MovieChat Forums > The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1994) Discussion > The Mazarin Stone

The Mazarin Stone

posted 18 years ago by jnnfrbryc
13 replies | jump to latest

I'm posting this here because this is the series to which the episode belongs to even though most posts for all the series are on "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" board.
Anyway, I wanted to have a word about the Mazarin Stone. What the hell happened there! Granted the story is the weakest in the canon and I have no objections to their using part of the story of the Three Garridebs as I think it fits quite nicely but where did Holmes go? He disappears to Scotland at the start of the episode but is apparently still watching Watson and then turns up at the end looking thoroughly dreadful only to applaud eerily and say "Brother mine, well done" as though the whole thing were a test for his brother than an actutal case! Why did they do that? If Brett was too ill to film why not just wait until he felt better or just not film the episode at all?
My other problem with the Mazarin Stone comes from the part of the story which is originally from the Three Garridebs. Like I said I think the story is better for this amalgamation but it also loses something in the lack of Sherlock. One of the most touching moments in the original stories comes in the Three G's when Watson is injured in the Garrideb house by the imposter. Watson says: "It was worth a wound - it was worth many wounds to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as great brain. All my years of single-minded service culminated in that moment."
The story as it appeared really lost something here with it being Mycroft instead of Sherlock and you lost something of the depth of feeling.
Lol, rant over. Fell free to disagree.

"Mrs Hudson, how dare you touch my aspidistra!"

[–] LizzyBennet_Rox 18 years ago

I agree. I thought that it would have been better to have holmes like it was meant to than to use mycroft. that moment when watson is shot is one of my favourites in the book because it shows holmes as actually human.

on Brett not being there...Maybe they had already planned to film that episode and Brett suddenly got sick. i dunno. he certainly looked like death warmed up when he made his brief appearance at the end.

- Watson-cope -

[–] kitsilanoca-1 17 years ago

Since Jeremy Brett did die of cancer - and I believe he had been suffering from it at that time, though maybe not yet diagnosed - perhaps he did fall ill. I notice in all the Memoirs episodes he does look very pale, tired and baggy eyed.

[–] KarenShephard 17 years ago

I just thought I'd point out that he didn't die of cancer. His wife died of cancer during the making of SH.

Jeremy had rhumatic fever as a child and so later had a heart condition that got worse due to the perscribed drugs he had to take for BiPolor which weakened it, thus later his heart just stopped. He never had a heart attack either which lots of people seem to assume.

Amelia xx

[–] angel_0f_music 17 years ago

I have to agree somewhat on this one. The Mazarian Stone is my least favourite of all time. I skip passed it when I watch the DVDs.

Poor Jeremy Brett does look extremely ill - as indeed he was - during his brief appearances, and I do believe that it would have been better to have not filmed this one at all.

I know I am prejudice because I do not like Mycroft Holmes at all. I can just about cope with him in The Greek Interpretator, but otherwise he just annoys me.

[–] gring0 17 years ago

And I'm a big fan of Mycroft simply because of Charles Gray's commanding performance. How they could sabotage it by the ridiculous camera angles and screeching music is criminal.

[–] paintedplates 17 years ago

Ya but in this show Charles Gray is so old he can't walk faster than a snail ... yet we are supposed to believe he dogged the steps of the Count, vigorously, disguised as a cabbie, and so on.

As well, the ending was botched. Why at the end does the Count waste all his bullets at apparations of the slow-moving Gray ... and then fall over all by himself. Up to that time he extremely capable ... yet an old man that can't walk faster than a snail corners him. I mean, really.

Thx

[–] jezy-2 15 years ago

Just watched it and I agree. The camera angles were very odd, almost macro closeups.

Brett looked very ill at the end and I notice that they cast a dark shadow over much of his face, only showing a small part of his upper head, which was almost white. Very sad.

[–] standardmetal 13 years ago

I turned it on late but I figured that they were desperate and had to substitute Mycroft for Sherlock. I didn't see the early scenes of course but when Jeremy appeared at the end, he looked like a ghost!

I thought Charles Gray was excellent as Mycroft but he looked simply ancient in this even though he was only 65 or 66.

[–] nicoledesapio 13 years ago

Wow! I actually liked the episode. It's not my favorite in the MEMOIRS (that would be "The Dying Detective"), but I enjoyed it.

[–] standardmetal 13 years ago

I didn't dislike it and did have praise for what they did with what they had. I saw "The Dying Detective" but don't remember it too well.

[–] Troll_Dahl 11 years ago

I don't disagree. I think it's kind of fun for what it is. Not exemplary of the series but some of the best episodes can sometimes be exceptions (I like The Eligible Bachelor, too). Like you, it's not my favorite in the Memoirs (which is underrated--strong stories). I'm particularly partial to the Golden Pince-nez. But I do enjoy The Mazarin Stone. Like the others said, the biggest issue is the lack of Sherlock, due to Jeremy Brett's illness, but Charles Grey is always good as Mycroft and the Garridebs are great fine. I even admit to almost laughing when Watson sits on the knitting needles. It is true that the sequence with Watson getting shot loses some poignance without Sherlock coming to his aid. That is one big draw back of no Holmes but I certainly don't skip the episode. It's good in its own way.

Strangely enough, the liner notes on the DVD release are very skimpy for this episode. Information illuminating the difficulties encountered during its production might have helped. Most likely, Granada had to finish the episode on schedule and Brett was to ill to work, so they did what they could. I agree with the person who congratulates them on doing what they could with what they had. It's really not bad at all, considering.

And the weird camera stuff rarely bothers me. I like some of it, actually.

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

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] NotoriousRio (12927) 3 years ago

It would have been better to have scrapped this episode altogether rather than rope Gray in or if they were contracted to film an episode they could have made a one off spin-off movie with Charles Gray as Mycroft in an original tale, but instead this episode is seen as a disappointment, merging two stories together without Sherlock involved at all, it was sad to see Brett’s health decline in Memoirs.