The Final Problem
Short story by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleWikipedia
16
MENTIONS
11
EPISODES
10
PODCASTS
Search complete. 16 mentions across 11 episodes found for "The Final Problem".
Oct 15, 2026
KirstenHOST
Mm-hmm.
MeganHOST
This is the first Sherlock since the final problem where he was thought to have died.
MeganHOST
He and Moriarty were fighting at Reichenbach Falls, and both supposedly died.
KirstenHOST
Mm.
MeganHOST
I don't think I read all...
MeganHOST
I think there's only, like, four full books, and there's a lot of stories, so I definitely haven't read everything.
MeganHOST
When The Final Problem came out, there were people so devastated [laughs] by Sherlock dying-
KirstenHOST
Oh
John HopkinsHOST
Only the dreadful knowledge that Sherlock Holmes is almost certainly gone.
John HopkinsHOST
In 1893, just four years after his creation and after two novels and twenty-four short stories featuring the detective, Doyle calls time on Sherlock Holmes in a story called The Final Problem.
John HopkinsHOST
The public reaction is instant and furious.
John HopkinsHOST
Readers write angry letters to newspapers and to Doyle himself.
speaker_5HOST
The most famous example is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
speaker_5HOST
He grew so exhausted with the burden of writing Sherlock Holmes, he actually felt it was distracting him from his serious historical fiction, that he famously threw Holmes off the Reichenbach Falls in a story called The Final Problem.
speaker_5HOST
He intentionally attempted to kill off his own creation.
speaker_4HOST
He just wanted to be free of him.
AC WilsonHOST
Right.
speaker_1HOST
It was titled The Final Problem, and it was published in the wildly popular Strand Magazine.
AC WilsonHOST
The Final Problem? I mean, he really wasn't being subtle there, was he?
speaker_1HOST
No, not at all.
speaker_1HOST
[laughs] That title was a straight up declaration of intent.
CiCiHOST
He was Sherlock Holmes.
CiCiHOST
And Sir Arthur Conan Doyle actually killed Sherlock Holmes at Reichenbach Falls in The Final Problem in 1893.
CiCiHOST
The readers reacted really badly They reacted badly enough that Doyle actually had to, like, bring the character back.
CiCiHOST
Um, first with, like, kind of like...
Harry BartellHOST
Because Petri took time to bring you good wine.
Harry BartellHOST
Tonight's Sherlock Holmes adventure was written by Dennis Green and Anthony Boucher and was suggested by an incident in Arthur Conan Doyle's story, The Final Problem.
Harry BartellHOST
Music is by Dean Fosler.
Harry BartellHOST
Mr. Rathbone appears through the courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Mr. Bruce through the courtesy of Universal Pictures, where they are now starring in the Sherlock Holmes series.
David TimsonHOST
We should recall that only when he was approached by clients who were struggling financially did he waive his fee.
David TimsonHOST
Without doubt, The Adventure of the Final Problem is the most controversial Sherlock Holmes story Conan Doyle ever wrote, for it is in this tale that Conan Doyle ruthlessly kills off the great detective.
David TimsonHOST
The shock on the unsuspecting reading public was profound.
David TimsonHOST
Young men besieged the offices of the Strand Magazine wearing black armbands.
Harry BartellHOST
Because Petri took time to bring you good wine.
Harry BartellHOST
Tonight's Sherlock Holmes adventure was written by Dennis Green and Anthony Boucher and was suggested by an incident in Arthur Conan Doyle's story, The Final Problem.
Harry BartellHOST
Music is by Dean Fosler.
Harry BartellHOST
Mr. Rathbone appears through the courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Mr. Bruce through the courtesy of Universal Pictures, where they are now starring in the Sherlock Holmes series.
Lindsay GrahamHOST
It's a formula that makes for great stories, thrilling mysteries, and now fantastic podcasts.
Lindsay GrahamHOST
The Hound of the Baskervilles is the first story featuring Sherlock Holmes written after his apparent death in the earlier story, The Final Problem.
Lindsay GrahamHOST
Its massive success brought the famous detective back permanently, and in the episode we're sharing today from Noiser, the book is narrated by acclaimed British actor Hugh Bonneville.
Lindsay GrahamHOST
It's a riveting performance of a captivating story, and I hope you enjoy.
speaker_3ADVERTISER
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Hugh BonnevilleNARRATOR
[Instrumental music] I'm Hugh Bonneville, and welcome to The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part One.
Hugh BonnevilleNARRATOR
When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes in The Final Problem, he believed that he and his readers had seen the last of the great detective.
Hugh BonnevilleNARRATOR
Doyle was looking forward to working on other projects, but his most devoted fans had difficulty letting Holmes go.
Mark LavonierHOST
Now time for an episode from the NBC run of Sherlock Holmes from 1955, with actors Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson in the adventure of the Golden Ponsonet, one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 56 short stories and part of the 13 that were collected in the 1905 book, The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
Mark LavonierHOST
which was a big deal for fans at the time, as Doyle had essentially killed Holmes off in the 1893 story The Final Problem, making this collection a big part of the relaunch of Sherlock Holmes in the public eye.
Mark LavonierHOST
This next broadcast is from April 3, 1955, on NBC.
speaker_10SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, with Sir John Gielgud as Sherlock Holmes and Sir Ralph Richardson as our storyteller,
Ralph RichardsonSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Dr. James Watson.
Ralph RichardsonSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
It was a wild, tempestuous night.
18 MINS LATER
Jan MinerSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
It is not for me to give you away.
speaker_17SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
I have enough already upon my soul since I crossed the threshold of this cursed house.
1 more episode mentions The Final Problem.
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