The Baker Street Boys
GenreMystery
Based onCharacters created by Arthur Conan Doyle
Written byRichard Carpenter
Anthony Read
Directed byMarilyn Fox
Michael Kerrigan
StarringJay Simpson
Debbie Norris
Suzi Ross
Adam Woodyatt
David Garlick
Damion Napier
Roger Ostime
Hubert Rees
Stanley Lebor
Pat Keen
Theme music composerDavid Epps
Alan Roper
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes8
Production
ProducersPaul Stone
Anthony Gruner
Running time25 mins
Production companyBBC
Original release
NetworkBBC
Release8 March (1983-03-08) –
1 April 1983 (1983-04-01)

The Baker Street Boys is a British television series made by the BBC and first shown in 1983.[1] The series recounts the adventures of a gang of street urchins living in Victorian London who assist the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes in solving crimes and find themselves tackling cases of their own.[1]

Production

Anthony Read planned out the show's format.[1] Read had previously been a script editor and writer on the 1965 Sherlock Holmes series starring Douglas Wilmer.[1] He claimed to have long wondered what the Irregulars got up to when not in the service of Sherlock Holmes[1] and the series deals with this subject.[1]

Although Holmes was always absent (explained on-screen by his being too busy working on another case, being held captive by Professor Moriarty, or confined to bed by illness), Dr. Watson was always around to assist the Irregulars when necessary.

Holmes was only ever seen obliquely[1] (Roger Ostime provided the character's voice) while Dr. Watson, Inspector Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson all featured more prominently.[1]

The part of Professor Moriarty was portrayed by Colin Jeavons, who would later go on to play Inspector Lestrade in the acclaimed Granada adaptation.

Cast

Starring

  • Jay Simpson as Wiggins
  • Damion Napier as Beaver
  • Adam Woodyatt as Shiner
  • David Garlick as Sparrow
  • Debbie Norris as Queenie
  • Suzi Ross as Rosie

Recurring

Episodes

Eight episodes were broadcast:[1]

# Original airdate Title
1 8 March 1983 "The Adventure of the Disappearing Dispatch Case, Part 1"
2 11 March 1983 "The Adventure of the Disappearing Dispatch Case, Part 2"
3 15 March 1983 "The Ghost of Julian Midwinter, Part 1"
4 18 March 1983 "The Ghost of Julian Midwinter, Part 2"
5 22 March 1983 "The Adventure of the Winged Scarab, Part 1"
6 25 March 1983 "The Adventure of the Winged Scarab, Part 2"
7 29 March 1983 "The Case of the Captive Clairvoyant, Part 1"
8 4 April 1983 "The Case of the Captive Clairvoyant, Part 2"

VHS release

In 1985, the BBC released 4 episodes from the series on VHS video. They were edited into two 48-minute-long episodes.

The two stories featured were "The Adventure of the Disappearing Dispatch Case" (from Episodes 1 and 2) and "The Adventure of the Winged Scarab" (from Episodes 5 and 6).

Books

Seven books based on the TV series have been published to date:

Title Author Date Publisher ISBN
The Baker Street Boys Brian N. Ball 1983 BBC/Knight Books ISBN 978-0-3403-3300-6
The Baker Street Boys: The Case of the Disappearing Detective Anthony Read 2005 Walker Books Ltd ISBN 978-1-84428-961-5
The Baker Street Boys: The Case of the Captive Clairvoyant Anthony Read 2006 Walker Books Ltd ISBN 978-0-7445-7016-8
The Baker Street Boys: The Case of the Ranjipur Ruby Anthony Read 2006 Walker Books Ltd ISBN 978-1-4063-0088-8
The Baker Street Boys: The Case of the Limehouse Laundry Anthony Read 2007 Walker Books Ltd ISBN 978-1-4063-0341-4
The Baker Street Boys: The Case of the Stolen Sparklers Anthony Read 2008 Walker Books Ltd ISBN 978-1-4063-0342-1
The Baker Street Boys: The Case of the Haunted Horrors Anthony Read 2009 Walker Books Ltd ISBN 978-1-4063-0343-8
The Baker Street Boys: The Case of the Racehorse Ringer Anthony Read 2012 Walker Books Ltd ISBN 978-1-4063-3524-8

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Barnes, Alan (2002). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. pp. 28–31. ISBN 1-903111-04-8.
  2. ↑ Hardy, Phil (1997). The BFI Companion to Crime. A&C Black. p. 171. ISBN 9780304332151.
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