Pretty enjoyable entry. As the expiring victim of the dreaded Sumatran fever (or whatever it is), Jeremy Brett seems to be having an awfully good time, overacting outrageously, his make up suggesting not the face of a sick person but a living skull. He warns Watson to stay away from him because it's contagious, and begins muttering about "Oysters, how they do breed." He's losing his wits. He goes on about how surprised he is that the ocean floor is not one solid bed of oysters by now.
He's right that there's something uncanny about oysters, even though he's faking the symptoms. Oysters open and close according to a circadian cycle -- open in the daytime, closed at night. (Or vice versa, I'm not sure.) If you crate up a bunch of oysters on the West Coast and seal the box so no light penetrates, the oysters continue to open and close on Pacific Time. I don't think they adjust to Daylight Savings. If you take that sealed crate of oysters, ship it to Japan, and keep it closed, the oysters will at first keep Pacific Time but eventually will adjust to the circadian cycle of Japan. How do they KNOW?
Best looking actress in this episode: Susannah Harker, no relation to the vampire guy. Watson describes her as "a handsome woman," and she is, but, and here is one of the delights of the series, she's not TOO handsome. She's not as stunning as, say, Elizabeth Hurley and not sexy at all. She's just right for the part. The casting people could almost always be depended upon to exercise the nicest of choices. Here, they did a splendid job with the sadistic and greedy villain too -- Jonathan Hyde as the treacherous guy who poisons his cousin in order to inherit the mansion and kick the handsome widow and her children out. What a beast, but until he stands sneering over the supposedly dying Sherlock Holmes (who has actually trapped him), you can't tell how evil he truly is. And he must be evil if he kicks Susannah Harker out of the mansion. Any normal man would be happy to have her around.
A nice job by all concerned.
He's right that there's something uncanny about oysters, even though he's faking the symptoms. Oysters open and close according to a circadian cycle -- open in the daytime, closed at night. (Or vice versa, I'm not sure.) If you crate up a bunch of oysters on the West Coast and seal the box so no light penetrates, the oysters continue to open and close on Pacific Time. I don't think they adjust to Daylight Savings. If you take that sealed crate of oysters, ship it to Japan, and keep it closed, the oysters will at first keep Pacific Time but eventually will adjust to the circadian cycle of Japan. How do they KNOW?
Best looking actress in this episode: Susannah Harker, no relation to the vampire guy. Watson describes her as "a handsome woman," and she is, but, and here is one of the delights of the series, she's not TOO handsome. She's not as stunning as, say, Elizabeth Hurley and not sexy at all. She's just right for the part. The casting people could almost always be depended upon to exercise the nicest of choices. Here, they did a splendid job with the sadistic and greedy villain too -- Jonathan Hyde as the treacherous guy who poisons his cousin in order to inherit the mansion and kick the handsome widow and her children out. What a beast, but until he stands sneering over the supposedly dying Sherlock Holmes (who has actually trapped him), you can't tell how evil he truly is. And he must be evil if he kicks Susannah Harker out of the mansion. Any normal man would be happy to have her around.
A nice job by all concerned.