Radio Times

It's one of the most famous silhouette profiles in history: the aquiline nose, the meerschaum pipe and the deerstalker hat. But of all the actors to shed light on Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous creation, who can best lay claim to that bohemian consulting room in Baker Street?

Basil Rathbone portrays him as a smooth sophisticate, while Peter Cushing - in emphasising the sleuth's scholarly bent - ends up downplaying his wilder excesses. It is really only Jeremy Brett, in the Granada television adaptations of the 1980s and 90s, who fully captures the master detective's periods of listlessness, intense engagement when absorbed in a mystery and outbursts of passionate energy.

Rejecting such stereotypical props as the magnifying glass and Inverness cape, Brett goes against received impressions and delivers an outlandish, arch and unpredictable performance that makes him the most memorable Sherlock Holmes in screen history. It's a series worth revisiting and one that works on a number of levels.

On first watching, it's a thrill to see Sidney Paget's original illustrations from the Strand Magazine brought so accurately to life, and the physical flourishes that accompany Holmes's deductions are always worth relishing. In the early stories at least, Brett also exhibits a flair for humour that plays with the character's image as a cold, calculating machine: "Mrs Hudson, you are hideously in the way," he chastises his housekeeper, and to Dr Watson, "This is no time for humbugs!"

It is only later in the run, when the majority of Conan Doyle's most satisfying short stories have been tackled, that an air of gloom and despondency settles on Victorian London and Holmes is just as often to be found sulking between cases at 221b as following clues at a manic dash.

We now know that Jeremy Brett himself was suffering with depression following the death of his wife, and was having difficulty separating the role for which he had become a household name from his off-screen life. In episodes like The Dying Detective, Holmes's introspection suggests that the work is taking its toll on the character, especially when contrasted with his dynamism while boxing in first-series instalment The Solitary Cyclist.

Jeremy Brett's passing in 1995 prevented the entire canon from being filmed, but the death knell for the series had already sounded when the decision was made to switch to the two-hour format made popular by Inspector Morse. Stretching Conan Doyle's short stories over 120 minutes results in unnecessary gothic and supernatural embellishments and robs the dramatisations of their previous exuberance.

Yet Brett remains a figure of complete fascination throughout, lending even the grimmest of subject matter a flash of mischievous fun. You only have to consider the recent pretenders to the throne to realise how totally he inhabits the part: Rupert Everett exudes little more than a drug-fuelled indolence and terminally bland Richard Roxburgh doesn't have the charisma to fully emerge from those 19th-century peasoupers.

It is Jeremy Brett, gazing hawklike from his Baker Street window at London's cutpurses and undesirables, who eclipses all.

I support the notion that Jeremy Brett's portrayal has to date provided the definitive revelation of the engima of the character of Sherlock Holmes. Brett's treatment of the role clearly but subtly intimates the depth and nobility of the character of Holmes that has been all too easily buried in a tomb of caricature. For Sherlock Holmes is a man of exceptional intellect and rationality. He subordinates the emotional aspects of his psyche entirely to the objective, calculating, scientific methods of his intellect. He is able to retain firm control over things because he retains control over himself. In society he is respectful and polite to a fault, but reserved and cold, veering easily into brusqueness, he can appear almost fearful of women. The advanced knowledge of human psychology and cold scientificality of such a man has the consequence of disillusioning him completely with regard to morality; he comes face to face with the ultimate irrationality of all morality. He is therefore - bored, susceptible to depression, listlessness, apathy - hence the maniacal almost fanatical glee with which he hurls himself into his sleuthing. Each seemingly intractable mystery pits him against a problem and enemy at last worthy of his formidable powers, in a true test of his strength. His life is punctuated by his cases, which provide the sole occasions for him to really be alive and be himself. For there is a quality of greatness within Sherlock Homes that assures he remains the agent of law, civility and justice when the superabundance of his talents could so easily pave the way for him to become a master criminal like Professor Moriarty, his nemesis and evil 'twin'. Even his true friend, confidant and peer Dr Watson mistakenly presumes that Holmes' distinction lies in his exceptionalness and his extraordinary intellectual powers, when his true achievement, his great victory and self-overcoming consists in the fact that he remains within the rules and chooses to serve the law.

Without doubt Jeremy Brett imbued his character with more interest, foibles and idiosyncrasies than any actor that I have seen play the role or any other role come to think of it. JB inhabited his character as if it were a second skin.

That is the most stupid thing that i had read,Hugh Landau. Vasily Livanov was awarded but don't forget that is role was done very much before jeremy brett's role. There is no doubt that jeremy brett is the best actor you portrayed Sherlock Holmes. Basil and Vasily didn't have carisma, energy and passion for the role. While, Jeremy brett did all of that to the role, and much more. I have any doubt that if jeremy brett apeared before Vasily, the people would forgoth that Vasily existed

jeremy brett, the best Holmes...no...but he is certainly up there with Basil Rathbone and Ian Richardson. Classic actors and classic acts

A bunch of crawlers to mr Browns blog,basil rathbone was a total class above ANY OTHER holmes,brett is good old englands opinion,the worlds opinion will always be rathbone.

Brett is undeniably the best television Holmes, but, for me, Clive Merrison's ironic, hawkeyed, rather volatile Sherlock is the preeminent one. Merrison plays him with a sneering arrogance, softened by the respect and affection the detective has for Michael Wilson's sensible, stand-fast Watson.

He was helped, undoubtedly, by the superb scripts that invoked so much of the spirit - as well as closely following the plots - of the stories. The longer format (and, perhaps, a perceived need to spice up the storyline) of the television series lead to some rather recherché elements being added in to fatten up the plots. Toward the end the television series became frankly, rather bizarre; but then, so did Conan Doyle himself!

Jeremy Brett was Holmes to a T ably supported by fine actors in all roles, Dr Watson, Mrs hudson and the assorted police inspectors - especially Lestrade! In addition the settings were superb.

Jeremy Brett was Holmes to a T ably supported by fine actors in all roles, Dr Watson, Mrs hudson and the assorted police inspectors - especially Lestrade! In addition the settings were superb.

If you really think Jeremy Brett is the best actor of Sherlock Holmes How can you explain that I can see the biggest photo of Vasily Livanov(Russia) entering Baker street Museum.

I too think Jeremy Brett was the best Holmes. Though it is a shame that some great Holmes portrayals are always overlooked. I'm currently watching the box set of Ronald Howard adventures fron the 1950s (I'm giving Basil Rathbone a rest this Christmas). They are perhaps too comedic for most true Holmes fans but are still superior, aged though they are, to some of the BBC's more recent attemps *cough cough* Rupert Everett.

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes still remains one of my all time favourite films - Robert Stephens' Holmes is a must see.

I enjoyed watching Brett and Hardwicke simply because I felt that their portrayal of their characters were true to the original stories.

I agree with the review that 120 minute episodes would have been too long for Holmes (as they were for Morse), but equally the 60 minute episodes were too short: the obvious compromise would have been to run 90 minute episodes.

Without a doubt Jeremy Brett took the part of Holmes to a new level.No one has been able to beat his masterful performances.Watching this series still shows how good British TV could be. Also the cast assembled with Brett was always first class especially the two actors who played Watson.We lost a fine actor very early when Jeremy died He was Holmes and always will be in my mind.

No questions. Brett is the business. The whole series exudes class. If ACD had produced a TV series of his stories, then he could not have made anything closer to the magic and intrigue of the stories. I personally cannot disentangle JB with SH. He was the quintessential Holmes.

Courtesy of an internet DVD provider, we watched The Man with the Twisted Lip and Six Napoleons last week. Jeremy Brett of course, the "true" portayer of Sherlock Holmes...making this an excellent night of viewing when "Nothing on the telly."

Yes, I agree wholeheartedly, Jeremy Brett encapsulates all the magic of Conan Doyles detective. I was literally spellbound on first watching the series and with such amazing original music by I think, Patrick Gowers?

I continually enjoy dipping back into them from time to time.

A masterpiece!

Certainly, there have been many fine Holmses throughout the ages; the character is so wonderfully rich in substance that there seems to be no end of interpretations available to performers. But I would have to whole-heartedly agree with RT; Jeremy Brett was - and still is - the ultimate Holmes. I suppose the most complete and succint compliment I could pay the late, great actor is that he IS the Holmes Conan-Doyle wrote. I'm very glad indeed to see him get the recognition he deserves. I would also add that the intelligent manner in which both David Burke and Edward Hardwicke played Watson finally did the character, who is no intellectual push-over himself, justice.

In addition to Jeremy Brett's defining performance as Holmes, Edward Hardwicke's Watson is also the best I've seen. Previous incumbents of the role have portrayed the good Doctor as a two dimensional character, lacking in any intelligence or feeling. The viewer actually feels for Hardwicke's Watson when he suffers one of Holmes' frequent put downs. I'm sure Conan Doyle wanted the reader to empathise with Watson in this way.

Choice dependent on your age I suspect as perceptions of the Sherlock Holmes character are moulded by our our experiences regardless of the Conan Doyle descriptive work. For me, Jeremy Brett is the ideal and seems to capture the tortured soul that Holmes appeared to be.

It is Jeremy Brett for me and The Speckled Band episode! I can feel the hairs rising on the back of my neck now.

I guess it's not surprising that Radio Times would overlook the senior service. Clive Merrison (with help from Michael Williams as Watson, followed by Andrew Sachs in the role following Michael's untimely death) is for me the quintessential Sherlock Holmes.

And, happily, the radio series, dramatised by Bert Coules, completed the entire Conan-Doyle canon, plus a few extras penned by Bert based on stories alluded to in various adventures. Whenever I can, I find 45 minutes in the company of the audio versions of Holmes and Watson to be time well spent.

How can Guy Ritchie think he can do better than the Jeremy Brett version?