Christie on Masterpiece Mystery

Did anyone else catch "A Pocketful of Rye" last night? I really liked the production and it was nice to see some familiar faces like Wendy Richards and Prunella Scales.
Next week is "Murder Is Easy".

I watched the last half of it. I even pulled my copy of A Pocketful of Rye off the shelf to check. It's not really a Miss Marple at all.

I've seen all three of the PBS "Six by Agatha" so far. I plan on buying the books and reading them to see how they stack up. I really like the shows so far and can't wait to see the others.

Miss Marple not for you? I just adore her! Much prefer Marple to Poirot.

And don't forget that you can watch the reruns online for free for a while after airing.

Moira (#4) -- It's not that I don't like Miss Marple (I do prefer her in fact to Poirot), but I was surprised that they felt the need to turn Pocketful of Rye into a Miss Marple story when it isn't one.

I really liked it. I thought the Miss Marple (don't know her name) was really good. I'm looking forward to next week.

>2 jillmwo: I'm confused. Why do you say it's not a Miss Marple mystery? The Agatha Christie web site lists it as one. I think I read it a million years ago, but I have no real recollection of it.

I thought that Gladys had been one of Miss Marple's maids, and that's how she got involved in the story.

Yes, A Pocketful Full of Rye is a Miss Marple. From the back cover of my edition:
"The shocking thing about Rex Fortescue's murder was that the contemptible tycoon wasn't knocked off sooner. But when two less-deserving souls fall victim to the killer, Miss Jane Marple is engaged to detect."

Some of you may remember that "Pocketfull" was produced before with one or both of the BBC-PBS's previous Miss Marple. I'm not convinced this actress is better than the last to portray her - Geraldine McKuen (may not be correct spelling). But I do love the stories and the Miss Marple character, but I AM partial to Poirot as portrayed by David Suchet.

Jane Marple may be present in the beginning, but the actual detection is done by someone else. (My copy is upstairs, so I can't cite page and chapter,but Miss Marple is on stage very little as I recall the text. I'm fairly sure that the two professional policemen are doing most of the actual work of detecting in the book.)

Just when I warmed to Geraldine McEwan, they replace her. I'm not sure about Julia McKenzie, at the moment she seems a bit blah to me, but I'm hoping that familiarity will breed affection.

I just verified it. Miss Marple doesn't enter the story until Chapter 13 (roughly 95 pages in) and as I thought, the two professional policemen are doing the bulk of the investigation. In fact, the BBC adaptation has Miss Marple doing some scenes that actually belong to the policeman in the book.

I didn't like the Geraldine McEwan versions at all. I'm glad to see someone else in this one.

Did anyone watch last night? It was Murder Is Easy, but with Miss Marple added. It was very different from the book.

I TiVo'd it but haven't watched yet. I'm looking forward to it.

I love to watch Miss Marple on Masterpiece Mystery. I've even bought two of the DVD sets. 4.50 from Paddington is fantastic.