The ABC Murders

[Carlyrichards]

Anyone watching? I like Rupert Grint in this.

Not sure...

It was certainly not a Poirot! I can just imagine his reaction if murder parties were even suggested to him
However, the backstory was plausible, if entirely wrong for him. It was based on real life events
Poirot himself, of course, was a celebrated and well-known detective at home - it’s inconceivable that Belgium would never have heard of him, he even goes back to solve a case in a later book.

I didn’t recognise Rupert Grint for ages; I did recognise Moaning Myrtle (Shirley Henderson) almost at once.

The S&M and brain tumour were not in the book - he had epilepsy.
The racism Poirot encounters is most definitely in a lot of the books, but underplayed. It’s why Franklin Carmichael chooses Poirot to send his letters to: because he considers him an inferior little foreigner who can’t possibly match him. He says as much at the end.
AC didn’t have to openly state it: her readers would have recognised the attitude as a common one, though many, like AC, would have disapproved.

Thanks, Tanith.
I had wondered why letters were sent at all. It was just the murderer thinking he was so clever and could afford to play around!

In the book, the letters were sent to establish the idea of a serial killer, to hide the actual intended murder, they were sent to an individual rather than to Scotland Yard because it was important that the letter about the third murder should be wrongly addressed and get there too late and to Poirot in particular for the reason Tanith says. I don’t know how much of this was in the adaptation, as I haven’t got round to watching episodes 2 & 3 yet. (Not sure if I will)

Three hours of my life I won't get back

I watched it last night. Feel the same as you Tanith. Not sure.

I think it was well done, all the story was excellent. (The emerging obvious fascism was a real thing. I would think the rising support of the British Union of Fascist and Oswald Mosley would be something very notable to a 'foreign' living in England add the time. As with anything like this if you aren't the one affected it had less impact on your life. A.C. would know about it but not been able to understand the actual effect it had on people.)

It certainly wasn't Piorot though!! Seems quite a waste of decent acting and writing to adapt something to that extent.

It didn't need to be Poirot (well to use the murder plot it did, but that was the only reason). Mysterious as to why so completly change the character written by A.C. and still claim it as A.C.'s.

I absolutely knew after I finished the first episode, there would be a thread on here with a lot of indignant posters!! Horrified and disgusted at the adaption and movement away from his character. (The standard 'it wasn't like that in the book!' horror is to be expected in any adaption.)

I really enjoyed it - sorry folks. I like JM in the role, much better than Suchet - but then I didn't like Poirot as much as a detective as Miss Marple. I also think some AC books are pretty dark - and she had a lot of quite depressing stuff to say about ageing - which this production seemed to reflect.

I was very impressed by Rupert Grint, and hope he gets more roles like this.

I quite liked it but JM was not Poirot in any respect. He was unlike him every possible way. I'd have enjoyed it far more if they hadn't tried to pretend that he was Poirot. He's a good actor so use him but don't say that he's Hercule and then completely butcher his character. Literally the only moment where I felt that he had any vague resemblance to HP was when he promised the first dead woman that he'd find her killer, because Poirot has such a strong sense of justice and an abhorrence of the murder of innocents.

Utterly confused by last episode. Fell asleep for 5 mins half way through! Plz can someone explain what the priest stuff has to do with the rest? I think I'm mixing up some of the characters too?

Poirot was the priest hence why there were no records if him as a Belgian police officer.
He was not able to save the people hiding in the church, from the Nazis, and he became determined to bring murderers to justice for the rest of his life.

GrandmaSteglitszch - I haven’t seen episode 3 yet, but surely not Nazis?

No, not Nazis, the Germans when they invaded Beligium in 1914.

It was a very good back story just odd to do it with such a well established character, who already has a know background, like Piorot!!