4:50 From Paddington

As thearkbuilder pointed out in his review, 4:50 From Paddington is the best of the first season of the show. There are the fewest liberties taken with the original novel, and the acting is excellent all around. My favorite cast members were Amanda Holden as Lucy and John Hannah as Inspector Campbell. The minor love triangle that occured between them and Bryan Eastley (Michael Landes) was also well done. You weren't sure who Lucy would end up with!

The mystery is also interesting, and the denouement at the end is almost more effective than it is in the book and Joan Hickson version (though that film is still better). Overall, 4:50 From Paddington is a well-written, excellently acted adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic book.

This is without a doubt my least favourite episode of the first season. Perhaps it was that I absolutely love Margaret Rutherford's "Murder She Said" from 1961. I don’t know. The fact is something seemed wrong from the start. This adaptation is actually pretty faithful to the book. Maybe it was the cast. No one really stood out. Even the very funny and talented John Hannah seemed bland. Geraldine was sweet and cute as always but the rest of the cast failed to bring Agatha Christie's magic to the screen. Amanda Holden was particularly poor as Lucy Eyelesbarrow a character with so much promise. Since in this story most of the investigation is up to her that presents a serious problem. Pam Ferris however was magnificent as Elspeth McGullicuddy. If only the others were at her level. Problem was she was only in three or four scenes.
There are also some problems in the rhythm. I wont go as far as saying it was boring but the story could have developed a bit smoother. There's also a romantic sub-plot with Lucy which gets quite uninteresting very fast.
The episode could have used a lot more screen time to Geraldine McEwan too. She's absent for long periods of time. Almost seems secondary. The ending sequence seems too farfetched.
Still its not without some qualities. The mystery is good as could be expected from Agatha Christie and there's that whole British atmosphere that I for one adore.
Still it could be so much better.

"4:50 From Paddington" has one of the most memorable sequences in Agatha Christie history: while on a train, Elspeth McGillicuddy (Pam Ferris) sees a murder in a passing train. The investigation then leads her friend Miss Marple to Rutherford Hall, a house with an extremely disfunctional family.

"4:50 From Paddington", though having many liberations from the original novel, is definitely the best of the bunch, its competator being "The Murder at the Vicarage". The episode has been criticized for bad acting, but I think it's great. Even though they don't have people like Jo Lumley and Derek Jacobi, I think it's very good. Some people think Rutherford Hall was filmed at one house, but this is not so. It was filmed at at least four different locations, really making Rutherford Hall their own creation. The ending is also very well done, as well. My advice: see it.