Friday, March 2, 2007

- Hercule "Poirot" - TV Series

I admit freely and without hypocrisy that I am a great man.” - Hercule Poirot

Hercule Poirot, a fictional, brilliant Belgian Detective who had a long glorious career, who finished every case with a dramatic dénouement, confirming he has “the greatest mind in Europe”. Poirot's first published appearance was in Agatha Christie's novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles (published 1920), with many influence from other two fictional detectives (Marie Lowndes' “Hercule Popeau” and Frank Evans' “Monsieur Poiret”). A 5 feet 4 inches green eyed man, with egg-shaped head (which he perches to one side), has the blackest of hair (he use dye), his black waxed moustache is perfection (very stiff and military) and always wear patent leather shoes, neatly dressed with finest clothings and love finer things of life.

1989 Poirot TV series, short episodes based on Christie's short stories and long episodes on Christie's novels as a monumentally fastidious and arrogant detective in 1930s, he was the famous sleuth, using his mind as greatest tool in solving crimes the “little grey cells”, believing all crimes are psychological and evidence cannot solve it alone, he is a clue-based detective and depends on logic “order and method”. He focuses on traditional trail on clues; fingerprints, footprints, cigar ash, he was able to establish a thinking and enquiring into the nature of the victim and active pursuit of the psychology of the murderer, noting tiny details and freudian slips by asking a series of seemingly pointless questions. Poirot (David Suchet) was assisted by his life-long partner Captain Arthur Hastings (Hugh Fraser), a man with plenty of imagination but not a great deal of brains, and Poirot's terrifyingly efficient secretary Miss Felicity Lemon(Pauline Moran), together they solve complex crimes ranges around the world. Hastings first describe Poirot in The Mysterious Affair at Style:


"He was hardly more than five feet four inches but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military. The neatness of his attire was almost incredible; I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound."


The Poirot TV Series, debuted from January 1989 still continuing it's seasons in 2007 (Season 13), all credits from Christie's seventy-two Poirot stories (nearly sixty already produced), now seasons 1-9 with 64 episodes of Piorot available on DVD.