Poirot: Series 13
Ah, mon ami. Of all the armchair detectives in mystery fiction, Belgian-born Hercule Poirot — he with the twirled mustache and the stylish wardrobe — remains the most charming and memorable. A creation of Agatha Christie, a nurse of World War I who went on write 66 crime novels and 14 short-story anthologies, the popular gentleman sleuth, living in England just before World War II, has been portrayed over the years by Peter Ustinov, Albert Finney, Ian Holm, Tony Randall, John Moffatt, Albert Finney and Alfred Molina. But of them all, David Suchet has been the most durable. When it was announced that Series 13 would be the final set, the actor remarked, “This is the death of a dear friend.” Always relying on his “little grey cells,” Poirot is joined in these “final mysteries” by the recurring characters of Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser), Assistant Commissioner Japp (Philip Jackson), and Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran). Especially aiding Poirot in his pursuit of murderers is the woman oft-described as Christie’s counterpart, Ariadne Oliver (beautifully played by Zoe Wanamaker). Ariadne seems to harbor psychic suspicions that help Poirot. Watch Suchet carefully in some of his close-ups. For a split moment he will look directly into the eye of the camera — alerting the viewer that he has just realized a new truth about his current case. Watch “Dead Man’s Folly” with the realization that the huge castle-like mansion where most of the story unfolds was actually Christie’s home. As a bonus to these last five Poirot mysteries on three discs, Suchet does a must-see interview. Bel homme. — John Stanley