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16 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
Perfectly Played, 23 April 2004
Author: lyrikal13 from Tampa, FL

I read a few other reviews, of this series, & felt like saying that they seemed to miss the point. Being familiar with the original novel "The Secret Adversary" (which was made into a full-length TV feature after these) as well as the "Partners in Crime" short stories I believe that those involved with this series captured the spirit the author intended very well indeed.

The tone of the original stories was much lighter than that of other Agatha Christie novels and the playfulness & risque humor (which come across clearly in the dramatizations) came right from the characters in the books. I also believe the overly stylized performances were perfect for the period & mood of the pieces. The acting actually comes across more as a good staging of a Bernard Shaw or Oscar Wilde play in the style of the early 20th century than as a current modern TV program & I for one completely enjoyed the contrast.

2 side notes: I've purchased these on DVD as well as the sets of the Poirot series & while the Poirot are exceptional (wonderfully made & acted) I actually enjoy re-watching the "Partners in Crime" Series more because the emphasis is much less on the crime than on the characters, compared to the Poirot series which always seems to need a twist (right out of Christie) and some kind of action/chase sequence (not so much from Christie).

Also, I'd personally love to see James Warwick and Francesca Annis reprise these roles 20 years on, since there were several novels ("By the Pricking of my Thumbs" and "Postern of Fate" are the two I remember) which caught up with Tommy & Tuppence later in their lives.

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13 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Delicious Adaptation with the Delectable Annis, 3 June 2004
Author: maisonvivante from Ladera Ranch, CA

Delightful adaptation of Agatha Christie's light Tommy and Tuppence stories.

These productions are rich in period detail, delightful lead performances, and charm and whimsy to spare. This isn't typical Christie fare; it's light as a soufflé and as bubbly as champagne. James Warwick and the stunning Francesca Annis make a yummy twenties couple who solve crimes and flirt with each other. The scripts are sometimes padded out to flesh out Christie's admittedly thin short stories, but always done with humor, style and flair. The whole series has a wonderful Noel Coward type feel to it that will appeal to those who appreciate the style of the 1920's. I just wish that the producers would bring the leads back for Christie's later Tommy and Tuppence novels.

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10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
GREAT TV Series !, 26 May 2005
Author: johnbol from Utrecht, The Netherlands

This is a must have DVD for every Agatha Christie fan ! It is just as i imagined Tommy & Tuppence from the short stories. There is a lot of humor and Annis and Warwick are superb as are most of the rest of the cast. The whole series has an intimate feel about it that i liked very much. Every episode is a spoof on one of the famous detectives of the time the stories were written like Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown etc. as Agatha Christie intended. It would be nice if ITV decided to use Warwick and Annis again for a follow up on this series, they could use the novels about Tommy and Tuppence this time as they are written about the couple when they are older. It would be a good idea to do this instead of remaking Miss Marple or Poirot movies.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Piece de resistance, 6 March 2008
10/10
Author: Mart Sander from www.martsander.com

Absolutely and gorgeously great. The fact that it was made almost 25 years ago only adds a peculiar charm to the production. I even love the old video feel to it - feels almost like watching something 'live', not the edited scenes shot over several sessions. They didn't usually pay too much attention to period details in the early 80s, but this show is a refreshing change, even though a modern viewer might be distracted by the sometimes too obvious studio sets. Annis and Warwick are so good that the characters might easily have been written especially for them. The acting style might appear a bit theatrical for some tastes, but they have found the key to playing the protagonists the way actors did in the twenties and thirties. I trust times and people were more "artistic" than they are nowadays, therefore I feel secure that they did take the right direction and succeeded remarkably well. Perhaps one wouldn't be allowed to create such characters in a modern hi tech TV series, but back then it seems they just had a lot of fun doing what they did.

Tremendous fun to watch, and fortunately available on DVD.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
winner, 17 April 2007
10/10
Author: tday-1 (tday11@cox.net) from Tucson, Az

Being an Agatha Christie fan,it bothers me when someone adapts one of her works and never bothers to read the source material. This outing has an enjoyable cast,crisp direction,nice period touch in the sets,cars and costumes. Much to my amazement,they actually followed the original stories. Francesca Annis is fun as Tuppence,James Warwick muskies a great Tommy and Reese Dimsdale is fun as Albert,the office mainstay. It's a glance at English Life in the twenties in the upper brackets. Manor houses,servants,costume balls,things that are out of date nowadays but fun to look at. Too bad Francesca and James never reteamed for N or M,or By the Pricking of my Thumbs. The other adaptions I liked were "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" with Francesca and James,and "The Seven Dials Mystery" with Jame Warwick,all of them excellent.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
partners in crime is charming, 31 May 2006
Author: jackknight007 from Essex, England

I received (sorry if I spelt it wrong) the DVD collection as an Easter present two years ago. I thought the whole lot was absolutely charming, exactly as i imagined Tommy and Tuppence and all the other characters to be. I think the costumes; especially Ms Annis's (Tuppence's) wardrobe. My own personal favourite episodes are "The Affair of the Pink Pearl" and "The King of Clubs", the one where they dress up as Sherlock Holmes (Tuppence) and Dr Watson.

Although the plots are a bit slow to start, and some of the acting is a bit over the top, I still thought it was charming. I agree with some of the others; ITV should do the other Tommy and Tuppence stories with Francesca Annis, Tommy Warwick and Reese something or other back in their original roles.

It's about time Tommy and Tuppence came back to our screens.

Thank you for reading this

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2 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Wooden, 6 October 2006
4/10
Author: chuffnobbler from United Kingdom

As a lifelong Agatha Christie fan, and devotee of Joan Hickson's late 80s/early 90s Miss Marple adaptations, I had hoped that these early 80s curios would help fill my need for more Agatha. I can't imagine that these stagey productions would have met with the great lady's approval. Slow moving (especially when Tommy and Tuppence are on screen), and so lacking in dramatic tension that I am surprised more than a couple of episodes were ever screened.

Francesca Annis is dreadfully OTT and arch. Her stage make-up makes her look like a doll or a clown in some sequences. James Warwick is very wooden and emotionless. Reece Dinsdale's comedy cockney is even more annoying.

Tommy and Tuppence are totally unlikeable, and their laboured attempts at flirtation and humour fail at every attempt. Every witticism and remark in the script clunks to the floor under the deadly delivery of Annis and Warwick.

There's a nice range of guest appearances from some actors who went on to great things (Anita Dobson as a maid who bites the dust after two minutes on screen), but the supporting roles are obviously less significant to the two leads. As a result, anyone who tries to bring a bit of life to things (Liz Smith and Joan Sanderson, for example) are shot down as soon as they appear on the same set as Tommy and Tuppence.

The studio sets and studio lighting have aged very badly, and the whole production feels dated.

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1 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Fair, 20 June 2003
Author: jamespan from Lansing Michigan

I thought the settings and period costumes was excellent. But the acting was theatrical as all get out. I looked at it as a farcical comedy. I thought francesca Annis was beautiful but miscast as a partner of a detective series. The whole thing seemed like fluff. It made me wonder why this was made. Except I found out later it was a TV series. It was entertainment to watch but that's about all.

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3 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Terrible, 21 February 2004
Author: GarryQ from Sunderland, England

Later in the 80s American TV took various Christie books and dropped them into contemporary settings. The result: a series of wooden movies. This series proves Britain got there first. Set in the 1920s/30s the main characters are stiff , they seem to be reading their lines. Remember the old joke about President 'Gerald Ford' (qv)? Well, neither 'Francesca Annis' (qv) nor (especially) 'James Warwick' (qv) seem able to walk and act at the same time. A deplorable series, with more ham than a pig farm. An insult to Agatha Christie.

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