Wednesday, November 24, 2010

A Wary Holmes Companion: Sherlock on the Radio

Cold enough for ya?

It is for me. This is one hardy Alaskan who prefers his Seattle winters gray and wet instead of icy and treacherous. The cold snap and mini-blizzard that's shut down half of Seattle has me abandoning portions of my house to the cold and retreating to a couple of rooms where closed doors and some weatherized windows make baseboard heating adequate.

But there's an upside to all of this. Being housebound is a great opportunity to listen to some radio theatre. I've long been an Old Time Radio enthusiast (read: dork), and these days you can track down thousands of these radio shows for free download.

Given my other interests, you're probably not surprised to learn that I'm a big fan of Sherlock Holmes radio shows, which began while Conan Doyle was still alive and are still produced by both American and British radio producers to this day.

The quality of these shows are variable. My personal favorites are the John Gielgud/Ralph Richardson versions from the 1940s. But here's a link to a charming 1948 adaptation of Conan Doyle's "Christmas Tale" The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle starring John Stanley as Holmes and George Spelvin as Dr. Watson, that I think is just as fun.

Perfect entertainment on a chilly November night!

No comments:

Post a Comment