Sherlock Holmes backdrop
Crime•Drama•Mystery

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 1d 13h•Peaking at 9.0/10

Sherlock Holmes uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the Scotland Yard are unable to solve, along with his friend Dr. Watson.

Airs on
ITV1
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons7

All1234567

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
    Click to reveal
    Sherlock Holmes Season 6 Episode 2 - The Last Vampyre
    6.0/10(2 votes)

    #1 - The Last Vampyre

    S6:E2

    Holmes investigates a killing which has all the hallmarks of the worst kind of Ruritanian vampire. He is sceptical (to say the least) about the possibility that the undead are up to their mischief just a short train journey from his rooms in Baker Street. If a local resident really found his South American wife sucking blood from their young son, what might it signify?

    Director:Tim Sullivan
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. Sherlock Holmes Season 4 Episode 1 - The Sign of Four
    6.5/10(6 votes)

    #2 - The Sign of Four

    S4:E1

    For years after her father's disappearance, the beautiful Miss Mary Morstan receives anonymously every year one large and valuable pearl. When, finally, an invitation arrives to meet the mysterious pearl-giver, Mary Morstan seeks Holmes's advice, and he begins to unravel some remarkable clues, including a poison dart and a man with a wooden leg. What Holmes finds is an old soldier who is determined to punish those who betrayed him and his friends by stealing their oriental treasure.

    Director:Peter Hammond
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. Sherlock Holmes Season 4 Episode 4 - Wisteria Lodge
    6.6/10(11 votes)

    #3 - Wisteria Lodge

    S4:E4

    On a visit to Wisteria Lodge, Scott Eccles gets a strange reception. A mysterious note arrives for his host, Garcia, and the next morning Garcia and his servants have vanished without trace. Eccles consults Holmes, who decides to treat the case as a murder investigation, but it appears that Holmes and Watson are on a wild goose chase.

    Director:Peter Hammond
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. Sherlock Holmes Season 7 Episode 5 - The Mazarin Stone
    6.6/10(9 votes)

    #4 - The Mazarin Stone

    S7:E5

    The Mazarin Stone, a famous jewel, acts as a magnet for crime. Holmes investigates the latest and perhaps most curious episode in its adventures.

    Director:Peter Hammond
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. Sherlock Holmes Season 7 Episode 1 - The Three Gables
    6.7/10(9 votes)

    #5 - The Three Gables

    S7:E1

    Holmes investigates when a man dies and the manuscript of his recently-completed book is stolen. He has to discover who was behind an unusual proposal to buy a house and all of its contents.

    Director:Peter Hammond
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. Sherlock Holmes Season 3 Episode 6 - The Man with the Twisted Lip
    7.1/10(7 votes)

    #6 - The Man with the Twisted Lip

    S3:E6

    Neville St Clair works in the City of London and is a man of very regular and respectable habits. One day, his wife goes into town for lunch and is shocked to see her husband in the window of an opium den. That evening, he fails to return home, and Mrs St Clair decides to consult Holmes.

    Director:Patrick Lau
    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 5 Episode 6 - The Creeping Man
    7.1/10(7 votes)

    #7 - The Creeping Man

    S5:E6

    The daughter of scientist Professor Presbury sees her father's face at her second-storey window; Holmes connects this with recent zoo thefts.

    Director:Tim Sullivan
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. Sherlock Holmes Season 5 Episode 1 - The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
    7.2/10(9 votes)

    #8 - The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax

    S5:E1

    Watson, on holiday in the Lake District, meets the enigmatic Lady Frances Carfax, who is being haunted by the ghost of a horseman. Holmes decides to come up to join Watson, but by the time he arrives Lady Frances has vanished without trace. Holmes investigates and becomes very curious about the ghost.

    Director:John Madden
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. Sherlock Holmes Season 3 Episode 5 - The Abbey Grange
    7.4/10(9 votes)

    #9 - The Abbey Grange

    S3:E5

    Holmes is called in to investigate a murder. Lady Brackenstall says she saw a gang of men kill her bullying husband, Sir Eustace, but on Holmes's arrival the case seems to have been solved. Holmes is uneasy and returns to the scene of the crime, where he finds things are not as they appear to be. And Watson is curious to hear about the lady's love affair with a sea captain during a long voyage.

    Director:Peter Hammond
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. Sherlock Holmes Season 7 Episode 3 - The Golden Pince-Nez
    7.4/10(9 votes)

    #10 - The Golden Pince-Nez

    S7:E3

    The police are baffled by the murder of Willoughby Smith, and Inspector Hopkins looks to Holmes to solve the case.

    Director:Peter Hammond
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. Sherlock Holmes Season 7 Episode 4 - The Red Circle
    7.4/10(8 votes)

    #11 - The Red Circle

    S7:E4

    Mrs Warren, a London lodging-house keeper, comes to Holmes with a curious story of a reclusive and eccentric tenant. Mrs Warren's husband has been abducted and then quickly released again, perhaps a case of mistaken identity. Holmes decides the case is more important than it appears.

    Director:Sarah Hellings
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. Sherlock Holmes Season 3 Episode 2 - The Priory School
    7.5/10(10 votes)

    #12 - The Priory School

    S3:E2

    The Duke of Holdernesse needs Holmes's help when his son, Lord Arthur Saltire, is kidnapped from the Priory School. Holmes finds the connection between an old mystery and a teacher who has also gone missing.

    Director:John Madden
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. Sherlock Holmes Season 6 Episode 3 - The Eligible Bachelor
    7.5/10(2 votes)

    #13 - The Eligible Bachelor

    S6:E3

    American heiress Henrietta Doran (known as Hatty) marries Lord St Simon, but she vanishes without trace on her wedding day, leaving London agog. Later, the police find her wedding dress in the Serpentine, a lake in a London park, with a note in the pocket of the dress. While investigating the case, Holmes suffers from nightmares, which he sees as a factor in the mystery.

    Director:Peter Hammond
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. Sherlock Holmes Season 7 Episode 6 - The Cardboard Box
    7.7/10(8 votes)

    #14 - The Cardboard Box

    S7:E6

    When Susan Cushing first consults Holmes about the disappearance of her sister Mary, he shows little interest in the case. But then, at Christmas, Susan receives an alarming present in a cardboard box, and Holmes is quickly on the trail of a dangerous criminal.

    Director:Sarah Hellings
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 1 - A Scandal in Bohemia
    7.8/10(1889 votes)

    #15 - A Scandal in Bohemia

    S1:E1

    A masked man calls, on confidential business, and Holmes quickly recognizes the visitor as the King of Bohemia. The King is planning for himself a dynastic marriage and is worried about a compromising photograph in the possession of his American former mistress. He wants Holmes to get it back for him.In outwitting the lady, Irene Adler, Holmes goes to great lengths - and at the end of the affair Watson comes to the conclusion that his friend is himself smitten.

    Director:Paul Annett
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 3 - The Naval Treaty
    7.8/10(1482 votes)

    #16 - The Naval Treaty

    S1:E3

    Holmes is approached by Percy Phelps, of the Foreign Office, to recover a document which has been stolen - before it can cause an international scandal and ruin Phelps's career. It seems the British Empire and the Kingdom of Italy have entered into a secret and embarrassing treaty.

    Director:Alan Grint
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 5 - The Crooked Man
    7.8/10(1446 votes)

    #17 - The Crooked Man

    S1:E5

    An unhappy wife learns that her husband, Colonel Barclay, cheated her earlier fiance, leaving him disabled and in exile. After a fierce argument between them, the Colonel's dead body is found next to his unconscious wife in a locked room with no key, and with curious animal tracks outside the window. Nancy Barclay remains in a coma.Holmes investigates and finds a story of betrayal and a mystery worthy of his powers.

    Director:Alan Grint
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. Sherlock Holmes Season 4 Episode 2 - The Devil's Foot
    7.8/10(11 votes)

    #18 - The Devil's Foot

    S4:E2

    Reluctantly, after an illness, Holmes takes a holiday in Cornwall, with Watson for company. Then one day he finds himself investigating a mysterious death... after a quiet evening at home playing cards, three local inhabitants have been found in the morning in a terrible way: the two brothers overtaken by sudden mental illness, babbling incoherently, and their sister dead, with her face twisted into a look of terror. Holmes is delighted with the chance to bury his holiday boredom by taking on the case.

    Director:Ken Hannam
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. Sherlock Holmes Season 6 Episode 1 - The Master Blackmailer
    7.8/10(4 votes)

    #19 - The Master Blackmailer

    S6:E1

    Holmes and Watson attempt to thwart the schemes of the infamous blackmailer Charles Augustus Milverton from blackmailing Lady Eva Blackwell. But things do not seem as easy as they do and Holmes must sacrifice his morality and his honourable career to stop Milverton from wrecking her marriage.

    Director:Peter Hammond
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 2 - The Greek Interpreter
    7.9/10(1318 votes)

    #20 - The Greek Interpreter

    S2:E2

    Holmes's brother, Mycroft, seeks his help in deciphering the story a man tells about being kidnapped and forced to translate for an injured Greek. Holmes investigates the disappearance of Paul Kratides, abducted by two villains, Latimer and Kemp, with the aim of forcing him to sign a document releasing his sister Sophie to marry Latimer.

    Director:Alan Grint
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 4 - The Solitary Cyclist
    8.0/10(1524 votes)

    #21 - The Solitary Cyclist

    S1:E4

    Violet Smith has recently started a new job as music teacher to Robert Carruthers, staying during the week at his house in the country. She consults Holmes because she is worried about being followed once a week on her way to the railway station by a man on a bicycle. Carruthers asks Miss Smith to marry him, but Holmes sees a sinister connection between him and the stalker.

    Director:Paul Annett
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 1 - The Copper Beeches
    8.0/10(1381 votes)

    #22 - The Copper Beeches

    S2:E1

    Violet Hunter consults Holmes about Edward Rucastle's offer of a job. He wants her to cut off her hair before coming to work for him as a governess. Holmes sees a sinister motive and investigates.

    Director:Paul Annett
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 4 - The Resident Patient
    8.0/10(1235 votes)

    #23 - The Resident Patient

    S2:E4

    Dr Trevelyan calls on Holmes on behalf of his friend Blessington, after a Russian father and son vanish during a consultation. Blessington knows of no one who wishes him ill, but he is found hanged the next day. Holmes investigates, with advice from Watson.

    Director:David Carson
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 2 - The Dancing Men
    8.1/10(1689 votes)

    #24 - The Dancing Men

    S1:E2

    Hilton Cubitt, from Derbyshire, consults Holmes about a series of dancing men picture-messages his wife is receiving. On their wedding-day, she had made Cubitt promise he would ask her nothing about her past, but she now seems to be terrified. Holmes has to decipher the code of the matchstick men and get to the bottom of a dreadful murder which lies behind it.

    Director:John Bruce
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 7 - The Blue Carbuncle
    8.1/10(1433 votes)

    #25 - The Blue Carbuncle

    S1:E7

    A plumber, John Horner, is arrested just before Christmas and charged with stealing a famous jewel, the Blue Carbuncle, from Lady Morcar. He denies the theft - but he has a criminal record, and all the evidence is against him. After Holmes's doorman finds the Carbuncle in a Christmas goose, Holmes uses an old hat to track the goose to a poultry dealer, then traps the servant who stole the jewel and framed the plumber. The Blue Carbuncle has a dark history, and the stone features in the programme's opening credits with turbulent scenes from its past.

    Director:David Carson
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Worst Episodes Summary

"The Last Vampyre" is the worst rated episode of "Sherlock Holmes". It scored 6/10 based on 2 votes. Directed by Tim Sullivan and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/27/1993. This episode scored 0.5 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Sign of Four".