Partners in Crime

The negative reviews of this series are laughable. Is it spot-on Agatha Christie? No. Is it fun? Yes. Suspenseful and enjoyable. Jessica Raine is not attractive? Oh, please. Yes, David Wallaims' character is a bit of a dolt, but that's part of the charm of the series. The acting is fine; the script is fine; and the stories are engaging. The episodes each ended with engaging cliff-hangers, and the resolution of each was believable. The series also captures a post-war '50s feel quite nicely. Some of the folks who reviewed this seemed determined not to like it, and it might not be your cup of tea. But I found plenty to like here, and wish that they had made more.

As it's the anniversary of Agatha Christie's the BBC have decided to revive her lesser known characters from the 'Partners in Crime' series of novels and short stories.

Sunday night seems to be the perfect time to put this kind of drama. not only is it well shot but the stories are just about taxing enough to be interesting, while not too demanding. Stretching one novel into two parts seems to be a smart move too.

As for the casting I know David Walliams divided a lot of opinion in the press but to be honest I was surprised by his performance. He brings a lot of warmth to the character and there was real subtlety in what he did.

The real star of the show though for me is Jessica Raine, who shines as Tuppence in every scene she is in. She makes the dynamic between her and Walliams believable and can play both the drama and the comedy of the stories well.

Overall a good addition to Sunday night telly. Long may it continue.

This has been a wonderful series, its great to have a story stretched over 2-4 episodes rather than 12-30 which seems to be the norm now. Of course this was a 3-parter so it was perfect.

I am not at all familiar with this story, as I imagine most others aren't either, but it was a thrilling little adventure, though I have to admit certain plot twists weren't entirely surprising it was still gripping and fast moving.

JR was fabulous and very believable in her role, the energy and feistiness she brought was great. And I just adored her outfits too. I look forward to seeing more of her in this role, and others. She thrives in the 1950s it seems.

David Walliams, in my opinion, was entirely miscast. I could count the number of times his facial expression changed on one hand. He just appeared stunned/frozen all the way through, even in the parts where you would expect a deeply strong emotional reaction to someone you love being in danger or a facial-flutter when your own life threatened or you are caught out by someone.

He just came across as unenthused, lacking energy and uncaring like he couldn't be bothered to act. If that is how the character is MEANT to be then that's a different matter, but I think he was going OTT on the old fashioned 'stiff upper lip' quiet, introvert and calm etc etc.

And frankly I didn't think the chemistry between them was zinging.

This aside I will watch the next story and hopefully this will improve. Overall it is a wonderful show, just let down by the lead male.

The Good: the sets, the clothes, the cars, the cinematography, the fun moments The Bad: poor interpretation of Tommy, poor adaptation of post-war 20s to cold war 50s. The Ugly: no dramatic integrity - impossible juxtaposition of fun-loving adventure chasing, and brutal murder. Tuppence cannot lightly enjoy chasing down criminals under the threat to life and limb of her child and her husband - it does not make sense. The original Tommy and Tuppence series (books and BBC) present a light-hearted version of adventure and this is the only one that makes sense for them. We watched the first story, The Secret Adversary (3 episodes), but will not be watching "N or M" because of our disappointment. However, I will restate that visually it is very stimulating and satisfying - beautiful sets, scenery and atmospheric camera work.

Only one Series, comprising two 3 part stories, firstly we had The Secret Adversary, and secondly we had N or M.

I thought they were rather fun productions, trouble is they seriously didn't feel like Agatha Christie, I thought the first part of The Secret Adversary was excellent, but after that it went downhill a little bit.

Jessica Raine was really well cast, she looked excellent in the part, fitting of the period. I think Walliams was the main issue for the failing, for anyone that has read the novels he just wasn't Tommy. Far from it, he was out of character, I couldn't relate him to the books.

Really great production values, they looked excellent, even though the time frame had been altered.

I don't think the series was given enough mileage, who knows, if it had continued maybe there would have been an improvement. There were only 5 Partners in Crime novels, the best one I think being 'by the Pricking of my thumbs' shame it won't be made.

6/10.