Suffice it to say our detective succeeds in understanding the confiscated paper and pulling both storylines together. This is one of those mysteries that we viewers get no realistic chance to solve ourselves, since few of us are likely to be fluent in Moabite. Red herrings, diversions and false leads abound as the episode continues, and when even scholars on ancient languages are baffled by the Moabite Cipher it’s up to Doctor Thorndyke to get to the bottom of things. With press vultures sensationalizing the incident and with fears for the safety of the Grand Duke overwhelming Scotland Yard, our hero’s old friend Inspector Miller shows up to bring the good doctor deeper into the investigation.Ī further demand is made upon Thorndyke’s time by Alfred Barton (Julian Glover), who is convinced his brother’s young bride is poisoning her husband’s meals with arsenic.
This raises the possibility that a larger anarchist plot is in the works, possibly even the assassination of the visiting Russian. The dead man is found to have no bomb or other weapons, just a mysterious note in an ancient language which Thorndyke recognizes as Moabite. Our medical man Doctor Thorndyke arrives on the scene with his sidekick Doctor Jervis (Peter Sallis) just as the authorities are cordoning off the area over fears of an anarchist bombing. Review: At a public London procession in honor of a Russian Grand Duke a man suspected of being an anarchist is accidentally killed while running from police. My reviews of The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes began with the Season One episode featuring Doctor Thorndyke played by John Neville, so it’s kind of appropriate to end with a review of this Season Two episode starring Barrie Ingham as Thorndyke. The first Doctor Thorndyke story was published in 1907.Ĭomment: This will complete my look at this neglected television series.
#Inspector dupin episodes series#
For Balladeer’s Blog’s review of the very first episode of this 1971-1973 series about London by Gaslight detectives from both the Victorian and Edwardian Ages you can simply click HEREĮpisode: THE MOABITE CIPHER (March 26th 1973)ĭetective: Doctor John Evelyn Thorndyke, created by R.