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AC on US PBS television

gleavitt 28 Sep 09 at 7:24 p.m. GMT

If you watch Agatha Christie on American PBS you should be aware you are being short-changed!

     A few days ago my wife and i watched a TV broadcast in London of "A Pocketful of Rye" on the ITV channel.  Both of us noticed that the telecast included scenes that were not on the version we saw on PBS in the US.  The plot is so intricate that unless you see the whole thing the ending seems rather arbitrary.  (Evidently PBS edited the tape to fit into their time slot).

    Please join me in contacting your PBS station to object to this editing.  Next time we see Agatha Christie we want the full story!

                                                                Gordon Leavitt

                                                                 New York                 

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GKCfan 29 Sep 09 at 1:55 a.m. GMT

Yes, we've complained about the cuts here for a long time.  PBS used to run 100-minute episodes over two hours.  Now they cut 90-95 minute episodes to fit into 86 minutes.

go_leafs_nation 29 Sep 09 at 9:41 a.m. GMT

PBS also tends to ruin the sound mix while they're at it. The best example is At Bertram's Hotel. I was surprised when I saw the DVD version, because the sound mix was rather decent, and I wondered what the fuss was. Then I saw a clip from the original broadcast, and remarked that it was far worse.

Another thing they do (but only with Poirot) is cut the DVD even shorter than the broadcast. I hate this move. It might be only 2-3 minutes, but it completely disrupts the film. One of my favourites, After the Funeral, cut a few things out which made for some extremely poor "cover-up" editing. The most obvious is when Poirot hears of Cora's demise. The cutting in the original broadcast was bone-chilling. On the DVD, we cut to a woman laughing. It's annoying. Later, when Helen figures out what was wrong that day, the broadcast extended the scene to include her running down the stairs as the music builds up. On the DVD, they cut to the music's climax and her position not too far from the bottom.

As for The Mystery of the Blue Train, it's highly amusing to see the term "G%ddamn" edited out. It's not amusing, however, to have some of its strongest scenes (like the attempted bribing of Derek, taken from the book, suspenseful, and entertaining) removed.

GKCfan 29 Sep 09 at 5:37 p.m. GMT

To be fair, PBS wasn't responsible for the "After the Funeral" and "Blue Train" edits: PBS was not involved in new episodes of "Poirot" for many years: A&E took over, and the cuts in some recent episodes are due to their dropping scenes to make more time for commercials.  A&E bailed on "Poirot" because they wanted to do abandon high-quality mystery drama in favor of cheap, tacky "reality" shows.

Bundle_ 29 Sep 09 at 5:44 p.m. GMT

I've thought about writing to PBS and complaining about the time constraints that they've put on British television programs. I really don't see the point in deleting a lot scenes as they don't break for commercials and all they show after it is a bunch of future pbs productions which really doesn't make sense at all as they show those all day long anyway. But I've never written to them about it because I genuinely feel as if they wouldn't care all that much -- especially if they are not receiving any pledges from you.

go_leafs_nation 29 Sep 09 at 7:12 p.m. GMT

Thanks for clarifying, GKC. I knew this, but as I was on the topic of poor edits, I threw that rant in. I could've sworn I mentioned that it wasn't PBS. Ah, well. Life goes on.

GKCfan 29 Sep 09 at 8:59 p.m. GMT

Bundle, I highly recommend writing to both the national offices of PBS and your local PBS affiliate.  I have written to them on many occasions.  Sometimes I get a very nice response, sometimes I don't.  For a long time PBS wasn't sure if it wanted to put up the funds for starting the Poirot series again after A&E dropped it, but a letter campaign organized in part on this website may have helped influence them into picking up the series.

Bundle_ 30 Sep 09 at 12:28 a.m. GMT

GKCfan

but a letter campaign organized in part on this website may have helped influence them into picking up the series.

Did we do this on the old site??

btw GKC just in case you didn't see the topic I started quite some time ago  in the New to Christie section of the forum, I changed my user name from TheMole to Bundle :0)

GKCfan 30 Sep 09 at 3:44 a.m. GMT

Yes Bundle, aka TheMole, I know about the name change!  Whatever you call yourself, it's good to have you here!

Yes, we did this on the old site.  I remember that I posted the pertinent addresses on the site, and a number of us sent in letters.  We did the same thing when they announced that the Poirot series was being cancelled three years ago, and a letter campaign helped change their minds.

Bundle_ 30 Sep 09 at 2:56 p.m. GMT

GKCfan

Yes Bundle, aka TheMole, I know about the name change!  Whatever you call yourself, it's good to have you here!

Thank you, GKC! The feeling is mutual!

Yes, we did this on the old site.  I remember that I posted the pertinent addresses on the site, and a number of us sent in letters. 

 I remember the topic now. Okay, I'll write to them soon.