TV Cream

TV: M is for...

Miss Marple

SPRIGHTLY SPINSTER gets invited to a weekend in the country with second cousin/uncle/vicar’s nephew/any number of landed gentry types. Death ensues, usually in the middle of the night in a thunderstorm in the library with the lead piping. Local coppers (who are all stupid) haven’t a clue. Old woman keeps own counsel and pesters her hosts for another barm cake. A few days pass. Someone else cops it. Old woman seen walking around village green/posh garden/reading newspaper and looking gnomic. Everyone gathers to find out the ending. Old woman discloses suspect’s name while sipping lime cordial. Local coppers strike heads in bemusement. Evil-doer led away. “Where you’re going, you’ll have no need for garden shears/sawn-off shotguns/tarot cards,” cackles local stupid inspector person. Old woman returns home to rest before being invited to nearby grand niece/sister-in-law/bellringer/tropical explorer tea party in the next episode. Tootling theme and line-drawings bring the curtain down.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Terry

    March 28, 2015 at 10:54 am

    Curiously menacing themesong, given most of the action involved Hickson pursing her lips in a flowerbed.

  2. Richardpd

    January 7, 2024 at 3:58 pm

    One of my Mum’s all time favourite shows. We managed to catch an episode late on Christmas Day when there wasn’t anything else good on TV, which still stands up after nearly 40 years.

    Once me & my old Girlfriend managed to watch a repeat of a BBC adaption of A Murder Is Announced on one channel, and found the more recent ITV adaption a few hours later on another channel!

  3. Sidney Balmoral James

    January 7, 2024 at 7:44 pm

    One of the stone cold classics of the BBC – with absolutely perfect performance from Joan Hickson, and that wonderful theme music; the later ones are a bit tired, but the earlier ones (Pocket Full of Rye, Murder is Announced for example) are quite sinister in tone, which you could seldom say about Poirot.

  4. Richardpd

    January 7, 2024 at 9:50 pm

    I agree the theme & Joan Hickson’s performance were just right for the series.

    Supposedly Joan Hickson still had to be aged up with makeup even though she was of advanced years.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

To Top