Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy

[Silverage]

Settled down after dinner last night trawling around the streamers for something to watch and I said the BBC usually knock out a Christie adaptation over Christmas - fired up iPlayer and sure enough, there it was.

We got about half an hour in and gave up. I’d not seen an adaptation of this story before but I was prepared to bet it has never included a Nigerian as the lead character. The guy had been so painfully shoehorned in and then the story had been moved from the Thirties to the Fifties so they could really go to town in showing all the white characters being rascist.

I have no objection at all to black lead characters, but this is a textbook example of how not to do it.

[bitchstewie]

I thoroughly enjoyed it tbh.

Haven't read the original so no idea what changes were made for this TV adaptation.

Good to know you don't object to black people on TV though.

[tangerine_sedge]

This was terrible on every level. It made the production values of Father Brown look like a Hollywood blockbuster, the acting in a school play feel like a RSC production, and the plot was not even worthy of a poor Midsummer Murders adaptation. It was lacking in tension with few surprises or twists, and the only interesting character was the actual murderer who barely had anything to do in the entire drama.

The change of decade or use of black characters were not the problem, it was just very badly made!

[13thDuke]

bhstewie said:

I thoroughly enjoyed it tbh.

Haven't read the original so no idea what changes were made for this TV adaptation.

Good to know you don't object to black people on TV though.

I've been lurking on here for years and had no intention of breaking such an impressive lurk-streak. However I don't mind spending my first post to point out that you are an absolute .

Don't you ever get tired of being so virtuous and pointing out how everybody else isn't??

As a black dude raised between the UK and my country of birth, self-righteous wkers like you make me cringe. The OP has a valid point regarding race-swapping in entertainment media, and "we" don't need to be defended by you and your ilk.

Edited by 13thDuke on Tuesday 2nd January 18:31

[deadslow]

13thDuke said:

bhstewie said:

I thoroughly enjoyed it tbh.

Haven't read the original so no idea what changes were made for this TV adaptation.

Good to know you don't object to black people on TV though.

I've been lurking on here for years and had no intention of breaking such an impressive lurk-streak. However I cant help feeling the need to point out that you are an absolute .

Don't you ever get tired of being so virtuous and pointing out how everybody else isn't??

As a black dude raised between the UK and my country of birth, self-righteous wkers like you make me cringe.

rude people make me cringe

[bitchstewie]

13thDuke said:

I've been lurking on here for years and had no intention of breaking such an impressive lurk-streak. However I don't mind spending my first post to point out that you are an absolute .

Don't you ever get tired of being so virtuous and pointing out how everybody else isn't??

As a black dude raised between the UK and my country of birth, self-righteous wkers like you make me cringe. The OP has a valid point regarding race-swapping in entertainment media, and "we" don't need to be defended by you and your ilk.

Edited by 13thDuke on Tuesday 2nd January 18:31

I'm not defending anyone.

I am suggesting it's pretty ridiculous to start a thread basically complaining because they cast a black guy as the lead in a TV adaptation of a fictional book and set it in a slightly different time.

I've never read the book and never seen it on TV before and it didn't even occur to me that I should check whether the original was about a black guy or when it was set.

It was just a couple of hours of what I thought was watchable fiction turned into a TV show.

[scenario8]

It surprises me not Stewie’s spidey senses drew him to this thread (and that he enjoyed the adaptation).

FWIW here’s a link to the IMDb review of the 1982 version. I don’t specifically recall it myself but I’d be happy to guess it would look very average and very dated these days.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082779/?ref_=tt_urv

The reimagined version’s review on that same site can be found here;

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26771826/

Not a great surprise The Guardian thought it was “ok, I guess”

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/dec/...

The Independent? Not so keen;

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/t...

And also as expected The Telegraph thought it was pile of Horlicks;

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/agatha-christie-m...

As an aside here’s a relatively recent tv adaptation with quite a decent cast;

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1251825/

Even further aside those with an interest in these things should check out the BBC’s new reinterpretation of the Famous Five. That was, in my humble opinion, all manner of disappointing.

Simply google BBC famous five

[Silverage]

bhstewie said:

I'm not defending anyone.

I am suggesting it's pretty ridiculous to start a thread basically complaining because they cast a black guy as the lead in a TV adaptation of a fictional book and set it in a slightly different time.

I've never read the book and never seen it on TV before and it didn't even occur to me that I should check whether the original was about a black guy or when it was set.

It was just a couple of hours of what I thought was watchable fiction turned into a TV show.

The point of the thread, as I suspect you are well aware, was to comment on how the BBC appear to have contorted themselves so there could be a black lead actor and the racist attitudes of the other characters could be demonstrated, and in doing so have ruined what may otherwise have been a decent adaptation.

I’ve never read the book or seen any of the previous adaptations so it may well simply be the case that this isn’t one of the best of Agatha Christie's stories.

[CoolHands]

I thought the strangest thing was the camera shots. Like looking down on the plate of breakfast etc. trying to be creative but in most cases was awful.

[bitchstewie]

Silverage said:

The point of the thread, as I suspect you are well aware, was to comment on how the BBC appear to have contorted themselves so there could be a black lead actor and the racist attitudes of the other characters could be demonstrated, and in doing so have ruined what may otherwise have been a decent adaptation.

I’ve never read the book or seen any of the previous adaptations so it may well simply be the case that this isn’t one of the best of Agatha Christie's stories.

I honestly don't see it as them contorting themselves.

I wouldn't have known the original wasn't set in that time period with a black actor.

If people think it was crap fair enough but sorry I don't buy that it was crap because of that.

[Granadier]

In the original novel, Luke was a British colonial policeman, returning to England after many years in the Mayang Straits, which is fictitious but sounds like it's in Asia. So at least in both novel and latest adaptation, it was someone coming from abroad who was unfamiliar with the Britain of the time.
The 1982 TV film updated the story to the 1980s and made Luke into an American computer scientist! I haven't seen that version for some years but in my memory it was quite enjoyable. The cast included old Hollywood star Olivia de Havilland, Timothy West, Lesley Anne Down and Jonathan Pryce.
I thought the latest BBC version was adequate but not great. But better than the last new Christie I saw, Why Didn't They Ask Evans, which I did think was poorly done.

[Countdown]

13thDuke said:

bhstewie said:

I thoroughly enjoyed it tbh.

Haven't read the original so no idea what changes were made for this TV adaptation.

Good to know you don't object to black people on TV though.

I've been lurking on here for years and had no intention of breaking such an impressive lurk-streak. However I don't mind spending my first post to point out that you are an absolute .

Don't you ever get tired of being so virtuous and pointing out how everybody else isn't??

As a black dude raised between the UK and my country of birth, self-righteous wkers like you make me cringe. The OP has a valid point regarding race-swapping in entertainment media, and "we" don't need to be defended by you and your ilk.

Edited by 13thDuke on Tuesday 2nd January 18:31

How TF is he "defending" you? He made a comment about a TV programme.

It's a genuine shame that you've broken your lurk-streak. Feel free to try and break your "impressive" record.....

[Louis Balfour]

Countdown said:

13thDuke said:

bhstewie said:

I thoroughly enjoyed it tbh.

Haven't read the original so no idea what changes were made for this TV adaptation.

Good to know you don't object to black people on TV though.

I've been lurking on here for years and had no intention of breaking such an impressive lurk-streak. However I don't mind spending my first post to point out that you are an absolute .

Don't you ever get tired of being so virtuous and pointing out how everybody else isn't??

As a black dude raised between the UK and my country of birth, self-righteous wkers like you make me cringe. The OP has a valid point regarding race-swapping in entertainment media, and "we" don't need to be defended by you and your ilk.

Edited by 13thDuke on Tuesday 2nd January 18:31

How TF is he "defending" you? He made a comment about a TV programme.

It's a genuine shame that you've broken your lurk-streak. Feel free to try and break your "impressive" record.....

I disagree, I think the Duke has nailed it.

[bitchstewie]

Granadier said:

In the original novel, Luke was a British colonial policeman, returning to England after many years in the Mayang Straits, which is fictitious but sounds like it's in Asia. So at least in both novel and latest adaptation, it was someone coming from abroad who was unfamiliar with the Britain of the time.
The 1982 TV film updated the story to the 1980s and made Luke into an American computer scientist! I haven't seen that version for some years but in my memory it was quite enjoyable. The cast included old Hollywood star Olivia de Havilland, Timothy West, Lesley Anne Down and Jonathan Pryce.
I thought the latest BBC version was adequate but not great. But better than the last new Christie I saw, Why Didn't They Ask Evans, which I did think was poorly done.

Thank you and that's kind of my point but you're saying it with the benefit of knowing a bit more about the original and previous TV adaptations whilst I'd never read or watched any of them before so just watched this "blind".

Apart from the Internet not being around in 1982 if it was I'm not sure this thread would exist because someone was bothered by the lead character being changed to be an American computer scientist and it being set in the 1980s.

[Nethybridge]

bhstewie said:

I honestly don't see it as them contorting themselves.

I wouldn't have known the original wasn't set in that time period with a black actor.

If people think it was crap fair enough but sorry I don't buy that it was crap because of that.

I think we all know there is no credible or logical reason for
butchering a long revered text except for the BBC's illogical devotion to DIE.

[Blib]

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Liking.........

[Ffordd Ar Gau]

It was a bit awkward, and not particularly inspiring. However, knowing the book and having seen the ITV adaptation which turned ‘Luke’ into Miss Marple, I did know the plot and who the murderer was, so maybe I’m being a little harsh. Though I did think that maybe they’d changed that too as that character was distinctly absent from most of the programme!

[bstb3]

Not that I can really recommend it, but the 1982 version is on YouTube now if anyone wants to compare it. It's not aged massively well, but it's not awful either and some mildly interesting cars in it. It is a bit odd seeing the incredible hulk in the lead role though, kept hoping for him to get angry to liven it up.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=_FkOcbhPVTE&si=ceS...

On the angle of the OP, it was pretty obvious what was coming from the trailers to be honest (having already seen the earlier version the swap and therefore likely connotations was fairly predictable). Its not the first time a change is made to something to shoehorn in a positive, or political of the time, message and won't be the last. It's pretty common in adaptations, the clue being in the word adaptation i.e. not the same as the original. If people are sensitive to it then avoid it, but no reason it should spoil anything if done well.

Had not seen it yet but was hoping it might be worth a watch, but doesn't sound so promising. In fairness it's not the strongest story anyway so needs a good cast to carry it. Or the incredible hulk.

[Kamov]

It was mildly enjoyable as my wife loves these crime light things and the kids could watch too.
I thought having a lead character who is from the Nigerian elite, so very well off and educated was the very opposite of what some might suggest the BBC was trying to do, which is showing that its not only White privilege, Nigeria has a huge amount of elites.
Nigeria has plenty of billionaires.
So here we have a privileged black guy, well dressed well spoken and actually didn't really face any racism at all.
Class knows class which is where many seem to fail, in that class and culture plays a far bigger part in prejudice.

The bit about the Doctor and genetic experiments is factual and whether we like it or not a lot of that horrific research is still used today, for good and to quote something from the Guardian

"For example, one reason doctors today are so concerned about racial and ethnic health disparities is because our codes of ethics demand that we treat every person equally, without regard to race or ethnic background. This ethical obligation is a direct outgrowth of the horrors of Nazi medicine."

[motco]

I'd like to know how a chap from a poor background who had made his pile came to be a peer. He wouldn't have inherited the title given his background, and life peers weren't introduced for a further five years from the setting of this programme.