The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes - Box Art and Disc-by-Disc Details for Set 1 of Acorn Media's Release

As seen on public television: The OTHER detectives of late Victorian England!

Victorian London was a boon for crooks...and a bane for Scotland Yard, whose job it was to thwart crime. In the pages of fiction, the citizens of the capital often turned to private sleuths for redress. But Sherlock Holmes was not the only detective in town. Contemporary writers created an impressive cast of investigators, both amateur and professional, as colorful as the criminals they set out to catch.

Some of the detectives in this classic British series work with the police. Others achieve success in spite of them. And a few even fall under official suspicion themselves. Yet all pit their wits against the best that London's underworld has to offer in 13 finely crafted mysteries delivered by Britain's top character actors. Stars include Peter Vaughan (The Remains of the Day), John Neville (The First Churchills), Donald Sinden (Two's Company), Donald Pleasence (Halloween), and Jeremy Irons (Brideshead Revisited) in his first screen appearance.

On September 1st, Acorn Media is releasing The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes - Set 1, a 4-DVD collection of 13 episodes from the U.K. program. Running 654 minutes long, the set also includes bonus profiles of the rival detectives and their creators. English subtitles are included. Cost is $59.99 SRP in the USA, and CA$74.99 SRP in Canada. Here's a disc-by-disc breakdown of the contents, followed by package art:

• Disc 1:
  • Episode 1: A Message from the Deep Sea
  • Episode 2: The Missing Witness Sensation
  • Episode 3: The Affair of the Avalanche Bicycle & Tyre Co. Ltd.
  • Episode 4: The Duchess of Wiltshire's Diamonds
  • BONUS: Profiles of Dr. Thorndyke, Max Carrados, Horace Dorrington, and Simon Carne
  
  
• Disc 2:
  • Episode 5: The Horse of the Invisible
  • Episode 6: The Case of the Mirror of Portugal
  • Episode 7: Madame Sara
  • BONUS: Profiles of Carnacki and Dixon Druce
  
  
• Disc 3:
  • Episode 8: The Case of the Dixon Torpedo
  • Episode 9: The Woman in the Big Hat
  • Episode 10: The Affair of the Tortoise
  • BONUS: Profiles of Martin Hewitt/Jonathan Pryde and Lady Molly
  
  
• Disc 4:
  • Episode 11: The Assyrian Rejuvenator
  • Episode 12: The Ripening Rubies
  • Episode 13: The Case of Laker, Absconded
  • BONUS: Profiles of Romney Pringle and Bernard Sutton