Sherlock Holmes backdrop
Mystery•Drama

The Worst Episodes of Sherlock Holmes

Every episode of Sherlock Holmes ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Sherlock Holmes!

Binge this in 16h 15m•Peaking at 7.5/10

The first American television series of Sherlock Holmes adventures aired in syndication in the fall of 1954. The 39 half-hour mostly original stories were produced by Sheldon Reynolds and filmed in France by Guild Films,

Airs on
Unknown
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons1

All1

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
    Click to reveal
    Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 4 - The Case of the Texas Cowgirl
    5.7/10(230 votes)

    #1 - The Case of the Texas Cowgirl

    S1:E4

    A cowgirl from a visiting rodeo show asks Sherlock Holmes to help her when she discovers a dead man in her hotel room.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 24 - The Case of the Night Train Riddle
    6.3/10(169 votes)

    #2 - The Case of the Night Train Riddle

    S1:E24

    A young boy and his father are traveling on a train, and after they have a fight, the boy runs out of the compartment and seems to have vanished into thin air. Although his governess thinks he has simply run away, Holmes begins to suspect something a bit more serious, and his investigation leads him to a nearby circus.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 30 - The Case of the Eiffel Tower
    6.3/10(154 votes)

    #3 - The Case of the Eiffel Tower

    S1:E30

    After a famous criminal is run over and killed by a milk truck, Insp. Lestrade finds a mysterious coded note in the man's clothing. He asks Holmes to decipher it, and Holmes' subsequent investigation leads him to assume the dead gangster's identity and he follows a trail of clues to Paris.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 12 - The Case of the Shoeless Engineer
    6.4/10(170 votes)

    #4 - The Case of the Shoeless Engineer

    S1:E12

    Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are spending a restful day in the country, when they encounter a badly injured man who is carrying an unconscious young woman. They take the pair back to their flat in London, and after Dr. Watson has treated them, the man explains what has happened to them. He is Haterley, a hydraulic engineer with a business of his own. He had been hired by Colonel Stark and an associate, who wanted him to fix a large hydraulic press for them. He was taken to the colonel's country home, where their housekeeper tried frantically to warn him about Stark. After a tumultuous encounter, he and the housekeeper had barely escaped with their lives. From other details, Holmes deduces that Stark was involved in counterfeiting. Holmes, Watson, and Inspector Lestrade then set out to finish the case.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 13 - The Case of the Split Ticket
    6.4/10(175 votes)

    #5 - The Case of the Split Ticket

    S1:E13

    Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson return to their flat to find Brian O'Casey waiting for them. The over-excited O'Casey struggles to get his points across, but eventually he explains how he, his friend Albert, and a young woman whom he met in a bakery shop shared the price of a sweepstakes ticket, tearing the ticket into three pieces, one for each of them to hold. Their number won, and they each stand to win 8,000 pounds. But now Albert has disappeared, and unless the other two can find him by midnight, the ticket will expire, and then they won't be able to collect their winnings.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 19 - The Case of the Vanished Detective
    6.4/10(165 votes)

    #6 - The Case of the Vanished Detective

    S1:E19

    When Sherlock Holmes disappears, Dr. Watson and Inspector Lestrade begin a search that leads them to a small shop.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of Sherlock Holmes

    READ
  7. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 15 - The Case of the Singing Violin
    6.5/10(174 votes)

    #7 - The Case of the Singing Violin

    S1:E15

    Betty is being tormented by apparent hallucinations, the latest of which she refers to as a 'singing violin'. Her stepfather brings her fiancé to see her in this condition, and he tells the young man that there can be no wedding, because Betty is going to be declared insane. The fiancé goes to consult Sherlock Holmes, but he is murdered before he can see the detective. When Inspector Lestrade consults Holmes about the murder, Holmes recognizes the name of the dead man and also of the step-father, who is the lone surviving partner in a large tea and spice business. Holmes quickly forms a theory about the murder, and sets out to prove it.

    Director:Steve Previn
    Writer:Kay Krausse

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 20 - The Case of the Careless Suffragette
    6.5/10(165 votes)

    #8 - The Case of the Careless Suffragette

    S1:E20

    A zealous suffragette acquires a bomb shaped like a croquet ball, intending only to draw attention to her cause, but it is switched with a real croquet ball and explodes, killing a member of Parliament.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 21 - The Case of the Reluctant Carpenter
    6.5/10(155 votes)

    #9 - The Case of the Reluctant Carpenter

    S1:E21

    Sherlock Holmes races against time in order to find the location of a bomb that was planted somewhere in London by an extortionist.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 34 - The Case of the Royal Murder
    6.5/10(145 votes)

    #10 - The Case of the Royal Murder

    S1:E34

    As payment for solving a case, Holmes and Watson are invited to spend a weekend at an estate in the Balkans. However, their vacation is cut short when another guest, Prince Stefan, is poisoned and their host is accused of the murder. Holmes must find the real killer before he himself becomes the next victim.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 6 - The Case of the Shy Ballerina
    6.6/10(202 votes)

    #11 - The Case of the Shy Ballerina

    S1:E6

    Dr. Watson accidentally comes home from his club with another man's coat, providing an important clue when the other man is murdered late that same night.

    Director:Sheldon Reynolds
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 26 - The Case of the Baker Street Nursemaids
    6.6/10(149 votes)

    #12 - The Case of the Baker Street Nursemaids

    S1:E26

    A baby is left on Holmes' and Watson's doorstep. The child turns out to be the son of a missing French scientist. When Watson is later brutally attacked and the baby kidnapped, the detectives must find the baby and its father and avoid an international scandal.

    Director:Sheldon Reynolds
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 29 - The Case of the Impostor Mystery
    6.6/10(128 votes)

    #13 - The Case of the Impostor Mystery

    S1:E29

    Holmes and Watson return from a vacation at Brighton to find an impostor has been impersonating Holmes, misadvising Lestrade to guard Hambleburg's not Carrolton's jewelry store and Sir Arthur to hide his valuables in the biscuit jar. Fighting impersonation with impersonation, Watson becomes the maharaja of Gampoor.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 33 - The Case of the Baker Street Bachelors
    6.6/10(146 votes)

    #14 - The Case of the Baker Street Bachelors

    S1:E33

    A political leader is being blackmailed, and to find the blackmailers, Holmes and Watson join a lonely hearts club. However, things don't go quite as planned, and Holmes winds up getting arrested and thrown in jail.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 36 - The Case of the Neurotic Detective
    6.6/10(153 votes)

    #15 - The Case of the Neurotic Detective

    S1:E36

    Holmes begins acting even stranger than usual -- he tries to keep Watson from seeing the diamond necklace in his humidor, refuses to help Lestrade with the crime wave and dresses up to go with a Miss Jennifer Ames to a dance!

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 38 - The Case of the Diamond Tooth
    6.6/10(137 votes)

    #16 - The Case of the Diamond Tooth

    S1:E38

    While walking along the banks of the River Thames, Watson finds a diamond tooth. The article takes on more meaning later, however, when Holmes learns that the body of a murder victim had been discovered near where Watson found the tooth.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 14 - The Case of the French Interpreter
    6.7/10(160 votes)

    #17 - The Case of the French Interpreter

    S1:E14

    Dr. Watson urgently fetches Sherlock Holmes from his club, and brings him to see a French interpreter who urgently needs the detective. The interpreter, M. Dubec, explains how his services were requested by a man named Lattimer, who then abducted him and took him to an unknown location. There Dubec was asked to persuade a Frenchman to sign some papers for Lattimer and an associate, so that they can gain control over his sister's wealth. The case becomes more urgent when the criminals find out about Dubec's meeting with Holmes, and once again take him to their hidden location.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 1 - The Case of the Cunningham Heritage
    6.8/10(267 votes)

    #18 - The Case of the Cunningham Heritage

    S1:E1

    Dr. John Watson meets private detective Sherlock Holmes, and assists him in solving a case that has confused Inspector Lestrade.

    Director:Jack Gage
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 3 - The Case of the Pennsylvania Gun
    6.8/10(216 votes)

    #19 - The Case of the Pennsylvania Gun

    S1:E3

    Holmes and Watson travel to Sussex to investigate the murder of Squire Douglas, who was shot to death in a sealed-up castle, with only two apparent suspects.

    Director:Sheldon Reynolds
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 10 - The Mother Hubbard Case
    6.8/10(196 votes)

    #20 - The Mother Hubbard Case

    S1:E10

    Sherlock Holmes tracks down a murderer who uses a young girl to lure victims to empty houses, where they are killed.

    Director:Jack Gage
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 25 - The Case of the Violent Suitor
    6.8/10(164 votes)

    #21 - The Case of the Violent Suitor

    S1:E25

    "Aunt Lottie", an advice columnist who is actually a man named Alex Doogle, advises a young woman to break up with her violent and insanely jealous boyfriend. The jilted boyfriend then finds Doogle, severely beats him and threatens his life. Doogle turns to Sherlock Holmes, both for his own protection and to save the young woman from her crazed fiancé.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 7 - The Case of the Winthrop Legend
    6.9/10(189 votes)

    #22 - The Case of the Winthrop Legend

    S1:E7

    Sherlock Holmes seeks a rational explanation for the Winthrop family legend, which foretells the death of any family member who unexpectedly finds silver coins in his possession.

    Director:Jack Gage
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 16 - The Case of the Greystone Inscription
    6.9/10(158 votes)

    #23 - The Case of the Greystone Inscription

    S1:E16

    Millicent Channing comes to consult Sherlock Holmes because her fiancé John has disappeared. John has recently been absorbed in his historical study, believing that he has made an important discovery. All that Millicent knows about it is that John was planning to see Sir Thomas Greystone. She tells Holmes about her visit to Greystone Castle, where she was received coldly by the Greystones, and was told that they had never seen John. Holmes proceeds to John's flat to look at his research papers, and he finds a copy of a historical inscription that he then takes with him to Greystone Castle.Millicent Channing comes to consult Sherlock Holmes because her fiancé John has disappeared. John has recently been absorbed in his historical study, believing that he has made an important discovery. All that Millicent knows about it is that John was planning to see Sir Thomas Greystone. She tells Holmes about her visit to Greystone Castle, where she was received coldly by the Greystones, and was told that they had never seen John. Holmes proceeds to John's flat to look at his research papers, and he finds a copy of a historical inscription that he then takes with him to Greystone Castle.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 17 - The Case of the Laughing Mummy
    6.9/10(166 votes)

    #24 - The Case of the Laughing Mummy

    S1:E17

    Sherlock Holmes helps one of Dr. Watson's old friends by explaining the source of an odd noise in the man's home, but in doing so Holmes uncovers a more serious mystery.

    Director:Sheldon Reynolds
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 22 - The Case of the Deadly Prophecy
    6.9/10(148 votes)

    #25 - The Case of the Deadly Prophecy

    S1:E22

    Holmes and Watson are called to a boy's school in Belgium. It seems that a young student has gotten into the habit of writing the names of faculty members on the steps of a nearby church, and shortly afterwards person whose name has been written down is found dead.

    Director:Sheldon Reynolds
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Worst Episodes Summary

"The Case of the Texas Cowgirl" is the worst rated episode of "Sherlock Holmes". It scored 5.7/10 based on 230 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 11/8/1954. This episode scored 0.6 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Case of the Night Train Riddle".