a a lifelong agatha christie fan and and devotee of joan hickson late 80 or early 90 miss marple adaptation and i have hop that these early 80 curio would help fill my need for more agatha . i can not imagine that these stagey production would have meet with the great lady approval . slow moving ( especially when tommy and tuppence be on screen ) and and so lacking in dramatic tension that i be surprise more than a couple of episode be ever screen . francesca annis be dreadfully ott and arch . her stage make up make her look like a doll or a clown in some sequence . james warwick be very wooden and emotionless . reece dinsdale comedy cockney be even more annoying . tommy and tuppence be totally unlikeable and and their laboured attempt at flirtation and humour fail at every attempt . every witticism and remark in the script clunk to the floor under the deadly delivery of annis and warwick . there a nice range of guest appearance from some actor who go on to great thing ( anita dobson a a maid who bite the dust after two minute on screen ) and but the supporting role be obviously less significant to the two lead . a a result and anyone who try to bring a bit of life to thing ( liz smith and joan sanderson and for example ) be shot down as soon a they appear on the same set a tommy and tuppence . the studio set and studio lighting have age very badly and and the whole production feel date .