The Baker Street Babes

What adaptation of the canon do the Baker Street Babes consider the greatest Sherlockian film of all time? Which movie weaves the best villain and a long-lost member of the Holmes family into a single immaculate tapestry known as "Thorpe"? Is it true that each and every film would be substantially improved with the addition of mechanized min-T-rexes? And which actor to play Sherlock Holmes provides both the smallest stature and the biggest presence of any to date, despite doing so with both hands wedged firmly behind his back?   Lyndsay and Maria answer these questions and far more in a stunning new interview with Lyndsay's fiance Nicholas Anderson, the founder of the shatteringly unique new society (it is NOT a scion, we learn) The Knights of Thorpe. Discover its origins, how to become a Thorpe yourself, ways to revere the Sacred Film, and rejuvenate your love of Sherlockiana in the most reverential—and perhaps unexpected—way possible. Welcome to Episode #89, Live & Local from the 2023 BSI Weekend in NYC: The Grand High Thorpe! The Bylaws of The Knights of Thorpe 1. The KoT shall be open to all regardless of gender expression or sexuality. 2. Membership shall be in perpetuity, unless it is decided that a member has been engaged in harassment, assault, or other unseemly behavior as decided by a majority of the Grand/Great/Spiffy Thorpes. 3. All members shall be invested with the name of Thorpe. 4. The Knights shall further the cause of finding the joy in the Sherlockian canon and expanded canon. 5. Toasts to Thorpe shall be often, vigorous, and encouraged. 6. A KoT shall not be allowed to specify which Thorpe they are toasting. 7. Toasts shall also be encouraged regarding unsung heroes of the canon, ie: bees, Mrs Hudson's tea set, unnamed dock workers, etc. 8. Meetings shall be. 9. Unless meetings don't happen. 10. Membership shall be decided based on uniqueness of the application, and arbitrated by the Grand High Thorpe. 11. The Grand High Thorpe shall be the longest serving member of the KoT, unless they don't want to, then it shall fall to whoever receives nomination from the Great and Spiffy High THORPES. 12. Grand/Great/Spiffy High Thorpes can be removed from office if unable or unwilling to perform their duties as decided by unanimous vote of the other two. 13. Grand High Thorpe may also retire; they will still be members but will surrender seniority in matters of election to office of Grand High Thorpe. 14. Anyone who had involvement in the Sacred Film shall be considered members, especially the revered Ben Syder, Gareth David-Lloyd, and of course Dominic Keating. 15. The Nemesis shall be referred to by his true name, Robert. 16. Articles may be amended or added by majority vote of G/G/S Thorpe. Thorpe!

Yes, it's been a decade since the airing of BBC Sherlock's "A Study in Pink." And while time has absolutely no meaning in the age of COVID, it has been an extraordinary ten years of memories thanks to the little British show that surprised the world. So we take some time to talk about our memories of the Sherlock fandom and the crazy trajectory of the show, some of your memories, and revisiting the first 221B Con and SherlockeDCC at San Diego Comic Con. Regardless of how you feel about the show, it undoubtedly had an astounding effect on not only the Sherlockian world but on fandom and pop culture as a whole. And so in honor of BBC Sherlock, we present an hour and a half of nostalgia. Enjoy!

The world is a difficult place right now. A place where it's OK to not be OK. However, we do hope you're OK and that maybe some silly talk about "The Solitary Cyclist" and The Diogenes Club as places of social distancing may brighten your spirits. In this episode Maria and Ashley do just that while Curly, Lyndsay, Taylor, Sarah, and Amy check in with all of you, tell you a bit about how we're doing, and that we love you. Sure, it's a bit sappy, a bit silly, and rather giggly... but that's what we do isn't it? We're your friends who chat about Sherlock Holmes with you. And sometimes syphilis. And we've missed you. Music featured: Wandering by Marshall Usinger Stumbling by Michael Vignola

Curly chats with Elinor Gray about her new conference: The Left Coast Sherlockian Symposium. The Left Coast Sherlockian Symposium was created in the vacuum of Sherlock Seattle, and molded in the image of Scintillation of Scions, 221B Con, and other Sherlockian events around the United States. LCSS is a fun and educational weekend of talks, socializing, and friendship in the Pacific Northwest. Join us October 12th & 13th, 2019, for this special left coast event! Check out their website for more information: www.leftcoastsherlock.com

Our Live & Local series are our sit down with a fascinating Sherlockian one-on-one in person chats. This go round Lyndsay sits with Edgar Award nominated Michael Sims about his work, Arthur and Sherlock, as well as some other fascinating Sherlockian tidbits and anecdotes.

We were on Cake Boss! Yes, they gave us an amazing Sherlock Holmes cake for our annual charity ball for wounded veterans during BSI Weekend. And it was amazing. Lyndsay, Tiffany, and Maria sit down and talk about the process, the cake, the ball, and every delicious morsel in between.

BSB Amy and our good friend Chris Zordan discuss everything Irene Adler with a wonderful audience at 221B Con. Who was Irene Adler? Why is she so important to fans even though she only appears in one story? Taking on this larger than life adventuress that bested Sherlock Holmes is something many adaptations (all adaptations?) get kinda wrong. Why is that? They unpack the recent adaptations and their portrayals of Adler, from Rachel McAdam's UPS Service Adler for Moriarty to in Elementary where... spoiler alert... she is Moriarty to Cutty from House, MD.

Join us for our live podcast at 221B Con speaking with the one and only Nancy Springer, author of the Enola Holmes series. Where did Enola come from? What was Nancy's favorite book? Why did Florence Nightingale have 56 white Persian cats? We get the details about the film announcement starring Millie Bobbie Brown from Stranger Things and the ingenious way Nancy Springer researched the Victorian era for the series.   Music: Checkerboard, Jason Donnelly

It's not every day you find an entire re-creation of 221B Baker Street... it's even rarer when that re-creation is in Los Angeles. Chuck Kovacic is a longtime Sherlockian and utterly devoted to having the most authentic Sherlock Holmes sitting room in the world. The amount of detail and research that has been poured into the room where so many of the stories truly took place is nothing short of astounding.   We had a chat with Chuck about how the sitting room came about, some of the items he has (and how he got them), and how you can visit the sitting room yourself (even online!).

Babe Ardy visits Bonnie MacBird for tea, shortbread, and a discussion of Unquiet Spirits, the second of MacBird's trilogy of Holmes pastiches. Join us to hear about what it's like to write and research a Holmes novel, including tales of location-scouting for books, and visiting whisky distilleries by way of research. We also chat about the historical background for the book and Ardy learns a lot about wine, whisky, and why writing a pastiche is both fun and challenging. Ardy's review of Unquiet Spirits can be found here on the BSB site.   The book is available at Amazon UK, Amazon US, and all good bookshops! The annotations to Unquiet Spirits are here on Bonnie MacBird's website. You can keep up with Bonnie MacBird's work here, on her website.

We interview one of our own this go around as Amy, Sarah, and guest extraordinaire Elinor sit down with Lyndsay Faye about her new short story collection: The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes. The Whole Art of Detection is an amazing group of lost Sherlock Holmes tales. How did she think up the stories? Where did they come from? Does Sherlock Holmes keep a journal? Find out and listen!

We're back! And with a live recorded podcast at 221B Con, our favorite Sherlock Holmes convention. This episode is with Martin Powell, whom you may know from comics or Disney or marvel or children's books or ... y'know... Sherlock Holmes! We chat with him about how Holmes keeps coming back into his life, his amazing friendship with Ray Bradbury, Dracula and Holmes, and we keep mentioning nuns for some reason... 

Join Lyndsay, Tiffany and Ashley as they break down the nerve wracking, adrenaline filled third and final episode of BBC's Sherlock Series Four 'The Final Problem'. We were left perched at the edge of our seats as we watched Sherlock, John, and Mycroft take on the mysterious Euros. All of the events thus far have brought us to this final explosive (literally) showdown. By far the most talked about and debated episodes of the entire series, we do our best to examine the good, the bad and the downright ridiculous. Why don't you join us?

Join Sora, Sarah, Amy, Lyndsay, and Maria for an emotional reaction and discussion of the second episode of Series Four of BBC's Sherlock. 'The Lying Detective' has Sherlock estranged from Dr. John Watson and obsessed over media personality, businessman, and philanthropist Culverton Smith. There's mystery! Killings! Drugs! Lots of anger, lots of emotion, and lots of twists. It's an episode people will be talking about for awhile. As with its predecessor 'The Six Thatchers,' this episode presented excellent performances, but, with a lot more heart in the script. Hailed by some as the best episode of the entire series and others as too dark, it's one that has a lot of opinions raging, ours included.

  (Please note that the episode contains extensive spoilers for The Six Thatchers.)   Ashley, Lyndsay, and Amy react to BBC Sherlock Season 4's opening episode, a complicated international tale with a meta focus and impressive performances.   They dissect the complicated plot and put a magnifying glass on the direction of Sherlock as a whole, questioning Its forward trajectory as a Holmesian adaptation.    Though not our reactors' favorite in terms of story, The Six Thatchers provides plenty to admire in the areas of Rachel Talalay's direction and the cast's stellar interpretations of their characters.   Join us for a look at Sherlock's polarizing and fascinating season opener.       

In this episode Babes Maria, Lyndsay, Amy, and Tiffany take a look at the connections, overlap, and similarities of our favorite consulting detective and the many characters of Shakespeare's creation. From Jeremy Brett to John Barrymore to Jonathan Pryce to Peter O'Toole and Benedict Cumberbatch, many of the actors who played Holmes in their life also played Hamlet. Is there a connection? Is what Baz Luhrman did for William Shakespeare what the BBC did for Sherlock Holmes? We talk about this and more in Sherlock & Shakespeare!

From Pirates of the Caribbean to Supernatural , these ladies have wowed the internet with their incredible parodies. Join us in talking with Hilly and Hannah Hindi, the bloody awesome minds behind The Hillywood Show, in talking about their latest work The Sherlock Parody!

Welcome all to the latest edition of Baker Street Babes Live and Local: New York Public Library Edition! This June, Babe Lyndsay was honored to be a guest panelist for a fascinating discussion of the Holmes mythos at the Mid-Manhattan Library.  Helmed by the erudite and charming hostess of the monthly ASH Wednesday meetings, noted Adventuress and Irregular Susan Rice, the panelists engaged in a rousing discussion of all things Holmes, followed by a sprightly (occasionally very sprightly) audience Q&A. Otto Penzler is a longtime Baker Street Irregular and world-famous editor of mystery fiction.  His brick and mortar store, The Mysterious Bookshop (located in downtown Manhattan) is a Sherlockian's Mecca, and he yearly contributes to the BSB's Daintiest Thing Under a Bonnet Charity Ball.  He is also the editor of Lyndsay's upcoming short story collection, The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes. SJ Rozan, a former architect, is the author of fifteen crime novels and around four dozen short stories.  She is an Irregular, and has won the Edgar, Anthony, Shamus, Macavity, Nero, and Japanese Maltese Falcon Awards, to name but a few.  A tireless volunteer for Mystery Writers of American and Sisters in Crime, SJ is also the former president of the Private Eye Writers of America. Lyndsay Faye is a Baker Street Babe and shameless nerd you can learn more about on www.lyndsayfaye.com if you're not already all too familiar. Hosted by the NYPL and programmed by Mystery Writers of America NY Chapter, please join us for a rollicking conversation regarding All Things Holmes!

Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Baker Street Babes Episode #74! Babes Ashley and Lyndsay both were honored to have presented at the Baker Street Irregulars-sponsored UCLA symposium "Sherlock Holmes: Behind the Canonical Screen" in 2012.  To boot, they were the editors of the book edition, which is now available through BSI Press.  Join them along with colleague and honorary Babe Timothy Greer as they discuss the original conference, the creation of the book, and many of the wonderful iterations of Sherlock Holmes as he has appeared on both the big and small screens. From the press release: "This volume provides a written record of virtually all of the Conference presentations. The work of the 23 contributors, including Sherlockians, academics, and entertainment industry creative talent are all represented here. Lavishly illustrated, this oversized volume will be an essential resource for the student of Sherlockian film and its place in the history of cinema." Featuring the Babes, Mr. Greer, Nicholas Meyer, Rob Doherty, John Landis, the creators of Disney's The Great Mouse Detective, and much more! Buy the book here! To see Lyndsay and Ashley's original presentations including our Q&A, we invite you to follow these links: A Study in Terror vs. Murder by Decree (Ashley's presentation) The Women: Sex and Success in the Canon, Warner Brothers, and BBC's Sherlock (Lyndsay's presentation) Joint Q&A Session

BSB Amy and friend of the podcast Kate chat with author and screenwriter Paul Cornell about his new book Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? and writing for the show Elementary. Read our complete review of the book and join us for thoughts on writing diverse characters, whether or not it really is "always 1895", and why Holmes is the original superhero.