Problem at Sea

Agatha Christie’s Poirot

Series 1

“Problem at Sea"

A man in a white hat and coat and has a mustache looks at the camera.
David Suchet as Hercule Poirot

I am really starting to think Poirot cannot go anywhere without a murder happening. There are other shows where this happens too. I have to wonder if these characters start to think they are cursed after a while.

Poirot and sea travel do not mix

It should not come as too much surprise that military man and adventurer Captain Hastings likes being out at sea. For his friend, Hercule Poirot, the sea trip they are on together is not enjoyable at all. He especially does not care for the entertainment put on by the other travelers. It is definitely not his style.

The Clapperton’s marriage is in question

One of the travelers is Adeline Clapperton. She is a very high and mighty woman. Definitely someone who believes herself superior to everyone, including her own husband.

Colonel John Clapperton pretty much just puts up with whatever Adeline dishes out. It probably helps that two young female travelers love spending time with John. If Adeline starts driving him crazy, he can always socialize with them. But what did he do before this boat trip? And what is he going to do after?

A boat full of suspects

Part of that question is answered after the boat stops in Alexandria. John goes out to explore, but Adeline decides to stay on the boat. Later, Adeline is discovered in her locked cabin, dead. On the floor of the cabin is a string of beads.

One suspect is a fellow traveler named General Forbes. He is a man who loved Adeline years ago and is somehow on this very same trip.

Another suspect is a crew member. Hastings catches him trying to sell Adeline’s jewelry.

But still, with a boat full of people, there could be all sorts of suspects.

The creepiest reveal so far

The reveal for this mystery is definitely on the creepy side. Poirot uses a doll to tell everyone how Adeline was killed and by whom. He has the doll be a witness and has the doll talk with the help of a young girl. Others may like the cleverness of this to bring out the culprit, but I found it creepy.

Poirot attempts to become a matchmaker

Something else Poirot does is try and help Hastings with his love life. Hastings, however, is only interested in clay pigeons, and the setups never get very far. I’m thinking Poirot should get out of the romance business and stick with solving murders.

Main Cast

Hercule Poirot – David Suchet     Captain Hastings – Hugh Fraser

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Doctor Blake Mysteries

                Finally!   It took a while, but I have now seen the fifth and final season of The Doctor Blake Mysteries .   I am sad to see the show end, but I think it ended on a good note.                 Dr. Lucien Blake (Craig McLachlan) and Jean Beazley (Nadine Garner) are engaged!   After running into conflict after conflict, and problem after problem, Dr. Blake and Jean are finally together.   There is just one little problem.   Lucien is still married.   His wife, Mei Lin (Ling-Hsueh Tang), has agreed to a divorce, but the law is getting in the way.   There are very few instances in which a divorce will be granted, and all will cast either one or both Mei Lin and Dr. Blake in a bad light.   Neither Lucien nor Jean will let Mei Lin be the guilty party in the divorce.   Lucien wants to take the blame instead, but Jean warns him there could be severe repercussions if he does.                                           The thing is, Jean will have repercussions of her
Read more

Blue Murder

Image
Image provided by Acorn DVD.             I almost stopped watching Blue Murder after the first episode.   That would have been a mistake.   Had I stopped after the first episode, I would have missed out on a really great series.   I’m glad I trusted my instincts that maybe the first episode was overdone, as so often happens with new shows.   It’s also good that I went with my usual practice of at least going through the first season of episodes before truly deciding on a series.   So many bumps that happen in the first episode can be figured out by then, which is what happened here. Image provided by Acorn DVD.                 DCI Janine Lewis (Caroline Quentin) definitely has her plate full.   She’s raising three kids, is pregnant with a fourth, and has a cheating husband.   And that is just her home life.   At work Janine has been recently promoted, she has an extremely cranky boss, manages a rambunctious group of men (including an old love interest), and has murder
Read more

The Brokenwood Mysteries

Image
Image provided by Acorn TV.                Every year I eagerly await the new episodes of Brokenwood (as I call it) to come out.   That’s why it is so strange to think I have only watched five seasons and a total of twenty episodes.   I would think I would have watched more.   Every time I finish with a season, I find myself greatly looking forward to the next episodes to come.   Maybe that’s why it feels I have watched more than I actually have.                 The police force in Brokenwood can never get away from murder.   Even on their days off, Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea), Detective Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland), and Detective Constable Sam Breen (Nic Sampson) get wrapped up in a murder.                 Always having a murder to investigate is why Kristin has such a hard time getting together with her love interest, Kahu (Rawiri Jobe).   She is always either called away or too tired to do something.   This is not the problem for Breen, though.
Read more