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The Best Episodes of The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

Every episode of The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes!

Binge this in 21h 40m•Peaking at 7.6/10

An anthology series produced by Thames Television, comprised of short mystery, suspense or crime adaptations featuring, as the title suggests, detectives who were literary contemporaries of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

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ITV1
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Seasons2

All12

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 1 - A Message from the Deep Sea
    7.6/10(162 votes)

    S1:E1

    This episode features Dr Thorndyke, played by John Neville, who is first a medical man and second a solver of mysteries. A young girl has been murdered in her boarding house and the solution looks obvious - but is it? Neville plays the sleuth with aplomb and this is a strong opening episode. The character is arrogant, capable, and likable - and of course his intelligence makes his police colleagues and/or adversaries look like idiots!

    Director:Jim Goddard
    Writers:Philip Mackie, R. Austin Freeman

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  2. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 3 - Cell 13
    7.5/10(93 votes)

    S2:E3

    Professor Van Dusen, the 'Thinking Machine', boasts that he can think his way out of a prison cell. When he is locked up he is given the chance to prove that he can escape by the power of his mind alone.

    Director:Reginald Collin
    Writer:Jacques Futrelle

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  3. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 12 - The Ripening Rubies
    7.3/10(87 votes)

    S1:E12

    Bernard Sutton is called in to help stop a series of jewel robberies.

    Director:Alan Cooke
    Writer:Anthony Skene

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  4. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 13 - The Case of Laker, Absconded
    7.3/10(80 votes)

    S1:E13

    Arthur Hewitt and Jonathan Pride band together to find a bank clerk who has disappeared with £ 15,000.

    Director:Jonathan Alwyn
    Writer:Philip Mackie

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  5. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 7 - The Superfluous Finger
    7.3/10(75 votes)

    S2:E7

    Professor Van Dusen must find out why a young woman had a perfectly healthy finger cut off by the eminent surgeon Prescott.

    Director:Derek Bennett
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 4 - The Duchess of Wiltshire's Diamonds
    7.2/10(122 votes)

    S1:E4

    Simon Carne devises an ingenious way of keeping the Duchess of Wiltshire's diamonds safe from theft.

    Director:Unknown
    Writers:Anthony Steven, Guy Boothby

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

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  7. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 9 - The Moabite Cypher
    7.2/10(67 votes)

    S2:E9

    Dr Thorndyke has to decypher a code to stop a plot to assassinate a Russian Grand Duke.

    Director:Reginald Collin
    Writer:Reginald Collin

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  8. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 13 - The Mystery of the Amber Beads
    7.2/10(61 votes)

    S2:E13

    Hagar the Gypsy sets out to prove that Detective Sergeat Grubber is wrong about who killed Mrs Arryford.

    Director:Don Leaver
    Writer:Owen Holder

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  9. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 2 - The Missing Witness Sensation
    7.1/10(132 votes)

    S1:E2

    Max Carrados, the blind detective, solves the case of a bank teller shot at his counter.

    Director:Jonathan Alwyn
    Writers:Philip Mackie, Ernest Bramah

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  10. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 4 - The Secret of the Manifique
    7.1/10(75 votes)

    S2:E4

    Laxworthy and two friends secure the safety of the plans for the first torpedo to be used by the French navy.

    Director:Derek Bennett
    Writer:Gerald Kelsey

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  11. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 9 - The Woman in the Big Hat
    6.9/10(97 votes)

    S1:E9

    Lady Molly of Scotland Yard solves the murdeer of a respectable man.

    Director:Alan Cooke
    Writers:Baroness Emmuska Orczy, Alan Cooke

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  12. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 10 - The Affair of the Tortoise
    6.9/10(84 votes)

    S1:E10

    Arhtur Hewitt gets mixed up in a case involving voodoo and the disappearance of a dead body.

    Director:Bill Bain
    Writer:Arthur Morrison

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  13. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 10 - The Secret of the Foxhunter
    6.9/10(69 votes)

    S2:E10

    William Drew of the foreign Office investigates an unusual crime.

    Director:Graham Evans
    Writers:Gerald Kelsey, William Le Queux

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  14. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 12 - The Looting of the Species Room
    6.9/10(61 votes)

    S2:E12

    Gold disappears from the strongroom of the RMS Oceanic and its purser, Mr Horrocks, tries to discover what has happened.

    Director:Jonathan Alwyn
    Writer:Ian Kennedy Martin

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  15. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 1 - The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway
    6.8/10(86 votes)

    S2:E1

    Polly Burton assists in soving the case of a grl found dead on a seat of an underground train.

    Director:Graham Evans
    Writers:Baroness Emmuska Orczy, Alan Cooke

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  16. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 2 - Five Hundred Carats
    6.8/10(79 votes)

    S2:E2

    Inspecor Lipinski investigates the theft of a 500 carat diamond.

    Director:Jonathan Alwyn
    Writer:George Griffith

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  17. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 6 - The Sensible Action of Lieutenant Hoist
    6.8/10(80 votes)

    S2:E6

    Lieutenant Holst of Copenhagen has to help a Russian countess who claims her brother-in-law aims to kill her.

    Director:Jonathan Alwyn
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 8 - Anonymous Letters
    6.8/10(70 votes)

    S2:E8

    In turn-of-the-century Vienna, Dagobert Trostler investigates a poison pen case.

    Director:Dennis Vance
    Writer:Anthony Steven

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  19. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 7 - Madame Sara
    6.6/10(96 votes)

    S1:E7

    Dixon Duce helps solve a murder case.

    Director:Piers Haggard
    Writers:Philip Mackie, Robert Eustace, L.T. Meade

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  20. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 11 - The Assyrian Rejuvenator
    6.6/10(83 votes)

    S1:E11

    Conman and invesigator Romney Pringkle exposes a swindle and makes a profit.

    Director:Jonathan Alwyn
    Writers:R. Austin Freeman, Julian Bond

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  21. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 5 - The Horse of the Invisible
    6.5/10(144 votes)

    S1:E5

    Carnacki solves the case of an invisible horse that is haunting a family of the eve of a wedding.

    Director:Alan Cooke
    Writers:Philip Mackie, William Hope Hodgson

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  22. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 6 - The Case of the Mirror of Portugal
    6.3/10(98 votes)

    S1:E6

    Horace Dorrington clears up the mystery of the theft of a valuable diamond.

    Director:Mike Vardy
    Writer:Arthur Morrison

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  23. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 2 Episode 5 - The Absent-Minded Coterie
    6.3/10(71 votes)

    S2:E5

    Valmont has to help break a ring of counterfeiters.

    Director:Peter Duguid
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 8 - The Case of the Dixon Torpedo
    6.2/10(86 votes)

    S1:E8

    Jonathan Pride gets involved in a case involving a secret weapon, an eccentric inventor and forged roubles.

    Director:Jim Goddard
    Writer:Arthur Morrison

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  25. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Season 1 Episode 3 - The Affair of the Avalanche Bicycle and Tire Co.
    5.9/10(115 votes)

    S1:E3

    Horace Dorrington solves the mystery of a case of sabotage on a bicycle track.

    Director:Jim Goddard
    Writers:Arthur Morrison, Julian Bond

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Best Episodes Summary

"A Message from the Deep Sea" is the best rated episode of "The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes". It scored 7.6/10 based on 162 votes. Directed by Jim Goddard and written by Philip Mackie, R. Austin Freeman, it aired on 9/20/1971. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Cell 13".