"BREATHLESS” (2013) Episode Ranking

Below is a ranking of the episodes from the 2013 ITV limited series, “BREATHLESS”. Created by Paul Unwin and Peter Grimsdale, the series starred Jack Davenport and Catherine Steadman:

“BREATHLESS” (2013) EPISODE RANKING

1. (1.03) “Episode Three” – In 1961 London, chief gynecologist Dr. Otto Powell, along with anesthetist Charlie Enderbury and former nurse Jean Truscott perform an illegal abortion on young woman in Soho but complications arise, requiring an admission to a hospital. Jean’s husband, junior doctor Richard Truscott, has a reunion with former lover Margaret Dalton and resumes their affair.

2. (1.06) “Episode Six” – Otto and his wife, Elizabeth, have a confrontation with police Inspector Ronald Mulligan, who has been blackmailing her into having a sexual affair. Years earlier in Cyprus, Otto had bribed Mulligan into keeping silent about an accidental death involving Elizabeth’s fiancé, an American officer.

3. (1.02) “Episode Two” – Charlie loses out on his promotion to chief anesthetist to the newly arrived Dr. Omprakash Mehta. Following their return from their honeymoon, an angry Richard discovers that Jean, with Otto’s collusion, had kept her miscarriage a secret before their wedding. Jean holds a dinner party that ends in disaster.

4. (1.05) “Episode Five” – Margaret is admitted into the hospital for cervical cancer and receives a visit from Jean. Angela Wilson, Jean’s sister and a nurse, spots Otto and Elizabeth on a theater trip and realizes that an affair with him would be pointless, despite her attraction to him. And Charlie’s wife, Lily Enderbury, spots Mulligan at the Powell home.

5. (1.01) “Episode One” – Right before Jean and Richard’s wedding, the former has a miscarriage and asks Otto to help keep the incident a secret. Angela is hired as a nurse for the hospital’s gynecology unit. She later helps Inspector Mulligan’s unmarried daughter avoid being forced into a loveless marriage.

6. (1.04) “Episode Four” – Otto and Angela travel to Dorset with a medical student named Sam Roth in order to treat an unmarried girl who had been raped by her father and is giving up her triplets for adoption. Elizabeth sends her son Thomas away during Otto’s trip in order to accommodate Mulligan, but is surprised by a visit from Charlie.

"BREATHLESS" (2013) Photo Gallery

Below are images from the 2013 ITV limited series, "BREATHLESS". Created by Paul Unwin and Peter Grimsdale, the series starred Jack Davenport and Catherine Steadman:



"BREATHLESS" (2013) Photo Gallery

"APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH" (2008) Review

”APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH” (2008) Review

Looking back on the number of Agatha Christie movie adaptations I have seen, I find it surprising that only a handful of Christie titles have been adapted for the movies or television more than once. One of those titles happened to be the author’s 1938 novel called ”Appointment With Death”. 

The most well known adaptation before the 2008 one had been produced and directed by Michael Winner some twenty years earlier. Released in 1988, the movie starred Peter Ustinov in his last appearance as the Belgian-born sleuth, Hercule Poirot; and is not considered among the best of Christie adaptations before the premiere of ”Agatha Christie’s POIROT” around 1989. The production values of the 1988 version of ”APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH” almost had a cheap, B-movie quality about it. Nevertheless, I feel that it is a masterpiece in compare to this recent version that starred David Suchet as Poirot.

”APOINTMENT WITH DEATH” told the story of Hercule Poirot’s investigation into the murder of a wealthy, middle-aged American woman named Lady Boynton (Mrs. Boynton in the novel). But screenwriter Guy Andrews made so many changes from Christie’s original tale that it would seem pointless for me to recap the plot. One, the victim is not a widow. Instead, she is in the middle of a second marriage to a British peer and archeologist named Lord Boynton. Only Lennox Boynton is her stepson by marriage . . . and his name has become Leonard. The others – Carol, Raymond and Ginerva (Jinny) – had been adopted before her marriage to Lord Boynton. And yes, Jinny is no longer her child by blood. Lady Boynton never spent time as a warden for a women’s prison. Instead, she was an astute businesswoman. The character of Nadine, Lennox’s wife, did not appear in this adaptation. Jefferson Hope was transformed from the Boynton family’s attorney, into an American traveler with business ties to Lady Boynton. Dr. Gerard’s nationality and profession had been changed from French psychologist to British medical doctor. The American-born Member of Parliament, Lady Westholme, became British-born world traveler Dame Celia Westholme. And former nursery governess Miss Amabel Pierce, became known as “Nanny”; Lady Boynton’s nervous and very reluctant henchwoman in the abuse of the murder victim’s many adopted children. Andrews also added a new character – a Polish-born nun, who had befriended Jinny, named Sister Agnieszka. However, Dr. Sarah King remained intact – in both characterization and profession. The story’s setting is changed from Petra to Syria. The novel featured a single killer. This movie featured two killers . . . and a different motive. These changes allowed Andrews to give the murderers a fate straight from the finale of 1937’s ”Death on the Nile”.

I have to make one thing clear regarding the changes made by Guy Andrews. I have nothing against a writer making changes from a literary source to accommodate a screen adaptation. There are some things that do not translate well to the screen. But I feel that most of the changes made by Andrews did NOT serve the movie’s plot very well. In fact, I would say that the opposite happened. Despite its B-movie atmosphere; the 1988 movie seemed like an elegant affair in comparison to this 2008 version. Mind you, the latter had some virtues. David Suchet gave a subtle performance as Hercule Poirot. Peter Greenhalgh’s photography struck me as beautiful and rich in colors. Even Sheena Napier’s costume designs managed to capture the mid-to-late 1930s quite well. Elizabeth McGovern’s portrayal of a British or Irish female seemed surprisingly competent, despite her being American-born. Both Tim Curry (as Lord Boynton) and John Hannah (as Dr. Gerard) gave entertaining performances. And I also felt impressed by Christina Cole (Dr. Sarah King) and Mark Gatiss (Leonard) performances as well. So, why do I have such a low opinion of this movie?

My main beef with ”APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH” was the changes made to the story. I simply found them unnecessary. The change in the story's setting from Petra to Syria, created a small confusion. In the 1930s, part of Syria was under British control and the other half was under French control. Yet, the movie featured a very British Colonel Carbury (portrayed by Paul Freeman), who had French troops under his command. Confusing. And was it really necessary to include characters like Lord Boynton and Sister Agnieszka, who did not exist in the novel? No. Lord Boynton was nothing more than a red herring created to distract viewers of the teleplay. And Sister Agnieszka was used to include a subplot that was never in the novel and had nothing to do with the main narrative. Was it necessary to change the number of murderers from one to two? Again . . . no. By changing the number of murderers, Andrews changed the motive behind the victim’s murder from preserving a secret to an act of revenge. Worse, by changing the number of murderers and motive, Andrews complicated the plot to such a ridiculous level that by the end of the story, I found myself shaking my head in disbelief. Even more ridiculous was the convoluted method used by the killers to bump off Lady Boynton. Was it necessary to include a subplot about the sex slave trade, which had nothing to do with Lady Boynton’s murder? I would say no. Especially since the subplot was never included in Christie’s novel.

In the novel, Mrs. Boynton inflicted a great deal of psychological abuse upon her step-children and her daughter, Jinny. This movie had Lady Boynton bullying a hired nanny – Nanny Taylor - into inflicting physical abuse upon the many children she had adopted over the years – including Raymond, Carol . . . and Jinny. Was the change necessary? I certainly do not believe it was. Both the novel and the 1988 film made it painfully obvious how harmful Mrs. Boynton’s psychological abuse was upon her stepchildren. Apparently, Andrews, director Ashley Pierce and the producers thought it was not dramatic enough and decided to be more drastic by including physical abuse. To emphasize the horror of Lady Boynton’s domestic situation, they allowed Nanny Taylor to fall into a catatonic state following her employer’s death out of guilt. I found these changes unnecessary. I found the idea of Nanny Taylor remaining with the family after the children became adults irrelevant. And if I must be brutally honest, I was not that impressed by Angela Pleasance’s slightly hammy performance as the tormented nanny.

In a review of "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS", the 2010 version of Christie’s 1934 novel, I had complained about the religious themes that permeated that movie. Apparently, ”MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS” was not the first movie in the series to emphasize religion. The same happened two years earlier in ”APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH”. As I had stated earlier, one of the new characters turned out to be a Polish-born Catholic nun. I had to endure a sanctimonious conversation between her and Ginerva. Lord Boynton’s archeological quest turned out to be a search for John the Baptist’s head. I had never heard of anything so ridiculous. How was anyone supposed to figure out whether the head of John the Baptist or some citizen of the region had been found? And to make matters worse, once Lord Boynton thought he had found the object of his quest, he had Sister Agnieszka lead the rest of the party into a prayer over said skull. The scene struck me as too ludicrous to believe. The over-the-top choral music that permeated Stephen McKeon’s score did not help matters.

When it comes to adapting a novel or play for the screen, I have no problems with screenwriters making changes to the story or any of the characters . . . if those changes manage to serve the film. After all, some aspects of a novel or play do not translate well into film. But the changes I found in ”APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH” struck me as unnecessary. They not only failed to serve the movie’s plot, I found them convoluted and over-the-top. The addition of a religious theme simply made matters worse. The movie had a few virtues – including a solid performance from David Suchet. But not even he could save the amount of damage inflicted upon this movie.

"FRONTIER" Season One (2016) Episode Ranking

Below is my ranking of the Season One episodes of the Discovery (Canada)/Netflix series called "FRONTIER". Created by Brad Peyton, Rob Blackie, and Peter Blackie; the series stars Jason Momoa: 



"FRONTIER" SEASON ONE (2016) EPISODE RANKING



1. (1.06) "The Gallows" - Irish-born immigrant Michael Smyth and Cree warrior/trader Sokanon conspire to free the imprisoned half-Cree trader/outlaw Declan Harp from the clutches of Hudson Bay Company official Lord Benton and send the Fort James settlement into a state of chaos.





2. (1.03) "Mushkegowuk Esquewu" - Following an unexpected attack on their camp, one of the leaders of the Lake Walker trappers, Machk, lead his men to retaliate against a group of Scottish trappers known as the Brown Brothers. Meanwhile, Harp sets out to find the truth, while tensions increase. 





3. (1.04) "Wolves" - An unexpected arrival to Fort James puts Lord Benton and his military aide, Captain Chesterfield on edge. Ale house owner Grace Emberly conspires to rid herself of a problem. And Michael is shocked when he sees his past love, Clenna Dolan, in Canada; when he last saw her being arrested as a stowaway in Britain.





4. (1.02) "Little Brother War" - When a Cree boy is taken hostage by Lord Benton, the tribe allows Harp the chance to find him. Meanwhile, Grace drums herself up a deal with Captain Chesterfield behind closed doors.





5. (1.05) "The Discipline" - A shrewd new entrepreneur contrives to topple American fur merchant Samuel Grant and the Brown brothers alike. Lord Benton's obsession with Harp disintegrates into a ruthless interrogation and torture.





6. (1.01) "A Kingdom Unto Itself" - In this series opener about the North American fur trade in the late 1700s, Lord Benton voyages to Canada to restore the Hudson Bay Company's fur trade and stamp out the trapper activities of Declan Harp. Also on the journey is stowaway Michael Smyth.