Agatha Christie’s Poirot

                This past summer I watched the final Agatha Christie’s Poirot episode on PBS.  With this episode a moment in history was marked.  Never before had one single person ever acted as Hercule Poirot in each and every one of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot stories.  This feat was done by David Suchet over the course of more than twenty years.  I had zero idea about this fact until I watched PBS that night, but once I found out, I knew I had to watch each and every episode.

                My task ended up being harder than I had imagined.  Even though I had seen Poirot episodes before, watching more than one at a time quickly started to drive me crazy.  Mostly I blame the theme music for this.  Not only was it played in the credits but it was also played in the background at points in each episode.  I’m not sure what it was exactly, but something about that music really grated on my nerves.  Then there was all of Poirot’s persnickety behavior and his need to prove his superiority.  All this put together became so bad that I contemplated stopping watching the series all together.  What kept me going was the reminder that my goal was to see the series as a whole.  Determined to deal with and work through my annoyances, I kept going.  

                Now that I have watched more, I am really glad I stayed with the series.  Once the episodes moved to feature-length they became really good.  The theme music was slowly eliminated and Poirot became less stiff and more human.  His feelings and emotions towards people started to come out more which made him a much more palatable character to watch.  That does not mean everything changed, though.  There are still moments where I feel I’m watching the show Monk.  A lot of Poirot’s characteristics and habits are very similar to Monk’s, and it makes me wonder if that character was either based upon or inspired by Poirot.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

                The mysteries Poirot solves can be pretty much about anything.  Sometimes there is theft involved while other times there is a question about family relations.  No matter what, somehow there is always a body.  Usually it is murder that causes the body to show up, but sometimes the true cause of death is not always so clear.  This is where Poirot comes in.  He talks to people and looks for clues, sometimes traveling great distances, all to figure out what is really going on.  It should come as no surprise that each and every time Poirot puts everything together before anyone else does.  Sometimes I swear he solves mysteries that it wasn’t clear were mysteries in the first place.  I guess that’s why Poirot has the notoriety he does.  There isn’t any question too large or too small for Poirot.  He will always find the answer.             

                As great as the mysteries are, I also love to look at the costumes and the sets.  Both are done impeccably.  No matter what a character’s station in life, they will have perfectly crafted clothes on this show.  Everything is made with clean lines and every single detail is paid attention to.  While it is clear what time period these clothes are supposed to be from, I could easily see people walking around in them today.  That is how classic and well made the costumes are, which can also be said for the set.  The set is so well done, I could swear the characters are really at that particular location in that time period.  I know this is not true, but with those sets it certainly feels like it.

                      I’m not quite sure how many episodes I have left to watch. It’s not too many, that I know for sure. The thought of reaching the final episode makes me sad. I have become attached to Poirot, even if he does still make me roll my eyes at times. Now, I know there’s nothing to say I can’t watch this series again. I’m sure I will, especially since PBS periodically airs the episodes, but it’s not the same. There is something about accomplishing my goal and experiencing most of these episodes for the first time. It’s a feeling of discovery that once I’ve seen the episodes won’t really happen again. That does not mean I can’t find new things I didn’t notice before in each episode, because I’m sure I can. So maybe that should be my new goal when I finish the series and watch each episode again. How many things can I see this time? And can I see them before Poirot?