LES PETITS MEURTRES D'AGATHA CHRISTIE: LA MYSTÉRIEUSE AFFAIRE DE STYLES (FRANCE 2)

[Spoiler-Free] In which Swan Laurence worries about a decline. And it's not the quality of the episode.

The bottom line:  « J'ai touché le fond de la piscine... » 

Émilie Beauregard, 60, owns the luxurious Styles beauty institute. She's married to the much younger Adrien Sauvignac, a masseur. Journalist Martial Marchetti arrives at the establishment and Sauvignac immediately catches his attention. Ève Constantin, Émilie Beauregard's business partner, tells Commissaire Laurence that she fears the young man wants to get rid of Émilie for her fortune but Swan ignores her. In fact, Laurence has a very personal concern as he doesn't take his birthday well.

Marlène and reporter Alice Avril go to Styles, where Émilie Beauregard mistakes them for a lesbian couple. Later, Marlène finds Marchetti dead in the bottom of the pool of the institute. Laurence investigates and meets Diane Clément-Roussel, a customer of Styles. Meanwhile Alice finds... her mother. What goes up must come down, they say: Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie returned on August 26 on French pubcaster France 2 with the brilliant L'étrange enlèvement du petit Bruno. Then it regrettably started to lose steam with Le cheval pâle. The following week things got worse with L'affaire Protheroe.

Directed by Éric Woreth, La mystérieuse affaire de Styles is adapted from Agatha Christie's novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Pierre Linhart. In this catastrophe, the dynamic trio Laurence/Avril/Marlène is neither dynamic (weariness shows) nor a trio. Laurence (Samuel Labarthe) has not one but two embarrassing moments plus a couple of terrible lines. Since last week a photo of Avril (Blandine Bellavoir) illustrates the definition of "Pathos" in the dictionary. At some point you see a soap opera development coming but you hope they won't dare. Unfortunately they do. Marlène (Élodie Frenck) tries hard to bear the burden of comic relief alone. 

This year the pathologist of the commissariat seems to be the equivalent of the secretary in Murphy Brown (though the new one is an improvement over Dr. Everest). About the commissariat, fans noticed that it looks different. Actually the big budget hit series had to leave its production base in Tourcoing because the site was sold by the municipality. Thankfully another place was found in the same town at the beginning of 2016. Frédérique Tirmont (Émilie Beauregard), Sophie Cattani (Ève Constantin), Alexia Barlier (Diane Clément-Roussel), Andy Gillet (Adrien Sauvignac), Charlie Joirkin (Dorothée Mellul) and Frédéric Fisbach (Professor Hoffman) are amongst the guest stars of this episode. 

Cyril Gueï plays the pathologist (of the week?) Timothée Glissant. Dominique Thomas is Tricard. Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Sophie Révil for Escazal Films. France Télévisions is now co-producer. With the support of Pictanovo and Région Hauts-de-France. Also with the participation of TV5 Monde and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse.  Main characters created by Sylvie Simon and Thierry Debroux. The music is composed by Stéphane Moucha. The Styles institute is in fact the Najeti Hôtel Château at Tilques (Pas-de-Calais). In terms of ratings, Les petits meurtres is more popular than ever. La mystérieuse affaire de Styles caught 4.553.000 viewers (19.1%) and ranked #2 against the French version of Survivor on TF1.

http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/6869/article/2016-06-02/les-petits-meurtres-debarquent-au-chateau-de-tilques
http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/37583/article/2016-08-26/tourcoing-ce-vendredi-soir-le-commissaire-tricard-reprend-du-service-sur-france (An interview with the talented Dominique Thomas)

LES PETITS MEURTRES D'AGATHA CHRISTIE: L'AFFAIRE PROTHEROE (FRANCE 2)

[Spoiler-Free] Hélène Jouve, the secretary of adman Alexandre Protheroe, is found dead at her workplace. Commissaire Laurence suspects her odious boss of murder.

Hélène's fiance Damien, a friend of Alice Avril, ask the reporter to investigate. Hollywood movie star Deborah Davis arrives in town and she seems to know Protheroe more than professionally.

The bottom line: Should we start to worry about Les petits meurtres? (Part Deux)

It took no less than four scriptwriters to adapt Agatha Christie's novel The Murder at the Vicarage (Pierre Linhart, Marc Angelo, Thierry Debroux and Daniel Saint-Hamont) for L'affaire Protheroe. Laurence (Samuel Labarthe), Avril (Blandine Bellavoir) and Marlène (Élodie Frenck) hang around with a palpable weariness during 90 minutes of another departure from the series' trademark fast-paced crime comedy (after Le cheval pâle). Marlène, who had the closest thing to a "Jump The Shark moment" last week, literally becomes her own parody.

The extraordinary Julien Boisselier steals the episode as the sinister Alexandre Protheroe. Also starring Laure Marsac (Deborah Davis), Clémentine Baert (Anne Protheroe), Sébastien Lalanne (Tristan Julliard), Roxanne Tessier (Lise Protheroe), Théo Costa Marini (Damien Martinez), etc. Docteur Everest, the new pathologist, is played by Karine Dubernet. Dominique Thomas plays Tricard. Robert Jourdeuil is performed by François Godart.

L'affaire Protheroe is cleverly helmed by new series director Olivier Panchot. Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Sophie Révil for Escazal Films with Pictanovo (Witnesses), Conseil Régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the participation of France Télévisions, TV5 Monde and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse (which aired this episode in August). Main characters created by Sylvie Simon and Thierry Debroux. The music is composed by Stéphane Moucha. 

http://television.telerama.fr/television/autopsie-d-un-petit-meurtre-d-agatha-christie,147117.php

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2016/09/les-petits-meurtres-dagatha-christie-le.html (Le cheval pâle)
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/11/les-petits-meurtres-dagatha.html (L'étrange enlèvement du petit Bruno) 

LES PETITS MEURTRES D'AGATHA CHRISTIE: LE CHEVAL PÂLE (FRANCE 2)

[Spoiler-Free] Marlène goes to the funfair in order to consult a fortune teller. A priest gives to commissaire Laurence a list with the names of five possible suspicious deaths. Soon the priest is murdered in his church.

Alice Avril tries to write a crime novel and befriends her new neighbour, a young woman who hates her stepmother.

The bottom line: Should we start to worry about Les petits meurtres?

Le cheval pâle is the thirteenth episode of Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie ("The little murders of Agatha Christie") with the Laurence/Avril/Marlène detective trio. Helmed by new series director Olivier Panchot (De guerre lasse), it is adapted from Agatha Christie's novel The Pale Horse by scriptwriter Sylvie Simon. Samuel Labarthe is Commissaire Swan Laurence. Alice Avril is played by Blandine Bellavoir and Élodie Frenck plays Marlène, Laurence's devoted secretary. Natacha Lindinger is back as the sophisticated and sarcastic pathologist Docteur E. Maillol.

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie returned on August 26 on French pubcaster France 2 with the brilliant L'étrange enlèvement du petit Bruno. The episode, first aired in November 2015 on Swiss channel RTS Un, brought 4.169.000 viewers (21.1%) to France 2 and ranked #2 vs the French version of Survivor on TF1. Far from the usual fast-paced crime comedy which is one of the trademarks of the series since 2013, Le cheval pâle goes darker with a moderate dose of humour and some regrettable lack of dynamism. The last 30 minutes are interminable if not painful (Marlène with a "possessed" voice and the stakeout in the TUB Citroën).

On the positive side, the guest cast is excellent: Olivier Broche (Lucien Cornille), Thierry Hancisse of the Comédie Française (Eugène Dacosta), Valérie Dashwood as the aptly named Sybille, Émilie de Preissac (Francine Marchal), Anne-Sophie Girard (Lucille Marchal), Laëtitia Kandi (Irène), Bertrand Foly (Father François), etc. Dominique Thomas plays Commissaire divisionnaire Tricard. Production values and locations (the fun fair, the Marchal estate) are great, as always.

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Sophie Révil for Escazal Films with Pictanovo (Witnesses), Conseil Régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the participation of France Télévisions, TV5 Monde and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. Main characters created by Sylvie Simon and Thierry Debroux. The music is composed by Stéphane Moucha. Unfortunately the next episode, L'affaire Protheroe (aired on RTS in August), doesn't remove our doubts. Let's hope the last couple of episodes of this 2016 batch (La mystérieuse affaire de Styles and Albert Major parlait trop) will arrange that.

http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/nord-pas-de-calais/les-petits-meurtres-d-agatha-christie-en-tournage-pont-vendin-832657.html 

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/11/les-petits-meurtres-dagatha.html (L'étrange enlèvement du petit Bruno)

LES PETITS MEURTRES D'AGATHA CHRISTIE:L'ÉTRANGE ENLÈVEMENT DU PETIT BRUNO

[Spoiler-Free] Someone threatens to kidnap Bruno, the young son of famous crime fiction author Eloïse Zennefort and her husband Hadrien Debaer unless they pay 500.000 francs. 

The demand is signed "Greg Atlas", which is the name of the character created by Eloïse.

« Cadeau d'une femme, j'imagine?
- Plusieurs. Elles se sont cotisées.  »

L'étrange enlèvement du petit Bruno is the twelfth episode of Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie ("The little murders of Agatha Christie") with the Laurence/Avril/Marlène trio. Directed by Eric Woreth, it is adapted from Agatha Christie's novel The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly by Jean-Luc Gaget. Samuel Labarthe is Commissaire Swan Laurence. Alice Avril is played by Blandine Bellavoir and Élodie Frenck plays Marlène Leroix. Natacha Lindinger returns as the sophisticated and sarcastic pathologist Docteur E. Maillol (« J'ai pratiqué une autopsie sur votre petit oiseau. »), who appeared in the previous episode as Laurence's potential love interest.

« Vous me prenez pour qui? Une débutante?
- Non, une plaie. La onzième. Après le furoncle.  »

Commissaire Laurence goes to the luxurious castle of Eloïse Zennefort. Avril too because she got an interview with the novelist. Swan requires uniformed backup but that's not enough to prevent the kidnapping of little Bruno. Marlène speaks in abbreviations and quotes her "Tata Gilberte", someone beheads birds, Alice visits the police station cells again, Françoise Giroud works for newspaper La Voix du Nord (or not) and wasps can't drive. 

« Et la liberté de la presse?
- Je m'assied dessus. Une fesse, puis l'autre.  »

Aired last friday by Swiss channel RTS Un (ahead of French pubcaster France 2), L'étrange enlèvement du petit Bruno reaches a new high for the popular series. Valérie de Dietrich is absolutely extraordinary as the "queen of crime novels" Eloïse Zennefort. The rest of the guest cast includes Fabio Zenoni (Hadrien Debaer), Vincent de Bouard (Gilles Vanberten) Victor Le Blond (Gaspard), etc. Dominique Thomas plays Commissaire divisionnaire Tricard, Alice's editor-in-chief Robert Jourdeuil is played by François Godart and Thomas Baelde is back as Raoul Gredin.

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Sophie Révil for Escazal Films with Pictanovo (Witnesses), Conseil Régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the participation of France Télévisions, TV5 Monde and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. The characters of Laurence, Avril and Marlène were created by Sylvie Simon and Thierry Debroux. The music is composed by Stéphane Moucha.

« Mon mari m'a supplié de ne pas l'acheter, cette bicoque. Mais que voulez-vous, l'argent rend con.  »

The magnificent castle of this episode is in fact le château des Princes de Ligne at Antoing in Belgium. Some Eloïse Zennefort's Greg Atlas novels: Le Masque de Dieu, L'Amour est une illusion ordinaire, Une position inconfortable... « Cette affaire ça ferait un très bon épisode des Cinq dernières minutes, n'est-ce pas?  »

http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/fives-voyage-dans-le-temps-pour-les-petits-meurtres-ia19b57395n2773446
http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/cobrieux-la-route-de-cobrieux-au-coeur-des-petits-ia28b50426n2773677
http://www.nordeclair.fr/info-locale/bully-les-mines-pour-ses-petits-meurtres-france-2-jna48b0n706014

LES PETITS MEURTRES D'AGATHA CHRISTIE: MURDER PARTY (FRANCE 2)

Marlène reads a weird newspaper ad announcing a "murder party". It tells that a murder will soon be committed at the stud farm of Leticia Salvan. There, a strange robbery attempt ends with the death of a caped criminal.

Alice Avril is now a full-time reporter. Commissaire Laurence meets THE woman.

« J'ai peur des chevaux. On ne peut pas leur faire confiance. Dans Autant en emporte le vent la petite fille monte, tombe et meurt. Et pourtant c'était un tout petit cheval. C'est tellement triste... J'ai peur des vaches aussi mais on ne monte pas sur des vaches.
- Revenons à nos moutons. Vous n'avez rien contre les moutons, Marlène? » 

 
Murder Party is the eleventh episode of Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie ("The little murders of Agatha Christie") with the Laurence/Avril/Marlène trio. Directed by Eric Woreth, it is adapted from Agatha Christie's novel A Murder Is Announced (Un Meurtre sera commis le... in French) by scriptwriter Sylvie Simon. Samuel Labarthe is Commissaire Swan Laurence. Alice Avril is played by Blandine Bellavoir and Élodie Frenck plays Marlène Leroix. This episode was mainly filmed at the beautiful haras de Blingel, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. 

« Personnellement j'aime les femmes féminines, douces, chaleureuses. Certainement pas des dominatrices, donneuses de leçons, un tantinet aigries. Et qui s'affichent avec des petits minets pathétiques.»

Laurence is surprisingly impressed by the new female pathologist of the Lille police station. The sophisticated and sarcastic Docteur E. Maillol is played by Natacha Lindinger (Hard). We learn what the "E" stands for only at the end, much to the hilarity of Avril and Marlène. The secretary gets a little jealous because of the interest of her boss for the newcomer. She decides to become "competent" and prepares her certificat d'études.

« Ah oui mais pour ça il faut du flair. Et même si je vous enfonçais la tête dans une poubelle vous seriez incapable de sentir quoi que ce soit. »

Who's behind the newspaper ad and who killed the robber? A colleague of Alice has a problem with her typewriter. Someone has a very peculiar relationship with a horse. Swan needs a little help from Alice and Marlène can be a mean girl. Oh, Donald Duck dies too. Murder Party was originally called Un Meurtre sera commis le... (like the novel) and this definitive title is terrible but the episode has Sylvie Simon's standards of excellence and even an echo to Jeux de glaces, the first Laurence, Avril and Marlène (« Son cerveau a été privé d'oxygène. »)

« Pleurez. Vous pisserez moins. »

The music of Stéphane Moucha sounds like 60s John Barry and his work for Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie definitely deserves a CD. There's also a gay couple and a Rosa Klebb moment. Italian actress Valéria Cavalli (Leticia Salvan), Blandine Pelissier (Odette), Juliette Plumecocq-Mech (Greenblat), Christine Bonnard (Henriette), Annabelle Hettmann (Philippine Leroy), Honorine Magnier (Antoinette Combet) and Clovis Fouin (Marcel Combet) are the other guest actors.

« Je pense qu'une femme est une source d'emmerdements. Elle est parfaite en potiche ou en femme d'intérieur. » 

Dominique Thomas and François Godart return respectively as Commissaire divisionnaire Tricard and Alice's editor-in-chief Robert Jourdeuil. Although Avril's rival Raoul Gredin isn't in Murder Party the character, played twice by Thomas Baelde, is mentioned. Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Sophie Révil for Escazal Films with Pictanovo (Witnesses), Conseil Régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the participation of France Télévisions, TV5 Monde and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. The characters of Laurence, Avril and Marlène were created by Sylvie Simon and Thierry Debroux. 

http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/blingel-un-episode-des-petits-meurtres-d-agatha-ia653b16326n2880200

MEURTRE AU PROGRAMME

French period crime comedy-drama Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie (The Little Murders of Agatha Christie) returned on France 2 yesterday with the first of four brand new episodes starring Samuel Labarthe (Commissaire Laurence), Blandine Bellavoir (Alice Avril) and Élodie Frenck (Marlène Leroix).

Written by Sylvie Simon and directed by Éric Woreth, Pension Vanilos triumphed over TF1 and its Grande Soirée des Parodies TV as #1 with 4.161.000 viewers (19.8 %) vs 3.430.000 (18.4 %) for the programme produced and hosted by Arthur Essebag aka Arthur. This episode will be followed by Un meurtre est-il facile? (aired before Pension Vanilos by Swiss television), Mademoiselle McGinty est morte and Murder Party (formerly Un meurtre sera commis le...) An other episode of Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie, titled Le mystérieux enlèvement du petit Bruno Zennefort, was filmed this spring. 

The big budget hit series will have to leave its production base of Tourcoing, in the north of France, at the end of the year because the site was sold by the municipality. Two episodes, adapted from Agatha Christie's They Came to Baghdad and Murder in Mesopotamia, will be filmed in Morocco next year. They were actually planned to be done in Turkey years ago with the Larosière/Lampion duo (which preceded the trio Laurence/Avril/Marlène) just before stars Antoine Duléry and Marius Colucci announced their departure. In the meantime the producers will find another place, near Lille, to rebuild their lavish sets.

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Sophie Révil for Escazal Films with Pictanovo (Witnesses), Conseil Régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the participation of France Télévisions, TV5 Monde and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. The characters of Laurence, Avril and Marlène were created by Sylvie Simon and Thierry Debroux. The music is composed by Stéphane Moucha. You can find (advanced) reviews of the latest Petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie on this blog.

http://www.ozap.com/actu/audiences-les-petits-meurtres-d-agatha-christie-leader-devant-les-parodies-d-arthur-ncis-revient-en-baisse/476120 + http://www.toutelatele.com/les-petits-meurtres-d-agatha-christie-france-2-en-tete-des-audiences-avec-la-saison-2-inedite-75197

See also: 

http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/tourcoing-les-petits-meurtres-d-agatha-christie-sans-ia26b58810n2829620 + http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/tourcoing-des-logements-a-la-place-des-petits-meurtres-ia26b58810n2907912

http://www.leparisien.fr/espace-premium/culture-loisirs/petits-meurtres-cherchent-scene-de-crime-28-08-2015-5041073.php (Subscription only)

LES PETITS MEURTRES D'AGATHA CHRISTIE: MADEMOISELLE MAC GINTY EST MORTE

[Revised September 13, 2015] Robert Vasseur, the estranged husband of Alice Avril, is accused of having murdered the old Miss Mac Ginty to steal her savings. He seeks help from his reluctant wife, who's quite embarrassed because Commissaire Laurence is on the case.  

Marlène is torn between her loyalty to her boss and her friendship with Alice. Laurence rapidly books Robert but also Avril as his accomplice.

 « Mais on vous a jamais dit que vous lui ressembliez?
- Au commissaire?  
- Mais non. À Marilyn Monroe.  » 

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie returns to "cruise control" following the roller coaster ride of Pension Vanilos, with an excellent adaptation of the Hercule Poirot novel Mrs McGinty's dead by scriptwriter Thierry Debroux. After Élodie Frenck (Marlène) last week, it's the turn of Blandine Bellavoir (Alice) to impress, especially in the commissariat cell scene. Directed by Éric Woreth, Mademoiselle Mac Ginty est morte feels like an episode of the Larosière/Lampion era.

Swan Laurence tries to save Alice from the guillotine but an encounter with a psychoanalyst brings back a painful childhood memory. An annoying caretaker and the fiancee of an influent politician are under the charm of the commissaire. Marlène shows she can "fall well" (« C'était très bien Marlène. Vous tombez merveilleusement bien. ») and she's courted by the son of one of the residents of the building where the victim lived. Samuel Labarthe always looks like he's having great fun playing the uber charismatic and tongue-in-cheek Laurence.

« Dites moi, Avril. Vous ne seriez pas enceinte par hasard? Vous vous imaginez? Avec un gosse en plus...  »  

Swiss channel RTS Un aired Mademoiselle Mac Ginty est morte yesterday ahead of French pubcaster France 2. François Godart returns as Alice's editor-in-chief Robert Jourdeuil. Dominique Thomas plays Commissaire divisionnaire Tricard. Arnaud Perron (Robert Vasseur), Gilian Petrovski (Michael Doutremont), Christine Brücher (Louise Doutremont), Serge Riaboukine (Leopold Santini), Jeanne Bournaud (Hélène Schmit), Eleonore Joncquez (Régine Molon) guest star in this episode. The characters of Laurence, Avril and Marlène were created by Sylvie Simon and Thierry Debroux.

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Sophie Révil for Escazal Films with Pictanovo (Witnesses), Conseil Régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the participation of France Télévisions, TV5 Monde and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. The beloved big budget series returns on France 2 at the end of the month.

« Je vous déteste. Je... Je vous déteste! » 

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/07/les-petits-meurtres-dagatha-christie.html (Pension Vanilos) 
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/02/les-petits-meurtres-dagatha-christie-un.html (Un meurtre est-il facile?) 

LES PETITS MEURTRES D'AGATHA CHRISTIE: PENSION VANILOS

[Spoiler-Free] Commissaire Laurence works in conjunction with Scotland Yard on a case of drug trafficking between England and France. He handles things more than personally. 

His secretary Marlène would like him to investigate some weird events which happened at the Pension Vanilos, a student hostel owned by her sister Solange, but Laurence doesn't care. Reporter Alice Avril agrees to infiltrate the place in exchange for information about the drug investigation.

« Il faut que je vous parle, commissaire .

- Non pas maintenant, Marlène. Vous voyez bien que j'enquête.

- Non, justement. Ca ne se voit pas. Où alors c'est une nouvelle méthode, hein? »

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie ("The little murders of Agatha Christie") is a French adaptation of novelist Agatha Christie's stories as a period crime comedy-drama 90-minute series focused on a trio of local sleuths instead of her detectives: Commissaire Swan Laurence (Samuel Labarthe), Alice Avril (Blandine Bellavoir) and Marlène (Élodie Frenck). Aired yesterday on Swiss channel RTS Un, ahead of French pubcaster France 2, Pension Vanilos is adapted from the Hercule Poirot novel Hickory Dickory Dock by scriptwriter Sylvie Simon and directed by Éric Woreth. 

« Dans Solange il y a "ange". »
 

Posing as a typist student, Avril meets Solange Vanilos, the stern sister of Marlène. Soon, one of the residents of the hostel is murdered. A stakeout ends badly, a stethoscope can be deadly and Swan speaks Chinese and Turkish fluently. A killer gives the commissaire and Alice the shock of their lives. Sylvie Simon's brilliant script is a classy and elegant roller coaster of mystery and suspense with nods to Poirot (Laurence's Scotland Yard contact is Inspector Japp) and to the French radio anthology Les Maîtres du Mystère. There's also a tribute to the Edgar Wallace films and the Giallo thrillers in the form of stylish sequences by Éric Woreth and director of photography Bertrand Mouly. 

« Je me souviens comme tu m'as défendue quand j'ai tué ce chat. Tu as réussi à convaincre papa .

- Mais c'était un accident, le chat. Hein?

-  Evidemment. Tu l'adorais. »
 

Élodie Frenck, who won Best Young Actress at the La Rochelle Festival of TV fiction in 2013 for her role, is astonishing. Samuel Labarthe experiments new aspects of his character. Blandine Bellavoir has the hairdo of French singer Sheila. Pension Vanilos is simply the best entry of Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie for now. New episodes (including adaptations of A murder is announced and The adventure of Johnnie Waverly) were recently announced with amusing promos (1) but the big budget hit series is at risk of leaving its production base of Tourcoing, in the north of France (2).

« Il a un grain c'est sûr, j'ai cru qu'il allait m'étrangler.
-  Il n'a peut-être pas aimé votre nouvelle coiffure. On ne peut pas lui en vouloir. » 

Blanche Cluzet, Edouard Giard, Lucile Marquis, Sandrine Salyères, Nancy Tate and Charles Templon guest star in this episode. Dominique Thomas plays Commissaire divisionnaire Tricard. Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Sophie Révil for Escazal Films with Pictanovo (Witnesses), Conseil Régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the participation of France Télévisions, TV5 Monde and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. The characters of Laurence, Avril and Marlène were created by Sylvie Simon and Thierry Debroux. The music is composed by Stéphane Moucha.

« Redescendez sur Terre, Avril. Personne ne vous prendra jamais en stop avec ce... cette...
-  Je vous déteste. »

(1) http://www.leblogtvnews.com/2015/07/les-petits-meurtres-d-agatha-christie-teasers-decales-pour-la-nouvelle-saison.html

(2) http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/tourcoing-les-petits-meurtres-d-agatha-christie-sans-ia26b58810n2829620 + http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/tourcoing-des-logements-a-la-place-des-petits-meurtres-ia26b58810n2907912

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/02/les-petits-meurtres-dagatha-christie-un.html (Un meurtre est-il facile?)

LES PETITS MEURTRES D'AGATHA CHRISTIE: UN MEURTRE EST-IL FACILE?

Michel Loisée, a unionist at the Deboucke spinning mill of Armentières, is killed in an apparent accident. The rich Émile Deboucke, owner of the factory, wants to marry reporter Alice Avril. 

Josiane Lallin, a colleague of Loisée, insists on seeing Commissaire Laurence but she talks to his secretary Marlène instead. Avril can't stand the misogyny of her boss anymore. Laurence prides himself of being now reachable everywhere thanks to his new U.S. army field telephone.

« Fratricide. "Fratrie" pour frère et "cide" pour meurtre. Tenez si je tuais Avril, par exemple.
- Oh!
- C'est un exemple. Ce serait un "avrilicide". »

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie ("The little murders of Agatha Christie") is a French adaptation of novelist Agatha Christie's stories as a period crime comedy-drama 90-minute series with a trio of local sleuths instead of her detectives: Commissaire Laurence (Samuel Labarthe, of the Comédie-Française), Alice Avril (Blandine Bellavoir) and Marlène (Élodie Frenck). They returned last week on Swiss channel RTS Deux, ahead of  French pubcaster France 2, in Un meurtre est-il facile? This brand new episode is adapted from the novel Murder is Easy by scriptwriter, director and actor Jean-Luc Gaget (Highly Strung). It is directed by Marc Angelo.

« Marlène, appelez-moi Le Louvre et vérifiez si Émile Deboucke leur a bien prêté un des couteaux de sa collection .
- Le Louvre de... de Paris?
- Non de Tourcoing. »

Jean-Luc Gaget returns at his best after his adaptation of Hallowe'en Party, the excellent Meurtre à la kermesse, last year. Un meurtre est-il facile? has some audiardesque lines (« Je vais m'occuper de son cas au petit Castor. ») and a deliciously anachronistic running gag about Laurence's "mobile" phone. Gaget's great characterization is served by a talented guest cast, like the extraordinary Philippe Nahon (I stand alone) as Émile Deboucke (« Rendez-vous au stock? On dirait un album de Tintin votre histoire. »), Anne Benoît as Marlène's cousin Annick, or Alexandre Steiger as the overambitious Jean Castor (« Mon directeur d'études m'a dit: Jean, de grandes choses vous attendent. Il avait raison, sauf pour une chose... J'vais pas les attendre. »)

Two women literally drop dead. Laurence's sports car, his magnificent Facel-Vega Facellia, attracts the interest of a protagonist and is involved in a chase with a big Jaguar. Alice enjoys the life of Riley. Marlène resigns and visits a cell of the police station. A dialogue between Deboucke and his intriguing butler, Baptiste (Pierre Kiebbe), gives a hint of more attention on the commissaire's past in future episodes. Last but not least, we learn Marlène's surname.

Emilie Wiest (Sabine Toulemonde) and Marcelle Fontaine (Josiane Lallin) are also in the guest cast. Dominique Thomas and François Godart return, respectively as Commissaire divisionnaire Tricard and Alice's editor-in-chief Robert Jourdeuil. Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Sophie Révil for Escazal Films with Pictanovo, Conseil Régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the participation of France Télévisions, TV5 Monde and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. 

The characters of Laurence and Avril were created by Sylvie Simon and Thierry Debroux. The music is composed by Stéphane Moucha. 

« J'ai appelé à Tourcoing et il n'y a pas de Louvre à Tourcoing. En tout cas à la mairie ils ne sont pas au courant.
- Mais enfin Marlène, Le Louvre c'est à Paris.
- C'est exactement ce qu'ils m'ont dit. »

http://www.pictanovo.com/
http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/bondues-le-chateau-du-vert-bois-devient-le-theatre-des-ia22b50033n2188782
http://www.nordeclair.fr/info-locale/bondues-le-chateau-du-vert-bois-devient-le-theatre-des-jna446b0n426876 

MORE PETITS MEURTRES

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie ("Agatha Christie's little murders") is a French adaptation of Agatha Christie's stories as a period crime comedy-drama 90-minute series with two local sleuths instead of her detectives.

Commissaire Laurence (Samuel Labarthe), reporter Alice Avril (Blandine Bellavoir), and Laurence's secretary Marlène (Élodie Frenck) return this fall on pubcaster France 2 for three brand new episodes. 

It starts tonight with Meurtre à la kermesse. You can find a review of this excellent episode here:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/04/les-petits-meurtres-dagatha-christie.html

Next week France 2 will air Cartes sur table, adapted from Agatha Christie's Cards on the Table and aired on Swiss television last may. A rather enjoyable episode but it probably would have worked better with Laurence and April's predecessors, Larosière and Lampion. Anne Canovas, Ged Marlon and the supremely talented Saïd Amadis are amongst the guest cast.

[Update October 11, 2014]

Review of Le crime ne paie pas:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2014/10/les-petits-meurtres-dagatha-christie-le.html

LES PETITS MEURTRES D'AGATHA CHRISTIE: MEURTRE À LA KERMESSE

A police operation against smugglers goes bad for commissaire Laurence when he temporarily loses sight. Later, a young girl is drowned in an apple bobbing bucket during her school fete.

Laurence wants to catch the murderer and hides his blindness. Only Marlène, his devoted secretary, knows the truth but Alice Avril quickly discovers it and wants to be his "eyes" on the case.

« Alors, avoir envie de tuer et le faire sont des choses très différentes. Moi, par exemple, j'ai toujours envie de tuer mademoiselle Avril ici présente. »

Meurtre à la kermesse is the fifth episode of Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie ("Agatha Christie's little murders") with the Laurence/Avril detective duo in the late 1950s north of France. Directed by Eric Woreth, it is adapted from Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novel Hallowe'en Party by scriptwriter, director and actor Jean-Luc Gaget (Highly Strung).

Samuel Labarthe, of the Comédie-Française, is commissaire Swan Laurence. Wannabe reporter Alice Avril is played by Blandine Bellavoir. Élodie Frenck, who plays Marlène, won Best Young Actress at the La Rochelle Festival of TV fiction in 2013 for her role. She's now in the title sequence.

« Un chien d'aveugle qui a son permis de conduire. Mais où je vais trouver ça, commissaire? »

To add to his predicament, the cynical and misogynist commissaire is forced to team up once again with Alice (« Vous pensiez quoi, Avril? Que j'étais assez bête pour tomber dans le panneau. Ce parfum de jockey. Je n'en connais qu'une qui s'en asperge. » ). Young Luisa Ortega, the daughter of a Spanish refugee, wrote a composition telling how she witnessed a murder. Then someone killed her during the school kermesse of a small town.

Laurence and Avril investigate against the backdrop of a political rivalry and a disabled handyman makes a too obvious suspect. An "infiltration à l'Américaine" by Avril doesn't end well for the back seat of Laurence's beloved Facel-Vega Facellia. Marlène notes the "Mylène Demongeot haircut" on the photo of a missing woman (« J'adore Mylène Demongeot. Ma tante l'a croisée une fois aux Galeries Lafayette à Paris. » )

« Pierre Pataud, étranglé avec une chaussette. C'est possible ça? Ah oui, avec une chaussette de ski. » 

As usual, Dominique Thomas and François Godart play (respectively) commissaire divisionnaire Tricard and Robert Jourdeuil. Thomas Baelde returns as Raoul Gredin. Anne Loiret, Nicolas Bridet, Frédéric Épaud and Philippe Hérisson are amongst the guest cast of this excellent episode. Bridet played a different role in 2009 for the first episode of the Larosière/Lampion era of Le petits meurtres. 

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Escazal Films with Pictanovo, Conseil Régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the participation of France Télévisions, TV5 Monde and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. Sophie Révil is the producer. The characters of Laurence and Avril were created by Sylvie Simon and Thierry Debroux. The music is by Stéphane Moucha.  

RTS Deux aired Meurtre à la kermesse on April 18, ahead of France 2.

LES PETITS MEURTRES D'AGATHA CHRISTIE: POURQUOI PAS MARTIN? (FRANCE 2)

Avril has a walk on a cliff near the seaside when a man falls. Before dying he tells her: « Pourquoi pas Martin? » She finds the photograph of a beautiful woman near him and asks for help to Commissaire Laurence. Later someone tries to murder her.

« Toujours aussi aimable, Laurence. Hein?
- Toujours aussi pignouf, Avril. »

Pourquoi pas Martin? is the fourth episode of Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie ("Agatha Christie's little murders") with the Laurence/Avril detective duo in the late 1950s north of France. It is adapted from Agatha Christie's Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by scriptwriter Sylvie Simon and directed by Marc Angelo. Samuel Labarthe, of the Comédie-Française, plays the cynical, uber elegant, and misogynist commissaire Swan Laurence. Broken hearts columnist and wannabe reporter Alice Avril is played by Blandine Bellavoir (Maison close).

« Tout le monde a envie de vous étrangler, n'en doutez pas. Seulement là quelqu'un l'a fait sans hésiter. »

There's now a TV set in Laurence's office and his secretary, Marlène (Élodie Frenck), is an avid viewer of Le petit train rebus interlude (« Oh zut! J'ai raté un wagon! »). The commissaire doesn't want to be disturbed during his picnic with a lady friend. Alice goes undercover, a little boy is threatened by a "goblin", danger's ahead and love is in the air... but not between our two sleuths. Pourquoi pas Martin? is overall a decent and fun episode of Les petits meurtres with the familiar cocktail of comedy and suspense, great dialogues, a little action, and Marlène even saves the day.

« Vous êtes une source intarissable d'emmerdements.
- Mais. J'ai rien fait.
- Une tête sans cervelle, un petit pois dans le crâne, un caillou dans le ciboulot. Un neurone et demi dans le carafon et encore je suis large. Une catastrophe ambulante. Mon pire cauchemar même éveillé. »

Samuel Labarthe delivers Laurence's deadpan one-liners (« Mais non, sa soeur. Personne n'a envie d'épouser une femme pareille. ») with this voice which makes George Clooney sound so cool when he dubs him in French. Blandine Bellavoir and Élodie Frenck are excellent. The guest cast is fine: Alix Poisson, Charlie Dupont, Didier Vinson, etc. Of course, the sets look lavish and the locations are gorgeous as always. Marc Angelo's direction often has the feel of a 1960s British TV series like The Avengers or The Saint.

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Escazal Films with the support of Pictanovo, Conseil Régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the participation of France Télévisions, TV5 Monde and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. Sophie Révil is the producer. The characters of Laurence and Avril were created by Sylvie Simon and Thierry Debroux. The music is by film and TV composer Stéphane Moucha. France 2 will air Pourquoi pas Martin? on Friday, December 27.

LES PETITS MEURTRES D'AGATHA CHRISTIE: TÉMOIN MUET (FRANCE 2)

The commissaire Swan Laurence receives a letter from the rich Émilie Longuet, owner of the Filatures Longuet, in which she writes that someone wants to murder her. Except she died three months ago from jaundice and the letter was posted two days before he received it.

Alice Avril is getting bored with her broken hearts' column for La Voix du Nord and learns that commissaire Laurence ordered the exhumation of Émilie Longuet. But there's more annoying for Laurence than the presence of Avril: his whimsical mother Alexina is a close friend of Geneviève Ranson, Émilie's sole heiress.

« Et dire qu'il faut que je vienne dans un cimetière pour te voir. La prochaine fois ce sera pour mon enterrement à moi.
- Oh tu ne crois tout de même pas que je serai là à ton enterrement. »

Commissaire Swan Laurence (Samuel Labarthe, of the Comédie-Française) and reporter Alice Avril (Blandine Bellavoir) return this friday on  France 2 for a brand new episode of Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie ("Agatha Christie's little murders"). This period crime comedy/drama 90-minute series, launched in 2009, is a French adaptation of Agatha Christie's stories with two local sleuths instead of  her detectives.

In March 2013, Laurence and Avril succeeded the beloved crime-solving duo Larosière and Lampion, played by Antoine Duléry and Marius Colucci, and Les petits meurtres switched eras from the 1930s to the 1950s. Adapted from Dumb Witness by scriptwriter Thierry Debroux and directed by Marc Angelo, Témoin muet is the third Laurence-Avril after the enjoyable but transitional Jeux de glaces and the more familiar (and excellent) Meurtre au champagne.

« Attendez, j'ai découvert un truc vachement intéressant!
- Écoutez Avril, il est vachement tard et j'ai vachement pas envie de passer la soirée avec vous. »

Cynical and misogynist Laurence (« Je parle au seul neurone qui a osé s'aventurer dans votre cerveau. ») is back with his elegant suits, his chic Facel-Vega Facellia sports car and his stereotypical scatterbrain blonde secretary Marlène (Élodie Frenck). Now viewers are getting to know his eccentric mother, Alexina Laurence. She pretends she can communicate with the dead, wants her son to marry, to give her grandchildren, and is a (very) close friend of a chief suspect.

« Vous étiez déjà une plaie, Avril. Mais si en plus vous commencez à ressembler à ma mère... »

Alexina is played with her usual absolute brilliance by the great Françoise Fabian alongside classy and tongue-in-cheek Samuel Labarthe, who delivers Laurence's one-liners with a visible delectation (« Bon, les harpies. Vous avez deux options: vous quittez cet appartement par la porte, ou par la fenètre. » ) Blandine Bellavoir, who found her feet with Meurtre au champagne as a more "lampionesque" Avril, is perfect. The guest cast is very good, particularly Isabelle De Hertogh as Bella and Vincent Schmitt as Georges.

Témoin muet matches the best episodes of the Larosière/Lampion era. Thierry Debroux's script contains everything the fans of France's answer to Midsomer Murders could wish and even a little more, while keeping the spirit of Agatha Christie's work. The sets look as lavish as ever (Laurence's appartment) and the locations are splendid (château de Steenbourg). Let's hope Alexina will become a regular or semi-regular character.

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Escazal Films with the support of Pictanovo, Conseil Régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the participation of TV5 Monde and France Télévisions. Sophie Révil is the producer. The characters of Laurence and Avril were created by Sylvie Simon and Thierry Debroux. The music is by film and TV composer Stéphane Moucha (Das Leben der Anderen).

« Mais est-ce qu'il existe au moins quelqu'un que vous ne détestez pas?
- Jean-Sébastien Bach.»

In French:

http://www.france2.fr/emissions/les-petits-meurtres-d-agatha-christie
http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/steene-tournage-d-un-petit-meurtre-d-agatha-christie-jna17b0n1167230
http://chateau-de-steenbourg.com/

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2013/04/jeux-de-glaces-les-petits-meurtres.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2012/09/les-petits-meurtres-dagatha-christie.html

JEUX DE GLACES (LES PETITS MEURTRES D'AGATHA CHRISTIE)

North of France at the end of the 1950s. Freshly transferred commissaire Laurence is called to investigate a murder at La Main tendue, a rehabilitation center for mentally ill persons, much to his irritation.

Alice Avril writes the broken hearts' column for regional paper La Voix du Nord and dreams to become a reporter. When Laurence refuses to share with her information about the murder she goes undercover at La Main tendue and gets a maid job.

« Alice Avril, reporter à La Voix du Nord. J'enquête sur le meurtre à La Main tendue.
- Ce sont les flics qui enquêtent. Les journalistes pissent de la copie.»

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie ("Agatha Christie's little murders") is a French adaptation of Agatha Christie's stories as a period crime comedy-drama 90-minute series with two local sleuths instead of  her detectives. Launched in 2009 on France 2 and initially set in the 1930's north of France, it starred Antoine Duléry as the epicurian and womanizing commissaire Larosière and Marius Colucci as his gay assistant inspecteur Lampion until 2012. The duo, whose cases caught between 4m and above 5m viewers, bowed out last autumn. Nevertheless, Les petits meurtres continues and last week Jeux de glaces introduced a new tandem in the 1950s: commissaire Swan Laurence performed by Samuel Labarthe (of the Comédie-Française) and reporter Alice Avril, played by Blandine Bellavoir (Maison close, Plus belle la vie).

« Le manque d'oxygène déteriore le cerveau mais encore faut-il en avoir un. Vous ne risquez absolument rien. »

Adapted from They Do It with Mirrors by Sylvie Simon, who created the two characters with Thierry Debroux, this episode is chiefly focused on the unlikely team up of the uber elegant, cynical cop with the tenacious female journo. Laurence is dressed like Cary Grant, talks like Gregory House or Sacha Guitry (« C'est le mariage qui m'ennuie. »), and drives a chic sports car (1) like Simon Templar. Samuel Labarthe steals Jeux de glaces with the best lines (« Vous avez peut-être un physique de boniche mais il faut du talent pour transformer une fouine en taupe. ») and his on-screen chemistry with Blandine Bellavoir is perfect. Although Avril should evolve from this kind of adult Nancy Drew to be as interesting as Lampion. At least she's more lucky than Marlène, the stereotypical scatterbrain blonde secretary played by Elodie Frenck in a full La Minute Blonde mode (2). Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie wins in comedy what it loses in subtlety.

The result is different from the Larosière/Lampion era but it remains very enjoyable. The sets look lavish and the locations, including the château de Pittefaux near Boulogne-sur-Mer, are beautiful. Both the main cast and the guest cast (Catherine Mouchet, Olivier Rabourdin, etc...) are excellent. Helmed by resident Petits meurtres director Eric Woreth, Jeux de glaces won a Pyrénées d’Or of the Best Series (tied with Lazy Company) at the Luchon's Festival of Television Creation. The music, as usual, is by film and TV composer Stéphane Moucha (Das Leben der Anderen). Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Sophie Révil's Escazal Films with the support of Région Nord-Pas-de-Calais, TV5 Monde and France Télévisions.

This friday France 2 airs Meurtre au champagne, another Laurence/Avril, adapted from Sparkling Cyanide.

(1) A Facel-Vega Facellia (http://www.automobile-sportive.com/guide/facelvega/facellia.php - In French).
(2) A 2004-2006 short sequence of a Canal Plus talkshow with Frédérique Bel as Dorothy Doll, the epitome of the dumb blonde stereotype.

In French:

http://www.france2.fr/serie-fiction/les-petits-meurtres-d-agatha-christie
http://www.france2.fr/serie-fiction/les-petits-meurtres-d-agatha-christie/interview-de-sylvie-simon-creatrice-des-personnages-et-co
http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/Locales/Boulogne_sur_Mer/actualite/Secteur_Boulogne_sur_Mer/2012/05/30/article_un-roman-d-agatha-christie-adapte-pour-f.shtml

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2012/09/les-petits-meurtres-dagatha-christie.html

LES PETITS MEURTRES D'AGATHA CHRISTIE

Belgian? No... French. Imagine that Hercule Poirot, the detective created by Agatha Christie, is an epicurian cop and a womanizer living in the 1930s north of France. Imagine also that his assistant is gay and interested in modern investigation techniques.

Aired by pubcaster France 2, Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie ("Agatha Christie's little murders") is a French adaptation of Christie's books with two local sleuths, Commissaire Jean Larosière and Inspecteur Emile Lampion, instead of her detectives.

Larosière (Antoine Duléry) and Lampion (Marius Colucci, son of comedian and actor Michel "Coluche" Colucci) first appeared during Autumn 2006 in Petits meurtres en famille (A family murder party), a mini-series produced by Sophie Révil's Escazal Films, AT-Production and Belgian television RTBF, with TV5Monde and France 2. It was adapted from Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot's Christmas by scriptwriters Anne Giafferi and Murielle Magellan, and directed by Edwin Baily.

Set in Brittany in 1939, and filmed there thanks to the support of Région Bretagne, the 4X90-minute episodes were centered on the murder of the rich Simon Le Tescou (played by movie and stage veteran Robert Hossein). They caught an average of 7.3m viewers, which was tempting then to give the detective duo of the case its own collection of TV movies. Even if events in the mini-series actually prevented it.

And so the detectives created by Giafferi and Magellan came back in January 2009 for Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie, starting with an adaptation of The ABC Murders set in the north of France prior to Petits meurtres en famille. The series is produced by Sophie Révil for Escazal Films, with France 2, TV5 Monde and CRRAV Nord-Pas-de-Calais (Centre régional de ressources audiovisuelles) and the support of Région Nord-Pas-de-Calais. 10 more episodes followed until now, each attracting between 4m and above 5m viewers.

The stories of Agatha Christie (Ordeal by Innocence, The Moving Finger, Peril at End House, etc...) are cleverly transported in France as a period crime comedy/drama. The ambiance evokes Christie's classics, of course, but also Midsomer Murders and Maigret with Bruno Cremer (1991-2005). Duléry is flamboyant as Larosière, the very French authoritarian, charmer and gourmet supersleuth with some secret emotional cracks. And Colucci is absolutely perfect as his young assistant, the shy and clumsy Emile, amazed by modern policing and gay.

Those two engaging, complex and subtle characters form a fun and effective pair in one of the best French television fiction since the already mentioned Maigret and Nestor Burma (1991-2003). Most regrettably, the two actors announced their departure in january and last week France 2 aired their final episode, adapted from Lord Edgware Dies, in its friday crime drama slot. An adaptation of They Do It With Mirrors will introduce a new duo, Commissaire Laurence (Samuel Labarthe) and reporter Alice Avril (Blandine Bellavoir), in the 1950s.

It will be very hard for them to top Larosière and Lampion, whose era is already a classic. Abroad Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is aired in Finland, Hungary and Japan. The music is by film and TV composer Stéphane Moucha (Das Leben der Anderen) and Romain Segaud designed the great title sequence. Petits meurtres mais grande série.

In French:

http://tvmag.lefigaro.fr/programme-tv/article/serie/68278/dulery-pourquoi-j-arrete-petits-meurtres.html
http://www.leblogtvnews.com/article-tournage-des-petits-meurtres-d-agatha-christie-nouveau-duo-nouvelle-epoque-105795508.html

See also:

http://vimeo.com/15886532 (Title sequence)
http://www.stephanemoucha.com/
http://www.romainsegaud.com/