I just saw Why Didn’t they Ask Evens because it was directed by Hugh Laurie and it was absolutely delightful and genuinely witty! I want more adaptation like this and discovered your channel in my search.
Just the other day I found out that production is underway of Towards Zero, starring Anjelica Huston as Lady Tressilian. I understand that book was one of Dame Agatha’s favorites, so here’s hoping they do it similar justice. As an aside, I am very thankful that they’re choosing to adapt those stories that were forced into the Marple series a few years ago. As much as I love Miss Marple, she had no business being shoehorned into stand-alone stories.
I'd like Laurie to give Nemesis the do-over, so we can all forget about the 2007 massacre. One thing which struck me about Why Didn't They Ask Evans? besides all the other great things is the music - there's some amazing use of songs which really ground the series in the time and place - from Welsh choral singing to a lovely cheeky rendition of Ship Ahoy (All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor). Really well done, and I wish it got even half the recognition of the Branagh crap.
It’s funny, I read an Agatha Christie-styled mystery called “Moonflower Murders” and one of the suspects is named “Algernon Marsh”, and one person noted how Agatha Christie never had a character named Algernon, well, now she does!
Sign me up. Though in England a wonky-poo is what you end up having if you're a really posh person who's eaten far too many dodgy kebabs the night before.
I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed Murder is Easy. I was so disheartened to see the many racist comments about the lead actor in the comment section for the trailer. And this was before the show had even premiered. What is wrong with people?! Sounds like any changes they made to the original story tied into the overall plot. Looking forward to seeing it.
Well, I disliked the race change of the lead actor because some of the story then became about his race rather than his getting on with investigating the murders. Having said that, I did like his scenes with Major Horton and thought a spin off series with the two of them solving crimes would be interesting. Then it would all be fresh and new and nothing to do with changing the plot of an established work.
When I read Why Didn't They Ask Evans, it was after reading a couple Poirots and I just assumed he starred in all Agatha Christie mysteries. The whole time I wondered, "Where the heck is Poirot?"
I've not seen "Murder is Easy" yet but after this I'll have to remedy that. "Why Didn't They Ask Evans" I watched and loved though. So much so I want to see the characters (and the actors) in another mystery. The only thing about it that made me pause was finding out from TV Tropes that there is a line in the book that is missing from the film despite the fact that the line would fit in perfectly with the tone of the film. I'll see if people can work out which one I mean before I reveal it.
Miss Marple's version of Murder is Easy despite having major issues, had a very tragic murderer. Set in 1930, the incest pregnancy and the fallout was very painful to watch....and I did sympathise with the killer when she was unmasked. All the killer wanted to do was to prevent further pain, suffering and shame for her loved one and herself....and just melt away, but her pregnancy complicated things to no end. The murders kept on happening because she kept on wanting to hide the original "sympathetic" murder. Just wish the other aspect of the story was better handled.
Great as always, thank you! I totally agree over Murder is Easy and controversially actually think it is an improvement on the book. I also think being black in a small village coveys to the sense of how someone would stand out as a stranger in a small village and that the English folk/Nigerian folk rituals and stories comparisons work better with a Nigerian than a former ex Pat. I know Towards Zero is in the making as well as Secret of Chimneys (which I guess you know too!). Hoping these are all as good, much better than the Sarah Phelps and Kenneth Branaugh adaptations I think
❤ Thank you. I was mesmerized by Murder is Easy 2024...it was compelling and you really articulate the finer points of translation from book to page. When Luke and Miss Pinkerton have fudge together...❤sealed the deal. Thanks again for your wonderful channel.
@@MysteryMiles Don't ever use the word "likeable" to describe a minority. It's a loaded term. DO black people ever do it when describing Majority black film with majority black cast? No. We know what you mean by likeable. Hence why Africa is doing a overhaul and turning towards China. I don't think we are looking back this time. China is the future for Africa, the West is the past
You are amazing, keep going ❤️ ! But I have one question. Will we ever see solo video for one of the best agatha christie's adaptation FIVE LITTLE PIGS ? Now summer ended maybe wait for next end of the summer feel like Hollow would be nice to do.
Thank you! I wasn't planning to do a video solely on 5LP, but I'm starting to think I will. There are things I want to talk about that I didn't end up mentioning in the "4 Christies that Nailed It" video. I like the idea of doing it near the end of summer. I got my hands on a copy of the French version of The Hollow, so once I get around to re-reading the book, we'll see if a video script comes out of that comparison. :)
I did like Why didn't they ask Evans. But as much as I did like the idea of the changes to murder is easy, it didn't work for me personally. The change to the 1950's for the bits in London to work didn't feel like it had been followed through during the rest of the adaptation with large parts feeling more like they made sense if the setting was the 1930's. It was enough to take me out of it. But I appreciate what they were trying to do and it was better than the Marple adaptation.
I have to admit, I might have to give these two adaptations a rewatch. I remember really liking both to start, especially Murder is Easy, but found their resolutions a little underwhelming, presentation wise. Same thing with some of the previous BBC productions, so it must just be a “me” thing, it not until a rewatch that I go “Yeah, the way the scene plays out makes sense”. Though I agree Murder is Easy held on to its clues a little too close to itself at times.
Or Appointment With Death? Or even Death Comes As the End? There's always room for adaptations that are actually good. And make changes that are improvements, or at least are refreshing. For example, there's multi-racial representation that's done well (these adaptations) and representation done badly (hello, Kenneth Branagh). All I ask is that the gist of the story is preserved, and that the characters behave like people from the time in which the story is set.
I so agree on Death comes as the End. As far as I know it has never been adapted onscreen, has it? Do you know why? I mean, it wouldn't be more expensive to create old-egyptian sets and clothes than doing so for the fifties!
I hope you will one day destroy the tv version of Bertram's Hotel that would have us believe Miss Marple would be ok with a young hotel maid moving in with a police officer without getting married first. I still fume on the inside over that one. Miss Marple would have a stroke! Especially when one considers the much better episode Body in the Library, where she correctly points out to a married couple who have been shocking the villagers by pretending they're just lovers that they need all the good will they can get, as the husband is going to be tried for a murder he didn't commit and how people feel about you holds sway with judges. People don't like lovers living together in sin! Not in those days they didn't! A police officer who lived in sin with a maid would probably lose his job, she would lose her reputation, their kids would be called bastards etc! /rant
I guess I ought to check out the Why Didn't They Ask Evans? I didn't like Poulter as a child actor and I've been holding that against him, which is probably unfair I did watch the Murder is Easy and while I love the changes to Luke and most of the characters, I found it really slow-going. Maybe that's because of the lack of clues; maybe my brain was measuring time between mystery plot-points.
'Murder is Easy' has always been a favourite Christie novel of mine, and the 'Marple' version made me so disappointed...almost to the point of anger!!!...When I saw the casting of the 2023 version I was uneasy to say the least! BUT the change in the period setting made it work! I believed in these characters... Now, 'Why Didn't They Ask Evans' was not a favourite Christie novel. Far from it! I think it was somewhat 'messy' with clues and therefore less satisfactory with its denouement. The 2022 adaptation actually seemed to make more sense! I could see how the clues were leading (and misleading) the viewer, and it was solid entertainment!
Say what you want about the Miss Marple version of Murder is Easy but at least, it has Benedict Cumberbatch as Luke Fitzwilliam and I mean he played the famous Sherlock Holmes in the BBC TV adaptation, Sherlock. No offense to the African-American actor who played the character but he did a good job despite some racial issues. As for 2022 version of Why They Didn't Ask Evans?, it was good movie.
Why didn’t they ask Evans was really good. Not quite as good as the 2015 And then there were none but still good enough that I’ve watched it three times now. The Mrs and I started Murder is easy but couldn’t get into it. Might give it another go one of these days.
I am sorry, but I really don't agree as far as Why didn't they ask Evans is concerned. I love that book and I am totally with you where the Marple-edition is concerned. That was awful. So I was really happy to konw there had been a neu adaptation - but, boy, was I disappointed. I can't quite make upp mey mind, if it was due to the script, to direction or to the actors - may be it was a mix. Suffice it to say, there was never a point where I forgot I was watching a movie - the main characters seemed very stupid most of the time and then suddenly they tumbled to the right conclusion - which never seemed to be earned. IMHO, the 80ies version with Francesca Annis was much superior - the only plus going for the new adaptation is the fact that the main characters are more the right age - Francesca & Co were too old to be very convincing as the bright young thing crowd they were meant to be.
Murder is Easy is one of my favourite Agatha Christie novels but NO to the recent tv adaptation. And this has nothing to do with ‘racism’. Highly unlikely for a black detective to appear out of the blue in an English village in the early 1950s and start a private investigation into a series of local murders. For one thing, no one would have cooperated so readily. He wouldn’t have fitted in socially at all. He wouldn’t have had invitations to dinner, tennis parties, etc. Maybe in America, just about possible, but not in England. And that he should have a romance with the fiancée of the local Press Lord in the process is also absurd. As for the disappearance of antiquarian Ellsworthy, more political correctness, I think is the reason - as he is a dubious, flamboyant ‘womanish’ young man of ‘strange tastes’ , who walks in a ‘mincing’ manner - coded gay - AND into witchcraft. So he had to go. I wish these cultural re-writes and misrepresentations should stop but I very much fear they won’t. The world was clearly not a very good place for some but there it is - the past is the past - the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there.
I would argue the reverse -- much more likely to have a Nigerian gentleman accepted in England than in the US at that point. When I was a kid in England (Cambridgeshire) in the early 60s, we had a Black (Jamaican) vicar, and it all seemed perfectly normal. We moved to the US in 1963, and it never would have been accepted there. Britain just didn't have the history of segregation and Jim Crow that the US had.
There should be no black characters in either of these adaptations. If producers want to do this at least update them to the present day. And I missed Mr Ellsworthy's character; he's one of the best characters in the book.
I'd like to see an adaptation that combines Pale Horse, Mirror Cracked, and Dead Man's Folly all utilizing the same village fete for the start of the story with Marple, Poirot, and Mark Easterbrook's investigations criss crossing.
I saw Why Didn't They Ask Evans? It was good. Perhaps Laurie should direct Card On the Table, we all know that needs a do over!
Excellent idea ❤
I just saw Why Didn’t they Ask Evens because it was directed by Hugh Laurie and it was absolutely delightful and genuinely witty! I want more adaptation like this and discovered your channel in my search.
Thank you for covering these. I really enjoyed both adaptations. I hope they make more like these.
Just the other day I found out that production is underway of Towards Zero, starring Anjelica Huston as Lady Tressilian. I understand that book was one of Dame Agatha’s favorites, so here’s hoping they do it similar justice.
As an aside, I am very thankful that they’re choosing to adapt those stories that were forced into the Marple series a few years ago. As much as I love Miss Marple, she had no business being shoehorned into stand-alone stories.
Delighted to see a new video from you. Time to re-watch all again.
I'd like Laurie to give Nemesis the do-over, so we can all forget about the 2007 massacre. One thing which struck me about Why Didn't They Ask Evans? besides all the other great things is the music - there's some amazing use of songs which really ground the series in the time and place - from Welsh choral singing to a lovely cheeky rendition of Ship Ahoy (All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor). Really well done, and I wish it got even half the recognition of the Branagh crap.
Excellent adaptations. I was pleasantly aurprised by these.
It’s funny, I read an Agatha Christie-styled mystery called “Moonflower Murders” and one of the suspects is named “Algernon Marsh”, and one person noted how Agatha Christie never had a character named Algernon, well, now she does!
Ohhhh, I love this book! And it’s author Anthony Horowitz.
Have you read Magpie Murders too?
Moonflower is coming to PBS following the success magpie murder. ❤
@@sandramilfort9261 I know, me and my mother are so happy, we loved “Magpie Murders”
@@Phantomex6303 Oh, I have, wonderful novel! The Atticus Pünd book felt alot like your usual “Midsomer Murders” episode and I loved it!
Am starting a secret 'Wonky-Poo' society .... IYKYK
Sign me up.
Though in England a wonky-poo is what you end up having if you're a really posh person who's eaten far too many dodgy kebabs the night before.
I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed Murder is Easy. I was so disheartened to see the many racist comments about the lead actor in the comment section for the trailer. And this was before the show had even premiered. What is wrong with people?! Sounds like any changes they made to the original story tied into the overall plot. Looking forward to seeing it.
Well, I disliked the race change of the lead actor because some of the story then became about his race rather than his getting on with investigating the murders. Having said that, I did like his scenes with Major Horton and thought a spin off series with the two of them solving crimes would be interesting. Then it would all be fresh and new and nothing to do with changing the plot of an established work.
When I read Why Didn't They Ask Evans, it was after reading a couple Poirots and I just assumed he starred in all Agatha Christie mysteries. The whole time I wondered, "Where the heck is Poirot?"
I have not seen the new Murder is Easy, so I'll have to set aside a night to watch it- thanks!!
I've not seen "Murder is Easy" yet but after this I'll have to remedy that.
"Why Didn't They Ask Evans" I watched and loved though. So much so I want to see the characters (and the actors) in another mystery.
The only thing about it that made me pause was finding out from TV Tropes that there is a line in the book that is missing from the film despite the fact that the line would fit in perfectly with the tone of the film. I'll see if people can work out which one I mean before I reveal it.
Same same. Haven't seen "Murder is Easy", but love "Why Didn't They Ask Evans". It's just so very well done.
Miss Marple's version of Murder is Easy despite having major issues, had a very tragic murderer.
Set in 1930, the incest pregnancy and the fallout was very painful to watch....and I did sympathise with the killer when she was unmasked.
All the killer wanted to do was to prevent further pain, suffering and shame for her loved one and herself....and just melt away, but her pregnancy complicated things to no end.
The murders kept on happening because she kept on wanting to hide the original "sympathetic" murder.
Just wish the other aspect of the story was better handled.
Great as always, thank you! I totally agree over Murder is Easy and controversially actually think it is an improvement on the book. I also think being black in a small village coveys to the sense of how someone would stand out as a stranger in a small village and that the English folk/Nigerian folk rituals and stories comparisons work better with a Nigerian than a former ex Pat. I know Towards Zero is in the making as well as Secret of Chimneys (which I guess you know too!). Hoping these are all as good, much better than the Sarah Phelps and Kenneth Branaugh adaptations I think
I didn't know about The Secret of Chimneys being made! That's awesome!
Oh no, I just realised it's Seven Dials Mystery being filmed, not Secret of Chimneys. Both Tommy & Tuppence I think
Oh not Tommy & Tuppence, but both books have Lady Bundle, so Seven Dials follows Secret of Chimneys
❤ Thank you. I was mesmerized by Murder is Easy 2024...it was compelling and you really articulate the finer points of translation from book to page. When Luke and Miss Pinkerton have fudge together...❤sealed the deal. Thanks again for your wonderful channel.
Did you know, what Agatha Christie Novel they‘re going to adapt next?
Towards Zero 😮❤❤
Yes, I heard! :)
@@MysteryMiles Don't ever use the word "likeable" to describe a minority. It's a loaded term. DO black people ever do it when describing Majority black film with majority black cast? No. We know what you mean by likeable. Hence why Africa is doing a overhaul and turning towards China. I don't think we are looking back this time. China is the future for Africa, the West is the past
I'm really glad you liked the Murder is Easy adaotation. I liked it a lot, even if I was a little sad that they didn't give the romance a HEA
You are amazing, keep going ❤️ ! But I have one question. Will we ever see solo video for one of the best agatha christie's adaptation FIVE LITTLE PIGS ? Now summer ended maybe wait for next end of the summer feel like Hollow would be nice to do.
Thank you! I wasn't planning to do a video solely on 5LP, but I'm starting to think I will. There are things I want to talk about that I didn't end up mentioning in the "4 Christies that Nailed It" video. I like the idea of doing it near the end of summer. I got my hands on a copy of the French version of The Hollow, so once I get around to re-reading the book, we'll see if a video script comes out of that comparison. :)
Thank you I like this new adaptation.
I did like Why didn't they ask Evans. But as much as I did like the idea of the changes to murder is easy, it didn't work for me personally. The change to the 1950's for the bits in London to work didn't feel like it had been followed through during the rest of the adaptation with large parts feeling more like they made sense if the setting was the 1930's. It was enough to take me out of it. But I appreciate what they were trying to do and it was better than the Marple adaptation.
I really want a Death comes as the end adaptation!
I have to admit, I might have to give these two adaptations a rewatch. I remember really liking both to start, especially Murder is Easy, but found their resolutions a little underwhelming, presentation wise. Same thing with some of the previous BBC productions, so it must just be a “me” thing, it not until a rewatch that I go “Yeah, the way the scene plays out makes sense”. Though I agree Murder is Easy held on to its clues a little too close to itself at times.
Or Appointment With Death? Or even Death Comes As the End?
There's always room for adaptations that are actually good. And make changes that are improvements, or at least are refreshing. For example, there's multi-racial representation that's done well (these adaptations) and representation done badly (hello, Kenneth Branagh).
All I ask is that the gist of the story is preserved, and that the characters behave like people from the time in which the story is set.
I so agree on Death comes as the End. As far as I know it has never been adapted onscreen, has it? Do you know why? I mean, it wouldn't be more expensive to create old-egyptian sets and clothes than doing so for the fifties!
I hope you will one day destroy the tv version of Bertram's Hotel that would have us believe Miss Marple would be ok with a young hotel maid moving in with a police officer without getting married first. I still fume on the inside over that one. Miss Marple would have a stroke! Especially when one considers the much better episode Body in the Library, where she correctly points out to a married couple who have been shocking the villagers by pretending they're just lovers that they need all the good will they can get, as the husband is going to be tried for a murder he didn't commit and how people feel about you holds sway with judges. People don't like lovers living together in sin! Not in those days they didn't! A police officer who lived in sin with a maid would probably lose his job, she would lose her reputation, their kids would be called bastards etc! /rant
I guess I ought to check out the Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
I didn't like Poulter as a child actor and I've been holding that against him, which is probably unfair
I did watch the Murder is Easy and while I love the changes to Luke and most of the characters, I found it really slow-going. Maybe that's because of the lack of clues; maybe my brain was measuring time between mystery plot-points.
Poulter's gotten much better, and he's grown into his eyebrows XD
Welp, I know what I'm watching next 🍿 🍿
'Murder is Easy' has always been a favourite Christie novel of mine, and the 'Marple' version made me so disappointed...almost to the point of anger!!!...When I saw the casting of the 2023 version I was uneasy to say the least! BUT the change in the period setting made it work! I believed in these characters... Now, 'Why Didn't They Ask Evans' was not a favourite Christie novel. Far from it! I think it was somewhat 'messy' with clues and therefore less satisfactory with its denouement. The 2022 adaptation actually seemed to make more sense! I could see how the clues were leading (and misleading) the viewer, and it was solid entertainment!
"a secular caller of Bullshit" love it XD
Say what you want about the Miss Marple version of Murder is Easy but at least, it has Benedict Cumberbatch as Luke Fitzwilliam and I mean he played the famous Sherlock Holmes in the BBC TV adaptation, Sherlock. No offense to the African-American actor who played the character but he did a good job despite some racial issues.
As for 2022 version of Why They Didn't Ask Evans?, it was good movie.
Why didn’t they ask Evans was really good. Not quite as good as the 2015 And then there were none but still good enough that I’ve watched it three times now. The Mrs and I started Murder is easy but couldn’t get into it. Might give it another go one of these days.
I am sorry, but I really don't agree as far as Why didn't they ask Evans is concerned. I love that book and I am totally with you where the Marple-edition is concerned. That was awful. So I was really happy to konw there had been a neu adaptation - but, boy, was I disappointed. I can't quite make upp mey mind, if it was due to the script, to direction or to the actors - may be it was a mix. Suffice it to say, there was never a point where I forgot I was watching a movie - the main characters seemed very stupid most of the time and then suddenly they tumbled to the right conclusion - which never seemed to be earned. IMHO, the 80ies version with Francesca Annis was much superior - the only plus going for the new adaptation is the fact that the main characters are more the right age - Francesca & Co were too old to be very convincing as the bright young thing crowd they were meant to be.
Murder is Easy is one of my favourite Agatha Christie novels but NO to the recent tv adaptation. And this has nothing to do with ‘racism’.
Highly unlikely for a black detective to appear out of the blue in an English village in the early 1950s and start a private investigation into a series of local murders. For one thing, no one would have cooperated so readily. He wouldn’t have fitted in socially at all. He wouldn’t have had invitations to dinner, tennis parties, etc. Maybe in America, just about possible, but not in England. And that he should have a romance with the fiancée of the local Press Lord in the process is also absurd.
As for the disappearance of antiquarian Ellsworthy, more political correctness, I think is the reason - as he is a dubious, flamboyant ‘womanish’ young man of ‘strange tastes’ , who walks in a ‘mincing’ manner - coded gay - AND into witchcraft. So he had to go. I wish these cultural re-writes and misrepresentations should stop but I very much fear they won’t. The world was clearly not a very good place for some but there it is - the past is the past - the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there.
I would argue the reverse -- much more likely to have a Nigerian gentleman accepted in England than in the US at that point. When I was a kid in England (Cambridgeshire) in the early 60s, we had a Black (Jamaican) vicar, and it all seemed perfectly normal. We moved to the US in 1963, and it never would have been accepted there. Britain just didn't have the history of segregation and Jim Crow that the US had.
I don't like the woman from The Rings of Power and avoid watching anything with her in it. Both her looks and her voice annoy me.
There should be no black characters in either of these adaptations. If producers want to do this at least update them to the present day. And I missed Mr Ellsworthy's character; he's one of the best characters in the book.
I agree. it is silly to have them there. They don't belong in the movies.
I'd like to see an adaptation that combines Pale Horse, Mirror Cracked, and Dead Man's Folly all utilizing the same village fete for the start of the story with Marple, Poirot, and Mark Easterbrook's investigations criss crossing.
Title: Fetes are Fatal