Agatha Christie's Marple: Series 4 (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)Series 4 of the controversial "Marple" series from Granada/ITV brings us a new Miss Marple, reconceived from the previous seasons, now played by Julia McKenzie. McKenzie's Marple is not as frilly as the classic Joan Hickson or as bohemian as Geraldine McEwan's portrayal. This is a more intellectual, no-nonsense Marple. She wears 3 suits, unadorned and straightforward. And I only saw her knit once. Miss Marple seems less a little old lady and more someone's all-knowing aunt or governess, always ready with whatever is needed and possessed of a strong sense of justice. These episodes avoid the stylization that some previous seasons embraced. Like the new Miss Marple, Series 4 is forthright and conventional in its scripts and production design.
"Marple" has had no qualms about departing from Agatha Christie's books: rewriting action, characters, even the motives and identity of the culprits, and appropriating other of Christie's novels for the spinster detective. Continuing in that tradition, "Murder is Easy" and "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?", both non-Marple books, have inspired episodes this season. Sometimes rewrites seem only to make the films more salacious, and, although there was never a premium on plausibility or coherence in Christie's novels, the rewrites have tended not to improve matters, often creating solutions that are quite ridiculous. Marple purists will not like that. But I have noticed that the character writing gains more depth the further it gets from its source.
Ultimately, it's difficult to say how Miss Marple should be adapted for a modern audience. Purists may prefer Joan Hickson's more faithful portrayal from the 1980s. Others, like myself, find Hickson's Marple dreadfully dull but lament this series' tendency to careen full throttle into burlesque. And, if the writers are going to rewrite Christie's stories, could they not improve upon the solutions instead of making them more ridiculous? Unlike Poirot, Marple does not have the distinct visual characteristics of the detective or the interwar milieu to latch onto. It has an elderly lady in gloves and a hat. In the past, this led the producers to toss sexuality into the mix at every turn and experiment with heavy stylization, usually with poor results ("The Moving Finger" being an exception).
Christie wrote her Marple novels and stories 1927-1971, but the creators of this television series wisely chose to set it in the 1950s, giving it a distinct look and grounding Miss Marple in a particular time. The filmmakers have seemingly tried every trick they could think of to make "Marple" interesting and relevant to a contemporary audience. Often those efforts have been laid on rather too thick. My own suggestion would be to capitalize on the post-War prosperity, conformity, and hypocrisy of the 1950s. That decade shares much in common with the 1990s and 2000s. Miss Marple is a woman who has seen the Jazz Age, two global depressions, and two world wars. She's not easily fooled by a bright, respectable façade. Create a subtext along those lines that would comment on our own time without being obviously anachronistic or straying far from the original plots.
After watching "Marple" struggle to find its focus for four seasons, those are my 2 cents on the subject. I really don't know how to rate the series. I give it 4 stars, because Julia McKenzie's Miss Marple is personable, sharp, and fun to watch. Some viewers find that she doesn't have enough character, serving more as a device than a detective. But wasn't Geraldine McEwan's Marple irritating and vaguely sinister? If it's not one thing, it's another. The series lacks a cogent vision. Oddly, the first episode this season is adorned with completely superfluous location subtitles. It's one of those things. These are the episodes in Series 4:
"A Pocket Full of Rye"'s killer takes inspiration from the nursery rhyme. Rex Fortescue, president of Consolidation Investments, dies at his office, apparently of poison. In the pocket of his suit, the police find a handful of rye. Inspector Neele (Matthew Macfadyen) interviews the family at their country home, Yewtree Lodge: the deceased's wayward wife Adele (Anna Madeley), eldest son Percyval (Ben Miles), who believed his father's mental health threatened the business, estranged son Lancelot (Rupert Graves), just back from Africa, neurotic daughter-in-law (Liz White), daughter Elaine (Hattie Morahan), who cannot contain her delight at Rex's passing, and Gladys (Rose Heiney), the simple chambermaid previously employed by Miss Marple. Gladys is having trouble getting on in the world.
"Murder Is Easy" is adapted from a non-Marple novel and heavily rewritten. Miss Marple meets Lavinia Pinkerton (Sylvia Syms) on a London-bound train. Pinkerton is headed for Scotland Yard to report two murders in her home village of Wychwood. "Murder is easy," she says, "so long as no one thinks it's murder." She promptly meets her death in Victoria Station. Miss Marple travels to Wychwood and makes the acquaintance of Luke Fitzwilliam (Benedict Cumberhatch), formerly a police detective in Malaya. Together Miss Marple and Fitzwilliam make the rounds of the town's close-knit population in their investigation, as more of the population meets its end. Perhaps it is the rewrite, but the characters seem more authentic, emotions real, and with more dimension than usual.
Miss Marple's glamorous old friend Ruth (Joan Collins) asks the detective to look in on her sister Carrie Louise after a fire struck her home in "They Do It With Mirrors". Carrie Louise is a committed philanthropist who runs a reform facility for criminals on her Stoneygates estate with her third husband Lewis Serrocold (Brian Cox) and daughters Gina (Emma Griffiths Malin) and Mildred (Sarah Smart) from her first marriage. With a staff that seems a bit daft, two stepsons with questionable intentions, a group of convicts on their doorstep, and an amateur theatrical in rehearsal, there is a lot of misdirection to be overcome when the antics turn to murder. In contrast with previous episodes, the police detective Inspector Curry (Alex Jennings) seems pretty sharp.
"Why Didn't They Ask Evans?", inspired by the non-Marple novel, has Miss Marple helping the young detectives along and keeping them out of trouble. Bobby Attfield (Sean Biggerstaff) finds a dying man on a cliff who says as he expires, "Why didn't' they ask Evans?" When Bobby is called testify at an inquest that doesn't exist, an adventurous friend, Miss Frankie Derwent (Georgia Moffett), proposes that they investigate the murder themselves. But Miss Marple, who is visiting Bobby's mother, has her eye on the young duo. When Frankie proves too gutsy for her own good, Miss Marple follows her to Castle Savage, home of a quarrelling and rather sinister family whom the dead man recently visited. The plot is exotic and implausible. It suffers further from a cast of annoying characters.

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Starring Julia McKenzie in four new thrilling mysteries
Donning the trademark tweeds as if they were made for her, the marvelous Julia McKenzie (Cranford, Notes on a Scandal) assumes the Marple mantle in four gripping new adaptations of Christie mysteries. With her ladylike manners and modest appearance, Dame Agatha\'s spinster sleuth blends into the background of fashionable society. However, her razor-sharp mind and no-nonsense view of human nature make her a formidable foe to evildoers, cracking the cases that even the professionals can\'t solve.
Picturesque English scenery, grand estates, witty scripts, and lavish post-WWII period detail provide the perfect frame for "frighteningly fun mysteries" (Entertainment Weekly). The stellar supporting cast includes Matthew Macfadyen, Rupert Graves, Anna Chancellor, Jemma Redgrave, Helen Baxendale, Brian Cox, Prunella Scales, Warren Clarke, Natalie Dormer, Rafe Spall, Kenneth Cranham, Samantha Bond, and Joan Collins. "Totally, unexpectedly fun" --E! Online.
THE MYSTERIES

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Agatha Christie's Marple: Series 1 (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)I watched the new Miss Marple series, excited to see what Geraldine McEwan would do with the role. Unfortunately, I don't like what they've done with this latest batch of Christie's. Mrs. McEwan is a fine actress and she brings a "fluffiness" to the role that is missing from the Hickson version. Still, there is too much tampering with the plotlines to suit me. There are significant changes made in a couple of the stories, most notably in "The Body in the Library" so let the buyer beware. This isn't a minor change either as it involves the resolution of the case. They also add an odd, on-going storyline involving Miss Marple's own past love life that is simply not part of the books and isn't even close to being in keeping with the character of Miss Marple. As Agatha Christie is arguably the most acclaimed and accomplished mystery writer that ever lived, these changes were pretty outrageous. Her books stand the test of time and need no updating simply to satisfy 21st century ideas. I was surprised at this as the British are usually the ones who can be depended upon to leave good stories alone. So, if you just want a few hours of light entertainment, have at it, but if you're an Agatha Christie purist, you won't like this dvd so save your money.

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She's back! Proper, demure, and sharp as a tack, Agatha Christie's beloved Miss Marple returns to the limelight in sparkling new adaptations of four classic Christie novels. Geraldine McEwan (The Magdalene Sisters, Mapp & Lucia) is the ladylike sleuth, a wispy senior citizen who blows the police professionals out of the water with her keen insight and shrewdly analytical nature. Fearless and uncommonly wise to the worst in human nature, Marple has lived a long time-and she's paid attention. As seen on the PBS Mystery! series, these lavish 21st-century productions are rich in post-WWII period atmosphere and delicious Christie wit, with star-studded casts that include Joanna Lumley, Derek Jacobi, Tara Fitzgerald, Ian Richardson, Janet McTeer, Zok Wanamaker, Simon Callow, James Fox, John Hannah, and Celia Imrie. The Mysteries: Murder at the Vicarage The Body in the Library A Murder Is Announced 4:50 From Paddington DVD special features include an hour-long behind-the-scenes featurette with cast and crew interviews, a history of Miss Marple adaptations, a photo gallery and more.

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Agatha Christie's Marple: Series 2 (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Sleeping Murder seems to refer mostly to what was done to the original book. Obviously considering Christie's mysteries too mannerly, the scriptwriters invented a troupe of actors who sleep around with each other, then changed the step-sister in the plot to a real sister so some incest could be added; by the time the heroine breaks off her engagement to her fiance, it is a mild denoument, but at least consistent.
In By the Pricking of My Thumbs, Miss Marple is injected into a plot where she is totally unncessary; and rather than the happy, intelligent couple we know from Christie's books, we are presented with Tommy as a bumbling, insensitive beaurocrat and Tuppence as a depressed boozer (with some unexpected company, since the local clergyman is also an alcoholic, of course).
The Moving Finger is much better in plot alignment, even though it opens showing the hero writhing in bed with various women (thankfully, only one at a time). But here the costume production details were messed up pretty badly: the (very) busty governess is about to explode from the low-cut cocktail dress she is wearing early in the morning as she oversees her young charges (in which any sudden movement would certainly have added graphically to their education); and when the hero's sister is shown seated at a formal dinner party eating with her gloves on, I laughed aloud; who made this episode, 21st century Americans?
All of this is a real shame, since a lot of thought and money obviously went into the period detail, and the acting is top-notch; but the representation of 1950's behavior is so unrealistic that it counteracts all the effort put into the visualization of the small towns and their surroundings. I've added an additional star from my earlier review, since the producers really did apparently try to give us 1952 England; but the production was forced to be so post-modern friendly, that they lost the originality and reality that would have made these episodes much better editions.
Had they considered a series focusing Miss Marple's sophisticated nephew, with new story lines, it might have been fascinating; but trying to hang onto some thin thread of the original plots, while taking all the chracters from 2006 and putting them into period settings, was not a convincing combination.

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As seen on the PBS Mystery! series Four all-new, full-length mysteries bring you a Miss Marple like no other. Geraldine McEwan (Vanity Fair, The Magdalene Sisters) returns as the spinster sleuth, as shrewd and sagacious as ever. Breathing new life into Agatha Christie’s novels, these intricately plotted and thoroughly engaging whodunits feature the richly detailed settings, lush cinematography, and imaginative screenplays that won Series 1 overwhelming critical acclaim and an Emmy® nomination. McEwan imbues Miss Marple with a kindly sparkle and sly wit that prove "irresistible," raves TV Guide. "Not your mother’s Miss Marple," says the Associated Press. Sterling supporting casts that include Anthony Andrews, Michael Brandon, James D’Arcy, Geraldine Chaplin, Timothy Dalton, Frances de la Tour, Sophia Myles, Ken Russell, and Greta Scacchi further enrich this 21st century celebration of Agatha Christie’s most beloved heroine.

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Agatha Christie's Marple Series 3 (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Now, I have to say right off, that, even though I appreciated Geraldine McEwen's portrayal much more, the scriptwriters had her saying the most hilariously inane things--unfortunately the viewer is tempted to laugh in all the wrong places, despite her excellent performance. No one on the production staff seemed the least bit concerned with historical or literary accuracy. It makes you sigh for what could have been.
Also ironic is the appearance of perhaps an anti-clergy slant, since Miss Marple was the daughter of an Anglican vicar. Earlier we saw at least one alcoholic rector, and now we have presented to us a), a society matron in the book Nemesis changed into a murderously obsessed nun for television; and b), a character changed from the kind, gentle Canon Pennyfather in the novel of At Bertram's Hotel to a crazed Nazi war criminal masquerading as an Anglican priest.
Nor is the QUIET, efficiently run establishment of understated elegance in the novel anywhere to be seen; it is a place of utter chaos invaded by an American jazz band (which Miss Marple seems to relish; she's almost snapping her finger to the beat--"Yeah man"). Yikes! By changing and inventing all the characters for the TV series while keeping some basic thread of the original plot, the viewer gets the worst of both worlds: Everything but the ending is now a surprise.
Which brings us to the most hilarious bit of all: In Bertram's Hotel, when Miss Marple asks Jane, the chambermaid, if she and the chief inspector are going to get married after discovering romance, the young woman says, "Oh no, we're just going to live together; that's how it's done these days" (remember, this is 1952); and even more roll-on-the-floor funny is Miss Marple's reply: "That's not what I would have done at your age, but I probably would now."
Oh yes. Little ladylike Miss Marple shacking up with the (not even very handsome) chief inspector. Good lord--where will the scriptwriters go from there? That's the REAL mystery.

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As seen on the PBS Mystery! series Though they might be fooled by her delicate exterior, criminals underestimate Agatha Christie's mild-mannered spinster sleuth at their peril! In the expert care of acclaimed actress Geraldine McEwan (Vanity Fair, The Magdalene Sisters), the beloved Miss Marple takes on new vibrance as a "worldly lady with a past, full of fun and mischief" (London Times). In her golden years, Miss Marple blends into the scenery of her elegant surroundings. All the better to observe the foibles of human nature that lead to evil -- and to surprise one and all when she solves crimes that baffle the professionals. Rich with period detail, these all-new adaptations feature stellar supporting casts, including Richard E. Grant, Amanda Burton, Eileen Atkins, Saffron Burrows, Greg Wise, Martine McCutcheon, Francesca Annis, Peter Davison, Jane Seymour, and Juliet Stevenson. "Spectacular" -- DVD Talk The Mysteries Nemesis Towards Zero At Bertram’s Hotel Ordeal by Innocence DVD SPECIAL FEATURES include photo galleries, Agatha Christie bio, and cast filmographies.

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The Agatha Christie Megaset Collection (Miss Marple / Poirot) (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, elderly spinster from the village of St. Mary Mead, who unmasks even the cleverest killer with her seemingly innocuous "village parallels," and Hercule Poirot, the little Belgian with the many "little grey cells," whom a speck of dust pains more than even a bullet, are among crime fiction's all-time stand-out characters. After multiple other adaptations, some of which, although featuring thespian royalty like Sir Peter Ustinov and Dame Margaret Rutherford, had about as much to do with Christie's originals as Big Ben with the English countryside, they found their perfect personifications in Joan Hickson and David Suchet, the latter moving center-stage from being Inspector Japp to Ustinov's Poirot. And while not entirely faithful to Christie's originals - e.g. Miss Marple's foil Inspector Slack (David Horovitch) and Poirot's associates Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser), Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran) and Chief Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) are inserted in some of the storylines not originally featuring them - all these adaptations have exceptional production values, maintaining the atmosphere of Christie's books with loving detail.
The combination of productions featuring Hickson and Suchet in one set isn't illogical; although I wonder whether a straight "Miss Marple Megaset" wouldn't have made more sense, incorporating the features "The Body in the Library" (1942, BBC adaptation 1984, the first one starring Hickson), "A Murder Is Announced" (1950, BBC adaptation 1985) and "A Pocket Full of Rye" (1953, BBC also 1985), now all contained in a separate 3-disc set. That would've left space for any combination of the much ampler Poirot material in a separate package - but I suspect that'll come anyway, when the last of the shorter episode sets (11 and 12) and the four new movies ("Death on the Nile," "Five Little Pigs," "The Hollow" and "Sad Cypress") are released on region 1 DVDs. As it is, this is still an excellent collection.
Miss Marple:
"Murder at the Vicarage" (1930, BBC adaptation 1986; Christie's first Marple story): Disagreeable Colonel Protheroe is murdered, and both his wife and her lover instantly confess - but actually, half the population of St. Mary Mead would've had a motive.
"The Moving Finger" (1942, BBC adaptation 1985): Lymston village is haunted by poison pen letters; and when people begin to die, again there is no shortage of suspects. But Miss Marple, on a visit to a friend, sees through the killer's cruel game.
"They Do It with Mirrors" (1952, BBC adaptation 1991; a/k/a "Murder with Mirrors"): Inspector Slack's secret hobby provides a vital clue to the ungodly doings at the estate of Miss Marple's old friend Carrie-Louise Serrocold, which Carrie-Louise's third husband has transformed into a reformatory for young criminals.
"4:50 From Paddington" (1957, BBC adaptation 1987; a/k/a "What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!"): Miss Marple and professional housekeeper Lucy Eyelesbarrow investigate the murder of a woman, whom Miss Marple's friend Mrs. McGillicuddy has seen being strangled from a passing train, and whose body must have disappeared somewhere on the grounds of the Crackenthorpe family estate Rutherford Hall.
"The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side" (1962, BBC adaptation 1992; title taken from Tennyson's "Lady of Shalott"): Gossington Hall, erstwhile home to Miss Marple's friend Dolly Bantry, has been sold to ageing Hollywood star Marina Gregg. At a benefit, a local woman is murdered - and much points to Miss Gregg as the intended victim.
"At Bertram's Hotel" (1965; BBC adaptation 1987): Miss Marple deconstructs the all-too-respectable facade of a seemingly venerable London hotel, and the less respectable facade of a notorious society lady.
"A Caribbean Mystery" (1965, BBC adaptation 1989): In a for her unusual West Indian setting, Miss Marple solves the murder of a retired police officer, killed to prevent him from foiling his murderer's even more sinister plans.
"Nemesis" (1971, BBC adaptation 1987; sequel to the above): From his grave, rich Mr. Rafiel - who nicknamed Miss Marple "Nemesis" when meeting her in the Caribbean - sends her on a bus tour of historic homes, to either clear his estranged son of a long-ago murder, or prove him guilty.
"Sleeping Murder" (1976, BBC adaptation 1987; Christie's last Miss Marple mystery): With the old lady's help, newly-weds Giles and Gwenda Reed unravel the mystery behind Gwenda's nightmares about their new home, and a murder occurring there over 20 years earlier.
Poirot:
"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" (1926, TV adaptation 2000): One of Christie's most remarkable mysteries, not least because of its turntable conclusion. Industrialist Roger Ackroyd, squire of King's Abbot, an archetypal English village much like Miss Marple's St. Mary Mead, is found murdered, and Poirot steps out of his retirement to investigate his death - and its connection to that of Ackroyd's widowed friend Mrs. Ferrars.
"Lord Edgware Dies" (1933, TV adaptation 2000, a/k/a "Thirteen at Dinner"): Poirot is asked to help actress Jane Wilkinson, Lady Edgware by marriage, obtain her husband's consent to a divorce; but then Lord Edgware is murdered. Was it the Lady's doing? Poirot is somewhat dazzled, and unfortunately his little gray cells don't work quickly enough to prevent a second murder (of an American actress), and even a third one, of a young playwright ...
"Murder in Mesopotamia" (1936, TV adaptation 2001): One of several stories based on Christie's impressions while accompanying second husband archeologist Sir Max Mallowan to the Middle East; a classic "closed room" riddle: During Poirot's and Hastings's visit to an excavation site near Baghdad, the expedition leader's wife is found murdered - in her room, behind a closed door and closed window, and although nobody has entered the courtyard and staircase leading to her room.
"Evil Under the Sun" (1941, TV adaptation 2001): Likewise features a now classic pattern, in assembling Poirot and all suspects in a hotel on a small island off the English coast with no possibility to leave; thus similar in setup to "And Then There Were None" (1939), where one person after another is killed in the style of the "Ten Little Indians" nursery rhyme, and also to "A Caribbean Mystery."
Also recommended:
The Mysterious Affair at Styles: Hercule Poirot's First Case
Agatha Christie: Five Complete Hercule Poirot Novels - Murder on the Orient Express / Thirteen at Dinner / The ABC Murders / Cards on the Table / Death on the Nile
Murder at the Vicarage: A Miss Marple Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection)
Agatha Christie: Five Complete Miss Marple Novels (Avenel Suspense Classics)
Agatha Christie's Poirot - The Classic Collection
Agatha Christie's Poirot - The Classic Collection, Vol. 2
Miss Marple - 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye)
Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express
Death on the Nile
The Mirror Crack'd

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AGATHA CHRISTIE MEGASET COLLECTIO - DVD Movie

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