An entertaining and very different kind of story in the Holmesian tradition. Peter Vaughan plays Dorrington as a sleazy, sweating creep always looking to make a little - or a lot - on the side from his problem-solving. Fresh stuff indeed here.
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (TV Series)
The Affair of the Avalanche Bicycle & Tyre Co. Ltd. (1971)
User Reviews
Review this title4 Reviews
Brothers in Rascality, a decent episode.
Sleepin_Dragon4 January 2023
Horace Dorrington is a Private Detective, who's as crooked as they come, intelligent, but happy to help his clients, and himself to their money, he's engaged to deal with a problem at a bicycle company.
Peter Vaughan, I think he's best known for his incredible role in Porridge, it's how I always think of him, but he was so much more, he often took leads in dramas, a wonderful actor.
Vaughan stands out here, Dorrington truly is a piece of work, wonderfully dodgy, but he's smart, he's cunning, he survives on his wits. It's just a shame that such an amazing character didn't have a slightly better case to deal with, it almost wasn't a good enough case for him.
For a bicycle story, it's locked in second gear, it's a bit slow moving, and dad's I say a little bit dull, but it's definitely watchable, and once again it's a nice looking production, with great costumes and nice sets.
I can't imagine Holmes would have had many problems with Dorrington, he'd have probably been investigating him at some point.
6/10.
Peter Vaughan, I think he's best known for his incredible role in Porridge, it's how I always think of him, but he was so much more, he often took leads in dramas, a wonderful actor.
Vaughan stands out here, Dorrington truly is a piece of work, wonderfully dodgy, but he's smart, he's cunning, he survives on his wits. It's just a shame that such an amazing character didn't have a slightly better case to deal with, it almost wasn't a good enough case for him.
For a bicycle story, it's locked in second gear, it's a bit slow moving, and dad's I say a little bit dull, but it's definitely watchable, and once again it's a nice looking production, with great costumes and nice sets.
I can't imagine Holmes would have had many problems with Dorrington, he'd have probably been investigating him at some point.
6/10.
The Affair of the Avalanche Bicycle & Tyre Co. Ltd
Prismark1024 June 2019
Some of the detectives in this series certainly aspire to be the rivals of Sherlock Holmes.
Horace Dorrington is the Victorian era equivalent of Arthur Daley or Del Boy. Nothing much wrong with that, it certainly adds variety. In the opening scene he has retrieved compromising documents for a lady. Dorrington tells her that it cost him 200 Guineas to retrieve them but in fact he stole them.
However this is a weak entry, most of it is rather dull and pedestrian. Unfortunate as it features a bicycle race which comes to a sudden crash.
Dorrington is on to Mallows. He plans to take his investment of a new bicycle company to the stock market. If his bike wins a race the day before the shares are issued, they will soar. Hence why he tried to injure the other riders.
Dorrington figures that the bikes are probably made by a rival company with a few extra bells and whistles. Dorrington wants his cut but Mallows will have none of that.
It was good that Dorrington figured the scam but did he really need to pop his head in the oven for a peek? Feeble move by a smart detective!
Private detective Horace Dorrington sees no conflict in helping himself while helping his clients. A promising new bicycle company presents him with an opportunity to cash in on his insider knowledge. But it's a dirty business, so Dorrington takes steps to ensure he's not taken for a ride.
Horace Dorrington is the Victorian era equivalent of Arthur Daley or Del Boy. Nothing much wrong with that, it certainly adds variety. In the opening scene he has retrieved compromising documents for a lady. Dorrington tells her that it cost him 200 Guineas to retrieve them but in fact he stole them.
However this is a weak entry, most of it is rather dull and pedestrian. Unfortunate as it features a bicycle race which comes to a sudden crash.
Dorrington is on to Mallows. He plans to take his investment of a new bicycle company to the stock market. If his bike wins a race the day before the shares are issued, they will soar. Hence why he tried to injure the other riders.
Dorrington figures that the bikes are probably made by a rival company with a few extra bells and whistles. Dorrington wants his cut but Mallows will have none of that.
It was good that Dorrington figured the scam but did he really need to pop his head in the oven for a peek? Feeble move by a smart detective!
Private detective Horace Dorrington sees no conflict in helping himself while helping his clients. A promising new bicycle company presents him with an opportunity to cash in on his insider knowledge. But it's a dirty business, so Dorrington takes steps to ensure he's not taken for a ride.
Hilarious!
jpierce-6677515 July 2019
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