FROM BOOK TO SERIES: HERCULE POIROT

 Have I mentioned yet that when our local PBS station airs Poirot, they do it in groups of TWO, in most cases??

This is the other one shown this week ... again, I found both the video of the episode as well as an audiobook version on YouTube -- I will embed them both at the bottom of the post.

And like the last one, the stories of each are very different - this one even more so ... so lets start with what they have IN COMMON ... which is very short.

I may be able to do this without having too many "spoilers" but be aware, there IS a 

SPOILER ALERT

So yu can't complain if you see something which you did not wish to see ...

THE DEAD MAN'S MIRROR

The series episode was an hour long ... as well as the reading of the audiobook, in fact it was a tad longer than that ... well, if you want to call 2 hours a "little" longer, that is.

So what do these two versions have in common?
1)Hercule Poirot is in it and investigates
2)The murder is meant to look like a suicide
3)A mirror is broken 
4)the general composition of the household is the same
5)Murderer is the same person

But that's it!

In the series, we have the normal team of Poirot, Hastings, and Japp ... only Poirot in the book, but he does know one of the officers at the local police station.

The episode opens in an auction house, the book opens with Poirot reading a letter in his office.

The book then has Poirot go to a gathering to find out about the person who wrote the letter .... but he does not meet up with Hastings at all ... 

Miss Lemon does NOT appear in EITHER telling, by the way - I know she has her own set of fans out there.

Now what's different ...
1)Poirot is "summoned" to the household by the murdered man
2)Poirot shows up just before the body is discovered
3)The gun is on opposite sides of the body
4)the Medical Examiner (aka Police Surgeon) is the one who points out the alinement of the bullet is a bit off (think CSI ... way back then too!)
5)the way the murder is commited is different - almost as if it were a whole different story.

This is very interesting actually -- because until the doctor says anything, it seems that Poirot is more than willing to accept this as a suicide ... very interesting, indeed.

5)the position of the mirror breakage differs as well -- this will make a difference in the end!

Its rather interesting though - Poirot goes about PICKING STUFF UP in the room, at least in the book, BEFORE the police arrive!
Everybody knows that's a huge No No!!
In fact, its actually a CRIME

EMBEDDED VIDEOS

bbc ePISODE

Audiobook