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cimoreneThe reason I wasn't able to place Zoe Telford (Sarah) in Sunday's episode of Sherlock ("The Blind Banker") without recourse to IMDb was that the last time I saw her, in ITV Agatha Christie's Marple 204 "The Sittaford Mystery", she was hotter. Well, I mean, no offense, but she's lost weight, and besides, anybody would look better with an adorable curly black Betty Boop bob and short bangs.
Now, if you like Christie or have read The Sittaford Mystery, you probably shouldn't go out and watch this episode, which bears, I understand, little to no resemblance to the original. That's normal for ITV's adaptations. Their Agatha Christie strategy is to add as much crack and as many pointless plot alterations as possible, usually with surprise lesbians. On the other hand, I can't help liking Zoe Telford better when she once ditched Laurence Fox for Carey Mulligan, even if it did make no sense whatsoever at the time.
Here's Zoe Telford and the lovely Laurence Fox from Lewis (but perhaps better known as Billie Piper's husband)
They're engaged, and Laurence Fox is the ward and heir of Timothy Dalton, a candidate for Prime Minister.
That's Geraldine McEwan, whose inspired performance as Miss Marple is as unexpected in the dung/crackheap of an ITV adaptation as... um... well, what would be that out of place? Lifehouse opening for Adam Lambert, maybe? The point is, it's really surprising, even though the guest cast is usually star-studded, because the morass of crack and bad writing that otherwise makes up the fabric of these episodes is so overwhelming that any convincing performances typically just vanish into the background of confusion. Except hers, which just increases the surreality by standing out.
This black-Irish looking charmer is Zoe Telford's second love interest in the episode, as well as her co-sleuth. It's one of those episodes where Miss Marple recruits a few Young People to do all the legwork for her and then solves everything in the background. He's played by James Murray, and he looks quite familiar even though I've never seen him in anything else - probably because the top part of his face looks so much like Zefron's, I guess?
See, I told you. Timothy Dalton.
Carey Mulligan plays a shy character named Violet who always wears purple and lives under the thumb of her noisy, drunken, inappropriate mother. They're also snowed in at the inn when Timothy Dalton is murdered.
Unfortunately for Laurence Fox, he's suspect #1 and spends most of the episode locked up in the inn's pantry as a consequence.
Timothy Dalton gets measured for a nice woolly sweater
Carey Mulligan and her fetching green-framed cateye glasses at dinner on the night of the murder
Patricia Hodge as Carey Mulligan's embarrassing mother
This is probably the surrealest set of pastede-on ITV Marple lesbians. I mean, of course, that one episode contained non-canon evil lesbian nuns (or, okay, just the one evil lesbian nun, which is quite enough), but the lesbianism in this episode is utterly unexpected. Zoe Telford spends the episode stuck between Laurence Fox and James Murray, but after the mystery is solved and her penitent fiancé begs her to forgive his drunken ways, she explains in the last few seconds of the episode that she's going to run off to South America or something with Carey Mulligan instead. I like that she got dressed up and broke up with him wearing leopard-print gloves, and she certainly demonstrates great taste, but on the other hand, the only time she and Carey Mulligan have spoken so far in the episode is when she was interrogating her.
Carey Mulligan rustled up a great purple coat and hat ensemble for the voyage.
Now, if you like Christie or have read The Sittaford Mystery, you probably shouldn't go out and watch this episode, which bears, I understand, little to no resemblance to the original. That's normal for ITV's adaptations. Their Agatha Christie strategy is to add as much crack and as many pointless plot alterations as possible, usually with surprise lesbians. On the other hand, I can't help liking Zoe Telford better when she once ditched Laurence Fox for Carey Mulligan, even if it did make no sense whatsoever at the time.
Here's Zoe Telford and the lovely Laurence Fox from Lewis (but perhaps better known as Billie Piper's husband)
They're engaged, and Laurence Fox is the ward and heir of Timothy Dalton, a candidate for Prime Minister.
That's Geraldine McEwan, whose inspired performance as Miss Marple is as unexpected in the dung/crackheap of an ITV adaptation as... um... well, what would be that out of place? Lifehouse opening for Adam Lambert, maybe? The point is, it's really surprising, even though the guest cast is usually star-studded, because the morass of crack and bad writing that otherwise makes up the fabric of these episodes is so overwhelming that any convincing performances typically just vanish into the background of confusion. Except hers, which just increases the surreality by standing out.
This black-Irish looking charmer is Zoe Telford's second love interest in the episode, as well as her co-sleuth. It's one of those episodes where Miss Marple recruits a few Young People to do all the legwork for her and then solves everything in the background. He's played by James Murray, and he looks quite familiar even though I've never seen him in anything else - probably because the top part of his face looks so much like Zefron's, I guess?
See, I told you. Timothy Dalton.
Carey Mulligan plays a shy character named Violet who always wears purple and lives under the thumb of her noisy, drunken, inappropriate mother. They're also snowed in at the inn when Timothy Dalton is murdered.
Unfortunately for Laurence Fox, he's suspect #1 and spends most of the episode locked up in the inn's pantry as a consequence.
Timothy Dalton gets measured for a nice woolly sweater
Carey Mulligan and her fetching green-framed cateye glasses at dinner on the night of the murder
Patricia Hodge as Carey Mulligan's embarrassing mother
This is probably the surrealest set of pastede-on ITV Marple lesbians. I mean, of course, that one episode contained non-canon evil lesbian nuns (or, okay, just the one evil lesbian nun, which is quite enough), but the lesbianism in this episode is utterly unexpected. Zoe Telford spends the episode stuck between Laurence Fox and James Murray, but after the mystery is solved and her penitent fiancé begs her to forgive his drunken ways, she explains in the last few seconds of the episode that she's going to run off to South America or something with Carey Mulligan instead. I like that she got dressed up and broke up with him wearing leopard-print gloves, and she certainly demonstrates great taste, but on the other hand, the only time she and Carey Mulligan have spoken so far in the episode is when she was interrogating her.
Carey Mulligan rustled up a great purple coat and hat ensemble for the voyage.
(no subject)
Date: 3 Aug 2010 02:06 pm (UTC)Also, Carey Mulligan's inappropriate mother is The Portia of Our Chambers! It took me a minute to remember her.
(no subject)
Date: 3 Aug 2010 02:18 pm (UTC)