Agatha Christie Ordeal by Innocence

[buddhasbelly]

Is it just me or is anyone else really excited to watch this tonight?

So glad they reshot this so we can enjoy it

Oh dear God, that was awful! I've just read the book and it was way better. I did like the dresses though.

Finally got round to watching the last episode and I’m hugely disappointed. I haven’t read the book in years but I listened to a very faithful radio adaptation very recently and I love the twist - clever, ironic and satisfying. Also Calgary has a point to him in the book and gets to do some detecting.

I hope she never adapts Towards Zero or Crooked House. They're really psychologically fascinating.

You're safe with Crooked House, there was a new adaption earlier this year.

You're safe with Crooked House, there was a new adaption earlier this year

It was Julian Fellowes wasn't it? So presumably reasonably faithful.

I've just finished Endless Night which would work really well on television and is dark enough anyway that it doesn't need messing around. The Crooked House is quite dark too.

I remember the film of Endless Night from years ago - Hayley Mills and Hywel Bennett in the main roles.

Ha, I just read Endless Night at the weekend for the first time, and also thought it would work well for TV, plus I never feel as attached to the later Christies so I wouldn't mind it being 'adapted' by Ms Phelps.

Towards Zero is one of my favourite Christies though, and deserves a really good adaptation. Would love to see it done well.

Very disappointed with this. No need to change the murderer, it was much better as written.

ITV did Towards Zero as a "Marple" even though Miss Marple isn't in the book. They changed a few things, I didn't like it much.

Really?! I'm glad that passed me by! I thought the ITV Marple looked crap from the get go, so haven't seen any of them .

I watched on of the first ones, stupidly thinking it would be on par with Poirot, how wrong I was.

The writing brief for Marple must state you have to stay as far away from the source material as possible.

They did Endless Night as a Marple a few years back - shoehorned Marple in as she doesnt appear in the book. The lead characters were really wooden so it was very disappointing.

In general though I think the ITV Marple and Poirot are high quality - great casts and production and they stick fairly faithfully to AC's plots

I thought the Poirots were faithful but the Marples .......no . By the pricking of my thumbs really aggravated me , so much so DH forbade me to watch it in his presence because I was shouting so much at the screen .

I've never really been into murder mysteries before, and I read a lot. This series did spark something. What would any of you recommend book wise? A.C. Or anyone else?

The ITV Marples are dire - or at least the ones I've seen. I've not forgiven them for utterly destroying Sleeping Murder, my favourite Jane Marple story.

Joan Hickson did it SO much better.

The Joan Hickson Miss Marples were good. It only started going off piste with Geraldine McEwan.

The Joan Hickson series was very close to the books, but the Geraldine McEwen episodes were like silly send-ups, and the Julia Mackenzie ones just slightly better. David Suchet's Poirot was the perfect portrayal for me.

The David Suchet Poirots and Joan Hickson Miss Marples were what got me into Agatha Christie as a teen. I picture both of them when I read the books!

I've finally caught up and kind of wish I hadn't bothered. The writing and directing was overwrought and lacking impact. I won't be watching The ABC Murders if Sarah Phelps adapts it - I don't think she's untalented but as I said earlier she's best suited to writing episodes of EastEnders.

And my God I'm bored with Bill Nighy and Anna Chancellor playing very similar characters again and again and again.

By the pricking of my thumbs really aggravated me , so much so DH forbade me to watch it in his presence because I was shouting so much at the screen

I actually threw a banana at the screen 15 minutes in. Unbelievable tripe.

The earlier Poirots are quite faithful. The last few seemed to have been inspired by the Marple reboot and veered off in all directions. Sadly it included one of my favourites.

Rereading Ordeal by Innocence at the moment!

Didn't they add James Bond and Ian Fleming to a Caribbean mystery?

Sadly it included one of my favourites.

Appointment with death?

I thought they made "Taken at the Flood" better, the book is weird and ends with Poirot helping a woman hide her strangulation marks and reunit with the husband that tried to kill her, because she's a wren and they want too much excitement in life.

The David Suchet movie end with her going off to see the world.

I actually keep all the Joan Hickson Miss Marples on my kitchen sky box , and have her reading all the Marple novels on Audible as well . She is Jane Marple as far as I’m concerned.

I remember Geraldine McEwan saying in an interview somewhere that she had never read a single one of the novels , so no surprise really that she was dreadful . Julia McKenzie was better , but hampered by dreadful storylines .