I thoroughly enjoyed this episode which kicked off Season 2 in fine style. The majority of Agatha Christie's plot twists are represented, and the various villains outed according to plan.
Adaptations are a tricky thing. TV had yet to be invented when the novel was published in 1932. Authors didn't write with screenplays much in mind, and certainly not Agatha. So there is a fine line between making a captivating piece of entertainment inside of episodic television and adhering to every plot device in a book.
Any real changes here were minor and some of the superfluous exposition was left out. But to keep it within one episode was perhaps too daunting, so Peril at End House became a double episode which was a fantastic way to begin the Season.
A lot of the drama fell onto the shoulders of a very young Polly Walker who was at the start of her film career, but an old hand at theatre by then. She certainly managed to keep pace with David Suchet which boded well for those who have managed to keep track of her characterizations since then.
Adaptations are a tricky thing. TV had yet to be invented when the novel was published in 1932. Authors didn't write with screenplays much in mind, and certainly not Agatha. So there is a fine line between making a captivating piece of entertainment inside of episodic television and adhering to every plot device in a book.
Any real changes here were minor and some of the superfluous exposition was left out. But to keep it within one episode was perhaps too daunting, so Peril at End House became a double episode which was a fantastic way to begin the Season.
A lot of the drama fell onto the shoulders of a very young Polly Walker who was at the start of her film career, but an old hand at theatre by then. She certainly managed to keep pace with David Suchet which boded well for those who have managed to keep track of her characterizations since then.