Archive Update: Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow (BBC Radio 4)

1. Progress Metrics & Inventory Milestone

This report records the complete, grounded transcription and update from the post-1985 dated catalog inventory.

• Total Post-1985 Dated Targets (PR #5460): 5,407
• Completed & Verified Grounded: 98 (90 previously + 8 this update)
• Remaining in Post-1985 Corpus: 5,309

2. Highlights

Every synopsis follows the strict 100–180 character standard (story-first, dramatic action, high factual density, zero assistant boilerplate):

1. Sherlock Holmes: Wisteria Lodge (1994-01-05)

• Synopsis:

  After an overnight guest awakes to find his host murdered and the household vanished, Sherlock Holmes uncovers a deadly vendetta tied to a fugitive South American dictator.

• Background: Dramatized by Bert Coules and directed by Patrick Rayner for BBC Radio 4; stars Clive Merrison, Michael Williams, Dominic Letts (Inspector Baynes), and David King.

2. Sherlock Holmes: The Cardboard Box (1994-01-12)

• Synopsis:

  When an elderly spinster receives a package containing two severed human ears packed in salt, Sherlock Holmes deduces a tragic tale of marital betrayal and nautical vengeance.

• Background: Dramatized by Roger Danes and directed by Patrick Rayner; guest stars Kevin Whately as Jim Browner and Stephen Thorne as Inspector Lestrade.

3. Sherlock Holmes: The Red Circle (1994-01-19)

• Synopsis:

  Consulted by an anxious landlady whose secretive boarder communicates solely via window candle signals, Sherlock Holmes intervenes in a deadly feud against a ruthless secret society.

• Background: Dramatized by Peter Ling and directed by Enyd Williams; stars Joan Sims as landlady Mrs. Warren and Ronald Herdman as Inspector Gregson.

4. Sherlock Holmes: The Bruce-Partington Plans (1994-01-26)

• Synopsis:

  When a government clerk is found dead on the London Underground tracks carrying classified submarine blueprints, Sherlock Holmes must track down the missing plans before foreign spies flee.

• Background: Dramatized by Bert Coules and directed by Enyd Williams; stars John Hartley as Mycroft Holmes and Donald Douglas as Colonel Valentine Walter.

5. Sherlock Holmes: The Dying Detective (1994-02-02)

• Synopsis:

  Apparently dying from an incurable tropical disease contracted on a case, a delirious Sherlock Holmes summons a treacherous plantation owner to 221B Baker Street to extract a confession.

• Background: Dramatized by Robert Forrest and directed by Patrick Rayner; guest stars Edward Petherbridge as Culverton Smith and Alex Jennings as Victor Savage.

6. Sherlock Holmes: The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax (1994-02-09)

• Synopsis:

  Investigating the European disappearance of an aristocratic spinster, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson race against an unscrupulous con man to prevent a horrifying burial alive.

• Background: Dramatized by Peter Ling and directed by Enyd Williams; features Jack Klaff as Philip Green and Peter Wickham as Holy Peters.

7. Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Foot (1994-02-16)

• Synopsis:

  Convalescing in Cornwall, Sherlock Holmes investigates the horrific madness and death that overtook a family playing cards, testing an exotic poison that nearly claims his own life.

• Background: Dramatized by Bert Coules and directed by Patrick Rayner; stars Patrick Allen as Dr. Leon Sterndale and Geoffrey Beevers as Reverend Roundhay.

8. Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow (1994-02-23)

• Synopsis:

  On the eve of World War I, an undercover agent posing as an Irish-American informant outwits a master German spymaster, unmasking himself as the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes.

• Background: Dramatized by Bert Coules and directed by Enyd Williams; concludes the 1994 series with Holmes's wartime espionage triumph before retiring to Sussex.