Agatha Christie's Marple

Atleast first few season , cast always had one or two quirky choices. People taking on role which is opposite of type of character they are famous for

Updating and altering A C is well warranted given this follows Joan Hickson's excellent Marple. So, great guest stars, well written adaptations with sensitivity to the original tone plus high production values make this easy to rewatch and enjoy. Lesbians! OMG. "Political correctness has gone too"...oh please shut up! Review the entertainment, not your cliched social outrage. I'm a little less annoyed by AC devotees since theyve earned some proprietary rights and I'm interested in plot and character changes. But I think her creations are open to script and character exploration. Strict adherence to text....tiresome.

I read and enjoyed all the Agatha Christies when I was a teenager. Despite this I love these adaptions, and I enjoy the new twists we get in the screenplays.

I have to say that Geraldine McEwan for me is the consummate Miss Marple, as envisaged by Agatha Christie, managing to combine the ideas of sweet little old lady, knitting pink woollies for babies, with intelligence, humour and determination. 'Just passing were you, Miss Marple?' 'Oh, Mr Burton!'

Julia McKenzie is not nearly as successful - have you noticed that her garb is far more severe, with jackets, stiff collars and plain hats rather than the cardigans, and flowery hats of McEwen? Even Joan Hickson, in the earlier series filmed in the 80s and early 90s, does not match EcEwan for authenticity.

I have to disagree with one of the other reviewers comments on the actresses playing Ms. Marple. First of all, comparing it with the Poirot series featuring David Suchet is quite unfair since Suchet's character as a famous detective is always on the forefront of the stories, as in the books. Ms. Marple, on the other hand, is an amateur and an old lady, a more overlooked person who works in the background.

Geraldine McEwan is by far the better of the two actresses playing Ms. Marple in this series. She has the right wit and looks as if she is enjoying every moment, her eyes sparkle when she has an idea. Who ever decided to have Julia McKenzie succeed her, when McEwan decided to drop out of the series (probably for health reasons), must have been out of his mind. They are completely different personalities, and while McEwan looks mischievous, McKenzie looks as if she has terrible toothache., which makes it painful to watch her.

Both actresses suffer from the fact that, contrary to the strict way of doing the Poirot series, much tampering with the original stories has been done for most episodes. That did not much good to the plausability of the plots.

My best advice for viewers of this series, especially for diehard Christie fans? Let everything you know about Miss Marple GO. Let it go, forget what you've read, what you've watched. Give up on comparisons. Let the 30's become the 50's. Let the artistic liberties override the canon. Stop being the Christie aficionado, expert, fanatic. Put your expectations in the bin and relax.

I basically learned to read with Christie novels...she introduced me to a lifetime obsession with detective stories, especially British-based adventures. I grew up loving Poirot, Tommy and Tuppence, and Miss Marple. I read and reread all of the stories. I also watched all the PBS/BBC adaptations over the years and yep Hickson was, in my mind and obviously in the minds of the majority of the raters here, the best personification of Jane Marple.

But in letting go of what I expected to see, and in allowing myself to NOT compare McEwan to Hickson and canon to plot changes, I was able to enjoy this series for what it is: a delightful, campy, visually wonderful entertainment opportunity. If you have any questions about how the look and feel of this series is, just watch the introductory titles.

Just. Let. GO. And allow yourself to enjoy the fun. If you can't, well, you're definitely going to be disappointed, which in and of itself is....disappointing.