The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a radio series featuring the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The series has 143 episodes as of June 2020 (not including The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes). The episodes are pastiches written by Jim French, M. J. Elliott, and other writers. Before the start of the series, the program obtained permission from the Doyle estate to use Sherlock Holmes, Dr Watson, and other characters in radio dramas.
In The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes was portrayed by John Gilbert through episode 18 (which aired in 2000), and has been played by John Patrick Lowrie since episode 21 (2001). Dr. Watson is portrayed by Lawrence Albert. Rick May played Inspector Lestrade from 1998 through 2020; the last two episodes with Rick May were recorded in late 2019 but were first broadcast in May 2020. Leonore "Lee" Paasch played Mrs Hudson from 1998 through 2013. Ellen McLain has played Mrs Hudson since episode 137 (2019). Mycroft Holmes has been portrayed by Frank Buxton (in one 1998 episode), Ted D'Arms (2000–2006), and Terry Edward Moore (since 2011). The series announcers have included Dennis Bateman, Jim French, and Dean L. Smith.
Other characters created by Doyle make multiple appearances in the series, including Inspector Gregson, Inspector Hopkins, Inspector MacDonald, and Mary Morstan Watson. Dr Watson is married (and widowed) three times in the timeline of the series, Mary Morstan being his second wife.
The one of the series' most memorable use of the Sherlockian lore was its use of the popular theory of the Two brothers of Professor Moriarty including the lore that all three brothers are named James Moriarty, as Colonel Moriarty and Mr. Moriarty (a station master), appear as antagonists according to "The Moriarty Resurrection" (2006), "The Moriarty Revelation" (2016) and "The Moriarty Conclusion" (2017).
The series has thirteen double-length episodes as of 2019, such as "The Adventure of the Borgia Ring" (2012) and "The Adventure of the Irregular Client" (2013). Some episodes are based on miscellaneous stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. "How Watson Learned the Trick" (2008) was based on "How Watson Learned the Trick", "The Lady Sannox Investigation" (2008) was based on "The Case of Lady Sannox", "The Adventure of the Parisian Assassin" (2011) was based on "The Lost Special", and "The Addleton Tragedy" (2012) was based on "The Man with the Watches".
Eleven scripts for the series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes written by M. J. Elliott were published in the book Sherlock Holmes on the Air in 2012. A different book with a similar title, Sherlock Holmes On the Air!, was published in 2016 with scripts for two episodes of the series by Steven Philip Jones and two by M. J. Elliott. A collection of scripts written by multiple writers for the series was published in 2017 in the book Imagination Theatre’s Sherlock Holmes, with all royalties donated for the preservation of Undershaw. All the scripts written by Jim French for the series were published in a three-volume set in 2019, with all royalties again being donated for the preservation of Undershaw.
In their 2012 book The Sherlock Holmes Miscellany, Roger Johnson and Jean Upton wrote favorably about the series in the context of Sherlock Holmes adaptations on American radio: "After several seemingly barren years, the Americans came to the fore again when, in 1998, writer and director Jim French added the Great Detective to his syndicated weekly drama series Imagination Theater. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was, and still is, gloriously reminiscent of the great days of American radio." The Sherlock Holmes Society of London wrote, in a review written for the publication of the scripts by Jim French, that the series is "gratifyingly reminiscent of the days when listeners tuned in every week to hear Rathbone and Bruce as Holmes and Watson. The main difference is that IT’s Watson, played by Lawrence Albert, is not only brave and loyal, but intelligent."[1]
External Link[]
- The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - at Imagination Theatre