The Little Murders of Agatha Christie

This French TV series, broadcast stateside via MHz, adapts Agatha Christie's classic mysteries into a Gallic setting with a new character named Superintendent Larosière (Antoine Duléry) serving as crime-solving hero. Five feature-length episodes are presented here, based on three Hercule Poirot mysteries (Five Little Pigs, The Ebb and the Flow and The Knife and the Neck) and two Miss Marple offerings (The Moving Finger and Sleeping Murder). These are hardly faithful interpretations of Christie's works; for instance, the stories feature more criminal mayhem than Christie originally conceived, which changes the complexity of the source material. The central characters are also far more contemporary than anything Christie would have presented: Larosière is an egotistical rogue with a fondness for pretty women, but is also a devoted father to a young daughter. He is assisted by the younger Inspector Lampion (Marius Colucci), who is openly gay—which is mostly played for laughs. Still, even though the series feels like Christie-lite, the episodes are well-produced and the chemistry between Duléry and Colucci is appealing. A strong optional purchase. (P. Hall)