One liners the sequel

Hey! You mentioned a Sherlock Holmes radio play earlier on one of your posts, which reminded me of when I was in 7th grade and my English teacher had us listen to a SH radio play (which I hadn't thought about in years!) Do you have recs for where to start with SH radio plays (or just some that you really like)?

YES I HAVE RECS. I’M SO GLAD YOU ASKED.

Start with the so-called “Bert Coules” radioplays (also sometimes called Merrison!Holmes or simply radio!Holmes), which were recorded by BBC Radio 4 from 1987 to 2010. These consist of:

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1987), Roger Rees and Crawford Logan, adapted by Bert Coules.

The Collected Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1989-1989), Clive Merrison and Michael Williams; all 60 canon stories, the lion’s share of which were adapted by Bert Coules.

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (2002-2010), Clive Merrison and Andrew Sachs. Fifteen original stories expanding upon the teasers Watson would mention every now again, all by Bert Coules.

Yes, yes, I know, that’s seventy-six stories, which is faaaaaaaaaaar too long of a list for someone wanting help with where to start. So here’s a shortlist of favorites:

The Lion’s Mane (Case-Book). Bert Coules took a story that is often deemed the worst in canon, and turned it into a masterwork. ACD’s original had no Watson whatsoever in it – it’s set during Holmes’ retirement in Sussex – but Coules builds a framing story wherein Watson comes down to Sussex for the weekend and learns that Holmes, who has been anxious that Watson might be bored, has kept back a case as a surprise and wants to re-enact the whole thing for Watson, with Watson playing the part of the detective. (Because it’ll be fun, Watson!) The episode is adorkable and hilarious and startlingly poignant, Holmes alternately hamming up the death scenes and wondering whether he chose well in bypassing love, whereas Watson is keenly aware that he’s about to go down in history as a not-so-bright literary device who exists to make Holmes look smarter than he already is. These two have been friends for twenty-four years at this point, and it shows. (My god, it shows!) Things to know: the episode begins with Holmes and Watson reading the script of the William Gillette stageplay about themselves. Gillette was basically the Basil Rathbone of his time, and half of the shit we think of as classically Holmes (such as the curved pipe, or the phrase “Elementary, my dear Watson!”) come from Gillette’s version. There are easter eggs in the episode about the literary-tradition-yet-to-come, the one that grew out of Holmesian roots – Batman, the Green Hornet, Star Trek’s Spock – and the episode references their own Study in Scarlet several times. At some point you should really listen to STUD and LION back-to-back, and hear what a quarter-century evolution of a friendship sounds like. 

The Devil’s Foot (Last Bow). You may know the canon story; it’s the one where they almost die together. The episode begins with them walking on a beach, quoting epic love poems to each other about dying for one’s love. And why yes, it is Tristan and Isolde that plays when the two of them very nearly die.

The Dying Detective (Last Bow). The parts about the actual case can be a bit slow, but the Holmes-Watson shenanigans are magnificent. Watson gets to be brave and heartbroken and noble and really truly angry, and Holmes is going to have soooo much sucking-up to do to make that right.

A Scandal in Bohemia (Adventures). FYI, this was recorded during the period when the BBC higher-ups were meddling with the format, insisting that one can’t do Sherlock Holmes without Watsonian narration, boo. HOWEVER. The episode gets Irene Adler right (hurrah!), and also asks a very important question: why the hell is Holmes harassing a rich, noble bully-boy’s ex-mistress for him?? Everywhere else in canon, when a case like this is brought to him, Holmes tells Rich Guy to go fuck himself, so why did he play along that time? There’s also some lovely Holmes-Watson bits, especially at the beginning, when they’re learning how to be friends again despite Watson’s marriage.

Blue Carbuncle (Adventures). Another early story, so Watsonian narration again, iirc. But I love the Holmes-and-Watson interactions, two friends taking refuge in each other during the frenetic Christmas season. And the final moments of the episode frankly make me melt.

Retired Colorman (Case-Book). Yeah, okay, fine, I remember nothing of the first half hour. But the very last bit? When Holmes retires? Makes me cry. Every. Fucking. Time. (You can listen to LION again after if you need to feel better.)

A Study in Scarlet. Holmes and Watson are just so young and enthusiastic and taken with each other, I just.

And hello, here you are at the beginning of the canon! You could do the back-to-back listen with LION at this point, but really, you might as well just start listening in order, right through all sixty stories. :-P

While we’re talking about Coules, I also love the 1987 Rees and Logan Hound of the Baskervilles, which is more vibrant than Merrison and Williams’ take on it. Sadly, it’s difficult to lay hands on, but the BBC re-airs it every now and again.

And I frankly adore Bert Coules’ Further Adventures. It took me a little while to get used to the different Watson, but Bert Coules’ idea of what makes for a good Sherlock Holmes story suits me far better than Doyle’s did. (There. I said it, and I stand by it.) Favorites include Colonel Warburton, Miss Gloria Wilson, Cripplegate Square, Abergavenny Murder, and Miss Franny Blossom, but honestly, it’s a very strong collection. I admit that I’m so attached to a few of them that I have a hard time not reflexively rejecting other people’s takes on the same canon references. You can listen to these before the canon sixty, if you want – in fact, I support that choice wholeheartedly.

There are other Holmesian radioplays beyond the ones Coules was involved with, of course. Big Finish has an ongoing line, but overall I’m not that impressed with it. The Big Finish Holmes productions tend to go heavy on the atmosphere, heavy on the narration, and light on the Holmes-Watson partnership: if you’re not there for the case, there’s not much of anything else going on. (Here, have a review I wrote of their Hound of the Baskervilles.)

THAT SAID, I do like a few of the Big Finish Productions:

The Last Act (1x01). Roger Llewellyn, script by David Stuart Davies, adapting his own one-man stageplay. This one is angst upon angst upon angst: Holmes drinking alone on the occasion of Watson’s funeral, reflecting on all the things he never said to Watson.

The Death and Life (1x02). Roger Llewellyn, script by David Stuart Davies, adapting his own one-man stageplay. Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty join forces to keep Doyle from killing them off. I want a fixit for the Watson parts and there’s a racist bit I don’t like, but mostly I laughed lots.

The Final Problem (2x01). Nicholas Briggs and Richard Earl. See my review of their Hound for my feelings about narration-heavy adaptations of canon stories (tl;dr if you’re just going to read Doyle’s words aloud, I’d sooner have the audiobook), but this is the one instance, I think, where keeping it in Watson’s words worked. Keeping all the narration in made it a story about Watson’s grief, and Richard Earl does a fine job. Sadly, I think their Empty House – which is sold as a pair with FINA – is weak; I vastly prefer the Coules/Merrison/Williams version.

It may be that the more recent Big Finish stories get better again; I’ve only listened to the first three-or-so series.

Lessee, who else? During the 1940s, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce did thirty-odd radioplays together, and then after Rathbone left, Bruce kept right on doing them. I haven’t listened to very many, I’m afraid: I tend to bounce off of Bruce’s Watson, and furthermore, Bruce is a mumbler and the audio quality is staticky, which isn’t a great combination. However, there were so many that there must be some good ones among them? I welcome suggestions from those in the know. Here are fifty-four of them, available for free download.

And I’m also fond of the Peepolykus radioplay of Hound of the Baskervilles. It’s very silly broad comedy, but it makes me laugh lots and Holmes and Watson love each other (and Watson maybe also loves Lestrade?), and while I’m an incorrigible crankypants about some things, I’m an incredible pushover for others.

Does that help? Let me know if you have any questions about anything!