one of the few interpretations of Holmes that show the stereotypical Holmes. Most of them avoid the "traditional" image, like they are ashamed of it. But here it is played to the hilt. Deerstalker hat, caped coat, pipe, the works. Just like you always see in cartoon versions of Holmes.One of the Basil Rathbone movies shows Holmes reaching for his deerstalker hat, and Watson says something like"Oh really Holmes, not THAT!", and Rathbone takes another hat. But this series GLORIES in the stereotypes,with splendid results.The sets are pretty good, and 221B Baker street looks just like you expect it to be. The street is obviously a studio street,just like in 40's movies, but convincing.The Victorian atmosphere is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Howard, Crawford and Duncan are all excellent in their roles, and it is a pity that they didn't do any Holmes movies. The plots are simple and easy because of the half hour format,but you can't have everything.I think that the black and white filming definitely helps.20 or 30 years later Sheldon Reynolds did another Holmes series, with British actors filmed in POLAND! It was TERRIBLE!By the way, my earliest exposure to the Holmes stories on TV was a few years earlier, a children's version in which the characters were played by chimpanzees!

Howard is a believable Holmes, he carries off an almost absentminded humour in his portrayal of Sherlock. He is second in my book only to Jeremy Brett (except Howard has better hair, rather curly, which I found attractive).The writing and dialogue was well done and charming. Howard and Crawford play off each other beautifully, and obviously enjoy their roles.Some of the camera angles in this show are awful, but only add to the comedy (at least to me). It seemed a little too obvious at times that some actors were shot independently of the rest of the scene, and jumped places.In short I laughed a lot at it all, and loved every minute of it. If you haven't, go buy this show.

In a nutshell, I grew up with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, yet I do recall seeing the Ronald Howard episodes on TV in the late 50's. Only after I picked up a dollar DVD at Walmart featuring Ronald Howard did I realize what a totally charming performance he gave as the super-sleuth. H. Marion Crawford is equally charming as Dr. Watson, and the pair interact and play off each other in a manner much different than the Rathbone/Bruce pairing. Howard portrays Sherlock as a much more human and compassionate character and is a joy to watch. There are many nuances in his words and actions which one does not immediately observe on the first viewing which help enhance his portrayal. If you are a Sherlock fan, you must sample this delightful series. Kudos also for photography and editing, at least in the limited number of chapters I have been able to view thus far. As some have mentioned, the plot lines are somewhat shallow-- you will watch these less for the intrigue of the mystery and more for Howard's acting and the wonderful chemistry between Howard and Crawford.