Media Alert

3/13/2016

Tonight, Sunday, Lifetime is airing the first part of a 2-episode miniseries that's a new adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic, And Then There Were None. It starts at 9 PM Los Angeles time, and concludes on Monday (with several repeat airings).

I’ve never seen a really good adaptation of the novel, and all productions including the stage play that Agatha Christie wrote, have a major change from the book. (I shall say no more...) The book is very taut and meticulous, almost claustrophobic, and the movie versions tend to try to open things up a bit, or get a bit hammy. But I’ve set the DVR, and I’ll give it a watch as long as it holds my interest. But I live in hope.

Indeed, that said it turns out that And Then There Were None is adapted by a writer, Sarah Phelps, who did several episodes of a BBC miniseries that a British friend I know from tech conventions told me about called Dickensian. That’s a murder mystery set in 19th century London where many of the characters are from Dickens novels, and apparently was very popular. (She told me about it because she knew that that was the conceit of my A Christmas Carol 2 novella, blending in a couple dozen Dickens characters.) Happily, I was able to track down the episodes of Dickensian and much look forward to seeing it. But I digress...

I hold out a bit more hope for And Then There Were None because of that. Also, this is a BBC production, not made for Lifetime, which is another big point in its favor. I don't read reviews, but did see a bunch of headlines, and it appears to have gotten quite a positive response.

I don't know the full cast, but it includes Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson and the wonderful Charles Dance. Here's the trailer.

6 Comments

Douglass Abramson

3/13/2016 07:30:29 pm

Thank you for the heads up. I've been trying to find out when this was airing for a couple of months, but had missed its listing for this week. Anyone who has Lifetime in both SD and HD might want to check their provider listings for tonight. My Verizion FIOS has part 1 in HD starting at 8PM PDT with numerous replays, Tomorrow night's part 2 is listed at 9PM PDT, so listings might vary by provider. One of the younger actors that American audiences might want to watch this adaption for is Aidan Turner. His credits include Being Human (A vampire, Turner, a ghost and a Werewolf share a house) the Poldark remake and all three Hobbit films. He's not only a good actor, he seems to know how to handle his fans. He was flown out to Comic Con with his Being Human co-stars by the BBC and BBC America a few years ago. They were set up at a table in BBC America's booth on the main floor and were nearly swamped by the crowd. I was able to observe from the side for awhile, and everyone got a look in the eye, a smile and a brief conversation. Very impressive for a young actor with his first hit in a high pressure situation. I've seen experienced actors treat the public badly in better situations.

Robert Elisberg

3/13/2016 11:57:32 pm

And among the lesser-known names, I recognized Anna Maxwell Martin from her starring role in the BBC series, "The Bletchley Circle." As it happens, she's the one on the left in the screen shot I posted.

3/14/2016 12:30:22 am

It took me a couple of minutes, but I did recognize her. Of the Ten, I'm acquainted with the work of seven of them. I don't believe that I've ever seen victim number one, the governess or the "spinster".

3/14/2016 08:03:43 am

You've spotted far more than me, and I'm sure can make it eight. You just likely don't recognize "the spinster" as an older woman. That's Miranda Richardson, who was one of the leads in "Empire of the Sun" and got Best Actress Oscar nominations for "Damage" and "Tom & Viv," and also won a Golden Globe as Best Actress for "Enchanted April." Lots more. (P.S. In an upcoming movie, "Churchill," the day before D-Day, she'll be playing his wife Clementine.)

3/14/2016 09:37:49 am

Wow. I saw her name in the credits, but I guess it didn't really register. She doesn't really look like herself. The makeup and hair departments should get an Emmy nomination for their work on Ms Richardson alone.

Looking forward to part 2. It will be interesting to see if the fates of some of the characters get switched around to surprise the audience. I would think that most of the audience has seen at least one of the previous film and television versions.

3/14/2016 10:22:13 am

I was sure you knew her.

I am also near-certain that the fates of characters will not be switched around. This is far-too faithful an adaptation to screw around with things. There are two ways to play it, but really only those -- adapt the novel or adapt the stageplay, both of which Agatha Christie wrote. Up to this point, every film version has adapted the stageplay, for valid and understandable reasons. Screwing around with that would be the height of hubris, and this production doesn't have that sensibility. If I was forced to make a guess, it would be that they are going to go against history and adapt the novel. I can't tell for sure until a few things play out in part 2, but there are suggestions that make me think that. Oddly, I have mixed feelings which I'd prefer for reasons I won't get into, so as not to give anything away. But I'd be fine with either.

I'm also not sure I agree with your assumption about "most of the audience." In fact, I'm exchanging emails right now with a friend who loves Masterpiece Mystery, and she has never read the book or seen any movie version of the story. My own guess is that a huge part of the Lifetime audience has not seen or read either. Whether it's more than half or not, though, I wouldn't hazard an opinion. But I would even guess that some of the Lifetime audience might not even know Agatha Christie.

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