Murder on the Bluebell Line

Hugh Fraser plays Sherlock Holmes. He played a character named "Hastings" with Agatha Christie's "Poirot" in several seasons. He is just right for the part. He is smart, looks like a Sherlock Holmes and is over 6ft like most of the Sherlock Holmes actors.

This is a series with several episodes on different subjects. It included Sherlock Holmes in this one. It is 35 minutes long and Sherlock has very little to say. Dr Watson/Ronald Fraser does all the talking. He starts to read out loud story in the newspaper while on the train about bones discovered by a scientist who later named them the "Piltdown Man."

It the same paper there is a story that this it is a hoax. I don't know why they called this "Murder on the Bluebell Line" none took place that I could see, it was more about history of bones these bones.

The thing that came out of the story for me was Sherlock explains the fraud and not everything that is proof of science is true.

I was disappointed in this movie but not of the acting by Hugh Fraser.

My favourite comedic line in the whole episode was Watson's remark after learning that Conan Doyle is alleged to have been part of a scientific hoax, "My dear Holmes, 'Arthur the Hoaxer', surely not! This is serious - Damned Serious! Do you realize what this could mean? If Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Pilldown Man from his imagination, we too could be a complete fiction. We must put an end to this scurrilous accusation!" This was not a Sherlock Holmes story as we usually know them. We do not actually meet any of the culprits except in visual flashbacks as the prime suspects are dead now. Furthermore, no real murder ever took place - unlike what is hinted by the episode title, 'Murder on the Bluebell Line'. In fact, this episode is less a Sherlock Holmes story and more of a fictional expose of frauds perpetuated in the name of science - which seems to be the real objective of this strange 1987 BBC episode.

The main role of Sherlock Holmes is played by Hugh Fraser better known as the witless sidekick 'Captain Arthur Hastings', opposite David Suchet who played Hercule Poirot, in the BBC Agatha Christie Poirot series. Interesting enough, in this episode Dr Watson is played by none other than comedic actor Ronald Fraser who in reality is Hugh Fraser's father - so Watson and Holmes are played by a father and son duo.

At least one reviewer has said that although they were 'disappointed in this movie., they appreciated 'the acting by Hugh Fraser'. I cannot say I agree. I found Hugh's performance of Sherlock underwhelming. Unlike Jeremy Brett whose role as Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the best portrayal I have ever seen and whose sharp piercing and radiant steel blue eyes reveal intense underlying emotions that expose more than just the rational logic of his sharp mind and bringing to life this supposedly cold and unfeeling detective, Hugh Fraser's portrayal of Sherlock is both insipid and lacking in intensity. Fraser's Sherlock is too laid back and unemotional due to Hugh's constant deadpan look which worked well as a witless Captain Hasting but not as the main protagonist in a Sherlock Holmes role.

In conclusion, this somewhat comedic BBC episode is one that uses Sherlock Holmes and Watson as a tool to explain the nature of scientific hoaxes rather than solve any actual murder story and as such does not really belong in the pantheon of authentic Sherlock Holmes' stories.