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By
FRANK BEHRENS
Compared with the Poirot and
Miss Marple mysteries issued by Acorn Media, the
"Tommy & Tuppence: Partners in Crime" series is
lightweight fare but quite enjoyable. The first
and second series has been long available on
tapes, with Series 1 also on DVDs . Now we have
Series 2 on DVDs and the fun continues.
The best thing about this "Partners in Crime"
series is the outrageous costumes Francesca Annis
gets to wear, the most spectacular appearing in
the last episode in this boxed set. Now this is
featherlight Agatha Christie, so do not expect the
complex kind of case that Marple always -- and
Poirot often -- have to solve. The inside joke of
the T&T novels is that in each one they emulate
the techniques of a famous fictional detective.
For example, in one episode Tommy (James Warwick)
is dressed as Father Brown and the last mystery is
described by the team as a real Edgar Wallace
case.
"The Case of the Missing Lady" is probably the
silliest of them all, and even Tuppence is
required to do a comic turn that is frankly
embarrassing. "The Unbreakable Alibi" has a
solution that is utterly predictable, while the
same could be said about the culprit in "The Man
in the Mist." "The Crackler" is probably the most
satisfactory.
All in all, good lightweight fun, as I said, but
few thrills. And the Annis character can get a
little "too too" now and then and start to grate
in a way that she does not in the novels.
Like the Poirot DVDs, these hold 3 episodes each.
Both sets have some printed "bonus" information
about Christie and the casts in these televised
episodes. |
