I've always had a fascination for television pilots - it is interesting to see the original "take" of a series, or even the unseen concepts that could have potentially led to series, but failed. For me, hearing of a pilot disappearing or not being available is like Holmes' fear of destroying documents about his cases: I enjoy viewing the details of what might have been - as well as what happened. For Sherlockians, a very important (and more recent) example is Stephen Moffatt's initial hour long pilot for the BBC series Sherlock
. Although the pilot was scrapped, despite British press to the contrary, having an initial "take" allowed the producers to create a more full-blooded version. Thankfully, the hour long pilot is a bonus feature on disc 2 of the DVD, and is well worth watching, especially knowing that there is going to be a second season. (Although there was a pilot based on Zero Effect, sadly it is unavailable commercially or otherwise, but we know something of its history).Thankfully, however, at least one "failed" pilot exists - thanks to the Internet Archive, there is a record of a 1951 British pilot produced by Rudolph Cartier, best known for his work on the seminal British science fiction serial Quartermass
(itself, one would argue, influenced by Holmes).So for your enjoyment, here is a "lost" British pilot, loosely based on "The Man With the Twisted Lip" [TWIS] And please share in the comments your thoughts and impressions of this "lost" Holmes pilot.
Editor's note: Gordon regularly covers the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and the entertainment industry. You can also find him at Blog THIS, Pal! and Comic Related.
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