Sherlock Holmes is the most famous literary detective of Victorian England, but he is far from the only one to go up against London’s seedy underworld.  The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, based on Sir Hugh Green’s same-titled anthology of short stories, was a 1971-73 BBC series that explored other authors and their sleuths from that era.  Series One includes all thirteen episodes from the first season.
 

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes brings you right into the Victorian spirit by opening each episode with the flaring of a candle used in a slide viewer, through which you see a series of hand-colored criminally-oriented illustrations from that era.  The series does an excellent job of creating a moody, mysterious atmosphere and the production values are excellent, despite the series being shot on videotape.  Costumes are sumptuously first-rate and there is an impressive eye for detail in the props and backgrounds.
 

Some of the episodes feature procedural murder mysteries, where the sleuths are the main attraction, but what an attraction they are.  John Neville, for example, is deliciously snobbish as forensics expert Dr. Thorndyke in “A Message from the Deep Sea.”  His crankiness and contempt for those without his brilliance (AKA everyone) rivals Dr. House.  Actually, because so many great actors and actresses like John Neville, Sarah Kestleman, and Donald Pleasance are showcased, the treasure trove of acting talent in The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes is its biggest draw.  Listing all standout performances would take too long, but Sir Robert Stephens is masterful as blind detective Max Carrodos in “The Missing Witness Sensation” and Elvi Hale is wonderful as Lady Molly of the Yard in “The Woman in the Big Hat.

A few episodes venture into more off-beat or even surreal terrain.  An unaging gypsy steals the show and the heart of Dixon Druce in the clever “Madame Sara,” and “The Case of the Dixon Torpedo” dabbles in espionage.  My favorite episode is the spine-tingling ghost story “The Horse of the Invisible,” featuring an outstanding Donald Pleasance as Thomas Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder.  The Ghost Hunters and Scooby Gang would be proud of his methods.
 

One weakness most of the stories do share is the genre’s over-used animosity toward the police.  The Bobbies are just never quite up to the task and even the detectives of Scotland Yard must be led by the story’s much more intelligent hero.  This is obviously a convention of any mystery with an amateur sleuth, but here it is often overdone to the point of being eye-roll worthy.
 

The video quality is very good.  There is no mistaking the series was shot on videotape, but that was not as distracting as I feared, and the episodes look and sound great.  The only extras are profiles of featured sleuths, but they are fairly detailed and an excellent resource if you are looking for reading material from that era, since the writers’ other works are listed.
 

Overall, this is a terrific set for mystery lovers and fans of late Victorian England.  The stories are clever and well-written, the acting is superb, and the sets are a joy to look at.  The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes is a fun trip back in time to the seedy underbelly of Victorian London and the sleuths living in Sherlock Holmes’ shadow.