....and yet I'm still giving it a 6/10 rating, which should give you an idea of the general quality of this series.
Agatha Christie purists have often complained about changes from her original text in the latest 4 adaptations; personally, although I am a big AC fan, I didn't mind the changes, perhaps because I hadn't read or didn't remember (in "After the Funeral"'s case) the books! (Agatha herself had said that "The Mystery of the Blue Train" was one of her weakest novels, but the movie based on it was exciting and enjoyable; therefore I am guessing that most of the changes were for the better in that case). But with "Cards on the Table", you don't have to have read the novel to sense that they have altered Christie's story to an almost absurd degree. (spoilers follow) The low point, for me, was making Superintendent Wheeler gay AND a suspect; Poirot's last exchange with him ("Well, if you want to behave this way it is up to you, but personally I don't think it suits you") is corny as hell. Even if you take out the gay angle, the climax of this episode is weak: instead of accusing everyone and explaining step-by-step how he got to the truth, Poirot basically says: "It was not you....it was not you....it was not you....it was not you....it was YOU", and then he points to the murderer. Where is the fun in that? Another disappointment (and I don't know how much of it can be "blamed" on Christie herself) is that the story lacks that stunning, transcendent twist that separates her from the majority of mystery writers - the kind of twist "After the Funeral", to use an example from the same season, does have: here, 1 of the 4 suspects simply goes up to the (drugged) victim and stabs him in the chest while the other 3 aren't looking because they are too focused on their bridge game. Nothing very clever about that.
But not all is lost: the film is still well-made and well-produced, and a new, potentially regular face is introduced to the series: Zoë Wanamaker as Ariadne Oliver, the mystery writer and possible Agatha Christie alter ego. Mrs. Oliver is a more interesting sidekick for Poirot than Captain Hastings: she may not be on Poirot's intellectual level ("Who is, mon ami?"), but she is sharp, wily, and has her own set of eccentricities ("I used to have a secretary, but she was so competent it depressed me, so she had to go"). Zoë is quite delightful in the role, and I'm glad we'll be seeing more of her. Something good came out of this episode after all!
Agatha Christie purists have often complained about changes from her original text in the latest 4 adaptations; personally, although I am a big AC fan, I didn't mind the changes, perhaps because I hadn't read or didn't remember (in "After the Funeral"'s case) the books! (Agatha herself had said that "The Mystery of the Blue Train" was one of her weakest novels, but the movie based on it was exciting and enjoyable; therefore I am guessing that most of the changes were for the better in that case). But with "Cards on the Table", you don't have to have read the novel to sense that they have altered Christie's story to an almost absurd degree. (spoilers follow) The low point, for me, was making Superintendent Wheeler gay AND a suspect; Poirot's last exchange with him ("Well, if you want to behave this way it is up to you, but personally I don't think it suits you") is corny as hell. Even if you take out the gay angle, the climax of this episode is weak: instead of accusing everyone and explaining step-by-step how he got to the truth, Poirot basically says: "It was not you....it was not you....it was not you....it was not you....it was YOU", and then he points to the murderer. Where is the fun in that? Another disappointment (and I don't know how much of it can be "blamed" on Christie herself) is that the story lacks that stunning, transcendent twist that separates her from the majority of mystery writers - the kind of twist "After the Funeral", to use an example from the same season, does have: here, 1 of the 4 suspects simply goes up to the (drugged) victim and stabs him in the chest while the other 3 aren't looking because they are too focused on their bridge game. Nothing very clever about that.
But not all is lost: the film is still well-made and well-produced, and a new, potentially regular face is introduced to the series: Zoë Wanamaker as Ariadne Oliver, the mystery writer and possible Agatha Christie alter ego. Mrs. Oliver is a more interesting sidekick for Poirot than Captain Hastings: she may not be on Poirot's intellectual level ("Who is, mon ami?"), but she is sharp, wily, and has her own set of eccentricities ("I used to have a secretary, but she was so competent it depressed me, so she had to go"). Zoë is quite delightful in the role, and I'm glad we'll be seeing more of her. Something good came out of this episode after all!