The Return of Sherlock Holmes (TV)

"The Return of Sherlock Holmes" (1987) was a movie produced for television.

The plot involves a (female) descendant of Holmes's famous companion Dr. Watson finding Holmes in a frozen state. (He apparently somehow invented cryogenics centuries early, in an effort to save himself from a murder attempt involving a dart tipped with the bubonic plague.) The descendant, Jane Watson, is a private detective herself, and persuades Holmes to lend his assistance with a difficult, and personal, investigation.

The content of the film attempted to blend comedy and mystery. A fight scene, for example, featured Holmes's knowledge of the martial art Baritsu, as mentioned in the short story "The Final Problem", failing him miserably to a few well-placed punches. Other scenes featured Holmes learning to drive, learning that "television is radio with pictures" only to wonder what radio is, and learning the modern definition of the term "adult bookstore."

However, some scenes in the film were played with true cleverness and a genuine attempt to imagine how Sherlock Holmes might react to the modern world. (For example, note a sequence wherein Holmes manages to rescue Jane Watson from a security guard by successfully impersonating a Los Angeles police detective using a child's police toy kit.)

At the time, the film was presented as a pilot for a possible series. Despite some decent reviews from television critics, the show was never picked up.

A 1993 television film, "Sherlock Holmes Returns", starring Debrah Farentino, had a nearly identical plotline.

Cast

* Margaret Colin – Jane Watson
* Michael Pennington – Sherlock Holmes
* Daniel Benzali – Ross
* Connie Booth – Violet
* Nicholas Guest – Toby
* William Hootkins – Spelman
* Paul Maxwell – Hopkins
* Barry Morse – Carter Morstan

External links

* (1987)
* (1993)