Sherlockian Audio Reviews - 'The Tangled Skein'

 

Writer(s):   David Stuart Davies, adapted by Richard Dinnick.

Narrator/Holmes & Watson:   Nicholas Briggs & Richard Earl

Summary:  Based on the classic pastiche by noted Sherlockian author, David Stuart Davies, and starring Nicholas 'Voice of the Daleks' Briggs, this audio drama by Big Finish Productions begins soon after the events of 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' (also part of Series 2 of their audio dramas), and acts as a partial sequel to it. A familiar foe, a threat to Holmes’s life, murders on Hampstead Heath and a deadly phantom lady lead Holmes and Watson into the most dangerous investigation they have ever undertaken. An encounter which takes them back to Dartmoor and brings them face to face with evil itself, embodied in Count Dracula, the Lord of the Undead.

 

Review: I had read the book many years ago, but only remembered very few details. A cast of six play seventeen parts between them with ease. Holmes vs Dracula is a slightly overused trope, but the novel was one of the first to do so, even if it is not entirely clear where it fits in in the Dracula story. There was a good balance between action and deduction, and it moved at a good pace. As ever with Big Finish, the sound design contributes well to the overall effect. Earl's narration was appropriate, allowing dialogue to tell the story as much as possible. Recommended.

 

Rating:    (4/5)  

Link to Audio:  https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/sherlock-holmes-the-tangled-skein-20

 

Sherlockian Audio Reviews - 'The First Consulting Detective'

 

Writer(s):   W.S. Mulrooney

 

Narrator/Holmes & Watson:   Jason Markiewitz  

 

Summary:  Three short cases (90 minutes in total), written by W.S Mulrooney, and recorded and released posthumously by his friend, Tracy Traynor: 

"The Silence of Sherlock Holmes" has both Holmes and Watson battle murder in a library, but when Holmes becomes a critical patient suffering from amnesia, can one of Watson's stories save the day? 

"He Who Would Be Holmes" reveals the capers of two con-men who are impersonating Holmes & Watson in Northern England. When an American woman turns up promising retirement money, the pair can’t resist. 

"The Mystery of 221b Bacon Street" - Holmes and Watson track a blackmailer to a property with a name similar to their own, where a plan is afoot which threatens the safety of the entire nation.

 

Review: I enjoyed these stories which walked the line between parody and pastiche. They were also of an appropriate length to be listened to in breaks from work, with each story not being more than half-an-hour. I was initially put off by the American narrator, but soon got over this (save his attempt at a Scottish Mrs. Hudson). The solutions to each story were relatively obvious but this did not detract from the stories, and neither did the reuse of some Canonical strategems to solve the problems.

 

Rating:    (4/5)  

 

Link to Audio:  https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-First-Consulting-Detective-Audiobook/B08QR6PRG6

Sherlockian Audio Reviews - 'Watson: The Final Problem'

 

Writer(s):   Bert Coules & Tim Marriott

Narrator/Holmes & Watson:   Tim Marriott

Summary: A new Sherlockian play by Bert Coules, Head Writer on the BBC Radio 4 complete Canon starring Clive Merrison and the follow-up 'The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes', written in conjunction with its star, Tim Marriott (best known for 'The Brittas Empire'). A one-man Watson-focused piece, focusing on Reichenbach and what came before.

The original intention was to perform 'Watson: The Final Problem' on stage in Autumn 2020 and on tour in 2021, but in the current circumstances instead a radio-style recording was made in isolation to help develop the project and keep the creatives busy in lockdown. In true Sherlock Homes style, ingeniously improvising with home equipment, Tim Marriott recorded the script in a makeshift home studio made with a microphone and laptop under a duvet held up by a kitchen chair; Clive Whitburn created the score in his garden shed; and Bert Coules drew on all his past BBC experience to stitch the piece together using only the electronic equivalent of a razor blade, splicing tape, and a collection of improvised sound effects. The full audio recording is at: www.smokescreenprods.com for free, but with donations requested.   [The play was due to play a one night date at Grove Theatre, Eastbourne on 12th December 2020, but this was also cancelled]

 

Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this, with a tour-de-force performance by Marriott, and an excellent script by Coules and its star. I recognised several parts from Coules' previous 1992 'The Final Problem' adaptation  (Michael Williams' favourite), but that only added to my enjoyment. It also effectively looked at how the events of Reichenbach affected the man left behind. Excellent sound effects and music also, and its being recorded in lockdown was not in evidence at all. In different times, I wouldn't have been able to stay away from the planned Eastbourne date  (particularly as it would have fitted in perfectly with a planned 'Sherlockian Sojourn').

 

Rating:    (5/5) 

 

Link to audio:  'Watson: The Final Problem'

Sherlockian Audio Reviews - Introduction

Although my interest in Sherlock Holmes was initiated by television ('The Baker Street Boys'), a play ('SH & The Adventure of the Sumatran Devil' by a pre-HDM Philip Pullman), and a film ('The Great Mouse Detective'), which led to my purchasing my first Canon, my first experience of the majority of the stories was via the Radio 4 dramatisations starring Clive Merrison and Michael Williams.  (click here for the official website)

 

 

I have them all on cassette and as MP3s, but have also just started to collect them on CD. As lockdown continues and I listen to other SH audiobooks as escapism, I intend to post reviews as I listen.

2020 Vision.

2020 is a year almost everyone wishes to forget, but in line with the practice that I encourage in the learners that I work with, it is always useful to reflect back on events to learn for the future. In the first post on this blog, I described intending to use this blog to “offload furniture from my brain-attic, ie. to get rid of thoughts that are going round and round in my head with no place to express them”. I am therefore putting these thoughts down on the first day of 2021, more for my own benefit, than for anyone reading them. It may also be interesting for me to revisit them in the future.

When I gathered up my files and laptop and left the office at lunchtime on a Wednesday in mid-March 2020, I expected to be working from home for three months, or six months at the outside. However, I will be starting 2021 still in my back bedroom, with all contact with my colleagues and learners being via screens or phone. The novelty of not having to commute to South Wimbledon and being able to attend meetings seemingly in the TARDIS console room, has well and truly worn off. Living with two people who are at heightened risk, I can count the number of times that I have left my home (including the garden) since mid-March on my fingers and toes, and even then I have not ventured outside Greater London. I miss live theatre (seeing at least one stage production per week in normal times), attending signing events, and meeting with others in person. However, my feelings in relation to this are not anger or frustration, only a wistful remembrance of times when I didn't know that I had it so good. I regret nothing (save not going to a signing event in March 2020 just prior to lockdown), as I know that I have done what is best for those that I love.

But although there have been many lows this year, including the deaths of several people who have impacted positively on my life in previous years, I found the completion of my 2020 Awards, helped me identify the positives also. My favourite day of last year was the quadriennial calendar anomoly, 29^th February, which featured my favourite live events for both 'Doctor Who' and 'Sherlock Holmes'. But what was it that made that day so special ? Was it meeting Thirteenth Doctor companion, Tosin Cole ? Or getting to solve a case alongside Cumberbatch's Sherlock ? No, it was that I attended both events with friends – the last time we were together in person. Memories of that day, and regular telephone and online contact with friends have kept me going through some of the more difficult times, along with the support of family. Online plays (more screens !!) have also helped with the theatre itch. I have also taken the opportunity to plan around ten future 'Sherlockian Sojourns' that I will undertake when the vaccine has done its work.

So I enter 2021 in a positive frame of mind, hopeful of an eventual return to something approaching 'normality', but confident that I have the support to cope with lockdown in the meantime. Things may get worse before they get better, but I've proved to myself that I can deal with whatever is thrown at me. Hopefully 2021 will indeed be a 'Happy New Year'.