I am surprised at all the good reviews here, because I don’t think these are very good at all. I had never seen them before but recently saw these positive reviews, so I purchased the set– as I am always looking forward to finding new Holmes movies.

Really, these are a disappointment. I can see being pleased with them if one is buying these to complete a Holmes collection, or if one is just curious about all the different people who played Holmes, etc.

If you are hoping for good story lines and character development, however, these will not fulfill those hopes.

Because each episode is only 25 minutes or so, there is no time for character development at all. As a matter of fact, there is no time for lots of deduction and detective work, either. As the episodes start, we are immediately introduced to the mystery at hand. Holmes is soon brought into the picture. Holmes has to start his detective work, but there is often a narrator’s voice that explains what Holmes is doing– to speed up the process there is no time to see. Then, everything is somewhat neatly tied up, but not really.

Take the Eiffel Tower episode, for instance. It starts out with a dead man and a clue in the form of the note. Lestrade immediately gets Holmes to help. Holmes goes on a treasure hunt of sorts while the voice over tells us what he’s actually doing. Then they go to the Eiffel Tower to complete their clue-finding endeavor. The bad guys are up there and the episode resorts to complete slapstick/vaudeville type music/action. There is a race up and down the stairs and I mentioned to my husband that this was like watching Charlie Chaplin movies. He agreed.

Finally, the detectives go to a Dance Hall to watch some can can dancers and find what they are looking for. Remember, these episodes are about 25 minutes in length, but we have time to watch an extended set of can can dancers and the French singer sing an entire song (she was great, by the way– I don’t know who she is, but I bet she had a career)! An entire song! So, five minutes or so of the entire episode was watching the dancers and singer.

Then there is a dance hall riot– another slapstick/vaudevillian scene. Then, the mystery is wrapped up.

Really poorly done and the films are not in great condition, either. The music is grating to one’s ears and the film is grainy. Additionally, since they are not remastered, some of the sound was notably poor and difficult to decipher since some accents are very thick. A subtitle option would be beneficial, but there is not one available. Although originally aired in the 50s, they seem more like 20s, in style and execution. I do want to give credit where credit is due, though. The actors– including Howard– are definitely okay. They do what they can do with the material. But, they aren’t excellent or memorable and the shows are just so uninteresting that their performances almost fail to matter.

So, if you are a Holmes collector, I guess you should buy these. If you are a Holmes fan who wants to see everything “Holmes”, then rent these first, if you can. Or, buy the 4 episode set and then you will be convinced that owning everything “Holmes” isn’t really a necessity, afterall. Because what’s the use of having another Sherlock Holmes set when they are not any fun– at all– to watch?

Disk 1 “texas cowgirl” episode has a factory defect. DVD slows down and stops and the screen goes to black.

This is a really good set. A must for Sherlock Holmes fans. Good experience with this seller. Fast shipping.