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Does Anyone Else Think Memoirs was Stronger than Casebook?


In some circles, it seems as though the Memoirs is looked on as a sad ending to the Jeremy Brett Holmes films. And I suppose it is. Brett's health was definitely an issue in the making of this series and probably one reason that it was the least, if not *the* reason. But I still think it excels the previous Casebook cycle in some ways. I think the production team did a better job of choosing interesting stories from what was left to adapt. Although perhaps not the strongest detective stories ever (to be honest, Doyle was not Agatha Christie--I don't think he was the same sort of whodunit writer) but the stories in The Memoirs tended to have a very strong human dimension. The episodic characters often had interesting backgrounds and in some episodes (The Three Gables, Golden Pince-Nez, Red Circle), there are intriguing cultural and historical circumstances at play. The Mazarin Stone may be an exception but that story ends up being interesting for novelty alone. And even though Brett was ill (which was what made The Mazarin Stone a novelty), he was always excellent in character even when physically deteriorating. I will also say that, contrary to what some feel, I don't think that taking a more experimental, "artsy" approach to direction hurt the series. By comparison, some of the earlier episodes, although to be lauded for their faithful reproduction of Holmes in Victorian England, could be seen as workmanlike, if one chose to take that angle. The Sherlock Holmes films were produced over the course of ten years, so I suppose it was subject to changes in the standards and values of TV productions and that does show a bit.

Still, after the exploration with the feature length episodes, it was also nice to get back to the fifty minute format to end the series. The Memoirs ends up like a hybrid of those deviant feature films and the earlier, more faithful episodes, in that there is still some deviation from the text (mainly to expand the stories a bit) but not nearly as much as some of the movies. It was comfortable to get back to the classic format and I think a good balance was finally achieved. And I say that as someone who actually enjoys The Eligible Bachelor. I think that's an interesting film in its own right but carrying on the series like that probably wouldn't have been sustainable. Overall, I think Memoirs ended up being a very strong closing season. The series had found itself and the balance and maturity. The production team overcame considerable challenges to produce a graceful final act. Does anyone else agree that Memoirs excelled or at least equaled Casebook?

"Sometimes it's right to feel a fool"- Cleggy

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I actually like Memoirs a lot more than Casebook. While Casebook had the advantage of several top-notch stories, such as "Boscombe Valley" and "Thor Bridge," it tended to try too hard to play with the original material rather than find space for the episodes to engage the audience. There's only one episode from Casebook that I think is particularly lovely - "Lady Frances Carfax" - and even that one is significantly poorer than the previous collaboration between the writer (T. R. Bowen) and director (John Madden), "The Priory School." While I really am not a huge fan of "Golden Pince-Nez" or "Mazarin Stone" (especially since they really blundered in choosing the one really strong Sherlock Holmes-Dr. Watson friendship scene for the episode that Brett was too ill to complete - though how much of that was sad happenstance is open to question), "Red Circle," "Cardboard Box," "Three Gables," and especially "Dying Detective" are very strong, human episodes. Casebook felt far too dry and clumsy compared to the baroque richness of the feature films and Memoirs.

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What is it that you don't like about the Golden Pince-Nez? For me, the one possible drawback is the absence of Watson. Charles Grey is never bad, though, even if it occasionally sounds (to me) like he's speaking lines originally scripted for Edward Hardwicke. Pince-Nez did seem to move forward the timeline of the series a bit, bringing it into the Edwardian with the women's suffrage movement at its height. I didn't mind that at all, especially in a story that already has political intrigue. I do wonder what Watson's reaction to the suffragette meeting would have been like. He's so kind-hearted and fond of the ladies that I can't see him being belligerent and hostile like Mycroft and the inspector.

As to the Casebook, I think The Boscombe Valley Mystery and Problem of Thor Bridge are particularly solid and funnily, I've always had a soft spot for The Creeping Man. In view of the source, I don't think it was too bad. Charles Kay as the Professor is one of my favorite guest actors. But I think you hit on something important in remarking that the Casebook was less "baroque", less stylized than the others and perhaps the relative lack of style detracted a bit from what could have been a more engaging presentation.

Also, I'll agree with your point about the Mazarin Stone. Although I don't find the episode impossible to watch, it's a pity to have lost that Holmes-Watson moment.


Om Shanti

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I just started on the Memoirs and like it much better than Casebook. First of all, Casebook episodes were just too long. I'm sorry to say that Jeremy Brett doesn't look that well at all, poor guy. I know he was mourning his wife's death and dealing with his own health issues. But we loved him for the time he gave us so much of himself as Sherlock! The best!

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Memoirs is the best series.

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I am currently watching the 'Memoirs' series. What strikes me about these episodes is the loveliness of the photography and the atmosphere. There are really are some spooky scenes and just a hint of the supernatural about the stories. And of course Jeremy Brett's condition at the time must have added to the eerie nature of the series, which is sad. But it does bring a type of appropriateness to what was left of the Sherlock Holmes stories that he needed to do.

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Very well put. Maybe the word for what you're describing is "gothic". There's a little bit more gothic atmosphere in some of these stories, and I agree that the photography and visual choices are a large part of that. I notice it particularly in The Golden Pince-Nez, one of my favorites, in the Professor's spooky house. Many episodes throughout the Brett series (The Sign of Four springs to mind) have atmospheric direction and photography, and this series adds to that in some way.

"Supernatural" is an interesting word choice, simply because Holmes doesn't believe in anything supernatural on principle. Yet his powers of detection often appear superhuman to others. Overall people tend to talk about the later episodes in the context of Brett's illness and the perception of a slip in quality. We talk a lot about what makes these episodes different from earlier ones (expanded adaptations, more stylized direction with hints of the supernatural like you said), but not so much about the things that are similar.



Om Shanti

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'Gothic' is indeed the word I was searching for. The cemetery gates. The pale vampire-like of poor Jeremy Brett's face. The great sense of Victorian England about the gardens and other scenes. The 'Memoirs' series has a good gothic art about it.

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