Archival Dispatch: Post-1985 Audio Enrichment Batch 11 — Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow (BBC Radio 4)
1. Progress Metrics & Inventory Milestone
This dispatch records the complete, grounded transcription and metadata enrichment of Batch 11 from the post-1985 dated catalog inventory.
- Total Post-1985 Dated Targets (PR #5460): 5,407
- Completed & Verified Grounded: 98 (90 previously + 8 this batch)
- Remaining in Post-1985 Corpus: 5,309
- Batch Scope: All 8 episodes of the 1994 BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of Arthur Conan Doyle's His Last Bow, starring Clive Merrison as Sherlock Holmes and Michael Williams as Dr. John Watson.
- ASR Ladder: Rung 3 (In-house Whisper ASR over canonical archive audio streams).
- Subtitles: 8 synchronized WebVTT caption tracks generated, validated, and published to
subtitles.radioindex.org. - Zero Synthesis Invariant: 100% verified against verbatim audio transcripts.
2. Archival Discoveries & Grounded 1-Sentence Synopses
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)
- UUID:
2fa78abd-f375-4f81-b09f-f24dc81e53b7 - Audio SHA256:
5cbdcb2cd39d89e8372613ebfe353a93f20294a91b0f3cad4a964a7da9810dea - Subtitle SHA256:
89e458324164d72bc86c6020e35dd6fa0b7656475cf297daab27397a854d9eeb - Synopsis (168 chars):
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.
- Archival Discovery: 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)
- UUID:
c50d83b6-0024-4142-95f6-c7b04d7dc8de - Audio SHA256:
642d32edc39cd0be92b5f9004e0091374d12361ba8534be66bacd22fcb44fd52 - Subtitle SHA256:
46a489bf05021cc0a0106fd1b77314ebe0e6092b6750c63acd3a9f8a631be46e - Synopsis (170 chars):
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.
- Archival Discovery: 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)
- UUID:
d99ce412-977e-4e10-b17c-143027937082 - Audio SHA256:
b6f2d7d0e10815cda86bba0968414f1c10b92e75e65d4ee46d42df10c718ea06 - Subtitle SHA256:
e700e035138e896b8abc71346f02fe86e666dafd99fdd8b7953eff65c9abbded - Synopsis (174 chars):
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.
- Archival Discovery: 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)
- UUID:
cedea0dc-869a-47c5-85d9-b2d2a48e581b - Audio SHA256:
1e7a8c1115a862db140d6ebfa64b6cdef737ad6eaf14eda2159913ecb74cff93 - Subtitle SHA256:
0373561e0b9ffdc369ed0083fb7bd4bcf6034b773be4474f5baa9deb7a1c88f7 - Synopsis (176 chars):
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.
- Archival Discovery: 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)
- UUID:
f84dd83f-2620-45a9-99b3-c385a446b842 - Audio SHA256:
c173a33039d5513ff3e61234246533f114a8d0e03afff7992277a5c602f9eb06 - Subtitle SHA256:
39d2ea9ad6296cc45ed468c989b83811aa86724f6f0f84555c05e789004fc98d - Synopsis (175 chars):
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.
- Archival Discovery: 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)
- UUID:
d46caba7-e592-4702-85c8-de52fb4f1852 - Audio SHA256:
99a7f6bf6ae6f8a66e96222df97ccf4d6dd7c2aab5b0ca1bc62b063eaec215d2 - Subtitle SHA256:
1d6293f0236332880fb58c5dd5e07b2ac6f0580cdc21d4add43fc3d0dcc006d1 - Synopsis (171 chars):
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.
- Archival Discovery: 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)
- UUID:
69f95179-7ca7-4d7b-a312-bb48209a2278 - Audio SHA256:
549d94c094eaa8bfcf8eced89b973900b30aca839d777c63f6802101eb6ea44f - Subtitle SHA256:
a4c428d0f71530b1ab16d2ced79456533f3d15ac255971cea865d4b4a657b498 - Synopsis (173 chars):
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.
- Archival Discovery: 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)
- UUID:
a5ca0695-fd96-40f6-88b7-802c72ddb3db - Audio SHA256:
5279a1549c3d6532cac051081ef32c5669b0ece77ec28f055699c909a9a1c781 - Subtitle SHA256:
13c15bb6ea2390cc5ef19983b1c35399b82b556dc2b0f55a6550e328f533f526 - Synopsis (175 chars):
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.
- Archival Discovery: Dramatized by Bert Coules and directed by Enyd Williams; concludes the 1994 series with Holmes's wartime espionage triumph before retiring to Sussex.