WHY DIDN'T THEY ASK EVANS? (BRITBOX)

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? is a charming and entertaining three-part adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel of the same name available on streaming service Britbox since April 12.

In France, the limited series started this week on Canal +.

Initially published in 1934, Why Didn't They Ask Evans? was first adapted as a three-hour special aired in March 1980 by London Weekend Television. This version starred  James Warwick as Bobby Jones and Francesca Annis as Lady Frances "Frankie" Derwent, the book's daring amateur sleuth duo. Later, the actors played Tommy & Tuppence Beresford, another pair of detectives created by Agatha Christie, in The Secret Adversary and the subsequent series Partners in Crime (both for LWT in 1983). Why Didn't They Ask Evans? was also turned into an episode of Agatha Christie's Marple (2011) and the French period detective series Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie did it as Pourquoi pas Martin? in 2013.

Will Poulter (Dopesick, The Revenant) and Lucy Boynton (The Ipcress File, Bohemian Rhapsody) lead an excellent cast as the perfect Bobby and Frankie in this new 3 x one-hour adaptation (1), written and directed by actor Hugh Laurie (The Night Manager, House M.D.) for Britbox. Wales in the 1930s. Bobby Jones, a young ex-Navy officer, works as a caddy at a seaside golf club. While accompanying his friend Dr. Alwyn Thomas on the course, Bobby discovers a man who fell off a cliff and joins him just in time to hear his last words: « Why didn't they ask Evans? » Searching for an identification in his pockets, he only finds  the photograph of a young woman, a pen and a fish shaped key ring. Jones talks about the incident to his childhood friend, Lady Frances "Frankie" Derwent, who's back from London. For them it's the beginning of an adventure filled with mystery and danger. 

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? has everything viewers expect from an adaptation of the work of Agatha Christie like a "typical" village with its church, a vicar, vintage cars, a fete, morphia, a pub... Though Hugh Laurie makes some (welcome) changes, he shows his passion for the source material and even appears as Dr. James Nicholson. Laurie's pals Emma Thompson and Jim Broadbent have a short but funny participation as Frankie's parents, Lady & Lord Marcham. "Badger" Beadon, a friend of Bobby Jones in the book, becomes Ralph "Knocker" Beadon and he's wonderfully played by Jonathan Jules (Small Axe). Joshua James, who plays Dr. George Arbuthnot, was alongside Lucy Boynton in The Ipcress File. Benedict Wolf is the Marchams' impressive butler Hari Singh. Bobby, Frankie and their little gang give Why Didn't They Ask Evans? the flavour of a "Famous Five for grown-ups".

Seen in Instinct and Lovesick, Daniel Ings plays an interesting Roger Bassington-ffrench ("with two small f's"). With Nicholas Asbury as the terrifying Mr. Angel, Maeve Dermody (Moira Nicholson), Conleth Hill (Dr. Thomas), Alistair Petrie (Rev. Richard Jones), Morwenna Banks (Amelia Cayman), Patrick Barlow (Wilfred Bragge), Miles Jupp (Henry Bassington-ffrench), Amy Nuttall (Sylvia Bassington-ffrench), Paul Whitehouse (Askew), etc. Produced by Mammoth Screen — the company behind several adaptations of Agatha Christie — with Agatha Christie Productions for Britbox. Claire Jones is the producer. Andrew Wood is the co-producer. Hugh Laurie, James Prichard, Damien Timmer and Helen Ziegler exec produce. Gina Kronk, Jonathan Karas and Emily Powers exec produce for Britbox. Music by Harry Escott  (Roadkill).  

The Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge, is directed by Sarah MacDonald. Michael Stephens-Jones is the organist. Cinematography by John de Borman AFC BSC. Editing by Ian Farr. Production designed by Humphrey Jaeger. Costumes designed by Laura Smith, assisted by Tracey Cliffe and Laura Johnson. Michelle Barrett is the costume supervisor. The absolutely amazing title sequence was made by Huge Designs (Around the world in 80 days). International distribution by Endeavor Content, except for UK, Ireland and the Americas.

(1) Canal +  has a 4 x 45-minute version.

https://www.agathachristie.com/en
https://crimereads.com/why-didnt-they-ask-evans/
https://www.everythingzoomer.com/arts-entertainment/2022/04/13/hugh-laurie-on-adapting-the-comic-spirit-of-agatha-christies-why-didnt-they-ask-evans-for-the-small-screen/

THE FIVE - EPISODES 1 & 2 (SKY 1)

[Spoiler-Free] When they were 12 years old, friends Mark, Pru, Danny and Slade were out together in the forest with Mark’s five-year-old brother Jesse. Bothered by the kid, they asked him to go home alone. 

Jesse was never seen again. 20 years later, Danny is a police officer on a murder case. The forensic report gives him quite a shock: Jesse's DNA has been found on the crime scene. 

The Five is a 10-part suspense/thriller drama created by American bestselling mystery writer Harlan Coben for British channel Sky 1 and written by English screenwriter Danny Brocklehurst (The Driver). It's Coben's first original TV series. Last year, the French 6-episode adaptation of his novel No Second Chance (Une chance de trop), triumphed on private channel TF1. The Five is produced by RED Production Company (Happy Valley, Scott and Bailey), which was founded by Nicola Schindler in 1998. It is set in the fictional English town of Westbridge and filmed in Liverpool.

Copper Danny, played by O-T Fagbenle (luckier than with The Interceptor) warns his friends Mark (Welsh actor Tom Cullen) and Slade (Lee Ingleby, also in The A Word) about the DNA results. Mark has become an inner city legal aid lawyer. Slade runs a city shelter that houses runaways and victims of domestic violence. The trio contacts Pru (Sarah Solemani), now a doctor married to an American businessman. Mark interrogates Jákob Marosi (the great Rade Sherbedgia), a convicted child killer who admitted the murder of Jesse but the body wasn't found.

Mark's parents, Julie and Alan (Geraldine James and Michael Maloney), try to cope with the news. A young woman who disappeared 5 years ago suddenly resurfaces. The phone of the murder victim leads Danny and his colleague Ally (Hannah Arterton) to a suspect who might be Jesse. Someone uses a silenced gun before throwing it into the lake. A music producer has a very sinister house... Harlan Coben's touch is recognizable. He even considered the idea for a novel. Nevertheless, there's no need to be a fan of his books to enjoy this gripping drama.

Sky 1 airs two back-to-back episodes of The Five every friday (from April 15). The first couple of hours give you exactly what you expect of the genre: a plot effective enough to divert attention from its possible flaws, multi-layered characters, questions and of course the mandatory twists and turns. The Five is masterfully directed by Mark Tonderai. Produced by Karen Lewis. Richard Fee is the story producer. Nicola Schindler, Harlan Coben and Danny Brocklehurst exec produce. Cameron Roach is the executive producer for Sky.

Music composed by Michael Jennings. Tico Poulakakis is the cinematographer. The cast also includes Honeysuckle Weeks as Laura and the amazing Don Warrington (Death in Paradise) as Danny's father Ray. The Five is distributed by Studiocanal, which owns Red Production Company. The series will start on Canal+ on April 28. Harlan Coben recently launched his own production company, Final Twist Productions, in partnership with Nicola Schindler. Studiocanal will distribute its original content.

http://variety.com/2016/tv/spotlight/harlan-coben-interview-the-five-sky-1201742200/
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/harlan-coben-on-the-five-for-sky-his-obsessive-nature-and-missing-his-friend-david-foster-wallace-a6917491.html
http://dramaquarterly.com/highlights/high-five/

LAND OF THE LOST?

Dear nice and fragrant readers - as our Canadian friend Furious D (http://dknowsall.blogspot.com/) would say, I cannot resist to attract your attention on this clip from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (http://www.thedailyshow.com/index.jhtml), on Comedy Central, in which Jason Jones visits the offices of The New York Times. « ...to find out why the last of a dying breed prefers aged news to real news ».

Cruel but relevant. By the way, there were no newspapers in France today because of a strike. Let me add that I've discovered this in the "Global Edition" of the show, shown in France on Canal Plus every saturday morning. And I wonder if Nikki Finke has seen this sequence...

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End Times
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