She is particularly worried about the effect the evening may have on her fragile friend, Dora Bunner. Their hostess nervously watches the clock, unsure what will happen next. Whose idea was this odd notice? Neither Letitia nor her houseguests can explain it but the announcement generates great excitement among some of the villagers.Īs the appointed time draws near, a curious crowd, expecting an elaborate illusion or humorous party trick, begins to gather at Little Paddocks. In Chipping Cleghorn, a quiet village nestled in the 1950s English countryside, a strange announcement appears in the local newspaper: a murder is to take place at 7.30pm at Little Paddocks, home to kindly Letitia Blacklock.
AGATHA CHRISTIE MARPLE SERIES
Making Marple more human makes the show ultimately more satisfying.Ĭlick here to buy Agatha Christie’s Marple – Series 3 on .< Back to TV menu Agatha Christie's Marple - 'A Murder is Announced' (2005)Ī drama by Stewart Harcourt, based on the novel by Agatha Christie, and first broadcast on 2 January 2005 (ITV1). Also, we rarely see Miss Marple undone by the murders in earlier iterations of these stories – in these versions, however, Miss Marple isn’t emotionally immune to the crimes – especially if it’s someone near and dear to her. It’s commendable that the writers take on darker plot lines – WWII and the Holocaust in particular has a pretty strong impact on a couple of the episodes, as well. All these complaints are nonsense, though.
Some also cry foul at how religion is represented. Some will complain of the more “modern” elements of the shows – there are elements of incest, homosexuality, feminism, and racism. McEwan dominates her scenes, with a subtle performance. This is her final take on Miss Marple, before Julie McKenzie, who takes a different approach to the sleuth, making her dottier. And despite the stunt casting, it’s McEwan’s show. Obviously, the thespic talents of these guest stars are highly diverse – Paris is especially stiff as a jazz singer, with a terrible Southern accent, but actresses Stevenson, Atkins, and surprisingly Seymour do some wonderful work. The final episode of the season, Ordeal by Innocence has Miss Marple visit an old, dear friend who is about to be married into a rich, but fractured family, that survived the murder of the matriarch and the execution of one of the children, who was convicted of her murder.Įach episode is littered with some glittery stars – Eileen Atkins, Juliet Stevenson, Jane Seymour, Alison Steadman, Denis Lawson, Richard Armitage, Martine McCutcheon and pop stars Mica Paris and Lisa Stansfield. Returning again, she has to solve the murder of a hotel employee with the help of a bright and enterprising chambermaid. The third installment, At Bertram’s Hotel, is set in a sumptuous London hotel, where Miss Marple stayed as a child. On hand is Marple’s mystery-writing nephew Raymond (Richard E. Rafiel, who wants to avenge a murder that took place years ago. The second, Nemesis, has Miss Marple join a mystery bus trip with others who have been summoned by the recently deceased Mr. Soon Lady Tressilian is murdered, her brains dashed with a golf club, and it’s up to Miss Marple to avenge the death of her old friend. At the old lady’s estate a handsome tennis player arrives with his horror of a second wife, though he still has feelings for his first wife, who also is in attendance. The first episode, Towards Zero, has our heroine visit her old friend Lady Tressilian. In Agatha Christie’s Marple, the murders are depicted in sometimes-gory ways, and they have severe consequences to the other characters, including Miss Marple, who often finds herself bewildered and traumatized by the murders.
One of the things Christie purists find objectionable about the new retellings of the Christie books is that they are no longer cozy, armchair mysteries. As is usual for the newer ITV versions of the Agatha Christie stories, these films take on a darker tone. In the third series, Miss Marple stars in four thrillers: Nemesis, Towards Zero, At Bertram’s Hotel, and Ordeal by Innocence. As portrayed by British actress, Geraldine McEwan, Miss Marple’s seeming innocence is tempered by her non-nonsense manner. Underneath the snowy white hair, though, hides a razor-sharp mind, and an unerring instinct in solving murder. Instead of being dashing and glamorous, Miss Marple is a kind, slightly dotty old lady in a knit sweater, her gray hair under lace. Agatha Christie’s Jane Marple is one of the most interesting fictional sleuths because she doesn’t look like a detective.