Lighting the Pipes

Technical difficulties resolved (we told you they were amateurs!), Bowman and the BFG get back to lighting their pipes with three more stories from "The Return of Sherlock Holmes". First up, the duo cut shapes over "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" and all of its been-here-before atmosphere. They then take a country ride with "The Solitary Cyclist" before concluding Episode 13 by visiting the "Priory School" and chewing the fat over a high-profile disappearance. 

With "The Hound of the Baskervilles" behind them, Bowman and the BFG sit down to discuss the great detective's resurrection; enter "The Return of Sherlock Holmes", starting with "The Adevnture of the Empty House" where readers finally get the chronological follow-up to Holmes' plummet from the Reichenbach falls. Originally intended to be a three-episode show, technical troubles forced Episode 12 to conclude prematurely, quickly after our hosts chopped kindling over "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder", Conan Dolye's second story of "The Return". 

After Sherlock Holmes took the literary plunge over the falls in "The Final Problem", public outcry for his return was strong enough (helped by equally generous offers from publishers) for Conan Doyle to resurrect the fabled detective. Cleverly, Doyle doesn't bring him back to life in linear chronology but through this stand-alone novel, an earlier case from Watson's diary. Bowman and the BFG get into the Halloween spirit with their detailed take on this popular tale, possibly Conan Doyle's most celebrated Holmes narrative.        

Only two stories remain to discuss from Conan Doyle's "Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" and here Bowman and the BFG give full treatment to both. First up is "The Naval Treaty", one of Doyle's supposed personal favourites and longest story. Secondly, "The Final Problem" and the great issues of Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes' death are put under the spotlight. 

Here, four stories go under the microscope as Scott and Josh light their pipes and discuss the further Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Your hosts bow to "The Reigate Squires", straighten out the mystery of "The Crooked Man", apply some bedside manner to "The Resident Patient" and try to translate the workings of the "The Greek Interpreter". 

In Episode 8, Bowman and the BFG follow Sherlock and Watson to Birmingham in "The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk", meet his university pal and a tale of mutiny in "The Gloria Scott" and get all geometric in "The Musgrave Ritual". This conversation covers the fourth, fifth and sixth story in "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes".  

Given the explosive popularity of his "Adventures", it was a no-brainer for Conan Doyle to revive his titular hero in a second collection of serialised stories for "The Strand". First out of the gate for "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" is "The Adventure of Silver Blaze", which finds Holmes and Watson on location in Dartmoor. This famous case is followed by the graphic tale of revenge, "Adventure of the Cardboard Box". Scott and Josh throw their full plot-spoiling, feature-analysing selves at both stories before closing shop on Episode 7 with a look at "The Adventure of the Yellow Face". 

Episode 6 sees Bowman and the BFG share their thoughts on the final three stories of Doyle's "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes". Lively discussion on the growing influence of America colours "The Noble Bachelor", while a royal bank loan brings ropy collateral damage in "The Beryl Coronet". The collection (and conversation) concludes with the imposing sway of the "Copper Beeches". 

In this instalment, Josh and Scott sit down to examine tales 7, 8 and 9 from Conan Doyle's "Adventures". Starting with the yuletide setting of "The Blue Carbuncle", the duo trade views on jewel theft before moving on to evaluate the highs and lows of the famous "Speckled Band". The gothic features and deceptively simple plot of "The Engineer's Thumb" round off the discussion.  

Discussions on "The Boscombe Valley Mystery", "The Five Orange Pips" and "The Man With the Twisted Lip" mark Bowman and the BFG's second foray into the stories of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes".