Meanwhile, I've seen all episodes of this series, with the unforgettable David Suchet in the lead. Normally, you would say that I know all the stories and it would be less fun to see it again. But I'm someone who can watch a good movie twenty times or more and always enjoy it. I know of some movies whole parts of dialogue by heart that often I have seen them. Not only do I enjoy the good story or the excellent performances of all actors, I also look at the why it’s directed and edited and try to understand why the director has made the decisions he made making the film. Sometimes I imagine how it could have been different and what effect it would have had.
But with the filming of Agatha Christie's books, especially her Poirot and Miss Marple stories, I often get surprised when the identity of the killer is revealed. There are so many suspects and there are so many red hearings in Christie's stories that it has happened several times that I had wrongly remembered who did it. But there are more reasons why it’s worth while to see these episodes more than once.
This series began in 1989. Unlike now, it was not yet common to approach TV movies, let alone television series, as if they were made for the cinema. They often had to do with a low budget, which was clearly noticeable in most cases. It often resulted in simple and long shots, as it was cheaper to film as much as possible in one take. Now these tv productions seem boring, but I think we accepted it then because life didn’t go as fast as it does now. Back then they also filmed a lot in the studio and if you looked at it a little closer you’d notice that. It was therefore not surprising that actors preferred to do cinema over a television production. TV actors were also looked down upon. There were few to no actors who made both cinema films and worked for television. (I can only think of one exception; Diana Rigg) In the late 1980's this started to change. I think this series was definitely one of the first series that brought about that change.
From the first episode it was clear that the UK broadcaster ITV invested a lot of money in this production. Starting with the opening titles of designer Pat Gavin. These were completely made with the computer, which was rarely done at that time. They filmed a lot of scenes on location and the lighting and editing was done in the way cinema films were made. It has been done in a conventional way, but it also makes it timeless.
Also the choice to set all 70 episodes in the 30's has been a good one. It is a period with a lot of atmosphere where many people, even though they have experienced this time, look back upon with nostalgia. It gives the series a consistency and is undoubtedly one of the aspects that prevent people from saying; they should have stopped at the height of the series. Suchet plays Poirot also very consistently. If you look closely, you'll see small changes in the course of the series. For example you see that Poirot is toddling a little more when he's older. But all changes are logical and does not everyone change as you grow older?
The later episodes are also more serious. Should we still smile when we see Poirot's compulsive behaviour, when his eggs have to be exactly the same size, in the first few seasons, we'll see more about Poirot’s emotions when he gets a little misty when he sees a couple in love. This change coincides with a new mustache that seems more natural and the new opening titles, or maybe I should say the missing of the graphic opening titles.
This is one of the few long-running series (24 years!) of which, with no exception, every episode is good, no is excellent, I have to say.
Agatha Christie's Poirot trailer
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