Poirot

A literary legend became a TV phenomenon when David SUCHET took on the role of Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's most famous sleuth. Suchet's Poirot became the most-watched detective in the history of the PBS Mystery! series and a hit all over again on A&E. Now, all 36 one-hour episodes from the series are available in this 12-disc Classic Collection. Using his "little Grey cells" and aided by the affable Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser), Poirot unravels the thorniest cases without mussing a hair of his famously sculpted mustache. Lush art deco period details and scripts infused with delicious Christie wit make these mysteries irresistible.

Starring: David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson, Pauline Moran. Director: Andrew Grieve, Edward Bennett.

I literally grew up with Poirot, Sunday nights as a nine and ten year old were all about Poirot, Pistachio nuts, Terry's Pyramint.

The productions evolved over time, the early hour long format episodes were much lighter viewing, over time they became more gritty, more daring. One good example is Series 3's Plymouth Express, a much darker presentation they anything that had gone before. By the time you reach Elephants can remember in Series 13 there was something very dark about the production.

I would imagine it became more difficult for the producers over time, they were able to cherry pick adaptations during the early years, some books were much more suitable to the screen then others, The ABC murders and Death in the Clouds would have been so much easier to work with then say The Big Four or Cards on the Table.

The adaptations remained fairly faithful to the book, there was never a fear of them doing what they did with the Marple series, and transplant Poirot into novels he was never intended to be in, for a good reason each of her works had a certain flavour. A few times changes were made to the books, I can only imagine for good reason, too many characters, budget restraints etc. The Big Four and Appointment with death being altered more then some.

So good was David Suchet in the role, that now when you think of Poirot you see David in your mind. I think it will be a while before someone attempts to remake Poirot for the small screen. David had a lot to live up to, Poirot had hit the big screen, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile had both been huge adaptations, the remakes both compete favourably. Suchet is Poirot.

Characters were switched and added quite a lot, Hastings, Japp and Miss Lemon were often drafted in, but in later years that wasn't the case. It's hardly surprising as each is so enjoyable. Watching them all reunite in 'Lord Edgeware dies' was special.

Generally the productions were very good to excellent, for me at the top of the pile are The ABC Murders, Curtain and Sad Cypress, each are literally flawless. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and The Big Four are two of the relatively few lesser offerings, with the only true misfire being Murder in Mesopotamia.

For years I hoped for the productions to be completed, at times it seemed like they'd never get through them, I'm so glad they did, but I am missing him.

Who knows maybe one day The Monogram Murders will be made, not a Christie story I know, but it would be worth it to see Poirot anew once again. This truly was a fabulous series. 10/0

David Suchet is absolutely the best Hercule Poirot I have ever seen. He personifies the Hercule in Agatha Christie's books perfectly. Also, Hugh Fraser (Hastings) and Philip Jackson (Japp) play their parts wonderfully. This show has a very good story line and each episode has a baffling mystery. If you are a mystery fan, I recommend this show to you. Make sure you look for it!

As far as I am concerned, David Suchet is the best ever Poirot. He looks like the picture one would have in one's mind when reading the books. Peter Ustinov was an excellent actor but did not look like Porot at all. The main characters are also excellent and you warm to them easily. Hastings is loyal, terribly British and a perfect foil for Poirot. He is intelligent but without any imagination. This makes him ideal for gathering information for Poirot. Japp is basically an good old fashioned sound copper, who has problems solving anything remotely difficult. BUT he his intelligent enough to use Poirot whenever possible rather than trying to compete with him. As with the other characters, Miss lemon is perfectly efficient with just about the right dry sense of humour,

Mystery fans were fortunate in the late 1980s to have no less than 3 definitive television performances to enjoy: Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, Joan Hickson as Miss Marple, and David Suchet as Hercule Poirot. Suchet's performance as the fussy little Belgian detective was a joy. Every detail of the character was perfect, from the stilted, pedantic delivery to the exquisitely fastidious grooming. Suchet's skill as an actor was such that he was able to turn a rather flat, implausible character (and even fans of Agatha Christie admit that her characters are pretty two-dimensional) into a complex, eccentric but essentially believable person. Some of the credit for this also goes to the fine writing in the series. The writers were responsible for fleshing out the bare bones provided by Christie's stories, but they did it in such a way that the filmed versions flow naturally and seamlessly. The supporting actors were also very fine, especially Hugh Fraser as Captain Hastings - whereas in the stories Hastings, who is usually the narrator, remains a rather sketchy character, here he becomes a genuine person. He is not Poirot's mental equal by any means, but admirable in his sympathy, kindness and general embodiment of Englishness, and we can understand Poirot's affection for Hastings. It's difficult to see how this dramatization can be improved upon.