This British TV series, shot almost entirely on videotape, dramatized short mystery fiction by authors who were contemporaries of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Many of these authors were virtually unknown to modern audiences, although all of the detectives portrayed had appeared in popular ongoing series of short stories or novels. "Rivals" featured the only dramatizations to date of such period characters as Jacques Futrelle's "The Thinking Machine" and W. H. Hodgson's "Carnacki The Ghost Finder". Production values were high, although the limitations of early '70's video technology are painfully obvious. The casts included the cream of British television's character actors, featuring a few faces that will be recognizable to American audiences.
  
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Episode 1: Dr. Thorndyke: A Message from the Deep Sea
When a young woman is stabbed to death in a boarding house of questionable repute, the police quickly settle on their chief suspect. A skeptical Dr. Thorndyke prefers to look deeper, privileging facts over surface motives.

Episode 2: Max Carrados: The Missing Witness Sensation
After amateur detective Max Carrados ruins the alibi of an Irish militant accused of murder, the manΓΓé¼Γäós colleagues plot their revenge. To save his life, a trapped Carrados must find a way to get a message to the outside worldΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥one that even a blind man could understand.

Episode 3: Horace Dorrington: The Affair of the Avalanche Bicycle & Tyre Co. Ltd.
Private detective Horace Dorrington sees no conflict in helping himself while helping his clients. A promising new bicycle company presents him with an opportunity to cash in on his insider knowledge. But itΓΓé¼Γäós a dirty business, so Dorrington takes steps to ensure heΓΓé¼Γäós not taken for a ride.

Episode 4: Klimo: The Duchess of WiltshireΓΓé¼Γäós Diamonds
Does professional jealousy explain police antagonism towards Simon Carne, a celebrated and successful private detective known as ΓΓé¼┼ôKlimoΓΓé¼┬¥? Or is it something more? And even though Klimo solves case after case for his clients, why are none of the perpetrators ever caught?

Episode 5: Carnacki: The Horse of the Invisible
A ghost-detective named Carnacki investigates the haunting of a country house that threatens the wedding of the homeownerΓΓé¼Γäós daughter and her fiance. Carnacki suspects supernatural forces are not at work in this case, but even a ghost buster can get it wrong.

Episode 6: Horace Dorrington: The Case of the Mirror of Portugal
When a priceless gem comes within his grasp, detective Horace Dorrington cuts more than a few corners to get his hands on it. But he battles a surprisingly worthy adversary from an unexpected quarter, one as ruthless and determined as himself.

Episode 7: Dixon Druce: Madame Sara
While investigating death threats against two sisters, Dixon Druce falls under the charms of their friend, the mysterious Madame Sara. Druce tries to track down the sistersΓΓé¼Γäó estranged half-brother, who stands to inherit a fortune upon their deaths. The smitten detective also starts to uncover the secrets of their alluring friend.

Episode 8: Jonathan Pryde: The Case of the Dixon Torpedo
Petty crime and international espionage intertwine when the Russian embassy hires Jonathan Pryde to do one job and his own government hires him for another. The private investigator discovers that the two casesΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥a money-counterfeiting operation and stealing plans for a Royal Navy torpedoΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥are linked.

Episode 9: Lady Molly of the Yard: The Woman in the Big Hat
When a customer slumps over dead in a tea shop, Lady Molly of the Yard searches for the mystery woman who had been seated at his table. However, she runs into resistance from the dead manΓΓé¼Γäós family, who show little interest in solving the crime.

Episode 10: Martin Hewitt: The Affair of the Tortoise
To solve the murder of a rich but ill-mannered government official from Haiti, PI Martin Hewitt has several pieces of evidence to considerΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥ a dead tortoise, a voodoo doll, a blood-stained axe, and a note from ΓΓé¼┼ôan avenger.ΓΓé¼┬¥ The one thing he doesnΓΓé¼Γäót have is a body.

Episode 11: Romney Pringle: The Assyrian Rejuvenator
Inflated claims about the powers of an expensive elixir put private investigator Romney Pringle in pursuit of a ruthless con man. The trickster has reason to believe that his customers wonΓΓé¼Γäót complain, but Pringle sets out to destroy the crooked business.

Episode 12: Bernard Sutton: The Ripening Rubies
An ex-con makes a rookie mistakeΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥trying to sell a stolen ruby necklace back to the craftsman who made it. The jeweler, Bernard Sutton, soon discovers that a string of high-society women are losing their expensive adornments. Shunning the heavy-handed approach of the police, he sets his own trap to catch the thief.

Episode 13: Martin Hewitt: The Case of Laker, Absconded
A junior bank clerk elopes with a fortuneΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥but without his fiancee. The police reconstruct the absconderΓΓé¼Γäós route, from bank to train station to the Continent. However, Martin Hewitt believes the trail is a little too easy to follow. With the help of the jilted lover, he embarks on a search to discover what really happened to the missing man.


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