Agatha Christie's Poirot
Encyclopedia
Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama
that has aired on ITV
since 1989. It stars David Suchet
as Agatha Christie
's fictional detective Hercule Poirot
. It was originally made by LWT
and is now made by ITV Studios
. In the United States, it airs as Poirot.
Suchet was recommended for the part by Christie's family, who had seen him appear as Blott in the TV adaptation of Tom Sharpe's Blott on the Landscape
. Suchet said that he prepared for the part by reading all the Poirot novels
and every short story, and copying out every piece of description about the character. Suchet himself said to The Strand
magazine: "What I did was, I had my file on one side of me and a pile of stories on the other side and day after day, week after week, I ploughed through most of Agatha Christie's novels about Hercule Poirot and wrote down characteristics until I had a file full of documentation of the character. And then it was my business not only to know what he was like, but to gradually become him. I had to become him before we started shooting."
According to many critics and enthusiasts, Suchet's characterisation is considered to be the most accurate interpretation of all the actors who have played Poirot, and the closest to the character in the books.
In 2007, Suchet spoke of his desire to film all the remaining stories in the canon and hoped to achieve this by the time of his 65th birthday (May 2011). Despite speculation of cancellation early in 2011, it was announced on 14 November 2011 that the remaining books would indeed be filmed in 2012. As a result, Suchet will have filmed all the Poirot novels, and all but one short story (The Lemesurier Inheritance).
in partnership with producer Brian Eastman adapted the pilot episode and then twenty of the stories between 1989 and 2001, alongside many short story adaptations. "Principal adapter" Exton wrote The ABC Murders for the series and more controversially The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
. It was described as "ingenious" in its dramatic conceit in attempting to interpret a denouement which relies upon a first-person narrative, but it did not receive unanimous praise from critics.
Anthony Horowitz
is another prolific writer for the series, adapting three novels and nine short stories, while comedian and novelist Mark Gatiss
has written two episodes and also guest-starred in the series, as has Peter Flannery
.
Beginning with the episodes which aired in 2000 there was a noticeable downplaying of the humour of the earlier series. Also, the signature theme music and full title sequence were dropped from the opening credits, and when the theme music was used it was written and scored in a more sombre fashion. This is partly because the novels adapted are themselves darker and more psychologically driven.
Episodes released in 2003 and thereafter lack Fraser, Jackson, and Moran, who had appeared in most episodes before then. The absence of their characters (Hastings, Inspector Japp, and Miss Lemon) is consistent with the books on which the scripts were based.
Following the launch of the ITV series Agatha Christie's Marple in 2004, the Poirot series was retitled Agatha Christie's Poirot. The previous titles and theme music were dropped. The visual style of these later episodes was noticeably different from earlier episodes: particularly, austere
art deco
settings and decor, widely used earlier in the series, were largely dropped in favour of more lavish settings (epitomised by the re-imagining of Poirot's home as a larger, more lavish apartment). Post-2004 episodes display the increasing use of religious themes and plot elements not found in Christie's novels and harkening instead to the work of authors such as Evelyn Waugh
, and Graham Greene
. Episodes following the rechristening saw some characterisations by their all-star casts, such as Zoë Wanamaker
's portrayal of Ariadne Oliver, tend towards tongue-in-cheek
; comedy actors, including Mark Gatiss
, Daisy Donovan
, and Steve Pemberton
, have featured in the casts of these later episodes. These episodes also saw Poirot gain a butler, George.
Alongside recurring characters, the early series featured several actors who later achieved greater fame, such as Joely Richardson
, ("The Dream", 1989), Samantha Bond, ("The Adventure of the Cheap Flat", 1990), Christopher Eccleston
(One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
, 1992), Hermione Norris
("Jewel Robbery at The Grand Metropolitan", 1993), Damian Lewis
(Hickory Dickory Dock
, 1995), Jamie Bamber
(The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
, 2000), Russell Tovey
(Evil Under the Sun
, 2001), and Michael Fassbender
(After The Funeral
, 2006).
Series nine (2003–2004) featured James Fox
as Colonel Race in Death on the Nile
, alongside an "all-star cast" which included Emily Blunt
, Daisy Donovan
, and David Soul
, while The Hollow
featured his older brother Edward Fox
as Gudgeon the butler.
Other veteran actors who have appeared in the later series include: Geraldine James
, (After the Funeral
, 2006), Elliot Gould, Lindsay Duncan
and Roger Lloyd Pack
, (The Mystery of the Blue Train
, 2006), Siân Phillips
(Mrs McGinty's Dead
, 2008) and Tim Curry
(Appointment with Death
, 2008).
Eight actors have appeared as different characters in the series: Nicholas Farrell
appeared as Donald Fraser in The ABC Murders (1992) and then as Major Knighton in The Mystery of the Blue Train
(2005), Simon Shepherd
appeared as David Hall in "Jewel Robbery at The Grand Metropolitan" (1993) and then as Dr Rendell in Mrs McGinty's Dead
(2008) and Carol MacReady
appeared as Mildred Croft in Peril at End House
(1990) and then as Miss Johnson in Cat Among the Pigeons
(2008). Meanwhile, David Yelland
first appeared as Laverton West in "Murder in the Mews
" (1989), but has played the recurring character of Poirot's manservant George since 2006. Beth Goddard appeared as Violet Wilson in "The Case of the Missing Will" (1993) and subsequently in 2008 as Sister Agnieszka in Appointment with Death
(a character created for the episode, who does not appear in the novel). Pip Torrens first played Major Rich in "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest" (1991), and then returned to the series to play Jeremy Cloade in Taken at the Flood
(2006). Lucy Liemann appeared first in Cards on the Table
(2005) as Miss Burgess and later in 2008 as Sonia in Third Girl
. Fenella Woolgar played the role of Ellis in Lord Edgware Dies
and more recently played Elizabeth Whittaker in Hallowe'en Party
. By a curious coincidence she also played Agatha Christie
herself in "The Unicorn and the Wasp
", an episode of Doctor Who
. Beatie Edney
appeared in 1990 as Mary Cavendish in The Mysterious Affair at Styles
, and 21 years later as Beryl Hemmings in The Clocks (2011)
In 1989, the series was nominated for four BAFTA
awards in the category of Best Graphics, Best Design (Episodes 1, 2, 5, 8 & 10), Best Costume Design (Episodes 2, 4, 7, 8 & 10), and Best Original Television Music, winning all but the nomination for Best Design. It was also nominated for Best Television Drama Series in 1990 and 1991, and Suchet was nominated for Best Actor in 1991. In total between 1989 and 1991, the series received 20 nominations.
In 1992, writers David Renwick
and Michael Baker received an Edgar Award
in the category "Best Episode in a TV Series" from the Mystery Writers of America
for the Second Series episode The Lost Mine, which, like the other Agatha Christie's Poirot episodes, aired in the U.S. as part of the PBS
anthology series
Mystery!
More recently, the series has been described by some critics as going "off piste", though not negatively, from its old format. It has been praised for its new writers, more lavish productions and a greater emphasis on the darker psychology of the novels. Significantly, it was noted for Five Little Pigs
(adapted by Kevin Elyot
) bringing out the homosexual subtext of the novel..
Yet the New Year's Day 2006 episode of The Mystery of the Blue Train
attracted a high 30% audience rating (7.4 million viewers), and the show's enduring popularity was shown once again in August, 2008 when a repeat received 3.2 million viewers and a 16% of the viewing population. The 2008 series drew a 23.5% share of the viewing population, although only reaching 9.8% of the viewers between the ages of 16-34. The total figures were up on its previous slot average of 4.5 million viewers.
The new adaptation of The Murder on the Orient Express (2010) was severely criticized by majority of the fans. Loosely faithful to the original story, it has a number of major differences and deviations from the novel, the script includes extended religious dialogues and a modified dénouement.
Home Entertainment has released all episodes on DVD in Region 2. On March 30, 2009, they released Agatha Christie's Poirot — Complete Collection, a 28-disc box set that features all 61 episodes up to and including the 2009 season.
Dutch FilmWorks
were the first company to release the four episodes of series 12, in 2010.
In Region 1, both Acorn Media and A&E Home Video have released the series in a wide variety of editions. Acorn Media has the rights to the 36 standard-length episodes, the first nine double-length episodes, and the episodes broadcast since 2008. The other feature-length episodes are distributed by A&E, who acted as co-producers on several of them.
In 2012 Acorn Media is releasing Series 1 (1989) and Series 2 (1990) in the original UK broadcast order on DVD and Blu Ray.
In Region 4, Acorn Media (distributed by Reel DVD) has begun releasing the series on DVD in Australia in complete season sets. To date, they have released the first 8 series of the show.
The Complete Collection (Series 1-12) is also released by ITV Studios on Region 2 in the UK featuring all 65 episodes on 32 disks.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
that has aired on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
since 1989. It stars David Suchet
David Suchet
David Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
as Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's fictional detective Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...
. It was originally made by LWT
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
and is now made by ITV Studios
ITV Studios
ITV Studios is a television production company owned by the British television network ITV. It not only makes programmes primarily for its parent company, but also for other networks...
. In the United States, it airs as Poirot.
Suchet was recommended for the part by Christie's family, who had seen him appear as Blott in the TV adaptation of Tom Sharpe's Blott on the Landscape
Blott on the Landscape
Blott on the Landscape is a novel written in 1975 by Tom Sharpe. It was adapted into a 6-part television series for the BBC in 1985.-Plot:The story revolves around the proposed construction of a motorway through Cleene Gorge in rural South Worfordshire...
. Suchet said that he prepared for the part by reading all the Poirot novels
Hercule Poirot in Literature
This page details the books featuring the fictional character Hercule Poirot.-Hercule Poirot and Fictional Canon:The sets of rules involving "official" details of the "lives" and "works" of fictional characters vary from one fictional universe to the next according to the canon established by...
and every short story, and copying out every piece of description about the character. Suchet himself said to The Strand
Strand Magazine
The Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
magazine: "What I did was, I had my file on one side of me and a pile of stories on the other side and day after day, week after week, I ploughed through most of Agatha Christie's novels about Hercule Poirot and wrote down characteristics until I had a file full of documentation of the character. And then it was my business not only to know what he was like, but to gradually become him. I had to become him before we started shooting."
According to many critics and enthusiasts, Suchet's characterisation is considered to be the most accurate interpretation of all the actors who have played Poirot, and the closest to the character in the books.
In 2007, Suchet spoke of his desire to film all the remaining stories in the canon and hoped to achieve this by the time of his 65th birthday (May 2011). Despite speculation of cancellation early in 2011, it was announced on 14 November 2011 that the remaining books would indeed be filmed in 2012. As a result, Suchet will have filmed all the Poirot novels, and all but one short story (The Lemesurier Inheritance).
Cast
Recurring cast:- David SuchetDavid SuchetDavid Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
– Hercule PoirotHercule PoirotHercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on... - Hugh FraserHugh Fraser (actor)Hugh Fraser is an English actor and theatre director.-Early life:Born in London but raised in the East Midlands, Fraser studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art...
– Captain Arthur HastingsArthur HastingsCaptain Arthur Hastings, OBE, is a fictional character, the amateur sleuthing partner and best friend of Agatha Christie's Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot...
(1989–2002) - Philip JacksonPhilip Jackson (actor)Philip Jackson is an English actor, known for his many television and film roles, most notably as Chief Inspector Japp in the television series Poirot and as Abbot Hugo, one of the recurring adversaries in the cult 1980s series Robin of Sherwood. Jackson was born in Retford, Nottinghamshire...
– Chief Inspector JappChief Inspector JappDetective Chief Inspector James Japp is a fictional character who appears in several of Agatha Christie's novels featuring Hercule Poirot.-Japp in Christie's work:...
(1989–2002) - Pauline MoranPauline MoranPauline Moran is an English actress known for her role as Miss Lemon in the British television series Agatha Christie's Poirot....
– Miss Felicity Lemon (1989–2002) - Zoë WanamakerZoe WanamakerZoë Wanamaker, CBE is an American-British actress. She has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company; in films, including the Harry Potter series; and in a number of television productions, including a long-time role as Susan Harper in the sitcom My Family.-Early life and family:Wanamaker was...
– Ariadne OliverAriadne OliverAriadne Oliver is a fictional character in the novels of Agatha Christie. She is a mystery novelist and a friend of Hercule Poirot.-Profile:Mrs. Oliver often assists Poirot in his cases through her knowledge of the criminal mind. She often claims to be endowed with particular "feminine intuition,"...
(2005–) - David YellandDavid Yelland (actor)David William Yelland is an English actor of stage and screen.-Education:Yelland was educated at Magdalene College at the University of Cambridge, where he read English.-Life and career:...
– George (2006–)
Development of the series
Clive ExtonClive Exton
Clive Exton was a British television and film screenwriter, sometime playwright, and former actor. He is best known for his scripts of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster, and Rosemary & Thyme.-Early career:He was born Clive Jack Montague Brooks in Islington, London,...
in partnership with producer Brian Eastman adapted the pilot episode and then twenty of the stories between 1989 and 2001, alongside many short story adaptations. "Principal adapter" Exton wrote The ABC Murders for the series and more controversially The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons in June 1926 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company on the 19th of the same month. It features Hercule Poirot as the lead detective...
. It was described as "ingenious" in its dramatic conceit in attempting to interpret a denouement which relies upon a first-person narrative, but it did not receive unanimous praise from critics.
Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's...
is another prolific writer for the series, adapting three novels and nine short stories, while comedian and novelist Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
has written two episodes and also guest-starred in the series, as has Peter Flannery
Peter Flannery
Peter Flannery is a British playwright and screenwriter. He was educated at Bath Spa University and is best known for his work while a resident playwright at the Royal Shakespeare Company in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
.
Beginning with the episodes which aired in 2000 there was a noticeable downplaying of the humour of the earlier series. Also, the signature theme music and full title sequence were dropped from the opening credits, and when the theme music was used it was written and scored in a more sombre fashion. This is partly because the novels adapted are themselves darker and more psychologically driven.
Episodes released in 2003 and thereafter lack Fraser, Jackson, and Moran, who had appeared in most episodes before then. The absence of their characters (Hastings, Inspector Japp, and Miss Lemon) is consistent with the books on which the scripts were based.
Following the launch of the ITV series Agatha Christie's Marple in 2004, the Poirot series was retitled Agatha Christie's Poirot. The previous titles and theme music were dropped. The visual style of these later episodes was noticeably different from earlier episodes: particularly, austere
Austere
Austere is the first release by the band Sparta, just one year after break-up of their former band At the Drive-In.-Track listing:#"Mye" – 3:33#"Cataract" – 5:09#"Vacant Skies" – 3:32#"Echodyne Harmonic " – 3:50-Personnel:...
art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
settings and decor, widely used earlier in the series, were largely dropped in favour of more lavish settings (epitomised by the re-imagining of Poirot's home as a larger, more lavish apartment). Post-2004 episodes display the increasing use of religious themes and plot elements not found in Christie's novels and harkening instead to the work of authors such as Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
, and Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
. Episodes following the rechristening saw some characterisations by their all-star casts, such as Zoë Wanamaker
Zoe Wanamaker
Zoë Wanamaker, CBE is an American-British actress. She has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company; in films, including the Harry Potter series; and in a number of television productions, including a long-time role as Susan Harper in the sitcom My Family.-Early life and family:Wanamaker was...
's portrayal of Ariadne Oliver, tend towards tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
; comedy actors, including Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
, Daisy Donovan
Daisy Donovan
Daisy Donovan is an American-born British television presenter, actress and writer.-Early life:Donovan was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA. Her father was fashion photographer and film director Terence Donovan; her mother Diana Donovan, is chairwoman of the English National Ballet School...
, and Steve Pemberton
Steve Pemberton
Steve James Pemberton is an English actor, comedian, writer and performer, most famous as a member of The League of Gentlemen along with fellow performers Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss and co-writer Jeremy Dyson.-Early life:...
, have featured in the casts of these later episodes. These episodes also saw Poirot gain a butler, George.
Alongside recurring characters, the early series featured several actors who later achieved greater fame, such as Joely Richardson
Joely Richardson
Joely Kim Richardson is an English actress, most known recently for her role as Queen Catherine Parr in the Showtime television show The Tudors and Julia McNamara in the television drama Nip/Tuck...
, ("The Dream", 1989), Samantha Bond, ("The Adventure of the Cheap Flat", 1990), Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston is an English stage, film and television actor. His films include Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra...
(One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (novel)
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in November 1940 and in US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1941 under the title of The Patriotic Murders. A paperback edition in the US by Dell books...
, 1992), Hermione Norris
Hermione Norris
Hermione Norris is an English actress.Norris attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the 1980s before taking small roles in theatre and on television. In 1996, she was cast in her breakout role of Karen Marsden in the comedy drama television series Cold Feet...
("Jewel Robbery at The Grand Metropolitan", 1993), Damian Lewis
Damian Lewis
Lewis was born in St John's Wood, London, the son of Charlotte Mary and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker. His paternal grandparents were Welsh. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of...
(Hickory Dickory Dock
Hickory Dickory Dock
"Hickory Dickory Dock" or "Hickety Dickety Dock" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6489.-Lyrics:The most common modern version is:Hickory, dickory, dock,The mouse ran up the clock....
, 1995), Jamie Bamber
Jamie Bamber
Jamie Bamber is the stage name of Jamie St. John Bamber Griffith , a British actor known most widely for his roles as Lee Adama on Battlestar Galactica and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin on the ITV series Law & Order: UK...
(The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons in June 1926 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company on the 19th of the same month. It features Hercule Poirot as the lead detective...
, 2000), Russell Tovey
Russell Tovey
Russell George Tovey is an English actor with numerous television, film and stage credits. Tovey is best known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC's supernatural drama Being Human which started in 2008...
(Evil Under the Sun
Evil Under the Sun
Evil Under the Sun is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1941 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in October of the same year...
, 2001), and Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender is an Irish-German actor. He is best known for playing Lt. Archie Hicox in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Magneto in the superhero blockbuster X-Men: First Class...
(After The Funeral
After the Funeral
After the Funeral is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1953 under the title of Funerals are Fatal and in UK by the Collins Crime Club on May 18 of the same year under Christie's original title...
, 2006).
Series nine (2003–2004) featured James Fox
James Fox
James Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
as Colonel Race in Death on the Nile
Death on the Nile
Death on the Nile is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 1, 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence and the US edition at $2.00.The book...
, alongside an "all-star cast" which included Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Emily Olivia Leah Blunt is an English actress best known for her roles in The Devil Wears Prada , The Young Victoria , and The Adjustment Bureau . She has been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, two London Film Critics' Circle Awards, and one BAFTA Award...
, Daisy Donovan
Daisy Donovan
Daisy Donovan is an American-born British television presenter, actress and writer.-Early life:Donovan was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA. Her father was fashion photographer and film director Terence Donovan; her mother Diana Donovan, is chairwoman of the English National Ballet School...
, and David Soul
David Soul
David Soul is an American-British actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television programme Starsky and Hutch . He gained British citizenship in 2004.-Early life:...
, while The Hollow
The Hollow
The Hollow is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1946 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in November of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition at eight shillings and sixpence...
featured his older brother Edward Fox
Edward Fox (actor)
Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs...
as Gudgeon the butler.
Other veteran actors who have appeared in the later series include: Geraldine James
Geraldine James
Geraldine James, OBE is an English actress.-Early life and family:James was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, to a cardiologist father...
, (After the Funeral
After the Funeral
After the Funeral is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1953 under the title of Funerals are Fatal and in UK by the Collins Crime Club on May 18 of the same year under Christie's original title...
, 2006), Elliot Gould, Lindsay Duncan
Lindsay Duncan
Lindsay Vere Duncan, CBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actress. On stage she won two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for her performance in Les Liaisons dangereuses and Private Lives , and she starred in several plays by Harold Pinter. Her most famous roles on television include:...
and Roger Lloyd Pack
Roger Lloyd Pack
Roger Lloyd-Pack is an English actor known for his roles in the TV shows The Vicar of Dibley, Only Fools and Horses and The Old Guys.-Career:...
, (The Mystery of the Blue Train
The Mystery of the Blue Train
The Mystery of the Blue Train is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on March 29, 1928 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence and the US edition at...
, 2006), Siân Phillips
Siân Phillips
Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman...
(Mrs McGinty's Dead
Mrs McGinty's Dead
Mrs. McGinty's Dead is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1952 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on March 3 of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition nine shillings and sixpence...
, 2008) and Tim Curry
Tim Curry
Timothy James "Tim" Curry is a British actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California....
(Appointment with Death
Appointment with Death
Appointment with Death is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on May 2, 1938 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year...
, 2008).
Eight actors have appeared as different characters in the series: Nicholas Farrell
Nicholas Farrell
Nicholas Farrell is an English stage, film and television actor. His early screen career included the role of Aubrey Montague in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. In 1983, he starred as Edmund Bertram in a television adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, Mansfield Park...
appeared as Donald Fraser in The ABC Murders (1992) and then as Major Knighton in The Mystery of the Blue Train
The Mystery of the Blue Train
The Mystery of the Blue Train is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on March 29, 1928 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence and the US edition at...
(2005), Simon Shepherd
Simon Shepherd
Simon Shepherd is a British actor. He is well known to TV audiences from many appearances, including Dr Will Preston in five series of ITV's Peak Practice....
appeared as David Hall in "Jewel Robbery at The Grand Metropolitan" (1993) and then as Dr Rendell in Mrs McGinty's Dead
Mrs McGinty's Dead
Mrs. McGinty's Dead is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1952 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on March 3 of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition nine shillings and sixpence...
(2008) and Carol MacReady
Carol MacReady
Carol MacReady is a British actress, who is perhaps best known for the role of Mrs. Dribelle in Bodger and Badger.Other television shows she appeared in include:*Agatha Christie's Poirot*The Darling Buds of May*The Alleyn Mysteries*The Woman in White...
appeared as Mildred Croft in Peril at End House
Peril at End House
Peril at End House is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by the Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1932 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in March of the same year...
(1990) and then as Miss Johnson in Cat Among the Pigeons
Cat Among the Pigeons
Cat Among the Pigeons is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 2, 1959, and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1960 with a copyright date of 1959...
(2008). Meanwhile, David Yelland
David Yelland (actor)
David William Yelland is an English actor of stage and screen.-Education:Yelland was educated at Magdalene College at the University of Cambridge, where he read English.-Life and career:...
first appeared as Laverton West in "Murder in the Mews
Murder in the Mews
Murder in the Mews and Other Stories is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club on March 15, 1937...
" (1989), but has played the recurring character of Poirot's manservant George since 2006. Beth Goddard appeared as Violet Wilson in "The Case of the Missing Will" (1993) and subsequently in 2008 as Sister Agnieszka in Appointment with Death
Appointment with Death
Appointment with Death is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on May 2, 1938 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year...
(a character created for the episode, who does not appear in the novel). Pip Torrens first played Major Rich in "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest" (1991), and then returned to the series to play Jeremy Cloade in Taken at the Flood
Taken at the Flood
Taken at the Flood is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1948 under the title of There is a Tide... and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in the November of the same year under Christie's original title...
(2006). Lucy Liemann appeared first in Cards on the Table
Cards on the Table
Cards on the Table is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 2 1936 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year...
(2005) as Miss Burgess and later in 2008 as Sonia in Third Girl
Third Girl
Third Girl is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in November 1966 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at eighteen shillings and the US edition at $4.50.It features her Belgian...
. Fenella Woolgar played the role of Ellis in Lord Edgware Dies
Lord Edgware Dies
Lord Edgware Dies is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in September 1933 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of Thirteen at Dinner. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence...
and more recently played Elizabeth Whittaker in Hallowe'en Party
Hallowe'en Party
Hallowe'en Party is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in November 1969 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed for twenty-five shillings. In preparation for decimalisation on...
. By a curious coincidence she also played Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
herself in "The Unicorn and the Wasp
The Unicorn and the Wasp
"The Unicorn and the Wasp" is the 7th episode in the revised fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was aired by BBC One on 17 May 2008 at 19:00. Perhaps due to its later broadcast, it received an overnight audience rating of 7.7 million, making it the...
", an episode of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. Beatie Edney
Beatie Edney
Beatrice "Beatie" Edney is an English television actress.Born Beatrice Edney in London, she is the daughter of famous British actress Sylvia Syms and cousin of Nicholas Webb. Edney first came to audiences' attention as Heather MacLeod the 1986 film Highlander, the first film in the Highlander series...
appeared in 1990 as Mary Cavendish in The Mysterious Affair at Styles
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel by Agatha Christie. It was written in 1916 and was first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920 and in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head on January 21, 1921. The U.S...
, and 21 years later as Beryl Hemmings in The Clocks (2011)
Reception
Agatha Christie's grandson Mathew has commented: "Personally, I regret very much that she [Agatha Christie] never saw David Suchet. I think that visually he is much the most convincing and perhaps he manages to convey to the viewer just enough of the irritation that we always associate with the perfectionist, to be convincing!"In 1989, the series was nominated for four BAFTA
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
awards in the category of Best Graphics, Best Design (Episodes 1, 2, 5, 8 & 10), Best Costume Design (Episodes 2, 4, 7, 8 & 10), and Best Original Television Music, winning all but the nomination for Best Design. It was also nominated for Best Television Drama Series in 1990 and 1991, and Suchet was nominated for Best Actor in 1991. In total between 1989 and 1991, the series received 20 nominations.
In 1992, writers David Renwick
David Renwick
David Peter Renwick is an English television writer, best known for creation of the sitcom One Foot in the Grave and the mystery series Jonathan Creek....
and Michael Baker received an Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
in the category "Best Episode in a TV Series" from the Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
for the Second Series episode The Lost Mine, which, like the other Agatha Christie's Poirot episodes, aired in the U.S. as part of the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
anthology series
Anthology television series
An anthology series is a radio or television series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each episode. These usually have a different cast each week, but several series in the past, such as Four Star Playhouse, employed a permanent troupe of character actors who...
Mystery!
Mystery!
Mystery! is an episodic television series that debuted in 1980 in the USA. It airs on PBS and is produced by WGBH...
More recently, the series has been described by some critics as going "off piste", though not negatively, from its old format. It has been praised for its new writers, more lavish productions and a greater emphasis on the darker psychology of the novels. Significantly, it was noted for Five Little Pigs
Five Little Pigs
Five Little Pigs is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in May 1942 under the title of Murder in Retrospect and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in January 1943 although some sources state that publication occurred in November 1942...
(adapted by Kevin Elyot
Kevin Elyot
Kevin Elyot is a British playwright and screenwriter. His most notable works include the play My Night with Reg and the film Clapham Junction.-Sources:*-External links:...
) bringing out the homosexual subtext of the novel..
Yet the New Year's Day 2006 episode of The Mystery of the Blue Train
The Mystery of the Blue Train
The Mystery of the Blue Train is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on March 29, 1928 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence and the US edition at...
attracted a high 30% audience rating (7.4 million viewers), and the show's enduring popularity was shown once again in August, 2008 when a repeat received 3.2 million viewers and a 16% of the viewing population. The 2008 series drew a 23.5% share of the viewing population, although only reaching 9.8% of the viewers between the ages of 16-34. The total figures were up on its previous slot average of 4.5 million viewers.
The new adaptation of The Murder on the Orient Express (2010) was severely criticized by majority of the fans. Loosely faithful to the original story, it has a number of major differences and deviations from the novel, the script includes extended religious dialogues and a modified dénouement.
DVD and Blu Ray releases
ITV StudiosITV Studios
ITV Studios is a television production company owned by the British television network ITV. It not only makes programmes primarily for its parent company, but also for other networks...
Home Entertainment has released all episodes on DVD in Region 2. On March 30, 2009, they released Agatha Christie's Poirot — Complete Collection, a 28-disc box set that features all 61 episodes up to and including the 2009 season.
Dutch FilmWorks
Dutch FilmWorks
Dutch FilmWorks is a Dutch film distributor founded in 1998, based in Schelluinen, the Netherlands, with an office in Belgium, focusing on Benelux rights mainly to release films on video and DVD...
were the first company to release the four episodes of series 12, in 2010.
In Region 1, both Acorn Media and A&E Home Video have released the series in a wide variety of editions. Acorn Media has the rights to the 36 standard-length episodes, the first nine double-length episodes, and the episodes broadcast since 2008. The other feature-length episodes are distributed by A&E, who acted as co-producers on several of them.
In 2012 Acorn Media is releasing Series 1 (1989) and Series 2 (1990) in the original UK broadcast order on DVD and Blu Ray.
In Region 4, Acorn Media (distributed by Reel DVD) has begun releasing the series on DVD in Australia in complete season sets. To date, they have released the first 8 series of the show.
The Complete Collection (Series 1-12) is also released by ITV Studios on Region 2 in the UK featuring all 65 episodes on 32 disks.