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In 1893, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's weariness with his most famous creation, Sherlock Holmes, led him to write
The Final Problem. The plan was to bring Holmes face to face with his most cunning and vile adversary, Professor Moriarity, in a showdown that would bring a graceful and ennobling close to the Holmes saga. In time, Doyle allowed popular pressure to change his mind, and he brought back the sleuth. But this Granada Television adaptation of
The Final Problem truly seems like Holmes's last bow and gives no hint of things to come. The drama is certainly engrossing: Holmes (Jeremy Brett) has been on the run in London for days, barely avoiding assassination attempts by Moriarty's lieutenants while international lawmen work with him to shut down the brilliant villain's crime organization. Moriarty, apparently, is the only one to escape Holmes's tightening net, leading to an extended chase across Europe and a fateful confrontation at Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland. Eric Porter makes for a dark, wicked Moriarty, his weathered face a window onto all the destruction the character has left in his wake. Typically, Brett and David Burke (as Dr. John Watson) are a perfect reflection of the dynamic duo Conan Doyle had in mind.
--Tom Keogh
