This failed television pilot is so lightweight that a slight sigh would cause it to crumble but on its own terms it’s actually quite a likable and charming attempt to update Sherlock Holmes for a contemporary audience. Flawed but often very funny and blessed with real chemistry between the two main leads it perhaps deserved a chance at a full season though one can’t help but wonder just how much mileage there might have been in the idea.
In 1980s Boston, Jane Watson (Margaret Colin) – granddaughter of that other famous resident of 221B Baker Street – runs a failing private investigations agency, virtually a one-woman show that’s failing because she’s a bit too much of a softy and cares too much about her clients, much to the dismay of her secretary Mrs Houston (Lila Kaye). Forced to sell the country estate of her famous grandfather she travels to England where she discovers a primitive cryogenic capsule in the basement of the family home – and inside is Sherlock Holmes (Michael Pennington) himself. Returning to Boston, Holmes initially struggles with the 20th century while teaming up with Watson to investigate the murder of former FBI agent Carter Morstan (Barry Morse) and the growing conspiracy that surrounds it.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes‘ biggest problem is that writer Bob Shayne and director and former Amicus mainstay Kevin Connor spent rather too much time poking fun at Holmes and his initial bewilderment at modern life. There are far too many “what sort of carriage is this?” type dialogue exchanges though there are some very funny moments along the way, particularly Holmes’ crestfallen reaction when he emerges from an adult book shop he’s inadvertently wandered into or his dismay at learning that 221B Baker Street has been turned into a MacDonald’s, There’s also some genuinely touching moments, as when a detour to Arizona brings the Great Detective face to face with the transplanted London Bridge, a physical link to his former life (“I’m in Heaven!”).
The film’s chief asset is the cast. Colin, who was making a lot of appearances at the time as no-nonsense investigators – see also Foley Square (1985-1986) and Leg Work (1987) – makes for a resourceful, witty and thoroughly modern Watson (the bulk of the film revolves around her and not Holmes) and Pennington, predominantly a stage actor, makes a decent fist of Holmes. His is far from the best portrayal but he certainly captures the basic essence of Conan Doyle’s detective better than most. The prospective series would also have featured the obligatory “third wheel” character, Watson’s new love interest, computer programmer Tobias Gregson (Nicholas Guest), named after one of Lestrade’s Scotland Yard rivals seen in A Study in Scarlet, The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter, The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge and The Adventure of the Red Circle (he’s referred to throughout as Toby, the name of course of Holmes’ faithful bloodhound). The chemistry between the main leads is a lot of fun and helps smooth over some of the script’s rougher edges and plot holes.
Shayne, a veteran of US TV comedy and light dramas like Hart to Hart (1979-1984), Magnum, P.I. (1980-1988) and Remington Steele (1982-1987) peppers his script with plentiful references not only to the canon (the basic mystery is taken from The Sign of the Four but there are lots of other little tips of the hat along the way too) but also Shayne’s own back catalogue. In an early scene, Mrs Houston can be seen reading a crime thriller, The Corpse Danced at Midnight by one J.B. Fletcher, a reference to Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), the protagonist of Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996) for which Shayne had written just the year before.
It’s all a bit silly and very lightweight but it’s carried off with such charm that it’s hard to dislike it. It was probably not strong enough to warrant a full series though one might have thought that a few tweaks to the format, a stronger plot and less reliance on Holmes’ fish-out-of-water hijinks (which would surely have come naturally in any later adventures) might have been enough to get it through. Network CBS certainly thought there was mileage in the idea as they tried it again in 1993 with 1994 Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Returns with Anthony Higgins as Holmes and Debrah Farentino as Amy Winslow. While The Return of Sherlock Holmes was well received by the critics (Variety‘s “Tone” for example wrote that “the sheer daring of the work lifts it out of the ordinary” and praised the cast and the wit of the writing), 1994 Baker Street was panned. Neither iteration of the idea of a thawed-out Holmes appealed to the public enough to persuade network suits to pursue it any further. In the case of The Return of Sherlock Holmes that’s a disappointment – it’s no classic but the potential is obvious. A series, with some of the jagged edges smoothed off, might have been a winner. Sadly we never had a chance to find out.
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