Miss Marple meets with her old friend, Ruth Van Rydock, who is worried about her sister, Carrie Louise Serrocold, after a mysterious fire ends up destroying some of Carrie Louise's treasured possessions. She asks Miss Marple to visit her sister's estate, Stonygates, a huge manor house, where some of the buildings and grounds are used as a reformatory for juvenile criminals.… read more »
Welcome to the Agatha Christie's Marple guide at TV.com. Geraldine McEwan (series 1-3) and Julia McKenzie (from series 4) star in the latest TV adaption of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Following in the footsteps of Gracie Fields, Margaret Rutherford, Angela Lansbury, Helen Hayes and Joan… More Hickson, Geraldine McEwan brought the part of the elderly amateur sleuth Jane Marple with an extraordinary knack of solving crimes back to the small screen in 2004, broadcast on ITV1. The series is based on the Miss Marple stories by Agatha Christie, who's novels have also been adapted for Agatha Christie's Poirot, as well as adapting other Christie novels introduces the character of Miss Marple to them. Despite mixed reviews as to McEwan's suitability to the role and adaptions made to the stories to give a more modern edge, the series has proved highly popular and attracted large viewing figures in the UK and around the world. After the completion of filming of series 3, it was announed that Geraldine McEwan would be retiring from the role. From series 4, for which four new episodes have been produced, Julia McKenzie will be taking on the role. The series is due to air in the UK some time during 2009. The novels that have been adapted by ITV are: The Murder At The Vicarage (1930) The Sittaford Mystery (1931) [non-Marple] Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1934) [non-Marple] Murder is Easy (1939) [non-Marple] The Body In The Library (1942) The Moving Finger (1943) Towards Zero (1944) [non-Marple] A Murder Is Announced (1950) They Do It With Mirrors (1952) A Pocketful of Rye (1953) 4:50 From Paddington (1957) Ordeal By Innocence (1958) [non-Marple] At Bertram's Hotel (1965) By The Pricking Of My Thumbs (1968) [non-Marple] Nemesis (1971) Sleeping Murder (1976) TV tie-in versions of the four novels in the first series have been published. The novels of the first two films in the second series (the two Marple novels) have also been republished as TV tie-in novels. The second series also featured two non-Marple novels by Agatha Christie being adapted with Miss Marple added in. For the third series, another two Marple and two non-Marple novels were adapted. The pattern is set to continue with the fourth series. A documentary entitled Behind The Scenes: Agatha Christie's Marple was shown on ITV3 after the final episode of the first series. The documentary is available on the DVD release of the first series.
Just wanted to canvass opinion about Julia Mackenzie. I've never seen her in anything where she is the lead character,so I'm not sure how she will handle it. Although she did crack me up in Cranford....with her cow in long-johns! :lol:
... what stories will be treated in season 4? I've tried to search the web, but so far it led me to a dead end. Is there any tv guide that has published a list of the new episodes or at list the season premiere?
Seen it and can say it was a bit boring and confusing. I found it hard to keep track of whose who - other then Miss Marple and a couple of other characters. Weird how everyone got those "Poison Pen" letters but took them so seriously. Bunch silliness if you took them seriously which I wouldn't… More have if it was me. ;)
Unravel the puzzles of the criminal mindset and the human condition in the adventures of Agatha Christie's stalwart sleuth. hide show
I never can figure out what it is with detectives: does trouble follow them, or vice versa?
Whatever it is, the great ones leave a mark on our collective memory not only because of their skills in matching fingerprints and figuring out who stands to get rich from wills, but because of their insights into what makes people tick. Geraldine McEwen is the sixth individual (in this show's overall history) to walk in the shoes of Miss Jane of literary legend, and she is a worthy addition to the class.
My favorite episode of the new series is still "A Murder is Announced," with its tale of a killing ripped from the headlines--the headlines of a country town not used to such horrors, that is--but it's a pleasure to see the show will be with us for a good time to come.
Make it your mystery movie of the week.
It's good, but the old Joan Hickson version on BBC2, beats it by far. hide show
This programme is good and I think it is sometimes worth watching, but in my opinion, the Joan Hickson version on BBC2 was better. It might have been in technicolour, but it was much more realistic and Geraldine McEwan, in my opinion, has a very high standard to reach and she doesn't quite give the same effect as Joan Hickson. But some people might prefer this version, because at least it does feature some good features. It has bright colours and modern photography, not to mension the long list of famous actors who appear in verious episodes. So overall, it is good and can be interesting to watch, but I don't find it as good as the BBC2 version, featuring Joan Hickson. On the other hand, they show the Joan Hickson version very rarely on BBC2 nowadays. (P.S. This review refers to BBC2 in the UK.)
Good, but could be better ... hide show
You have to feel for Geraldine McEwan, she had some big shoes to fill when stepping in to the role. Joan Hickson is the definitive Miss Marple, with a loyal fanbase even to this day.
While so far McEwan has "made" the recent adaptations of Christie's classic series, the rest of the new series is definitely lacking the fervor of it's predecessor.
The supporting cast hasn't been the best, actually they have been downright lackluster - with very few exceptions like that of Sir Derek Jacobi in The Murder at the Vicarage.
The writing is dull, and overall the show needs a major tweeking.
I still plan on giving this new version a proper chance, but I hope that in the near furture they make some major changes before they lose the fanbase and end up getting axed.
Good... but... not Hickson. hide show
I love Geraldine McEwan, and I have no problems with her as Miss Marple. And yes, Joanna Lumley is inspired as Dolly Bantry. The scripts are well adapted, the acting is good, it should all come together nicely.
But.
I'm afraid I just can't watch these without thinking how it doens't really match up to the standard, set still comparativly recently, by the most amazing Joan Hickson. If you're going to re-make Marple mysteries you either need to wait for the Hickson ones to be *so* old that no-one watches them any more, or even remembers them much, or you need to have something which is not just good, outstandingly and unmistakably better.
And this, sadly, isn' it.
Great Production Values hide show
I was extremely happy when I learned that Miss Marple was getting a new show. More people are going to be able to see it, because many missed out on the magnificent Joan Hickson movies from the 80's.
The first season (The Body in the Library, The Murder at the Vicarage, 4:50 From Paddington, A Murder is Announced) has cream-of-the-crop acting, with amazing talents like Joanna Lumley, Ian Richardson, Tara Fitzgerald, Simon Callow, Derek Jacobi, Janet McTeer, Miriam Margolyes, Rachael Stirling, Stephen Tompkinson, John Hannah, Amanda Holden, Griff Rhys Jones, David Warner, Zoe Wanamaker, Sienna Guillory, Keeley Hawes and Frances Barber. The locations are lavish, the music is upbeat and fun. Scripting is a little faulty, but in most areas this can be over looked.
Bad points: the ending to "The Body in the Library" was changed. This is a pity, because other than that, this was a great episode.
Unless you feel like making a fuss about things, Miss Marple's relationship in the past ("The Murder at the Vicarage") can be overlooked. It's true that she must have had relationships, otherwise she wouldn't be her unshockable self.
"4:50 From Paddington" had a motive change, but this is probably one of the best.
"A Murder is Announced" has many characters cut, and a fair amount of the plot was changed, but this is an enjoyable episode none the less.
Hopefully, the next season will be good. ITV has confirmed that the next four movies will be "Sleeping Murder", "The Moving Finger", "The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side" and "At Bertram's Hotel".
The cast for "Sleeping Murder" contains such talents as Dawn French, Sophia Myles, Peter Serafinowicz, Geraldine Chaplin, Aidan McArdle, Anna-Louise Plowman, Sarah Parish, Una Stubbs, Russ Abbot, Martin Kemp, Joanna Lumley and Paul McGann. The UK TV Times announced that Emilia Fox, Thelma Barlow, Kelly Brook, Harry Enfield, Ken Russell and Jessica Stevenson will be in the next installment, "The Moving Finger". Stephanie Beacham and David Soul were rumored to be in "The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side".
Hopefully further seasons of Miss Marple will be as good (but with less plot changes) as the first.
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