AND THEN THERE WAS MORE...

According to Broadcast, the BBC is working on its next Agatha Christie adaptation.

  

Following the success of the three-part version of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None on BBC One in December, the corporation is developing an adaptation of her short story The Witness for the Prosecution with the same producer and screenwriter, Mammoth Screen and Sarah Phelps.

In 2014 the BBC announced it would be the new TV home of Agatha Christie in the UK for the 125th anniversary of her birth, thanks to a major deal with her estate. Their first commissions were the excellent Partners in Crime (regrettably axed) and the adaptation of And Then There Were None.

Last June, ITV acquired Mammoth Screen.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/bbc-lines-up-latest-agatha-christie-adaptation/5098783.article?referrer=RSS&utm_

http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/itv-acquires-poldark-producer-mammoth-screen

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/12/watched-this-week.html (Our opinion about And Then There Were None).
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/07/agatha-christies-partners-in-crime-bbc.html (Our review of Partners in Crime).

WATCHED THIS WEEK (LOOK WHO'S BACK EDITION)

With Doctor Who!

- From Andy Pandy To Zebedee: The Golden Age of Children’s TV (BBC Four). A marvellous, heartfelt and informative documentary narrated by Nigel Planner, with nice clips and interesting interviews. Produced and directed by Verity Maidlow for BBC Entertainment Production London. Caroline Wright is the executive producer.

- Stick Man (BBC One). « I'm Stick Man, I'm Stick Man, I'm STICK MAN, that's me! » Adapted from the children's book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Produced by Magic Light Pictures and Orange Eyes Productions. Made by the creative forces who wonderfully adapted The Gruffalo (2009), The Gruffalo's Child (2011) and Room on the Broom (2012). Superb but it couldn't be otherwise given the outstanding quality of the previous adaptations.

With the voices of Martin Freeman (Stick Man), Rob Brydon (Snail and others), Russell Tovey (Dog), Sally Hawkins (Stick Lady and others), Hugh Bonneville (Santa) and Jennifer Saunders (The narrator). Directed by Jeroen Jaspaert and Daniel Snaddon. Michael Rose and Martin Pope produce. Music composed by René Aubry. Produced in association with BBC and ZDF.

http://www.magiclightpictures.com/
http://ifeeltoooldforthis.blogspot.fr/
http://www.reneaubry.fr/

- Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song (BBC One). « One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. » You didn't expect me on that one, did you? Considering that I "left" a while ago. Well, strictly on the basis that it was a Christmas treat right after Stick Man I actually loved it (except for a propension to recycling and the ending but never mind). Full of fabulous lines such as « I don't like being sure about things. One minute you're sure the next everybody turns into lizards and a piano falls on you. » or « Still digesting their mother. Thank you for asking. »

Peter Capaldi is, of course, extraordinary as The Doctor. Alex Kingston returns as River Song. Written by Steven Moffat and directed by Douglas Mackinnon. Matt Lucas (Nardole), Greg Davies (King Hydroflax) and Phillip Rhys (Ramone) guest star. Produced by Nikki Wilson. Exec produced by Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin. Music composed by Murray Gold, conducted and orchestrated by Alastair King. Doctor Who is a BBC Cymru Wales production.

http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/alastairking

- Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas (BBC One). The first ever half-hour special for Aardman Animations's beloved Shaun the Sheep. With the typical but always irresistible Aardman antics for children and grown-ups plus llama thugs. Produced by Aardman in association with WDR. Written by Nick Vincent Murphy, Lee Pressman and Richard Starzak. Created by Richard Starzak. Based on a character created by Nick Park. Directed by Jay Grace.

- Dickensian (BBC One). This 20 x 30-minute drama (?!) brings together some of Charles Dickens's most iconic characters in 19th century London. Created and written by Tony Jordan ("inspired by the works of Charles Dickens"). Directed by Harry Bradbeer. Produced by David Boulter. Exec produced by Tony Jordan and Belinda Campbell for Jordan's Red Planet Pictures (Death in Paradise). Huge cast including Pauline Collins, Peter Firth, Pauline Collins, Anton Lesser, Caroline Quentin, Omid Djalili, Stephen Rea...

Judging from the first couple of episodes it's Midsomer Dickens as a soap opera with the classic literature equivalent of MCU cameos. Not as enjoyable as Lost in Austen (2008) but global markets adore period dramas and detective dramas. For my part, I'll stick to An Inspector Calls (2015) and Death Comes to Pemberley (2013) and I'll not go beyond episode 2. The "Sherlockian" music was composed by Debbie Wiseman.

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-12-26/soapy-and-silly--what-the-dickens-is-the-bbc-up-to-in-its-latest-drama-series-dickensian
http://www.debbiewiseman.co.uk/

- And Then There Were None (BBC One). « Conventions, Miss Claythorne, is what keeps us together in the face of impending chaos. »  In 2014 the BBC announced it would be the new TV home of Agatha Christie in the UK for the 125th anniversary of her birth, thanks to a major deal with her estate. Their first commissions were the excellent Partners in Crime (starring David Walliams and Jessica Raine) and this adaptation of Christie's classic.

The three-part serial, co-produced by Mammoth Screen, Agatha Christie Productions and A+E Television Networks for the BBC, is written by Sarah Phelps (Great Expectations) and directed by Craig Viveiros. And Then There Were None stars Douglas Booth, Charles Dance, Maeve Dermody, Burn Gorman, Anna Maxwell Martin, Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson, Toby Stephens, Noah Taylor and Aidan Turner. This new take on one of Agatha Christie's most famous books is brilliantly thrilling and scary. A must see, effective even if you know the story. The locations are truly incredible.

Produced by Abi Bach. Exec produced by Sarah Phelps, Hilary Strong, Karen Thrussell and Damien Timmer. Titles by Ben Hanbury and Paul McDonnell. Music composed by Stuart Earl. John Pardue is the director of photography. Part 2 aired today, Part 3 tomorrow.

http://www.thelocationguide.com/blog/2015/12/bbc%E2%80%99s-and-then-there-were-none-filmed-in-cornwall-and-hillingdon/
http://hugedesigns.co.uk/
http://stuartearlmusic.com/

- Harry Price: Ghost Hunter (ITV). A TV movie about real-life "ghost hunter" and skeptic Harry Price, who investigated tales of the paranormal and supernatural. Adapted from Neil Spring's novel The Ghost Hunters by Jack Lothian (Doc Martin) for Bentley Productions, the prodco behind Midsomer Murders. Midsomer regular helmer Alex Pillai directs and Rafe Spall plays the title role. Regrettably, beneath the paranormal thing there's a forgettable period detective drama.

BRITISH TV CHRISTMAS 2015-JANUARY 2016

Here is a non-exhaustive list of what I'll watch on Brit telly during this period. [Update - December 27, 2015] You'll find my very humble opinion about some (including Doctor Who!) here: http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/12/watched-this-week.html

- From Andy Pandy To Zebedee: The Golden Age of Children’s TV (BBC Four, Monday 21 Dec 2015). A documentary narrated by Nigel Planner. 

- Stick Man (BBC One, Friday 25 Dec 2015). Adapted from the children's book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Produced by Magic Light Pictures, the company who did the wonderful adaptations of The Gruffalo (2009), The Gruffalo's Child (2011) and Room on the Broom (2012). With the voices of Martin Freeman, Hugh Bonneville, Russell Tovey, Rob Brydon and Sally Hawkins. Jennifer Saunders narrates.

- Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas (BBC One, Saturday 26 Dec 2015). The first ever half-hour special for Aardman's beloved Shaun the Sheep.

- Dickensian (BBC One, Saturday 26 Dec 2015). This 20 x 30-minute drama (?!) brings together some of Charles Dickens's most iconic characters in 19th century London. Huge cast: Peter Firth, Pauline Collins, Stephen Rea, Caroline Quentin, Omid Djalili, Anton Lesser... We'll see if this production from Tony Jordan's Red Planet Pictures is as enjoyable as Lost in Austen (or not).

- And Then There Were None (BBC One, Saturday 26 Dec 2015). In 2014 the BBC announced it would be the new TV home of Agatha Christie in the UK for the 125th anniversary of her birth, thanks to a major deal with her estate. Their first commissions were the excellent Partners in Crime (starring David Walliams and Jessica Raine) and this adaptation of Christie's classic. The three-part serial, co-produced by Mammoth Screen, Agatha Christie Productions and A+E, is written by Sarah Phelps (Great Expectations) and directed by Craig Viveiros.

An ensemble cast includes Douglas Booth, Charles Dance, Burn Gorman, Anna Maxwell Martin, Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson, Aidan Turner, etc. Unfortunately, the Beeb axed Partners in Crime (1) so And Then There Were None should better be good. 

- Harry Price: Ghost Hunter (ITV, Sunday 27 Dec 2015). A TV movie about real-life "ghost hunter" and skeptic Harry Price, who investigated tales of the paranormal and supernatural. Adapted from Neil Spring's novel The Ghost Hunters by Jack Lothian (Doc Martin) for Bentley Productions, the prodco behind Midsomer Murders. Midsomer regular helmer Alex Pillai directs. Rafe Spall plays the title role.

- Stephen Fry: A Life on Screen (BBC Two, Tuesday 29 Dec 2015). A one-hour documentary celebrating the career of actor, comedian, author and broadcaster Stephen Fry.

- Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (BBC One, Friday 1 Jan 2016). It's no mystery that I'm not a fan of Sherlock but I rather liked His Last Vow (though the ending was self-indulgent) and this special looks interesting. [Update - January 1, 2016] Interesting indeed, if not fascinating. They couldn't help to drown an almost perfect hour in 30 minutes of nonsensical self-satisfaction.

- War and Peace (BBC One, Sunday 3 Jan 2016). Lavish six-part adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's book by Andrew Davies.  Made by BBC Cymru Wales, in association with The Weinstein Company, Lookout Point and BBC Worldwide. Starring Paul Dano, Lily James, James Norton, Gillian Anderson... Directed by Tom Harper. Really looking forward to it.

- Midsomer Murders (ITV, Wednesday 6 Jan 2016). The venerable detective drama returns with its 18th series (6 episodes). The previous series was both tired and tiresome except for A Vintage Murder, written by the talented Lisa Holdsworth. It was simply the best episode since Series 15.

- Death in Paradise (BBC One, Thursday 7 Jan 2016). The highly anticipated fifth series of the globally popular feel-good crime drama.

(1) http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-09-29/no-second-series-for-david-walliams-and-jessica-raine-agatha-christie-drama-partners-in-crime

http://www.thecustardtv.com/2015/12/the-christmas-tvweek-saturday-19th.html
http://insidemediatrack.com/set-spy/
http://danowen.blogspot.fr/2015/12/tv-picks-14-20-december-2015.html

See also:

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/dec/14/itv-harry-price-ghost-hunter-rafe-spall 

PARTNERS IN CRIME

Last year ITV aired the final case of Hercule Poirot, the beloved creation of crime writer Agatha Christie, and David Suchet bowed out as the detective after 25 years. At Christmas, ITV showed Endless Night, an episode of Agatha Christie's Marple starring Julia McKenzie.
  
But now the BBC announces they have struck a deal with the author's estate making the corporation the new home of Agatha Christie in the UK for the 125th anniversary of her birth.

The first two commissions of this new era for Christie on British telly are an adaptation of And Then There Were None by Sarah Phelps (Great Expectations), and Partners in Crime. Based on the Partners in Crime collection of short stories featuring crime-fighting duo Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, this new six-part series will be set in the 1950s and will star comedian and actor David Walliams as Tommy. The new Tuppence is still to be confirmed.

Francesca Annis and James Warwick played the Beresfords in Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime, a 1983-1984 series for LWT. In France, the sleuth couple has its comedy movie franchise starring André Dussollier and Catherine Frot as Bélisaire and Prudence Beresford. The French are particularly fond of Agatha Christie's work with pubcaster France 2's Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie, a TV series adaptation of her books set in France in the 1930s and later in the 1950s.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/agatha-christie.html
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-02-28/david-walliams-heralds-new-era-for-bbc-as-the-new-home-of-agatha-christie-adaptations