Agatha Christie: Marple--Series 1

Agatha Christie's spinster crime-solver has been portrayed many times onscreen, by Margaret Rutherford and Helen Hayes among others. Now the fine British actress Geraldine McEwan gets her chance in this sumptuously-mounted series of four tales--The Murder at the Vicarage, The Body in the Library, A Murder Is Announced and 4:50 from Paddington--all originally broadcast on the PBS Mystery! series. Each of the 90-minute programs boasts a strong cast, including such stalwarts as Derek Jacobi, Zo( Wanamaker, Simon Callow, John Hannah, Edward Fox, and Ian Richardson in supporting roles, but it's largely McEwan's interpretation of the village sleuth that fingerprints the shows, turning Marple into a sort of British Jessica Fletcher (Murder, She Wrote): sharp, but kind of dotty, and very endearing. The portrayal, which also prominently features a backstory about a romantic tragedy in Marple's distant past, isn't all that faithful to the printed page (Joan Hickson's stern, unyielding Marple from an earlier PBS-aired series came closer to Christie's vision and will remain for most fans the definitive screen version), but the softer, immediately engaging figure that McEwan creates should gain the character some new friends. Extras include an hour-long “making-of” documentary with cast and crew interviews, a photo gallery, and text pieces on earlier Marple adaptations and Christie's life. Recommended. (F. Swietek)