The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Collection Volume One

One reviewer here was disappointed that the shows were "so dated," and another complained that the sound quality could have been better. Well, of course the shows are "dated" - they were written, performed and broadcast during (roughly) Word War II, so any comments about War Bonds, etc are bound to "date' the shows. I don't find these as distractions for my family to listen to, they actually help to try to explain what was going on at the time. Furthermore, some of the recordings of the SHERLOCK HOLMES radio shows haven't survived to well after all these years, and there's only so much restoration that can be done on the sound quality.There are some existing shows from the 1939-1946 period that exist in fairly good quality, that are NOT included in these collections - and I wish they were. Rumors abound that a four or five episode version of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (from about c. 1942) exists, but it may be tied up in legal "red tape" with the Edith Meiser Estate. Too bad! What Sherlock Holmes old-time radio fan wouldn't want to have those shows in their collection!In general, all three volumes of these shows are worth having - and compared to recordings I've heard on LP and cassette tape over the years (a good 30 of them), these CDs are very, very good!

Being a Sherlock Holmes fan since the cradle, it's probably unfair of me to rate these stories on CD. On the up side, these made me nostalgic for The Good Old Days although the stories were mostly new to me. On the down side, it took me until the third disc to figure out the CD player in my car has a Skip Forward button that will skip over the Petri Wine commercials and stop exactly on the story dialog where it left off. Both the car player manufacturer AND the CD manufacturer from Amazon impressed me no end on that feature.In my opinion, me not being a book critic, I find the stories entertaining and a nice pass time while I'm driving. If you understand Holmes's methods you may figure out one or two mysteries along the way. It can make driving with a co-pilot (map reader, motel finder) a sort of "who do YOU think did it ?" diversion.

These OTR, old time radio, shows are supposed to be fully restored. They are not. Audio goes up and down, hissing and audible clicks can be heard, audible skips, and unfortunately too much commentary from the creators and their relatives was added. These were originally presented by Petri wine, however I have heard much better audio of these shows from other producers when on cassette, no longer available. I purchased all 3 volumes, same reproduction issues plague all three discs. Are they okay, sure, but not fully restored as described.

Second set of the"New" Adventures I have purchased. These are better as they have a few of the original show's announcers, writer/director types doing a preliminary lead in to the episode before the oridnary Dr. Watson lead in. Some interesting behind the scenes insights from them on various things.Good quality, clean sound, nice cases to protect the discs... cardboard, but not overly tight and no glue to be found. Enjoy!

I bought this when Sirius XM took off my favorite station, Book Radio...I always made sure I was tuned in at the time Sherlock Holmes was playing. The actors in this collection aren't the same as the ones that were on the radio, but I plan on purchasing more collections in the future. The stories are the same even if the actors aren't, so it is a great buy for someone who loves Sherlock Holmes and wants to listen in the car while driving.

Wonderful assortment of Sherlock Holmes old time radio shows. The volume is good, clarity is superb, and of course, it's Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. This was purchased for an oldster who doesn't see so well. It was wonderful to witness a return to younger days.

If you are a fan of old time radio and of the Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce versions of the Conan Doyle stories, you will enjoy this CD. The interpretation of the Holmes and Watson characters by Rathbone and Bruce are classic. In addition, the CD provides the Petri Wine commercials of the period (1945-1946) which adds to enjoyment of this period radio drama.

So much fun to listen to the old radio plays.If it weren't for the awful plugs for products worked into the stories. . . .they're jarring to modern ears but true to the time.

Quite simply these are intended for Sherlock Holmes collectors. The scripts aren't Conan Doyle but are original scripts written by Dennis Green and Anthony Boucher from fragments suggested in the original stories. Admittedly they are fairly thin plots at time but this was radio of nearly 80 years ago with each play written, rehearsed and recorded within a week. Acting aside for a moment I can see why the sponsor's advertising might be annoying and that god awful dramatic organ is hideous but nevertheless it is 'of its time' and in my view authenticates the era in which these plays were recorded. The sound quality isn't digital but perfectly acceptable. There are some interviews and bits of background info that I found interesting which counteract the annoyance of Mr Bartell, the Petri wine salesman - I wonder, do Americans now find the language of their past as embarrassing as we sometimes find our own English? Fortunately I seldom hear 'Golly', 'Crikey' or 'Rather' much as the Americans used 'Swell', 'you betcha' and 'Gee', it all sounds quaint but a little dated now!Anyway all the additional stuff although ok, doesn't add much to the value of this package but the reason I gave this 4 stars was solely down to the 2, the 2 stars Rathbone and Bruce. The strength of their characterisation, particularly if you've watched all the films many times is perfect, they could convincingly carry a plot written by a toddler. I know Watson isn't quite so bumbling in the original books but this emphasises Holmes' superiority and intellect and works particularly well in these radio plays. As I say they're not original Conan Doyle scripts but they nevertheless retain a flavour of the great man, with some wonderful vocal performances, even the distinctly dodgy Indian, west country and London accents add a nostalgic charm. This is now antiquated radio, and much like an old piece of furniture or an old vase that is no longer fashionable we can still appreciate it has history and value and recognise a time when it was de rigueur.

I bought this series expecting the same outstanding quality of storyline, production and acting enjoyed in the immaculate films. To say that I was disappointed on the first two points is an understatement. The acting is as good as ever, although Bruce does tend to mumble incoherently at times. The storylines are weak and the production is annoying. The longer storylines and accessible clues of the films are displaced by extremely short episodes, few decent clues and 'surprise' solutions. The guilty party can sometimes be identified with ridiculous ease by a process of elimination from the sparse number of characters, rather than Holmesian logic. As for the quality of production, we should accept that tastes have changed, but 'dramatic' bursts of organ music and endlessly repeated wine adverts could surely be edited out completely to spare the cringing and annoyance of a modern audience.

For UK radio listeners, hearing the legendary Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce playing the parts they were rightfully famous for, but being interrupted by commercials for wine, and actually talking about said product, is a sobering experience. What was Basil thinking? I suppose things were different over the pond. The sound quality I found a little muffled. I have been a fan of the films since seeing them years ago on TV, but I don't know whether I will listen to all six discs.

there was one short story and about 20 adverts in between. Very disappointing

GREAT SELLER+VALUE