Paul Evans I've had this production tucked away for over a decade and never seen it, until now. As a die hard Tom Baker fan (Doctor Who) I have struggled on occasion to get to grips with him in other roles, but as always he totally came up trumps. My initial thoughts of him being miscast were unfair and wrong, he gave a very strong, down to Earth, honest performance, adding character and presence, not dramatics as I had expected. Terence Rigby made for a very good Watson too, finally not made to be a bumbling buffoon, he was a worthy sidekick to the great detective.I was very impressed by the production values and the closeness of the original text, it didn't seem like they'd tinkered about with the script a great deal. The costumes and set designs look spot on, that quality you always expect from the BBC.My only negative would be the casting of Nicholas Woodeson, and his character, a fine actor, but I found the character lacking in any warmth, unsympathetic almost, I picture Henry Baskerville as handsome and lacking harshness. If our Henry here had been dog food, I'd not have lost a huge amount of sleep.It's a brilliant production, well worth obtaining. 8/10

rob-fisher6 We love Tom Baker, but the quality of the direction and supporting cast makes a mockery of the very concept of dramatic performance. As a lifelong Sherlock Holmes fan, born in the cradle of Dartmoor's misty tors, this production betrays both its fictional and historical roots, and is merely a hollow imitation of its source, which was served far more ably by the incomparable Jeremy Brett. Baker mistakes adult fiction for a serious performance and would have been better served by allowing the eccentricity of the 'doctor' to come to the fore. What this production badly needed was for someone, either in front or behind the camera, to take control and allow the multi-faceted nature of Holmes' character to drive events. A wasted opportunity that contributes nothing to the genre. It only contributed to putting the final nails in Baker's career.Big bag o' thrash.

NumptyB I remember this adaptation, made for the BBC's Sunday Classic Serial slot. Tom Baker had just left 'Doctor Who' where he was 'fantastic' (of course!) I think this was the first time he had played the sleuth (he starred as Holmes on stage in 'The Mask of Moriarty' in 1985) but do not remember his performance here! I do remember Terence Rigby as Watson turned in another in a long line of Nigel Bruce impressions.Thank goodness we soon had David Burke to set a new example for Edward Hardwicke and Ian Hart! What I do remember favourably is Carl Davis' haunting theme music and the animated titles. The music was very much in the vein of Davis' sombre theme for 'Winston Churchill - The Wilderness Years.' The animated titles (following the Hound's shadow from rock to rock over a bleak, dark-skied Dartmoor) would have served well as a storyboard for part of the never yet correctly filmed 'legend of the Hound!' Oh well - we can dream!

dittoheadaz This was one of the better adaptations of the original story. There were a few sections of the plot that had to be removed from the script due to time considerations (as usual), but at least I didn't notice any items that were either left unresolved or unexplained (which happens when scripts are hacked or the final product is edited because of time). Tom Baker once again demonstrated his acting ability (from the evil Koura to the good Doctor to the brainy Sherlock Holmes). The only weakness was in a change from the original plot at the end (spoiler coming!): In the original, Stapleton vanished and was presumed to have died in the Grimpen Mire. In this version, Holmes and crew caught up with him (despite his incredible head start) and after a halfhearted attempt to rescue Stapleton, they stood there and watched him sink. (Not even a try to set up a "human bridge" - and they saw where Stapleton had been stepping up to the point where he got caught in the mud.) Other than that, an excellent version! (Although, to be honest, I was half-expecting Holmes to offer Lestrade a jelly baby as he was leaving at the end...)