A well made, faithful adaptation of the detective stories of Hercule Poirot. Generally I'd say that each episode is very well cast, especially the early ones, there's some nice art and production design, the majority of the characters come from an upper middle class background, they're bank managers, military officers, actresses, writers, hostesses, sportsman, business men, etc. The settings among the early episodes are often the semidetached newly created suburbs. Period cars dot the roads and the interior set designs often favour an art deco look. Many wealthier families still retain domestic servants, even though this world is fast disappearing and society is changing rapidly. The episodes are often quite slow and deliberately paced, taking their time to tell the stories. Poirot is a very memorable creation, particular, cultured, immaculately groomed, obsessed with fine dining and the pleasures of city life. It may be the 1930s but he still dresses like it's the 1890s in a 3 piece suit, starch collar and bowtie, and a walking cane. There's often a crime within a family, a few suspects, sometimes Poirot is called in to clear a person wrongly arrested and catch the real killer. As the series goes on the body count is often several, but in the early ones it's usually just the one crime. Again the victim is often unlikeable, a bully, hated by many, one or more character may threaten to kill them just before they are knocked off, and no suspect seems to have a good alibi, all seem to be around the crime scene when the killing took place. Poirot is very much an old fashioned detective, relying mostly on noticing details overlooked by others or contradictions in statements given by witnesses. He's not a technophobe though either, happy to use modern cars and telephones if they assist him in his case. Very often lots of the suspects are bad people with guilty secrets, they all lie to Poirot, not because they are the killer but because they are trying to hide other facts. In keeping with the time women wear shorter skirts, shorter hair and so on. While a lot of the episodes are well told, some of them are unnecessarily convoluted and messy, Murder on the Links is like this. The Halloween episode is another weird one, there's a child killer on the lose but nobody really seems at all upset by it, the resolution is just strange. Very often it's about money, the majority of the murders come down to this, money or revenge. Although most murders are probably committed by men, in these stories women make up about 50% of the killers. Occasionally it's even the policeman who did it, these ones always used to annoy me, like you'd been cheated while playing a game, as the rules have been changed. Death by Appointment is a one they really messed up, too much emphasis on the all star cast, far too loud, melodramatic and full of subplots, 2008 was a strange time for British TV. I really like the early ones though, the missing cook, murder in the mews, the King of Clubs. The Christmas episode was also a strong one.
Early on our detective is assisted by an assistant Hastings, a Dr Watson type, who is not quite as committed to the case as our main detective. There's also a secretary, a Mrs Hudson type who manages his diary. While a great character he is not flawless. Egotistical and sometimes open to flattery. As the series goes on, the range is expanded, Hastings is dropped and the locations continually shift from the diversity of stately homes, jazz clubs, swimming pools, golf courses and so on.
The episodes often feature some rather nasty stories, many characters are killed off in horrible ways, characters are stupid and greedy. Many attempt to blackmail the killer and are taken out then themselves. Other characters though are given more of a happy ending, especially in the early seasons.
