FROM BOOK TO SERIES: HERCULE POIROT

OMGosh!!!!
I remember seeing part of the opening for this episdoe before, but had missed a LOT before it and the rest of it afterwards ... and it was such a great story, but I am writing this part first before listening to the audiobook because there's a bit I would like to talk about ...
That they put into the beginning part which I had missed.

and as usual ... SPOILER ALERTs from here on out ... and ...

NONE OF THE EMBEDDED VIDEOS AT THE END ARE MINE - I ONLY INCLUDE THEM FOR YOUR CONVIENINCE ... so you won't have to go hunt for them.

okay

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

And yes ... the buckle will help to solve the murder mysteries.
Body Count in episdoe: 4, by the end

So the episode opens with what looks like a really bad drug-scene ala 1960's ... it becomes important later in the show ... but then it jumps to a news reel - like they used to show in the movie theaters/cinema back in the day ... I used to love watching these on Saturday mornings on TCM ... oh I miss that channel, but it's considered a "premium" channel now and I don't feel like paying for it, plus it looks like they are colorizing the films and such ...

Oops - off on a tangent again ... the News Reel is about Prince EDWARD'S trip to India in 1924 or 26, I don't remember which (and really it isn't that important) ... At first I thought they had made a mistake ...

They say he is "Edward Prince of Wales" and apparently tha is how is was addressed ... but I thought he was called "Prince David" because that was how the family addressed him during this time and after he abducated his throne ... 

I find it rather interesting ... In the series "The Crown" which looks at the Royal family during Queen Elizabeth II's reign, she calls him "Uncle David" not "Uncle Edward" ... and both series (Poirot & The Crown) were filmed/designed/writen ... I'm actually not sure how to word it ... by the BBC television!

I actually don't know why they included the News Reel, other than to give a time context, but they could have easily done the job by having someone say "1926, what a year we will always remember!" when they are toasting the engaged couple ...

While I love history thrown into these things ... it is just so forced!

The costume designs for the time of the book looks to be from around the 1920s - but then I only know the styling in America, not so much for England - the skirts were "tea length" or mid calf ... the shoes were a medium heel and they had big buckles on them ... and hats - oh yes, always a hat.

But still ... by the 30's skirts were a little higher to the knee ... heels, while still mid-high (2" at most) they were slimmer, and buckles, if you had any, were clip-on add-ons so one pair of shoes could go with several outfits.  We are talking everyday, walking around clothing ...
Evening clothes would have been long, flowy gowns in a light fabric ... shoes would likely have been a slightly taller by again thinner heel.

I love the clothes of the 1920s and 1930s -- that's why I noticed these things.

Trivial ... but if you notice the details, it can be bothersome.

This story is one about a trip to the DENTIST OFFICE ... now, if you're like me, that just put a shiver down your back ...
Don't worry - They show very litle of the dentist offices at that time ... maybe that's why I didn't watch a lot of this episode over the years ...

Then there's the "American" accents that a couple of actresses try to pull off ... very few British people can do it, especially if they are playing characters from a particular region.

The guy who played Mark Healy on "Roseanne" (the original series) and Doyle on "Angel" during the first couple of years, pulled it off really well ... by the way, Doyle used his REAL voice/accent, Mark was his "American" accent ...

Alan Rickman did an American accent in the movie "Die Hard" when he first meets up with Bruce Willis' character ... it was "okay" I guess, but it was definately more of a Californian type of accent.

The gals in this episode were supposed to be from New York ... and I'm sorry, but no matter where you are from in NY state, you are going to have a definate accent!  And neither of these ladies pulled it off at all.
While they did a fairly good job wiping out their British accents, every once in a while you can still hear it ... but - eh - I think they needed a little more time with a Speech Coach, preferably one from America.

Yeah - I know, I'm getting picky ... and it is a pretty good telling of the story all in all.

They also had a group of llittle girls, doing the British version of Hopscotch on the sidewalk outside of the dentist office building ... i remember using a domed topped hopscotch outline, the one wih a large square box with an "X" drawn through the center in order to make 4 compartments ... the British version (I've seen kids these days use this kind more often) is just a series of square boxes drown stacked on top of each other in singles or doubles, then each of the boxes are numbered 1-10, in sequential order ...
The girls are supposed to be singing the nursery rhyme "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" ... but it is NOT the one I learned as a child ... the one I learned stops at "10, A Big Fat Hen - Now we start at 1 again" ... but it sounds like the British version of it goes all the way up to 20!!!

When I find it on the Audiobook (because each chapter is title the verse which corresponds to its number) I will type it on this post ... likely near the end.

Its a very good episode though ... I do suggest watching it.

Chapter names:
Chaper 1: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
Chapter 2: Three, Four Shut he Door
Chapter 3: Five, Six Pick Up Sticks
Chapter 4: Seven, Eight Lay Them Straight
Chapter 5: Nine, Ten A Big Fat Hen
Chapter 6: Eleven, Twelve Men mus delve (which means "dig" or "dig up")
Chapter 7: Thirteen, Fourteen Maids A'Courting
Chapter 8: Fifteen, Sixteen Maids in the Kitchen
Chapter 9: Seventeen, Eighteen Maids in Waiting
Chapter 10: Nineteen, Twenty My Plates Empty

The novel opens with a simple reading of the poem/nursery rhyme ... then from there it opens in the apartment of Poirot's dentist - and we see he is a bit of a curmudgeon ... or a cranky older man.
He lives with his sister, and at their breakfast table he complains about those who work at his practice ... but don't worry, his sister knows how to defuse him ... 

It then jumps to a man who hurts his tooth with a toothpick ... he already had an appointment made at noon, but he becomes rather important to the story later.

In the book, Poirot shows up via taxi (as opposed to the episode where he appears to have walked there) ... Agatha Christie did a very good job at describing how people seem to feel about going to the dentist ... even the unruffled Poirot is not a fan, but he battles through.
She spends quite a while on Poirot's dental visit - from Poirot's point of view ... without actually using any first person narrative.
Very skillful!

Later, Poirot gets a phone call from Inspector Japp ... the dentist is found dead later that afternoon, and Poirot is called in when Japp simply wants his opinions about the dentist, and if he would have been likely to kill himself ...

And from here - everyone who was a patient that morning, now is a "suspect" until cleared ... Poirot, of course, gets cleared at once.

While leaving, Poirot sees a taxi pull up and a leg get out ... he notices the ankle & leg first (typical guy) and then he notices the shoe - and unlike in the episdoe ... it was the second shoe which loses its buckle.  He also notices that the nylons were "cheap" - poor quality - and the shoes were, while not bad, "provential"

Miss Seal meets Japp and Poirot at the Glengari Court Hotel ... and Poirot again notices her shoes.  And that the buckle hadn't been "sewn on" yet (I didn't think they sewed the buckles on, I thought they were like clip-on earrings).  That buckle comes back in the end.

I am not sure exactly what I should and shouldn't mention anymore ... the more I listened to the audiobook, the more I realized there are people who were dropped ... facts which got mixed up ... character who were combined ... 

It makes this very tough to write ...

First, the murderer is the murderer -- but the contortions that Poirot goes through can NOT be protrayed in only an hour ... oh I can see why Japp was going to just walk away from this ... but leave it to Poirot to figure it out!!

And it all hinges on the confession of a single suspect ... which clears him, and shines the bright light of Poirot's mind to another location.

Did you know that in the "description" area of the audiobooks there is a highlighted "transcript" feature in which there is a copy of what is being said printed out AS it's being read?  So if you are interested in either learning to read English better, increase your vocabulary (have to know how to spell a word to find it in the dictionary), or actually Read the text ... I suggest clicking on that.

I have not been able to find thie episode yet on YouTube ... but when/if I do, I will strike this out and place it here:  FOUND IT!!!!

Enjoy!

Episode:

Audiobook: