Sherlock Holmes (1989 radio series)
Sherlock Holmes is the overall title given to the BBC Radio 4 radio dramatisations of the complete Sherlock Holmes stories, with Bert Coules as head writer, and featuring Clive Merrison as Holmes and Michael Williams as Dr Watson. Together, the two actors completed radio adaptations of every story in the canon of Sherlock Holmes between 1989 and 1998.
| Genre | Radio drama |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Starring | Clive Merrison Michael Williams |
| Original release | 5 November 1989 – 5 July 1998 |
| No. of episodes | 64 |
The episodes were not originally broadcast under an overall title, and aired in series with the same titles as the novels or short story collections that the episodes were adapted from. For instance, the first two episodes were based on the novel A Study in Scarlet and aired under that title on BBC Radio 4's Classic Serial programme.[1]
Episodes of the series are available on CD as well as downloads, and are occasionally rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra.[2]
Production
The BBC decided to produce radio adaptations of all sixty Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle due to the success of a 1988 radio adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles.[3] David Johnston produced and directed the production, which was adapted by Bert Coules, and starred Roger Rees as Sherlock Holmes and Crawford Logan as Dr. Watson.[4]
For the complete series of adaptations, Clive Merrison was cast as Holmes and Michael Williams as Watson. Both of the first two dramatisations of the series, adaptations of A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four, were produced by David Johnston and directed by Ian Cotterell. Enyd Williams produced and directed the adaptation of The Valley of Fear and the 1998 version of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Each of the fifty-six short story adaptations were produced and directed by either Enyd Williams or Patrick Rayner. The head writer for the series was Bert Coules. The other writers were David Ashton, Michael Bakewell, Roger Danes, Robert Forrest, Denys Hawthorne, Gerry Jones, Peter Ling, Vincent McInerney and Peter Mackie.[3]
The broadcast of the last dramatisation, the 1998 version of The Hound of the Baskervilles, marked the first time that the same two actors had played Holmes and Watson in dramatisations of all sixty stories on radio[5] or any other medium.[2] This was not accomplished again until 2016 when the American radio series The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was completed.[6] It had almost been accomplished in the 1930s radio series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in which all but one of the stories (The Valley of Fear) were adapted.[7]
Bert Coules wrote a book about the radio dramatisations of the Sherlock Holmes canon. The book, titled 221 BBC, also includes information about the follow-up BBC radio series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.[8]
Episodes
A Study In Scarlet
Two one-hour episodes adapted from A Study In Scarlet were recorded October 1989, at BBC studios, Maida Vale, London and first broadcast on 5 and 12 November 1989.
| No. overall | No. in series | Episode title | First broadcast[9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Revenge" | 5 November 1989 |
| 2 | 2 | "In the Country of the Saints" | 12 November 1989 |
The Sign of the Four
The following episodes were adapted from the novel The Sign of the Four.
| No. overall | No. in series | Episode title | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | "Timbertoe" | 10 December 1989 |
| 4 | 2 | "The Great Agra Treasure" | 17 December 1989 |
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The following episodes were adapted from the short story collection The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
| No. overall | No. in series | Episode title[10] | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1 | "A Scandal in Bohemia" | 7 November 1990 |
| 6 | 2 | "The Red-headed League" | 14 November 1990 |
| 7 | 3 | "A Case of Identity" | 21 November 1990 |
| 8 | 4 | "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" | 28 November 1990 |
| 9 | 5 | "The Five Orange Pips" | 5 December 1990 |
| 10 | 6 | "The Man with the Twisted Lip" | 12 December 1990 |
| 11 | 7 | "The Blue Carbuncle" | 2 January 1991 |
| 12 | 8 | "The Speckled Band" | 9 January 1991 |
| 13 | 9 | "The Engineer's Thumb" | 16 January 1991 |
| 14 | 10 | "The Noble Bachelor" | 23 January 1991 |
| 15 | 11 | "The Beryl Coronet" | 30 January 1991 |
| 16 | 12 | "The Copper Beeches" | 6 February 1991 |
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
The following episodes were adapted from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
| No. overall | No. in series | Episode title[11] | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 1 | "Silver Blaze" | 8 January 1992 |
| 18 | 2 | "The Yellow Face" | 15 January 1992 |
| 19 | 3 | "The Stockbroker's Clerk" | 22 January 1992 |
| 20 | 4 | "The Gloria Scott" | 29 January 1992 |
| 21 | 5 | "The Musgrave Ritual" | 5 February 1992 |
| 22 | 6 | "The Reigate Squires" | 12 February 1992 |
| 23 | 7 | "The Crooked Man" | 7 October 1992 |
| 24 | 8 | "The Resident Patient" | 14 October 1992 |
| 25 | 9 | "The Greek Interpreter" | 21 October 1992 |
| 26 | 10 | "The Naval Treaty" | 28 October 1992 |
| 27 | 11 | "The Final Problem" | 4 November 1992 |
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
The following episodes were adapted from The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
| No. overall | No. in series | Episode title[12] | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 1 | "The Empty House" | 24 February 1993 |
| 29 | 2 | "The Norwood Builder" | 3 March 1993 |
| 30 | 3 | "The Dancing Men" | 19 March 1993 |
| 31 | 4 | "The Solitary Cyclist" | 17 March 1993 |
| 32 | 5 | "The Priory School" | 24 March 1993 |
| 33 | 6 | "Black Peter" | 31 March 1993 |
| 34 | 7 | "Charles Augustus Milverton" | 7 April 1993 |
| 35 | 8 | "The Six Napoleons" | 8 September 1993 |
| 36 | 9 | "The Three Students" | 15 September 1993 |
| 37 | 10 | "The Golden Pince-nez" | 22 September 1993 |
| 38 | 11 | "The Missing Three-quarter" | 29 September 1993 |
| 39 | 12 | "The Abbey Grange" | 6 October 1993 |
| 40 | 13 | "The Second Stain" | 13 October 1993 |
His Last Bow
The following episodes were adapted from His Last Bow.
| No. overall | No. in series | Episode title[13] | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 1 | "Wisteria Lodge" | 5 January 1994 |
| 42 | 2 | "The Cardboard Box" | 12 January 1994 |
| 43 | 3 | "The Red Circle" | 19 January 1994 |
| 44 | 4 | "The Bruce-Partington Plans" | 26 January 1994 |
| 45 | 5 | "The Dying Detective" | 2 February 1994 |
| 46 | 6 | "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax" | 9 February 1994 |
| 47 | 7 | "The Devil's Foot" | 16 February 1994 |
| 48 | 8 | "His Last Bow" | 23 February 1994 |
The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes
The following episodes were adapted from The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes.
| No. overall | No. in series | Episode title[14] | First broadcast[9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 1 | "The Illustrious Client" | 21 September 1994 |
| 50 | 2 | "The Blanched Soldier" | 28 September 1994 |
| 51 | 3 | "The Mazarin Stone" | 5 October 1994 |
| 52 | 4 | "The Three Gables" | 12 October 1994 |
| 53 | 5 | "The Sussex Vampire" | 19 October 1994 |
| 54 | 6 | "The Three Garridebs" | 16 October 1994 |
| 55 | 7 | "The Problem of Thor Bridge" | 22 February 1995 |
| 56 | 8 | "The Creeping Man" | 1 March 1995 |
| 57 | 9 | "The Lion's Mane" | 8 March 1995 |
| 58 | 10 | "The Veiled Lodger" | 15 March 1995 |
| 59 | 11 | "Shoscombe Old Place" | 22 March 1995 |
| 60 | 12 | "The Retired Colourman" | 29 March 1995 |
The Valley of Fear
The following episodes were adapted from the novel The Valley of Fear.
| No. overall | No. in series | Episode title[15] | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | 1 | "The Scowrers" | 23 March 1997 |
| 62 | 2 | "The Tragedy of Birlstone" | 30 March 1997 |
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The following episodes were adapted from the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.
| No. overall | No. in series | Episode title | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | 1 | "The Powers of Evil" | 28 June 1998 |
| 64 | 2 | "Death On The Moor" | 5 July 1998 |
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a series consisting of original stories written exclusively by Bert Coules was then commissioned, but following Williams' death from cancer in 2001, he was replaced by Andrew Sachs.
The episodes were based on throwaway references in Doyle's short stories and novels. They were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 across four series in 2002, 2004, 2008–2009 and 2010.
Episodes
| No.
overall |
No. in
series |
Episode title | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | 1 | "The Madness of Colonel Warburton" | 30 January 2002 |
| 66 | 2 | "The Star of the Adelphi" | 6 February 2002 |
| 67 | 3 | "The Peculiar Persecution Of Mr John Vincent Harden" | 13 February 2002 |
| 68 | 4 | "The Singular Inheritance of Miss Gloria Wilson" | 20 February 2002 |
| 69 | 5 | "The Saviour of Cripplegate Square" | 27 February 2002 |
| 70 | 6 | "The Abergavenny Murder" | 18 May 2004 |
| 71 | 7 | "The Shameful Betrayal of Miss Emily Smith" | 25 May 2004 |
| 72 | 8 | "The Tragedy of Hanbury Street" | 1 June 2004 |
| 73 | 9 | "The Determined Client" | 8 June 2004 |
| 74 | 10 | "The Striking Success of Miss Franny Blossom" | 15 June 2004 |
| 75 | 11 | "The Remarkable Performance Of Mr Frederick Merridew" | 26 December 2008 |
| 76 | 12 | "The Eyes Of Horus" | 2 January 2009 |
| 77 | 13 | "The Thirteen Watches" | 9 January 2009 |
| 78 | 14 | "The Ferrers Documents" | 16 January 2009 |
| 79 | 15 | "The Marlbourne Point Mystery - Part 1" | 5 April 2010 |
| 80 | 16 | "The Marlbourne Point Mystery - Part 2" | 6 April 2010 |
References
- "Classic Serial: A Study in Scarlet: 1: Revenge". BBC Genome: Radio Times. BBC. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- Coules, Bert. "The Background". The complete audio Sherlock Holmes. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- Coules, Bert. "The Production Team". The BBC audio complete Sherlock Holmes. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- "The Hound of the Baskervilles: 1: The Baskerville Curse". BBC Genome: Radio Times. BBC. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- Redmond, Christopher (2009). Sherlock Holmes Handbook: Second Edition. Dundurn. pp. 231–232. ISBN 9781459718982.
- "Cast and Crew". Imagination Theatre. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- Dickerson, Ian (2019). Sherlock Holmes and His Adventures on American Radio. BearManor Media. p. 49. ISBN 978-1629335087.
- Coules, Bert. "The Book of the Series". The BBC audio complete Sherlock Holmes. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- Coules, Bert. "Casts and Credits". The BBC complete audio Sherlock Holmes. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Episodes from 2008". bbc.co.uk. 1 October 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes - Episodes from 2008". bbc.co.uk. 1 October 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- "The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Episodes from 2008". bbc.co.uk. 1 October 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- " Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow - Episodes from 2008". bbc.co.uk. 1 October 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- " Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow - Episodes from 2008". bbc.co.uk. 1 October 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- " Sherlock Holmes: The Valley of Fear - Episodes".