pwme Through no fault of the actors, this was yet again a poor remake of the excellent original starring Joan Hickson, who played Miss Marple as written by Dame Christie.Julia McKenzie is a fine actress and certainly more believable than the middling actress who played her so poorly and made a spoof of her.The writing is very much at fault in these remakes. It's trying TOO HARD to be clever and different at the expense of an already good story line. I found myself waiting for it to be done with so I could turn it off instead of enjoying it. Shame on the network for not truly appreciating Agatha Christie's simple genius of Miss Marple.I'm sticking with the original series. Joan Hickson was the only TRUE Miss Marple thus far that I've seen.

grantss Miss Marple is on holiday in the Caribbean, at the Golden Palms resort in St Honore. Seated beside her at a dinner, Major Palgrave seems to recognise in the crowd a murderer from a photograph he has. When Miss Marple quizzes him on is comments he refuses to be drawn on the subject and head back to his room. He is found the next day, dead, apparently from a heart attack. Due to the reaction he had the previous night, Miss Marple suspects it was murder.Reasonably intriguing mystery, with a great setting. The Caribbean vibe and the underlying current of voodoo and general sinister air help the intrigue. Not a particularly complex mystery ultimately, but it will do.The non-mystery side of the Miss Marple series tends to be pretty dull and uneventful, due to the blandness of Miss Marple's character and the fact that she has no regular secondary characters around her (unlike Poirot with Hastings, Japp and Lemon). However, here we have a reasonably interesting sub-plot involving Ian Fleming, the author, and how he struck upon the name of James Bond for the hero of his books. Unfortunately this sub-plot is quite brief, but it is reasonably entertaining.

Paul Evans I have a huge fondness for the Joan Hickson version and a surprisingly soft spot for the one with Helen Hayes, this one I thought really came up to the mark, they managed to reinvent it but maintain the essence of it. It starts off brilliantly, it's visually stunning, Andre Toussaint's 'Calypso Island' sets the tone. It's a total contrast to other episodes in the series, it's very bright and colourful, but this story needed to be. The location is utterly stunning, surprisingly it was South Africa. The costumes are a visual feast, the designers were bang on the money.Talk of voodoo in a Marple, shouldn't work, but it does, it helps add a smokescreen to the story. It certainly differentiates it from previous versions.I disagree with those that think the novel was one of her weakest, it's one I really like, it's a perfect holiday read. This production manages to breath life into some of the characters that in the book are a little flat, Lucky seems way more interesting, or possibly it's just the way Myanna Buring played her (brilliantly.)The acting as always if first rate, I think Julia is the standout once again, her performance seems effortless. Hermione Norris is especially good as Evelyn, she made her as cold as ice, she doesn't overplay it. Charity Wakefield gives us a very fragile and timid Molly, very much in character to the book. Anthony Sher is excellent as Rafiel. I suppose my only slight bugbear would have been Robert Webb's Tim Kendall, he was fair, but I feel he could have been better castThe Ian Fleming bit apart it's brilliant 9/10

TheLittleSongbird A Caribbean Mystery isn't among Agatha "The Queen of Crime" Christie's finest works, but even when Christie wasn't at her absolute best she was still pleasurable to read. Of the three adaptations of A Caribbean Mystery(very like with The Mirror Crack'd), I deem this one the best one, Joan Hickson's was very good if sometimes a little dull and I didn't care hugely for Helen Hayes' version. And it is for me one of the better adaptations with Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple(though The Blue Geranium, Pocket Full of Rye and The Mirror Crack'd are on top, with Why Didn't They Ask Evans the worst). It could have been improved certainly, the Ian Fleming part was fun in a way but felt out-of-place, Robert Webb does a decent enough job in his role but doesn't look as comfortable in a serious role than with the comedy that he is very gifted at, the voodoo sometimes got excessive and there are characters(Hillingdon and Jackson especially) that are given very little to do.There are things though that did come across as an improvement over the book. Lucky is much more interesting, and the method in how she died was less risky(fellow friends of mine who also love Agatha Christie argued that the way the murder was carried out in the book was too much of a risk and I actually agree). Molly is also more sympathetic, and the whole Victoria subplot actually helped make that come across as believable. Palgrave addressing everybody in telling his story was also a change that came off remarkably well, it did make it easier for the murderer to overhear what he's saying. As an adaptation, the adaptation is solidly done and generally faithful in spirit. There are changes of course but this is one such occasion where the changes actually made the storytelling better than distracting from it, in recent memory another adaptation that comes to mind in this respect was the Poirot adaptation of Elephants Can Remember. Where the adaptation succeeds even more is how well it works on its own.It is very well made, the tropical scenery is just beautiful and the most colourful easily of the three adaptations, and the photography adds to that quality. The music is rich and sensitively orchestrated, nothing overbearing or annoying. The dialogue is thoughtfully written and always engaging, I didn't feel that it was underdeveloped or too much talk. It feels like Christie's writing too which is another plus. The story is gripping and suspenseful, of this, Hickson's and Hayes' I found this one to be the best paced. The acting is excellent, Julia McKenzie is terrific as ever, less shrewish but charming and intelligent. In support, Hermione Norris' wonderfully cold Evelyn, Charity Wakefield's sympathetic Molly and Anthony Sher's touchingly played Rafiel(loved the final scene) stood out the most. Oliver Ford Davies is good in his appearance, his death scene was very cleverly staged and shot, and while the Dysons were slightly overplayed it didn't detract much at all.Overall, very well done on its own and solidly adapted, one of McKenzie's better outings. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox