SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE SILK STOCKING <br /><br />Aspect ratio: 1.78:1<br /><br />Sound format: Stereo<br /><br />London, 1902: During a period of heavy fog, Sherlock Holmes (Rupert Everett) and Dr. Watson (Ian Hart) go on the trail of a serial killer who targets attractive young débutantes.<br /><br />Simon Cellan Jones' atmospheric chiller uses the standard trappings of Holmesian lore in this all-new adventure, but Allan Cubitt's script seems as much inspired by the likes of MESSIAH and SE7EN as anything by Arthur Conan Doyle. The decision to locate proceedings within an era of deadly 'pea-soupers' adds an element of Gothic horror whilst simultaneously obscuring a multitude of budgetary deficiencies, and several crucial set-pieces unfold in a swirl of impenetrable fog. Holmes is depicted as an isolated figure, rendered separate from the general run of humanity by his ego and intelligence, who finds solace in drug use and the minutiae of criminal investigations, though his antipathy toward women is challenged here by Watson's American fiancée (Helen McCrory), a trained psychologist who shares many of his preoccupations and refuses to be cowed by her position within society. Everett and Hart never really connect as a team, and an early sequence in which Watson appropriates a number of Holmes' investigative techniques to query the details of a crime scene promises plot developments which never really come to fruition. The killer's identity is fairly obvious, too, but there are further twists - many of them linked to the hypocrisy and corruption of upper-class Edwardian society - which should satisfy most armchair mystery buffs. Watchable, but plodding; typical BBC fodder.