Agatha Christie's Marple

A series of adaptations of Agatha Christie novels, with Miss Jane Marple as the central character. A seemingly innocuous elderly woman with no background in criminal investigation, she has a knack for solving crimes, particularly murder.

Not in the same league as Agatha Christie's Poirot (the series starring David Suchet), but generally quite watchable. Miss Marple herself is quite bland, and certainly does not have enough colour or presence to carry an entire episode, let alone a series of 23 episodes. This is regardless of whether we are talking about the first 12 episodes, when Geraldine McEwan played Marple, or the final 11 episodes, when she was played by Julia McKenzie. McKenzie was the better of the two, having more gravitas and presence than McEwan, but neither inject much colour or engagement into proceedings.

To compensate for Marple's dullness, the main secondary characters are given depth, and are often made the focus of the episode. This includes some potentially interesting sub-plots and backstories. Marple is a fringe character for much of the episode and then swoops in towards the end to solve the crime. This strategy is not always employed, unfortunately, and, when it is, is not always done well, depending largely on the writing for the episode and the quality of the performances.

The mysteries themselves are generally quite intriguing. In some ways, this is where the Marple series is better than Poirot. Poirot mysteries were often highly complex, to the point of implausibility, with far-fetched back stories. Marple mysteries are more relatable and plausible.

I am an Agatha Christie scholar, who has researched her work for years. Does that make me a better viewer? Not necessarily, but a more attentive one. I can honestly say this is one of the best TV adaptations and definitely worth of 10 stars. It's got everything and more. Please give it a chance and stop comparing it against other productions.

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.

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.

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.