Taken at the Flood

Season 10, Episode 4, Aired

Episode Summary

EDIT
8.9
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Great
27 votes
  • Your Rating: 10
    "Perfect"
  • Your Rating: 9.5
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 9
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 8.5
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 8
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 7.5
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 7
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 6.5
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 6
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 5.5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 4.5
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 4
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 3.5
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 3
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 2.5
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 2
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 1.5
    "Abysmal"
  • Your Rating: 1
    "Abysmal"
Rate Now!
Gordon Cloade marries a young widow, but within days he is killed by a gas explosion in his home, leaving no will, so that his fortune all goes to the new Mrs Cloade. But then Poirot has a visit from a member of the family who claims she has information from the spirit world that the rich Mrs Cloade's first husband is still alive, so that she is still Mrs Underhay. Poirot is asked to find the missing Underhay, with supernatural guidance...moreless
WRITE A REVIEW

Cast & Crew

See All EDIT

Fan Episode Reviews (3)

See All

  • Absolutely the best Poirot ever! -- Direction, acting, story and production are Far Above the normal "very pleasant diversion" that you usually find with the Poirot series, starring David Suchet.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By donelson, Jun 07, 2006
    The complexity, acting, direction and production of this 2-hour episode of the Poirot series, starring David Suchet, are superb. If you are a fan of the Poirot series, you will be amazed at what has been achieved here. The supporting actors are excellent, and far more skilled than the "usual, pleasant Poirot" series.

    In this episode, we see a flashback to a horrific gas explosion, tearing apart the lives of many of the Cloade clan. The only survivors include the hated wife of the patriarch of the clan, and her brother.

    Layer upon layer of secrets, several murders and a suicide thoroughly twist us around and around in the screenwriter's capable hands.

    I might even venture to say that, gasp, this episode rises to the heights of Inspector Morse!

    The best ever Poirot, by far!
    moreless

  • A less well-known story that they've done very well.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By qstevie, May 16, 2006
    I have to admit to never having read the book for this one. I've listened to the BBC Drama audio version, which was great, but I'd only heard once.

    So it was good to sit down and watch this without knowing the whole story and wondering where it might all be leading. I remembered certain plot elements and I did realise who the murderer was, but this was extremely cleverly plotted and I hope kept (or will keep) everyone guessing.

    Some fine performances, as usual, from the pick of TV, film and theatre's best.

    And Agatha Christie, whatever her background, really had a way of creating some characters that didn't just kill out of an 'obvious' motive, but out of a true coldness and evil. That's maybe the most frightening thing of all.

    I'd also like to say regarding the two-hour slots for these episodes that I also believe Poirot is one of the best at filling the whole time with interest. So many of the normal one-hour shows now try to create a film-length episode and you're sitting there longing for the next ad break so there'll be something good to watch!moreless

  • All is forgiven!

    9.2
    "Superb"
    By simfelemy, Apr 04, 2006
    Once again proving that Suchet IS Poirot, another masterclass in crime drama, which further dispelled my fears that the movie-length mysteries were becoming tired and flat. This was far from that, not even sagging in the middle like some earlier attempts to fill out 2 hours. A villainous character who can\'t possibly be the murderer but turns out to be guilty of something far worse, another spectacular example of false identity (reminsicent of the previous \"After the Funeral\" where we realise no one has actually ever been introduced to a certain character and so cannot honestly identify them) and a wonderful supporting cast including legends Jenny Agutter, Liz Spriggs, Patrick Baladi and the marvellous Celia Imrie.
    Poirot is seen once again languishing in his Whitehaven apartment, if only they\'d dropped in a hint of where Ms. Lemon, Hastings or Japp were, then this would have been perfectly at home alongside the one hour format.moreless
WRITE A REVIEW
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

See All

FILTER BY TYPE

  • TRIVIA (1)

    ADD TRIVIA

    • Chilworth Manor, near Guildford, England was used as the filming location for Adela Marchmont's house. It is a country house hotel and has been used for other productions, such as an episode of Foyle's War called The Funk Hole and the movie The Wedding Date (2005).

  • QUOTES (0)

    ADD QUOTES

  • NOTES (3)

    ADD NOTES

  • ALLUSIONS (1)

    ADD ALLUSIONS

    • The title seems to allude to some words of Brutus in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: "There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune". Even better, Agatha may have had in mind some less well-known lines of the poet Byron - "There is a tide in the affairs of women Which, taken at the flood, leads - God knows where."

Agatha Christie's Poirot Forums


Add a Topic See All
Last Activity
Replies

Watch Agatha Christie's Poirot Full Episodes

See All

Related Shows

Season 10 Episodes

See All
Ep 4
Taken at the Flood
Ep 3
After the Funeral
Ep 2
Cards on the Table
Ep 1
The Mystery of the Blue Train

Contributors

Become a contributor
More
Less

TV Listings

Full Listings
TV.com Properties | Shows | Videos | News | Listings | Forums | People | Photos | TV.com Blog

CBS Entertainment | About TV.com | About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Ad Choice | Terms of Use