Agatha Christie, They Watched – Details, episodes & analysis

Warning: Spoiler-Free for the first 10 minutes; spoiler-heavy review afterwards! Teresa and Bill Peschel are talking about mysterious mediums, a wise child, post-war traumas, and water in the basement, a LOT of water in the basement. It’s “A Haunting in Venice,” the 2023 Hercule Poirot movie starring Sir Kenneth Branaugh in his third outing as Poirot and Tiny Fey as Ariadne Oliver. 

Sponsored by Peschel Press, the publisher of annotated Agatha Christie novels by Bill Peschel.

Support Peschel Press! Visit our website to learn about our Complete, Annotated Line of Agatha Christie novels: https://peschelpress.com/the-peschel-press-complete-annotated-series/

Look for “Agatha Christie, She Watched,” our a coffee-table sized book and ebook (not coffee-table sized) collection of Teresa's reviews of 201 Agatha adaptations. Learn more at https://peschelpress.com/teresa-peschels-agatha-christie-movie-reviews/

"Call to Adventure"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chapters

0:00 Introduction SPOILER-FREE ZONE

10:07 SPOILER ZONE BEGINS with the “Nemesis” connection

12:32 Poirot in retirement

14:56 Incidents that pay off later in the movie

19:12 A motif borrowed (from “Peril at End House” which I forgot to mention)

25:16 Tina Fey as Ariadne Oliver: Hit or miss?

28:29 A deeply felt movie

Warning: Spoiler-heavy review! This week, we’re talking about a night at the opera, comical assassinations, suitcase nukes, and seaside resorts. Teresa and Bill Peschel from Peschel Press discuss “N or M?” from 2015 starring David Walliams and Jessica Raine as Tommy and Tuppence Beresford.

Sponsored by Peschel Press, the publisher of annotated Agatha Christie novels by Bill Peschel.

Support Peschel Press! Visit our website to learn about our Complete, Annotated Line of Agatha Christie novels: https://peschelpress.com/the-peschel-press-complete-annotated-series/

Look for “Agatha Christie, She Watched,” our a coffee-table sized book and ebook (not coffee-table sized) collection of Teresa's reviews of 201 Agatha adaptations. Learn more at https://peschelpress.com/teresa-peschels-agatha-christie-movie-reviews/

Theme music: "Call to Adventure" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chapters

0:00 Introduction

6:18 Teresa speculates about the Tommy and Tuppence story arc

14:41 An overview of the story

18:13 Shenanigans right out of “I Love Lucy”

21:36 The guests at the Sans Souci

26:30 More missed opportunities

32:20 The problem with casting

Warning: Spoiler-heavy review!

We’re serious.

Don’t listen if you want to read “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” first.

This week, we’re talking about endless rain, morose Russians, Orson Welles, and the golden age of cruising. Teresa and Bill Peschel from Peschel Press discuss “Poirot’s Failure,” the 2002 Russian adaptation of “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.”

Sponsored by Peschel Press, the publisher of annotated Agatha Christie novels by Bill Peschel.

Support Peschel Press! Visit our website to learn about our Complete, Annotated Line of Agatha Christie novels: https://peschelpress.com/the-peschel-press-complete-annotated-series/

Look for “Agatha Christie, She Watched,” our a coffee-table sized book and ebook (not coffee-table sized) collection of Teresa's reviews of 201 Agatha adaptations. Learn more at https://peschelpress.com/teresa-peschels-agatha-christie-movie-reviews/

Chapters

0:00 Introduction

3:45 How Agatha fooled you from the first page

5:53 Almost five hours long!

6:42 A most un-English setting

11:14 Dr. Sheppard longs to travel

13:58 How Caroline Sheppard was handled

17:30 Comic elements in the episode

22:26 Watching the movie when you know the secret

24:46 The tragedy of Caroline Sheppard

28:19 Sheppard’s choice

31:12 The longing of Hector Blunt and weakness of Ralph Paton

34:31 The funny mother-in-law

35:19 Wrapping up

Theme music: "Call to Adventure" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Warning: Spoiler-heavy review! This week, we’re talking about abusive husbands, musical numbers, young lovers, and comic butlers. Teresa and Bill Peschel from Peschel Press discuss “Mist” (Dhund) the 1975 Bollywood adaptation of “The Unexpected Guest.”

Sponsored by Peschel Press, the publisher of annotated Agatha Christie novels by Bill Peschel.

Support Peschel Press! Visit our website to learn about our Complete, Annotated Line of Agatha Christie novels: https://peschelpress.com/the-peschel-press-complete-annotated-series/

We also published “Agatha Christie, She Watched” as a coffee-table sized book (with ebook to follow). Learn more at https://peschelpress.com/teresa-peschels-agatha-christie-movie-reviews/

Chapters

0:00 Introduction

2:12 Did incorporating music into the movie work?

6:20 The unexpected guest arrives

11:02 Getting the characters straight

11:27 An unexpected appearance by Isaac Hayes

13:41 The Indian police arrive

19:13 The cultural relevance of a nude shower scene

24:16 The trial of the attorney for murder

30:24 Murder as a way of determining someone’s fate

36:01 The value of foreign movies

Theme music: "Call to Adventure" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Warning: Spoiler-heavy review! This week, we’re talking about sleazy gangsters, musical numbers, young lovers, and comic butlers. Teresa and Bill Peschel from Peschel Press discuss “Unknown” (Gumnaan) the 1965 Bollywood adaptation of “And Then There Were None,” with an all-star Indian cast.

Sponsored by Peschel Press, the publisher of annotated Agatha Christie novels by Bill Peschel.

Support Peschel Press! Visit our website to learn about our Complete, Annotated Line of Agatha Christie novels: https://peschelpress.com/the-peschel-press-complete-annotated-series/

We also published “Agatha Christie, She Watched” as a coffee-table sized book (with ebook to follow). Learn more at https://peschelpress.com/teresa-peschels-agatha-christie-movie-reviews/

Theme music: "Call to Adventure" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Warning: Spoiler-heavy review! This week, we’re talking about sleazy Argentinians, ballroom dancers, ambitious Girl Guides, and old fools. Teresa and Bill Peschel from Peschel Press discuss “The Body in the Library” the 2004 episode from Agatha Christie’s Marple starring Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple.

Sponsored by Peschel Press, the publisher of the complete, annotated Agatha Christie novels by Bill Peschel.

Support Peschel Press! Visit our website to learn about our Complete, Annotated Line of Agatha Christie novels: https://peschelpress.com/the-peschel-press-complete-annotated-series/

We also published “Agatha Christie, She Watched," a collection of 201 reviews of Agatha Christie movies, as a coffee-table sized book (with ebook to follow). Learn more at https://peschelpress.com/teresa-peschels-agatha-christie-movie-reviews/

Chapters

0:00 Introduction

3:48 Let’s get into the story and not rant about the ending yet

7:47 What Jane Marple as a woman recognized that the male detectives did not

13:16 How Cousin Ruby was lured to Eastbourne

18:16 The class divide in Agatha Christie

22:25 Jumping to the climax and why it fails

30:15 Why the novel ending was better

Theme music: "Call to Adventure" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Warning: Spoiler-heavy review! This week, we’re talking about crusading prosecutors, aging courtesans, murderous villains and strangers on a train. Teresa and Bill Peschel from Peschel Press discuss the “Murder on the Orient Express” episode from “Checkmate” the Chinese TV series that debuted this year.

Sponsored by Peschel Press, the publisher of complete, uncensored, and annotated Agatha Christie novels by Bill Peschel.

Support Peschel Press! Visit our website to learn about our Complete, Annotated Line of Agatha Christie novels: https://peschelpress.com/the-peschel-press-complete-annotated-series/

Learn about Teresa Peschel’s “Agatha Christie, She Watched” (published in trade paperback and ebook) and read her movie reviews: https://peschelpress.com/teresa-peschels-agatha-christie-movie-reviews/

Theme music: "Call to Adventure" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Warning: Spoiler-heavy review! This week, we’re talking about weird wills, Catholic ballet dancers, panting painters, and spying servants. Teresa and Bill Peschel from Peschel Press discuss the 1987 “4.50 from Paddington,” starring Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.

Sponsored by Peschel Press, the publisher of annotated Agatha Christie novels by Bill Peschel.

Support Peschel Press! Visit our website to learn about our Complete, Annotated Line of Agatha Christie novels: https://peschelpress.com/the-peschel-press-complete-annotated-series/

Learn about Teresa Peschel’s “Agatha Christie, She Watched” (published in trade paperback and ebook) and read her movie reviews: https://peschelpress.com/teresa-peschels-agatha-christie-movie-reviews/

Theme music: "Call to Adventure" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Warning: Spoiler-heavy review! This week, we’re talking about refugees, Communists, rustic pig farmers, and coffee. Teresa and Bill Peschel from Peschel Press discuss the 1985 “A Murder Is Announced,” starring Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.

Sponsored by Peschel Press, the publisher of annotated uncensored Agatha Christie novels by Bill Peschel.

Support Peschel Press! Visit our website to learn about our Complete, Annotated Line of Agatha Christie novels: https://peschelpress.com/the-peschel-press-complete-annotated-series/

Learn about Teresa Peschel’s “Agatha Christie, She Watched” (published in trade paperback and ebook) and read her movie reviews: https://peschelpress.com/teresa-peschels-agatha-christie-movie-reviews/

Theme music: "Call to Adventure" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Warning: Spoiler-heavy review! This week, we’re talking about nursery governesses, patient attorneys, foreign doctors, and PP letters. Teresa and Bill Peschel from Peschel Press discuss the 1985 “The Moving Finger,” starring Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.

Sponsored by Peschel Press, the publisher of annotated Agatha Christie novels by Bill Peschel.

Support Peschel Press! Visit our website to learn about our Complete, Annotated Line of Agatha Christie novels: https://peschelpress.com/the-peschel-press-complete-annotated-series/

Learn about Teresa Peschel’s “Agatha Christie, She Watched” (published in trade paperback and ebook) and read her movie reviews: https://peschelpress.com/teresa-peschels-agatha-christie-movie-reviews/

Theme music: "Call to Adventure" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/