The Agatha Christie Hour

The grande dame of the English mystery was incredibly prolific: over a career spanning more than 50 years, Agatha Christie penned an enormous number of novels and short stories, not all of which featured Hercule Poirot or Jane Marple. Thames Television dramatized 10 of her other yarns in 1982, with this set featuring the first five hour-long episodes. Frankly the entries here don't equal Christie's better-known work, and one wonders whether they would receive much attention if her name weren't part of the title. Two of the episodes star Maurice Denham as Parker Pyne, a retired government statistician who promises solutions to his clients' unhappiness—“The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife” revolves around a wife whose husband has strayed, while “The Case of the Discontented Soldier” involves a former soldier bored with civilian life. Of the remaining episodes, “In a Glass Darkly” deals with a soldier haunted by a vision of the killing of the woman he eventually marries, and “The Girl in the Train” centers on a bon vivant who is drawn to rescue a damsel imperiled by foreigners. The best of the lot is “The Fourth Man,” which features a very young John Nettles (Inspector Barnaby of Midsomer Murders) as a train passenger who regales his fellow travelers with the truth about a person recently convicted of murder. Like the stories themselves, the video and audio qualities aren't outstanding, but Christie aficionados will want to make the acquaintance of these rarities. DVD extras include a printed biography of the author and a brief note on her early work. Recommended, overall. (F. Swietek)