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The Return of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episodes

Season 1 Episode Guide

7 Episodes 1986 - 1986

Episode 0

The Sign of Four

Thu, Oct 27, 1988103 mins

A young lady, Miss Mary Morstan, contact Sherlock Holmes for his help regarding her father, captain Morstan, who disappeared 10 years ago. Since his disappearance she annually receives a valuable pearl by post from an unknown person. The mystery leads Holmes and doctor Watson into an intricate plot regarding a lost treasure belonging to four convicts on the Andaman Islands.

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Episode 1

The Empty House

51 mins

After Dr. Watson testifies at the inquest of the Honourable Ronald Adair, shot to death after returning home from his gambling club, he is followed back to his office by an eccentric bookseller who reveals himself to be Holmes in disguise. After the initial shock wears off, Holmes explains that he did not die in the fall that killed Professor Moriarity in their famous encounter at Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland three years earlier. Holmes has remained out of England to avoid Colonel Sebastian Moran, a Moriarity associate who witnessed Holmes' escape death and has vowed to kill Holmes in revenge. Holmes will try to foil Moran and solve the Adair murder.

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Episode 2

The Priory School

52 mins

The headmaster of a prestigious prep calls on Holmes for help in investigating the disappearance of the only son of his patron, a rich and powerful duke who seems more worried about staying out of the public eye than finding his ten year old heir. After he reluctantly agrees to allow Holmes to take on the case, The Great Detective investigates not only the missing boy, but a German teacher and the lone bicycle that have mysteriously vanished also.

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Episode 3

The Second Stain

51 mins

Holmes receives a surprise visit from no less than the Prime Minister and the country's chief foreign diplomat, Lord Trelawney Hope. They ask his assistance in the recovery of a sensitive diplomatic letter stolen mysteriously from the Lord's home. Its contents are so incendiary that they might lead Great Britain into war if they were published. Holmes credits only three active criminals capable of masterminding so audacious a theft, and when one is found stabbed to death on the night in question, The Great Detective correctly surmises that it is not a coincidence. Matters are further complicated by a visit to Baker Street by Lady Trelawney Hope, a visit she wants kept from her husband.

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Episode 4

The Musgrave Ritual

52 mins

Convalescent Holmes takes a holiday with Watson at the estate of his old college acquaintance Reginald Musgrave. Musgrave's butler is discovered prying into an enigmatic, centuries-old family document outlining an apparently meaningless ritual. When the butler and a maid he was romantically involved with disappear, Holmes and Watson set about deciphering the ritual's meaning which they hope will lead them to a long-buried treasure.

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Episode 5

The Abbey Grange

52 mins

Inspector Hopkins invites Holmes to assist him in solving the brutal murder of Lord Brackenstall with a fireplace poker at his country estate. According to his bruised and battered wife, her husband was a secret alcoholic who kept his drinking discreetly hidden. On the night in question, she alleges that her house was invaded by a locally notorious thief and his two larcenous sons, who bound her, stole the family silver, bludgeoned her husband to death, and calmly helped themselves to some port wine. Lady Brackenstall denies that the obvious bruising on her face and hands are connected to the murder. When something about the three wine glasses used by the perpetrators bothers Holmes, his mind begins to move in a new direction.

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Episode 6

The Man with the Twisted Lip

52 mins

Watson locates a husband in a London opium den and encounters a disguised Holmes there. The Great Detective is searching for another errant husband who has apparently been killed by a filthy, poetry-spouting professional beggar who lives in one of the building's upper apartments.

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Episode 7

The Six Napoleons

52 mins

Inspector Lastrade drops by Baker Street to socialize and presents Holmes with his current problem. He is baffled by a series of apparently senseless burglaries in which the only thing stolen is a small bust of Napoleon, which is later broken into pieces by the thief. Unlike Lastrade, Holmes sees a sinister purpose behind these irrational break-ins and has that confirmed when a Italian immigrant with Mafia connections is found with his throat slashed at the scene of the latest robbery.

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