The David Hardwicke and early Edward Burke episodes are the best of the Jeremy Brett turns as Holmes. And probably the best episodes of any other series or movies ever made.
But I thought the series with Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock in the mid-60s was uniformly excellent. The Speckled Band, Charles Augustus Milverton, The Ilustrious Client, and The Disappearance of Lady Francis Carfox are stories I return to again and again. And that is not even half a truly fine run of episodes.
I liked Peter Cushing as Holmes as well when he picked up where Wilmer left off. But the production and writing overall took a hit, despite being recorded in color, and the surviving episodes from that series are comparitively disappointing. The standout from that series is The Blue Carbuncle, which Id put up against Bretts, as great as it is.
If youre like me and enjoy watching how others portray Holmes, there is a series out of the old Soviet Union made in the late 70s through early 80s that I am sure spurred Granada to do their series with Brett. Uneven but always entertaining, it suffers from dark and muddy film prints that suffered in their translation to video. The Adventure of the Empty House is probably the best of that series.
>>series out of the old Soviet Union
Can you give me any more hints that would let me track it down. I love Holmes in every variation (except the female Watson show) and would love to see what they did with it.
Thanks for the very interesting analysis.