I remember this as a kid, hitting upon it completely by accident and watching it all the way through. I was an avid Holmes reader at the time and anything of that ilk caught my eye. I only remember it through the haze of the past, however I remember enjoying thoroughly and, like other reviewers, hoping for the series which never materialized. I would like to see it again to see if it was actually good or just some nonsense that appealed to me at the time. Larry Hagman is always very funny, I've never thought him good in dramas, and I found the romantic chemistry between Holmes and Watson to be good. I would love to see it again.
7 Reviews
Smart Sherlock Holmes parody / update
gridoon20248 February 2023
After watching two awful Sherlock Holmes "parodies" lately ("The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother" (1975) and "The Hound Of The Baskervilles" (1978)), it was refreshing to see one that gets mostly everything right exactly what the others got wrong: to parody a genre, you first have to know it, respect it, and follow its rules while subverting them. Yes this film is about a delusional Sherlock Holmes - but one who is almost as competent and perceptive as the real one! The script is smart, the deductions are fun, Larry Hagman has a ball with the role, and Jenny O'Hara is genuinely appealing as his loyal Watson. The film does look and sound like an unsold TV pilot, which according to IMDb trivia it was, but frankly I think it is superior even to the similar theatrical film "They Might Be Giants" (1971). **1/2 out of 4.
The Budget Didn't Go Towards A Dialogue Coach
jrf14114 April 2004
Hagman plays a hapless LAPD officer who, after his motorcycle falls on him while he is reading Sherlock Holmes in the park, begins to believe he is the fictional detective. The knock on the head has had the effect of vastly improved deductive skills, and he soon speaks and dresses in the manner of Holmes. The police psychiatrist, aptly named Dr. Watson, but played by Jenny O'Hara, plays along with Holmes, even finding him lodging at 221B Baker Street in Los Angeles. Soon he is out solving crimes for the police and tracking down a serial killer. The film is so lighthearted and irreverent, it grows on you slowly until you stop asking questions and enjoy the premise. There are small jokes, not in-your-face laughs, but merely quaint observations and running gags. recommended for light entertainment.
Too obvious and too illogical to be better than so-so
FlushingCaps2 March 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I just watched this film for the first time after recording it recently on the Sleuth channel. Some years ago, there were two much better productions where the "real" Holmes was brought back in the modern world and both of these TV movies had much better quality scripts, both for good drama and for humor.
The key in the good Holmes stories are the many times Holmes astounds us with keen observations. Here, these observations really were elementary. Almost every clue he uncovered was painfully obvious to anyone. A key turning point involved the bad guy using an old plot in one of the original stories and it was so obvious I was calling it out to my wife before Holmes even started to recognize the same thing.
More troubling was the way Hagman's character believed he was Holmes, yet he wasn't troubled by the fact that his friend Watson was now a female, nor that his flat at 221 B Baker Street was now in Los Angeles. If he thinks he's THE Sherlock Holmes, than he ought to want to return to London. Or, at least NOT be expecting his old apartment to be in Los Angeles. The script was full of illogical matters like this, which rather kept it from being all that funny to me.
Another big hole-- (Here's my big spoiler, partially disguised) Someone in a courtroom scene sets off a smoke bomb, then slips into a bailiff's uniform to shoot someone. He was counting on witnesses claiming "The bailiff shot the man." How could he count on them seeing the bailiff's uniform clearly enough, but not seeing his own face through the smoke? If you can see the TV film "Return of Sherlock Holmes", you'll find it ten times as interesting and funny, with far fewer holes in the way the plot unfolds.
The key in the good Holmes stories are the many times Holmes astounds us with keen observations. Here, these observations really were elementary. Almost every clue he uncovered was painfully obvious to anyone. A key turning point involved the bad guy using an old plot in one of the original stories and it was so obvious I was calling it out to my wife before Holmes even started to recognize the same thing.
More troubling was the way Hagman's character believed he was Holmes, yet he wasn't troubled by the fact that his friend Watson was now a female, nor that his flat at 221 B Baker Street was now in Los Angeles. If he thinks he's THE Sherlock Holmes, than he ought to want to return to London. Or, at least NOT be expecting his old apartment to be in Los Angeles. The script was full of illogical matters like this, which rather kept it from being all that funny to me.
Another big hole-- (Here's my big spoiler, partially disguised) Someone in a courtroom scene sets off a smoke bomb, then slips into a bailiff's uniform to shoot someone. He was counting on witnesses claiming "The bailiff shot the man." How could he count on them seeing the bailiff's uniform clearly enough, but not seeing his own face through the smoke? If you can see the TV film "Return of Sherlock Holmes", you'll find it ten times as interesting and funny, with far fewer holes in the way the plot unfolds.
Great, fun tv movie.
wkozak22121 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I really like this movie. Larry Hagman does a nice job. Jenny O'Hara is good as Watson. The script is fun. The cast is filled with lots of actors/actresses seen on tv. Nice line up. The mystery is good. The one error? The above description. He didn't fall off his motorcycle. It fell on top of him while he reading during his lunch.
Hagman is great in comedy stuff.
rkersh16 September 2006
I liked this even though it wasn't great. I would like to see it again in fact if it is ever on again. It was a good idea and played well by Larry Hagman. A bit silly, but a nice spoof of Sherlock Holmes. I am a Holmes fan and have seen most of the stuff done by Jeremy Brett, Basil Rathbone and others. I thought this might be some sort of pilot, but I guess it would have been too hard to pull off week in and week out, although with the right budget and better quality it might have worked. Jenny O'Hara was good as Doc Watson as well. I thought it was funny and really played tongue in cheek by Hagman and O'Hara which made it work well. I do think the writing could have been better though for what it was it worked.
Considering the recent (subsequent to my writing this review in 2006) proliferation of Holmesian vehicles, both in the movies by Mr. Downey and the most recent stuff by Mister's Cumberbatch and Miller, seems like Mr. Hagman was ahead of his time and this effort goes unnoticed, especially if you consider Elementary, Mr. Miller's effort.
2016 and still looking for this somewhere to be seen again.
Considering the recent (subsequent to my writing this review in 2006) proliferation of Holmesian vehicles, both in the movies by Mr. Downey and the most recent stuff by Mister's Cumberbatch and Miller, seems like Mr. Hagman was ahead of his time and this effort goes unnoticed, especially if you consider Elementary, Mr. Miller's effort.
2016 and still looking for this somewhere to be seen again.
Wish they'd had made it a series
dittoheadaz5 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I remember seeing this one when it was first (and last???) run on TV. While I only remember some of the plot (like Hagman getting hit on the head by a motorcycle while reading a Holmes novel and then starting to act and dress like him, solving the mystery, etc.), I remember that I did enjoy the show at the time, having only recently started reading the original Holmes stories by Doyle.
If it's ever released on some kind of "one-run pilots" DVD, it would be interesting to see if it was as entertaining as I remember it to be (hey, I was only 10 at the time!) I do remember hoping that they'd make it a series and unfortunately they didn't.
If it's ever released on some kind of "one-run pilots" DVD, it would be interesting to see if it was as entertaining as I remember it to be (hey, I was only 10 at the time!) I do remember hoping that they'd make it a series and unfortunately they didn't.
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