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Poirot & Marple in the U.S.

GKCfan 13 Apr 09 at 3:32 a.m. GMT

For all of the American viewers, PBS has announced that it plans to air two new Poirot episodes on the 21st and 28th of June, with three episodes of Miss Marple airing from the 5th to the 26th of July.  However, this leaves two Poirot episodes and one Marple unaccounted for, and they don't say which ones are airing yet.

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173 replies

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Noah 13 Apr 09 at 10:36 p.m. GMT

I'm sure it will be Mrs. McGinty's Dead and Cat Among the Pigeons for the Poirot's and A Pocket Full of Rye, Murder is Easy and Why Didn't They Ask Evans? for the Marples.

Third Girl and Appointment with death will probably be aired a little later and the entire production of They Do It With Mirrors is kind of missing in action.

TheMole 15 Apr 09 at 5:17 p.m. GMT

Hello GKC, how are you?

Thanks for that: I was wondering when it would finally air.

GKCfan 15 Apr 09 at 6:42 p.m. GMT

Hi Mole!  Haven't heard from you in a while!  Great to see you here! 

Of course, a year ago PBS said they'd air "Mrs. McGinty's Dead" and "Cat Among the Pigeons" last summer, and they cancelled it a month before the air date.  They could add the other two Poirots and one Marple at any point.

TheMole 15 Apr 09 at 7:52 p.m. GMT

:0) Thanks! And I remember PBS mentioning that they'd air it last year. They are just not handling the Poirot episodes properly. However, I have no doubt that they won't keep their word about airing the MM episodes, since they've been consistent in airing her.

PhillyTom 31 May 09 at 1:37 a.m. GMT

Actually, they are showing all four of the Miss Marples and two Poirots.

GKCfan 31 May 09 at 2:01 a.m. GMT

Since I first posted this news, PBS has changed its website and schedule so that all four new Marples will air.  My information was correct at the time it was posted.

S_Sigerson 01 Jun 09 at 5:03 p.m. GMT

How thrilling!!!!! I am so excited about seeing Julia McKenzie in the role of Miss. Marple.  Just another in a long line of fine actresses to portray the indelible lady from St Mary Mead.

TheMole 25 Jun 09 at 2:38 p.m. GMT

Has anyone seen Poirot yet?

GKCfan 25 Jun 09 at 6:49 p.m. GMT

Not yet.  "Cat Among the Pigeons" aired on PBS this week, but I understand it's been edited for time, so I'm waiting for the DVD.

S_Sigerson 26 Jun 09 at 11:37 a.m. GMT

Really? PBS airs programs without commercials. Usually shows are cut to allow for commercials, so I don't see why PBS would need to make any changes or cuts.

GKCfan 26 Jun 09 at 5:22 p.m. GMT

Poirot episodes are about 90-100 minutes.  PBS schedules 90 minutes for Masterpiece Mystery!  They used to allow two hours, I don't know why they don't give the extra time now.  When you include introductions by guest celebrities and sponsor credits, they need to edit at least five minutes and sometimes more out of each episode.  Often, scenes with pivotal clues are cut, making the viewing experience disjointed.  They need to start airing uncut episodes again.

AndThenThereWasTim 30 Jun 09 at 7:39 p.m. GMT

I saw Cat.. It was Good :) They edited from the original book (different, yet cooler, murder weapon.. Took out a few characters ect.) it a little but it was acceptable.. I also saw Mrs. McGinty.. It was good too but I haven't read the book So i dont know how deeply it was editied

S_Sigerson 02 Jul 09 at 11:11 p.m. GMT

They should allow two hours to avoid cutting the material. I wonder why they changed the format. One of the advantages of PBS was they did not air commericals, thus were able to show the program without cuts.

Number3 05 Jul 09 at 8:59 p.m. GMT

GK PBS might be editing some of the films.  But, I recently saw "Evil Under the Sun" and it was only 90 minutes.

HerculeJC 06 Jul 09 at 3:23 a.m. GMT

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First off, I admit that, due to several issues I have not been active on this Site.

Tonight I watched "A Pocket Full of Rye", with Julia McKenzie.

My feelings: I'll stick with Joan Hickson.  She is the real Miss Jane Marple, in my opinion.

Julia McKenzie comes across as an older version of Angela Lansbury, as both Miss Marple and Jessica Fletcher.

I was disappointed that Aunt Effie was omitted and Crump was portrayed as an alcoholic.

The other characters acted more as charicatures of themselves.

S_Sigerson 08 Jul 09 at 3:46 p.m. GMT

The McKenzie version of A Pocket Full of Rye follows the book more closely. The ending in particular was practically taken word for word from the book. In the Hickson version of A Pocket Full of Rye the ending was drastically altered.  

I found the latest A Pocket Full of Rye enjoyable. Aunt Effie had such a small role you really don't miss her. Even though in the Hickson version, I still remember (with a smile) when Miss. Marple arrived on the scene and she quoted from the Bible and immediately Aunt Effie said to Miss. Marple, you  are going to stay in the house. What an entrance. If only all it took was a quote from the Bible to stay in a rather a posh and grand country estate.    

TheMole 09 Jul 09 at 3:21 p.m. GMT

Oh I loved the Cat Among the Pigeons adapt! It was so well done! And pretty faithful to the book. I would watch that over & over again & not get bored. I also prefer the fact that Poirot is a friend of Mrs. Bullstrode; she seems like the type of woman who would appreciate Poirot's little gray cells. And they showed each teacher's personality, which I thought was very thorough. And the plot was fully developed, nothing was rushed & it all made sense to those who hadn't read it before or who haven't read it for some time.

I had high hopes for Mrs. McGinty's Dead but it was only kind of half faithful to the book. I mean, they deleted several characters liked Deidre, & the description of Maude Williams was drastically changed. I didn't find Mrs. Oliver really all that funny & I was looking forward to seeing the apples topple off of her lap when she got out of the car & roll down the street, I thought for sure they were going to incorporate that as it really gives 'new AC fans' a good idea of how Ms. Oliver was...but at least they had her throw the apple :0). I thought that the men they got for all of the roles had roughly the same physical characteristics & a friend of mine who was watching w/ me (who hasn't read Christie) kept getting confused as to which man was who! I have to agree, I mean they were all tall, had roughly the same color hair, & the same build! I did like the pictures that they used for Lily Gambol and Eva Caine, it was creepy but very emotional. I also liked the set designing everything that was done, the houses, the general store, all looked exactly as AC described it. I also liked the way they set up the stage for Poirot to reveal the culprit(s).

TheMole 09 Jul 09 at 3:23 p.m. GMT

HI HJC!!!

HerculeJC 11 Jul 09 at 11:23 p.m. GMT

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For me, I admit the ending of the new version of "A Pocket Full of Rye" was faithful to the book, except that I seem to recall that Lance was not present when Miss Marple left from Yew Tree Lodge.

Other parts of the book were fairly faithful; just noted that the acting was too stilted and caricatured.

I also disagree that Aunt Effie's role was too slight; she added a certain flair as the person who could foretell doom coming to many of the characters.

I do want to see "Murder With Mirrors", after noting the Hickson version and the Helen Hayes TV movie; will see how those compare with Julia McKenzie's version.

I'll see how Miss Marple in "Murder is Easy" and "Why Didn't They Ask Evans" comes out, but I think I would prefer the original versions of those novels.

go_leafs_nation 12 Jul 09 at 9:15 p.m. GMT

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First off, I'd just like to say "hello" to HerculeJC, whom I haven't heard from in a long time.

I have only seen Murder is Easy and A Pocket Full of Rye from Mackenize. While I loved APFOR, I found Murder is Easy to be changed too much for its own good. The plot is no longer plausible, particularly the murder of Miss Pinkerton, who is shoved down an escalator-- despite the fact that there are people going next to each other, side-by-side, two ways. The murder would've certainly been spotted. Also, it wouldn't be possible for the killer to then walk calmly right by the body-- a crowd would've formed almost for certain, unless people falling and dying from escalators is a normal occurence.

I liked A Pocket Full of Rye, which was decently faithful, while being short. While I consider Hickson's adapt to be the better one, it is also a little too long.

As for the new Poirots (I've seen them all), I loved Mrs. McGinty's Dead. It was brilliantly executed. Mrs. Oliver' character was not cartoonish, and Wanamaker was brilliant in the role once more. She was quite hilarious, and besides, my favourite scene, where she and RObin collaborate on a play, was fantastically translated onscreen.

Cat Among the Pigeons, on the other hand, made a little more plot changes than McGinty. However, they all work! It's reasonably faithful, and a few plot changes here and there facilitate its translation on screen. This also helps reducing the number of characters-- with a plot change, Miss Vansittart no longer is a necessary character.