Draft:Two Pipe Problems
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| Genre | Comedy Cozy mystery |
|---|---|
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Starring | Richard Briers Stanley Baxter Geoffrey Palmer |
| Written by | Michael Chaplin |
| Directed by | Marilyn Imrie |
| Produced by | Marilyn Imrie |
| Original release | 23 July 2007 – 19 November 2013 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
Two Pipe Problems is a BBC Radio 4 comedy mystery series written by Michael Chaplin and starring Richard Briers, Stanley Baxter and Geoffrey Palmer.
Overview
[edit]The setting is The Old Beeches, a retirement home for actors. Two such inhabitants are William Parnes (Briers/Palmer) and Sandy Boyle (Baxter), who played Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson on television in the 1960s. In between contending with their love-hate relationship, they kill time investigating problems related to their fellow residents.[1] The series features numerous references to the Holmes stories, such as several guest characters being named after minor figures in the original stories (e.g. Trewlawney Hope, Inspector Bradstreet etc.) and the show's title being taken from a quote from The Red-Headed League: "It is quite a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes."
Guest stars included Ken Campbell, Nickolas Grace, Geoffrey Whitehead, Julia McKenzie, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Barry Cryer, Teresa Gallagher, Anne Reid, Honor Blackman, James Fleet, Joanna David, John Sessions, Gordon Kennedy and Stephen Critchlow.
For the final two episodes, Geoffrey Palmer took over as William following Briers's death earlier that year.[2]
Episodes
[edit]Pilot
[edit]| Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23/07/2007 | A Two Pipe Problem | [3][4] |
| 2 | 11/08/2008 | A Streetcar Named Revenge | [5] |
| 3 | 12/08/2008 | The Trusty Valet and the Crusty Butler | [6] |
| 4 | 27/04/2009 | The Wedding | [7] |
| 5 | 28/04/2009 | Have You Come Far? | [8] |
| 6 | 22/06/2010 | Right Old Charlie | [9] |
| 7 | 23/06/2010 | The Memory Man Forgets | [10] |
| 8 | 11/08/2011 | Here Doggie | [11] |
| 9 | 12/08/2011 | The Case of the Missing Meerschaum | [12] |
| 10 | 07/11/2012 | A Rose by Any Other Name | [13] |
| 11 | 14/11/2012 | I Love a Lassie | [14] |
| 12 | 18/11/2013 | I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends | [2] |
| 13 | 18/11/2013 | The House on the Marsh | [15] |
References
[edit]- ^ [Drama on 4 website https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b00jxyrh]
- ^ a b "I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends". BBC Radio. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, A Two Pipe Problem". BBC Radio 4.
- ^ "Two Pipe Problems:Series 1 - British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Two Pipe Problems, A Streetcar Named Revenge". BBC Radio 4.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Two Pipe Problems, The Trusty Valet and the Crusty Butler". BBC Radio 4.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Two Pipe Problems, Episode 1". BBC Radio 4.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Two Pipe Problems, Have You Come Far?". BBC Radio 4.
- ^ "Series 4, Episode 1 - Right Old Charlie". British Comedy Guide.
- ^ "Series 4, Episode 2 - The Memory Man Forgets". British Comedy Guide.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Two Pipe Problems, Here Doggie". BBC Radio 4.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Two Pipe Problems, The Case of the Missing Meerschaum". BBC Radio 4.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Two Pipe Problems, A Rose by Any Other Name". BBC Radio 4.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Two Pipe Problems, I Love a Lassie". BBC Radio 4.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Two Pipe Problems, The House on the Marsh". BBC Radio 4.