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PBS and Mystery!
PBS’s series, Mystery! began airing in 1980 after the public stations’ Masterpiece Theatre sponsor, Mobil, suggested a series of British mysteries, tacking on to the success of Masterpiece versions of Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries.
My favorite part about the series has to be the animated opening and closing, featuring Edward Gorey cartoons. The music, by Normand Rogers, ain’t half bad either.
Through the years, the mostly BBC and ITV productions have been my introduction to British mysteries I might otherwise have missed, proving that sometimes film adaptation leads to higher readership, rather than lower.
Most of the time, the adaptations are spot on - great casting, costuming, setting and direction. To those of you who know how I feel about Agatha Christie, it will come as no surprise that I think their two best achievements in this vein are as follows: David Suchet as Poirot (in my mind, the ONLY Poirot) and Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.
Even Agatha Christie would have approved of this last casting choice. In fact, she made it herself! When a young Joan Hickson appeared in a minor role in another Christie adaptation filmed during the Grand Dame’s lifetime, the great lady herself told Hickson that she would make a wondrous Miss Marple when she was older. Not necessarily a compliment, I suppose, but then, I wouldn’t mind people seeing me as such a great elderly character - when I’m elderly that is.
As for the latest Marple adaptations on PBS’s Mystery!, they are the exception that proves the rule. I don’t hold Geraldine McEwan culpable for the horrendous new versions - I won’t watch them because they warp Miss Marple into something she’s not.
Agree with me? No? Don’t know what to think? Read the books and make up your own mind. I only hope PBS and Mystery! do better next time.
