30 Reasons to Love the Granada Sherlock Holmes Series

To be more accurate, this post is actually 30 reasons why I love the Granada Sherlock Holmes series – and, to be really accurate, that would be the episodes that were filmed before 1992. I’ve tried my best to block out the episodes that came after 1991. For those of you who didn’t read my previous LJ post, I let the 30th anniversary of the PBS debut of the Granada Sherlock Holmes series pass without marking it. Even worse, I allowed the original original debut broadcast date (April 24, 1984) pass without any kind of fanfare either. It looks like I’m just managing to squeeze in this post before the 31st anniversary of the ITV airdate, which saves me a bit of work (and a 31st reason). In any case, whatever way you look at it, my recognition and acknowledgement of this remarkable series is coming later than it should. I hope this post will help rectify that situation and serve as a homage to the Granada series.

I must give credit where credit is due. I used The Television Sherlock Holmes, Peter Haining’s excellent book about the Granada series, for research and fact-checking purposes. I also ended up saving some time and effort by re-watching certain scenes with the help of YouTube. Other information came from Wikipedia, the IMDB and the original stories, of course. ( Hey, it’s not just me babbling. There are images and vids as well. You should at least skim this post to figure out how I worked 'phosphorescence' into my list of reasons. )