I was moved when I saw her the first time when it was broadcast and I am moved again, now I have it on DVD. A good long shot of her monologue (thanks Tucker!) so she can be enjoyed to the fullest. Subtle and deeply moving as the alcohol-depending grieving mother who loves and misses her daughter desperately. Bent (the mother of the missing girl Nora) is a joy to watch. I would like to criticize some of the smaller parts as the rest of the cast seemed to be hand picked by director David Tucker.

I do not wish to dwell on her acting skills as they are praised enough on this site. Highly recommended.Īs always Joan Hickson is wonderful as Jane M. The female bodyguards are good value too and the episode contains one of my favourite Hickson lines.'An Archdeacon?!' This is another relatively early BBC Marple that looks wonderful and is has a gloriously nostalgic feel to it. She threatens to go over the top towards the end but just avoids it. It's largely because of Lionel that I don't award 10 out of 10! The other characters are beautifully done especially Helen Cherry as a dignified Miss Temple and all of the three weird sisters but particularly Margaret Tyzack who gives a towering performance as Clothilde. Tour guide Madge was irritating in a different way but often quite amusing. Personally I felt that the added character of Lionel Peel was unnecessary and rather irritating. A few characters are dropped, the first (new) murder is slightly different and a couple of new characters are introduced.

On the whole it is very faithful to the book. I loved the characters and they are lovingly brought to life in this excellent BBC adaptation with Joan Hickson, terrific as ever, as Miss Marple. 'Nemesis' was the last book to feature Miss Marple written by Agatha Christie (the official final case 'Sleeping Murder' was written in the forties) and I've always had a very soft spot for it. Overall, well worth watching, better than the recent version in pretty much all departments. Margaret Tyzack is outstanding though in a chilling and moving performance as Clothilde. The performances are wonderful this time around, and make the most of an in general well-done script, with Joan Hickson brilliant as always as Miss Marple, and solid turns from Liz Fraser, Helen Cherry, Joanna Hole and Anna Cropper. It is beautifully filmed, with nice photography and period detail, and the music as always is excellent. Despite the added character of Lionel coming across as rather irritating, more to do with how he was written than how he was acted, and one or two moments of sluggish pacing, this is solid as an adaptation of a decent book. This adaptation of the book Nemesis is a huge improvement, it not only respects the book, despite a few liberties, but it pretty much rectifies the problems the ITV version had. The Geraldine McEwan version suffered from a plodding pace, and both of the above problems, and I would consider second worst of the ITV adaptations, worst being Sittaford Mystery, which even on its own merits turned out dull and confusing. Now I don't take pride in bad mouthing the Geraldine McEwan adaptations, two or three of them were surprisingly good, but others started off well but ruined by either a poor script, a confusing final solution or both. And you know what, it is a huge improvement on the Geraldine McEwan version.

While not quite as good as A Murder is Announced, which was not only delightful but almost surpassed the book, this is an excellent adaptation.

Agatha christie nemesis