My Current Interest

 Agatha Christie's Poirot Series 1 "The Adventure of the Clapham Cook" David Suchet as Hercule Poirot When I read David Suchet's book Poirot and Me , I learned a lot about each episode of the TV series Agatha Christie's Poirot . Once I finished, I felt the need to watch the entire series all over again and look for all the things I had learned about. With thirteen seasons and I don't know how many episodes, this is going to be a long journey, but I'm going to give it a try. Hopefully the theme song will not drive me too crazy before I finish. The very first episode "The Adventure of the Clapham Cook" is the first episode in the series. In it, a woman seeks detective Hercule Poirot's help in finding her missing cook. Poirot believes he is far above a case like this. In fact, he feels he is pretty much above every case, as there were quite a few before this one that his friend Captain Hastings presented to him. The woman rightfully tells Poirot...

Christmas time at Skeldale House brings endings and beginnings for all “Merry Bloody Christmas” Siegfried compromises his beliefs to save Tristan Now that veterinarians James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) and Tristan Farnon (Callum Woodhouse) have enlisted in the military, Tristan’s brother, Siegfried (Samuel West), will do anything to keep Tristan from going to war. He is even willing to sacrifice the ethics and morals he has held strongly to his entire life. During a run, a horse named River was injured. He is supposed to run a race in a few days, but Siegfried is certain River will not be healed enough to race. This does not go over well with River’s owner, Albert Sebright Saunders (Michael Maloney). Saunders wants River to race and he will do anything to make that happen. He even implies that if Siegfried okays River’s health, Tristan will be removed from the report to duty list. Sending an injured horse out to race goes completely against Siegfried’s belief that the animals t...

Mrs. Hall and Siegfried face their family pasts, and James must decide between family and duty Get ready for hard times ahead. Everyone in these two episodes of All Creatures Great & Small must face an uncertain future. Some must also face their past, which causes them to struggle with who they are and what they have done. “Edward” This fifth episode of the season is so incredibly sad! In some ways it is too sad to watch. Mrs. Hall finally sees her son After years of estrangement, Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley) has finally heard from her son, Edward (Conor Deane). He has joined the Navy and has a bit of time to meet his mother at a train station before he must return to duty. It is an invitation Mrs. Hall has been waiting for with all her heart. When Mrs. Hall arrives at the station, Edward is not there. She waits and waits for him, but it is only when she is about to leave that he shows up. They decide to go to a quiet place to talk. Past events are brought up between m...

Siegfried battles with his war memories while James struggles to figure out what he is going to do about the upcoming war One of the biggest things I am loving about this third season of All Creatures Great & Small is learning more about who Siegfried is and why he is the way he is. Previously, mostly we just saw him angry, especially in his interactions with his brother, Tristan. This season we are seeing far more than that. “Surviving Siegfried” Siegfried tries to save a horse while dealing with bad wartime memories Behind all of his bluster and temper, veterinarian Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) is actually a very caring man. During World War I he worked with horses and was devastated when he was ordered to kill them at the end of the war. Now at the brink of war again, memories are coming back to Siegfried. He is currently working with a horse who has been traumatized. The owner wants to put the horse, River, down, but Siegfried is certain River will be okay with time a...

The residents of Skeldale House figure out life's changes as James and Helen become a married couple There are so many men to fall in love with on All Creatures Great & Small . Maybe that is why I look forward to a new season every year. It is nice being able to watch good, kind men. The animals are another reason to watch too, of course. “Second Time Lucky” James and Helen finally get married It is time for veterinarian James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) and Helen Alderson (Rachel Shenton) to get married. Everyone is excited except for the owner of the veterinary practice at Skeldale House, Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West). He is cranky that James will be gone for a week and has given such little notice. Because, apparently, six months is too little notice. Siegfried must have missed all the wedding planning discussions too, for him to be caught so unaware. The night before the wedding, James; Siegfried; and Siegfried’s brother, Tristan (Callum Woodhouse), all go to the ...

Pearl and Mike continue to investigate cases while trying to figure out exactly what their relationship is and where it is going “The Gumshoe and the Femme Fatale” Pearl helps a woman everyone is convinced is guilty of attempted murder Private Investigator and restaurant owner Pearl Nolan (Kerry Godliman) is brought onto a case before a crime is even committed in Whitstable Pearl ’s fourth episode of season two. Natalia (Lizzie Aaryn-Stanton) is a housekeeper for former movie star Zelda St. John (Stephanie Beacham). Zelda has decided that instead of leaving her estate to her family, she is going to leave most of it to Natalia. When Natalia learns of this change of the will, she becomes concerned that she and Zelda are in danger. When she goes to the police about the matter, they do not take it seriously. That is why Natalia turns up at Pearl’s door. There is only so much Pearl can investigate without an actual crime happening. When Zelda is attacked, it gives Pearl something ...

Here it is. The final film where Margaret Rutherford stars as Miss Marple. By the time I watched Murder Most Foul , I have to admit, I had gone a little batty with the theme song of these four movies. The same happens with Agatha Christie’s Poirot . Still, I am sad to be done with Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. Miss Marple disrupts a jury Margaret McGinty is dead. She was found hanging, and the police are certain they know exactly who killed her. The police found a man at the scene, Harold Taylor. He was caught with his hands on the rope. So, he has to be guilty, right? Not everyone thinks Taylor is a guilty man. What seems to be an open and shut case ends with a hung jury (that is not meant to be a play on words, I promise). While eleven vote guilty, there is one who will not be swayed to do so. That person is Miss Marple (Margaret Rutherford). No one is happy about the hung jury which leads to a mistrial. This displeasure does not bother Miss Marple one bit. She knows ...

Some shows struggle with their second season. I am happy to say, Whitstable Pearl is not one of those shows. The characters and storylines this second season have more depth than they did in the first. We learn so much more about why the characters are the way they are, and we get to see more sides of them. This makes me very eager to see how much more we will learn in the third season, if there is one. “Babylon” Pearl and Mike have moved on from their relationship, or have they? Private investigator and restaurant owner Pearl Nolan (Kerry Godliman) has moved on from her relationship with DCI Mike McGuire (Howard Charles). She is dating a teacher, Tom Grant (Robert Webb). Mike has moved on too. He is dating a woman he met at grief counseling, Kat Bergman (Emily Head). Now the question is, have these two actually moved on, or are they just pretending to have done so? Because when they look for a missing boy, it is clear there are some unresolved feelings between Pearl and Mik...

There’s something funny about Dial M for Murder . For some reason there is one scene where I zone out every time. This scene has important information in it, so it is probably not the best time for my mind to wander. However, that is what happens each and every time. Yet, the rest of the film I pay attention to. I wonder what it is about that one part. Margot is in a love triangle Margot Wendice (Grace Kelly) has a secret. She is married to her husband, Tony Wendice (Ray Milland), but is in love with writer Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings). Her and Mark’s relationship has gone so far that Margot even carries a love letter from him around in her purse. Or at least she did. Her purse was stolen one day. When her purse was found and returned, the letter was missing. The day Mark comes to town, Margot tells him about the missing letter. They also discuss if they believe Tony knows about them. Whether Tony does or not, they both know they must act as natural as possible. Tony arrives...