Agatha Christie's Marple: Series 5 [DVD]

Each is adapted from the Agatha Christie story of its name, although there are gradations of faithfulness to those stories. There’s also varying quality at work here, with some of the tales faring notably better than others.

The highlight of this particular set of Marple? That’d probably be either The Mirror Crack’d or The Blue Geranium. But even when the show is off colour, as happens once or twice throughout series five, then there’s at least something in there to enjoy. There’s a bevy of guest stars to keep your interest, and a strong central performance from McKenzie to keep everything anchored.

It’s not vintage Marple, maybe, yet this series five set does have some diverting yarns, and enough in it to warrant a look. You might, though, want to check out the Joan Hickson era of Miss Marple, though, if you want to see Agatha Christie’s work in a slightly better light… --Jon Foster

The Blue Geranium
Set in the picturesque village of Little Ambrose, the wealthy and widely disliked Mary Pritchard (Sharon Small, Murderland) is found dead. The circumstances are bemusing and even Miss Marple is perplexed. Agoraphobic Mary had a well-known fear of anything blue, but did she really die of shock when the geranium in her wallpaper changed colour? Also starring Toby Stephens (Robin Hood, Jane Eyre), Kevin R. McNally (Wuthering Heights, Valkyrie), Joanna Page (Gavin and Stacey, Love Actually), Claudie Blakley (Cranford, Lark Rise to Candleford), Claire Rushbrook (Collision, Whitechapel), Caroline Catz (Doc Martin, The Vice), Patrick Baladi (Bodies), Paul Rhys (The Queen, Beethoven) and David Calder (Red Riding, The Last Enemy).

The Pale Horse
Featuring ingenious deceptions and black magic, The Pale Horse sees Miss Marple investigate the brutal murder of an old friend. The day after Father Gorman is found dead she receives a mysterious letter from him containing a list of names. His final act was to administer the last rites to a dying woman, Mrs Davis, so Miss Marple starts by visiting her boarding house. It turns out to be a good hunch. Lodger Paul Osborne describes a man he saw following Father Gorman on the night he died, and she also chances upon a slip of paper bearing the name of The Pale Horse Inn. At this creepy establishment Miss Marple is greeted by three modern-day witches. Indeed, the whole village is steeped in the occult. When an eccentric local is also killed, Miss Marple is forced to take the law into her own hands.

The Secret Of Chimneys
A lavish weekend party sees Miss Marple accompany Lady Virginia Revel (Charlotte Salt, Tudors, Beowulf) to her family home of Chimneys - a house which was once prized for its diplomatic gatherings until a rare diamond was stolen from the premises over twenty years ago. Virginia must decide by the end of the weekend whether to accept a marriage proposal from the tenacious career politician George Lomax (Adam Godley, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Cor Blimey!) or to follow her heart and the courtship of another more adventurous suitor, Anthony Cade (Jonas Armstrong, Robin Hood, The Street). Throughout the course of the evening, a contract for the sale of the house is drawn up only for the purchaser to be found dead in a secret passageway within its walls.

The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side
Hollywood star Marina Gregg (Lindsay Duncan, Margaret, Criminal Justice), has left the palm trees and bright lights of Los Angeles for the leafy lanes and picturesque countryside of St Mary Mead, England. She has taken up residence at Gossington Hall with her dashing young English husband, film director Jason Rudd (Nigel Harman, Hotel Babylon, EastEnders), his secretary, Ella Blunt (Victoria Smurfitt, Trial and Retribution),and her personal assistant, Hailey Preston (Brennan Brown). When the glamorous couple decide to throw a party, the grounds are abuzz with curious locals, including previous owner of Gossington Hall Dolly Bantry (Joanna Lumley, Absolutely Fabulous). But when fan Heather Badcock (Caroline Quentin, Blue Murder, Life of Riley) consumes a poisoned daiquiri, Marina finds herself starring in a real-life mystery, supported by Miss Marple and Inspector Hewitt, who suspect that the lethal cocktail was intended for someone other than Marina's harmless admirer.