The ABC Murders (BBC One)

 

Re-watched the BBC One’s interpretation of Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders. I did watch it as soon as it came out last year. It was interesting watching this new version, and comparing it with every other adaptation of Chrisite’s work.

First up: Ron Weasly playing an adult character came as a pleasant shock. With the makeup,and costumes, and the period lighting, and him smoking cigarettes, it was such a huge transformation ! He is not that loving, silly kid anymore. He is 30! Gosh, we have all grown old.

Second up: This muscle man playing Poirot. I think this is the worst version of the famous detective. John is too tall, and too well built. I felt you don’t get the feeling of the smarts in his little grey cells, because you are looking at his build and the way he moves.

The novels focussed on how Poirot looks and interprets the scene of the crime. But the show makers looked more involved in depicting the violence and brutality of the crime in progress. Also, whats with the whole immigrant hate in the show ? And why show Poirot as a preist in this past ? Kind of screws up the vibe for me. The interpretation is that he has been living with the guilt of that mass murder since that day. Thats not the fun, obsessive-compulsive, charismatic, and energetic Poirot described in Agatha Christie’s work. Neverthless, good effort.

 

But I guess this is what the current new generation wants to see on TV. The books can seem boring when read today, because there are so many characters and events there, to confuse the reader. Also, things were a lot slower back then.

I hope BBC One keeps these adaptations coming. After And Then There Were None in 2015. The next generation needs to know how real crime drama was written over a century ago.