Favorite Christie Detective?

Mine are probably Tommy and Tuppence, although my first favorite was Hercule. For years, I couldn't stand Ms. Marple, but I finally started appreciating her a few years ago - it was great, because I suddenly had new Agatha Christie books to read!

I think I liked how Tommy and Tuppence just kind of stumbled into mysteries and were more amateurs than Hercule Poirot. They were more down to earth too, and Tuppence is also just a great name!

I saw the movies before I started reading Christie's books back in high school, so I always associate Poirot with Albert Finney, and Marple with Angela Lansbury. Those two are my favorites, and it is a shame these two performers only played their Christie roles once.

my number hero is Hercule Poirot.he is an absolute genius.i have been fascinated by him and his intelligence.

I am just in love with Tommy and Tuppance. I do have this to say, however: those particular books were never as well written as her others. I love them because of the characters.

I have also developed a deep appreciation for Miss Marple. The fact is that the vast majority of the aphorisms and homilies that she pops out with are actually very apt. Agatha Christie had a pretty good understanding of human nature and, when she was concentrating, could concoct amazingly satisfying plots.

A current favorite is "Taken At The Flood", which is actually Hercule Poirot, but it is an excellent example of Christie's understanding of people and their natural behavior patterns.

Personally, my favorite detective was always Hercules Poirot, but my favorite TV adaptations are the ones with Miss Marple that are currently airing on PBS. There's one on tonight! I'm so excited!

I love Hercule Poirot- he has always been my favorite! I hated Miss Marple books until I saw the TV version (with Geraldine McEwan) then I started to read her stories- and loved them! I really recommend those PBS adaptations. (My favorite-right now-is What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw/ The 4:50 from Paddington.)

TheCount & Lunalovebook:
Didn't you like Joan Hickson's Miss Marple? I loved her gentle portrait of the spinster sleuth, whereas my first reaction to the new series was pretty negative. Initially I thought McEwan's interpretation was patronising and annoying. I did catch 4:50 From Paddington, which I thought was the best adaptation of all the versions, (I think John Hannah pulled it together) and that has made me warm towards her.

Yes, I do enjoy Joan Hickson's Miss Marple- but I really like McEwan's demeanor and interpretation of Miss Marple.
Do you prefer David Suchet's version of Poirot? For me nothing can beat the books- but I think Suchet's version has the perfect characters- a great Hastings and a very funny Japp.

I like each of them for different reasons. I enjoyed Ustinov as a kid, and I still enjoy the older versions, but I think they are less true to the book version, whereas I think Suchet is fabulously in keeping.

I agree with you about the secondary characters, they're much more fleshed out in the Suchet version, especially Hastings, who is a particular favourite of mine. I read somewhere that Christie thought Albert Finney's performance in Murder on the Orient Express was perfectly in keeping with the character, but I prefer Suchet.

I did not enjoy Peter Ustinov's Poirot. While "Evil Under the Sun" is probably my favorite Christie-based movie, I thought he played it for laughs too often, including the TV movies that followed.

That's true enough, and the Hastings in the Ustinov version had the same problem. Although to be fair to the actors it was an era which celebrated comic mystery.

I still like them for sentimental reasons. And I was genuinely upset when Ustinov passed away (as I was when Joan Hickson died). That's something that the books have going for them, the characters only die if Christie decides they should.

CharlesTatumJr: If you're not a fan of Ustinov, do you have a favourite?

Yup, I posted it earlier, but my favorites were the ones who only played their roles once: Albert Finney as Poirot in "Murder on the Orient Express" and Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple in "The Mirror Crack'd".

I love poirot! then miss Marple those two are so cool!

Actually, "The Mirror Cracked" is my least favourite movie version, I hated Elizabeth Taylor, and I thought Lansbury was ridiculous in this role. (Come on, people, she was made up to be about twenty years older than she really was!) Which is strange because I'm a huge fan of her in Murder She Wrote.
Of course "Murder on the Orient Express" is a tour de force - no question.

O.K. I'm a McEwan convert. I just bought the dvd collection and it only took about 20 hours of back-to-back reruns to persuade me. Thanks for inspiring me to have another look at the series.

Yay! I am so glad- I love McEwan!

I like Hercule Poirot.

Poirot and Miss Marple, both. I can't pick between them.

Nobody's mentioned The Mysterious Mr. Quin and Mr. Satterhwaite, but I like them too.

I think I like Ms Marple best. She uses her age in a smart way, and she is a smart woman.

i like poirot. i've only found one book with tommy and tuppence (partners in crime) but i loved it! however, i'd have to say i prefer the books with no particular detective (and then there were none, the secret of chimneys, etc)

Poirot is my favorite, both in print and on Television. David Suchet is Poirot to a "T."

I just love Miss Marple.
She solves murder mysteries and knits...

Suchet is a great Poirot, but Finney is a close second. His Poirot never turned his head. It's hysterical to watch.

I love Hercule Poirot - his intelligence and understanding of the human psychology is fascinating to read and to watch. He loves playing the role of the "foreigner" in England, and it is amazing how many people are shocked by his astute observations.

David Suchet is a magnificent Poirot, and I am truly saddened that there will be no new Poirot movies after this years season. :(

My favorite would be Hercule Poirot. I've read only one Tommy & Tuppence (By the pricking of my thumbs) but i liked it. I don't like Miss Marple much but i've read only few of her stories so i'm not sure.

My favorite has always been Hercule Poirot, but I enjoy the others as well.

My favorite is Miss Marple. I think it's probably because many of her mysteries involve certain elements of pyschology/human nature, which never ceases to fascinate me. I also want to be just like her when I am an old lady :)

I love Miss Marple - she's such an unlikely detective, but it all make sense! I also love Tommy & Tuppence, they are both interesting people and I like that they age in real time. Poirot is too clichedly-arrogant for him to be my favourite, although I still enjoy reading his books.

I haven't read too much of Superintendent Battle, but from I would like to read more. He sounds thoroughly sensible.