The Return of Sherlock Holmes (TV Series) The Second Stain (1986) User Reviews

The pitfalls of putting something on paper.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 28 December 2018]

The Second Stain is another great episode from an incredibly strong series. The story is full of intrigue, the performances are captivating, it's basically forty five minutes of blissful drama. Edward Hardwicke slotted seemlessly into the role of Watson, I'd never choose a favourite between him and Burke, but his character is so thoughtful and measured, the chemistry with Brett, just staggering.

So many wonderful scenes, my favourite being where Holmes gives the Prime Minister the cold shoulder, Harry Andrews is superb, but even he isn't a match for Brett, who genuinely is at the height of his brilliance. Sumptuous settings and costumes, terrific production values, and a beautiful, wonderful Patricia Hodge make The Second Stain a true classic. 9/10

A very good and interesting episode

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 22 May 2012]

Since I was 14, I have loved Sherlock Holmes, the stories, the Basil Rathbone adaptations and especially the Granada adaptations. The Second Stain is not one of my favourites of Return of Sherlock Holmes..., my favourite(excluding Sign of Four and Hound of the Baskervilles, though they would be among the favourites as well) is The Devil's Foot, closely followed by The Red-Headed League. However, despite a slightly dull beginning it is well worth watching. Although the premise is well-worn and not always exciting, the pace from the 25 minute mark does liven up considerably and the solution is clever. I do enjoy the whole rapport between Holmes, Watson and Lestrade also. The episode looks splendid as the series always did, with everything meticulous and very evocative. The music is both haunting and beautiful, and the writing maintains your attention throughout. The acting is great, Harry Andrews is good if not at his best, but Colin Jeavons is an amusing Lestrade and Patricia Hodge is at her most elegant and captivating. Edward Hardwicke is a quietly intelligent and thoughtful Watson, but Jeremy Brett's commanding Holmes is the main attraction here. In conclusion, interesting and very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

These People Should Not Write to Each Other

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 11 February 2014]

This is another story about a document that has great political implications. It has disappeared and Holmes has been brought in as a last resort. The keeper of the document (as is nearly always the case) has been careless and overconfident in his own abilities to maintain secrecy, and falls victim to those who would feast on his carelessness. The second kicker is the young woman, who has fallen victim to blackmail because of exposing herself through correspondence. We are not let in on the specific details of her plight, but we know that she is implicated in some pretty serious business. A well known spy/thief has been murdered and during the investigation a blood stain is found on a carpet. Oddly, the blood has not seeped through to the floor, at least in the current position of the rug. However, there is a second stain at another corner. This leads Holmes to realize that a police detective has screwed things up, allowing the strong box which contained the important document to be compromised. The lady is involved but probably didn't know the gravity of the situation. The task is simple: Recover the document and save the lady's honor. Some are unsatisfied with the conclusion. I tend to applaud it as quite satisfying. We must remember that Holmes often plays by his own rules. What I really liked about this series is that as quirky as Jeremy Brett's portrayal was, he had a soft spot for some of the victims and felt he could set aside his indifference at times.

The all-time best

[jpraibis · 10/10 · 25 November 2010]

The very best of all the episodes. The story is intriguing yet easily solved and has Jeremy Brett at the peak of his artistic powers. Every moment of his acting is a bliss to behold.

It has the most funny Lestrade encounter in the series. And all is supported by a great cast: especially Stuart Wilson as the Prime Minister and Yves Beneyton as Eduardo Lucas.

It also succeeds on audiovisual level. There is a nice lighting and music undertones well one of the most cheerful episodes.

The positive feeling comes not only from Watson's support but also from Holmes' approach. Even though, the matter seems almost unsolvable at first, he is driven by it and even claims that it may become one of his greatest triumphs. This very scene is concluded by burning newspapers wonderfully showing Holmes' almost bohemian approach to life (though based on strict logic).

There are many great episodes, The Red Headed League or Silver Blaze come first to mind, but this ones stands atop.

PS: This episode bears similarities with two others: The Naval Treaty and Bruce Partington Plans. All having a spy theme and important documents suddenly gone missing.

One of the Best Episodes in the Series

[ericksonsam60 · 8/10 · 25 October 2011]

Entertaining episode from the Granada series with clever mystery and great performances. Holmes is requested by the Prime Minister and a British diplomat to recover an important document that if disclosed, could lead to war. Further complications arise when a man is murdered with a blood stain on the floor that doesn't correspond to the one above on the carpet. The story moves at a good pace and at the end the mystery is neatly solved. The excellent supporting cast includes Stuart Wilson, Yves Beneyton, and Colin Jeavons, returning as Inspector Lestrade. Jeremy Brett shines once again as Sherlock Holmes, and Patricia Hodge is captivating in her performance. Particularly noteworthy is the compassion Holmes extends to Lady Trelawney Hope, as well as his effective and sometimes amusing interactions with Watson and Lestrade. Well worth watching.

Close to Holmes

[aramis-112-804880 · 9/10 · 22 October 2022]

"The Second Stain" being one of my favorite Sherlock Homes stories, I'm gratified "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" retold it with such fidelity to the source material (unlike the shoddy accretions that turned the jolly "The Six Napoleons" into what it became). And while the point of the story is that nothing happens after the theft of the letter, they manage to keep it tense and taut. It's what a good Sherlock Holmes story should be: a puzzle in print and a thrill on TV.

Jeremy Brett is masterful, as he nearly always is in the first two series as Holmes. I've heard every possible radio adaptation of this story and Brett's "prepare for war" has a definitive ring to it. Brett's series attracted good actors and he's joined here by Harry Andrews and Stuart Wilson.

It's always good to see Colin Jeavons as Lestrade "buzzing around like a bluebottle." People forget that Jeavons' Lestrade was as much a revelation as Brett's Holmes or the Watsons of Burke and Hardwicke.

Victorian notions of beauty are different from ours, but I feel Patricia Hodge doen't live up to Arthur Conan Doyle's description of Lady Trelawny Hope. But who can? Obviously they had to go for talent and name recognition.

And we're given a moment of uncanonical (but welcome) levity concerning a carelessly-discarded match. Pay attention or you'll miss it.

Otherwise, with certain episodes of "The Adventures" and certainly "The Bruce Partington Plans" (another of my favorite ACD stories) in "The Return" this episode lives up to the hopes we Holmes fiends had for the Brett series when it started. And longed for with wistful sorrow when the Brett shows ran their course not with a bang, but a whimper.

Stale premise done brilliantly

[vitoscotti · 9/10 · 15 October 2020]

Stolen letter of national security is done a lot. But, the intensity is strong throughout. Wonderful actors especially elegant Patricia Hodge.. I loved the ending.

Nitpicking for fun. The constable isn't questioned until Holmes thinks of it? The villain just happens to be murdered when Patricia Hodge is there.

Again refreshing no pc noose? Good-hearted shots at the French and women.

The Second Stain

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 7 April 2019]

Lord Trelawney Hope (Stuart Wilson), a cabinet minister and the Prime Minister himself visit Sherlock Holmes in Baker Street.

It is a matter of grave importance. Lord Trelawney Hope has lost an important diplomatic letter from his dispatch box. If made public it could lead to war. Holmes must find it before the contents of the letter becomes public.

Soon after they depart, Lady Hilda Trelawney Hope (Patricia Hodge) visits Holmes wanting to find out why her husband seems distressed.

The murder of Eduardo Lucas, could be an important lead. Holmes regarded Lucas as one of the possible suspects who could had gone possession of the letter.

There is a lengthy scene where Inspector Lestrade goes through the crime scene excitedly, especially about the blood stains.

The casting of Stuart Wilson who usually played bad lads in 1970s crime dramas was clever as it leads to the viewer being suspicious of him. Hodge is regal but I did not think that the mystery had the urgency needed. The denouement was a bit flat and Holmes certainly is a master of the sleight of hand.

Intriguing episode

[grantss · 8/10 · 2 December 2022]

Sherlock Holmes meets the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Europe around a matter of extreme national importance. The Secretary of State was in possession of a letter from a foreign power, the contents of which if revealed could lead Britain to war. The letter has been stolen and the government want Holmes to retrieve it as a matter of urgency.

A fairly intriguing episode of Sherlock Holmes. Not the most engaging or interesting: there no murder to solve (well, there is eventually, but it is a secondary matter) and the "crime" seems a bit overblown. The plot also isn't exactly watertight.

Still, a decent mystery and Holmes gets to demonstrate his diplomacy skills.

The French Can Be So Cruel, Especially the Wives.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 13 March 2010]

Cast from a mold similar to that of "The Naval Treaty," this episode has Harry Andrews in a minor role, still ruddy and robust but sounding sadly weaker than we're likely to remember him.

A British diplomat has been given possession of a document important enough to lead to war if its contents is disclosed. He leaves the room for a few minutes and finds the document missing from its locked box. The only people with access to the room are two trusted servants and the man's wife, none of whom could have known about the incriminating letter.

The diplomat is in a tizzy and so is the PM, Harry Andrews. Can't Holmes and Watson DO something? Well, some time goes by and nothing happens. No ransom demand is received. No letter is published or made known to the public. So what's up? Holmes twigs to the answer when he is shown a carpet in a murder scene that has nothing to do with the document. There is a blood stain on the carpet and it has soaked through. Yet the stain on the floor beneath doesn't correspond to the stain on the carpet above.

It's an interesting enough story. Certainly the performances are up to par. Patricia Hodge, as the diplomat's wife, has just the proper touch of aloof elegance and a long, pretty face to match.

On the whole I find these stories involving missing papers and scandals among the nobility less involving that those dealing with more ordinary people in less extraordinary crimes. Give me a bashed-in head instead of a stolen love letter. Well, there IS a bashed-in head here but it's only because of the jealousy of that damned French wife. There's nothing mysterious about THAT.

Not Unique

[duvernet · 8/10 · 30 January 2012]

The story line begins in a rather well used premise. A letter of great significance goes missing. Curiously and suspiciously, the contents of the letter are never revealed with any degree of specificity, keeping the mystery conveniently afloat. Sherlock, as usual, saves the day on all fronts and it is Jeremy Brett who saves the whole production. His acting is first rate. The facial tweaks, the swish of his coat are all so playfully intriguing. On the whole, the series is classic. From the costuming, the sets and mannerisms. All too delicious. Historically as significant and the man who wrote the stories. But this particular "case" is rather weak. It is only the acting that raises the entertainment value.

An Indiscretion That Could Lead To War

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 23 January 2010]

In The Second Stain Sherlock Holmes gets a client no less important than the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom himself. With full beard Harry Andrews as the Prime Minister does look remarkably like the real Prime Minister in those times, Lord Salisbury though that is not Andrews's name in the short story by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Involved in the affair is a junior minister played here by Stuart Wilson in whose hands a confidential letter from a foreign ruler to Queen Victoria was entrusted. Apparently this ruler wrote some really horrid stuff about Great Britain and should the contents get out, it might lead to war. Of course it's open to speculation as to who Conan Doyle might have had in mind, but I'm thinking it could have been the Kaiser in Germany. Wilhelm II was a most impulsive fellow and this sounds like just the kind of impulsive note one might write to a grandmother.

Two things happen to Holmes that lead to a rather subdued solution to what could be a high affair of state. The first is that a well known trader in international secrets gets murdered. The other is a visit by Wilson's wife, Patricia Hodge inquiring of Holmes why her husband and the Prime Minister should be seeking his services.

In American history two such purloined letters of indiscretion figured prominently in two American wars. The first was the DeLome letter written by the Spanish Ambassador to the USA, criticizing America in general and making some not very flattering references to our president of the time, William McKinley right before The Spanish American War. The second was the Zimmerman Note in which the Germans make an offer to the Mexicans to come into World War I on the Central Powers side and they can get back what we took in the Mexican Cession back in the day. In both cases these letters wound up in our yellow press and Andrews as Prime Minister is concerned with good reason that it doesn't wind up in their scandal sheets.

I have to say the ending is a bit of let down. And talk about cover-up. But you'll have to see the mystery to know what I'm talking about.