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