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Poirot - Collector's Set 2
Acorn Media // Unrated // August 13, 2002
List Price: $29.95 [Buy now and save at Dvdempire]
Much to the delight of mystery lovers all over the world, Agatha Christie was not only at the top of her field in creating captivating puzzles and charming sleuths to solve them, she was also an extremely prolific writer. During her fifty-five year writing career, from her first novel in 1920 to her last in 1975, Christie produced numerous novels, short stories, and even plays. For the film and television world, this has meant that there has never been a shortage of interesting material to adapt. The British television series starring David Suchet has made the most extensive use of the Christie bibliography, with six seasons of shows drawing on the adventures of Christie's most famous creation, the detective Hercule Poirot.
Poirot Set 2 is the second collection of episodes from the series, and, like the Poirot Set 1, Set 2's episodes are drawn from the second season of the television series. I would expect to see further installments of the series as time goes by. The DVD contains three episodes that run 50 minutes each, which is an excellent length for an adaptation of a short story. While the episodes of Set 1 are all based on stories from the collection Poirot Investigates, the three episodes included in Set 2 are slightly more wide-ranging. "The Cornish Mystery" is taken from the collection The Underdog, "Double Sin" comes from the collection of the same name, and "The Adventure of the Cheap Flat" comes from Poirot Investigates.
This collection of short mysteries is sure to please any lover of nicely-plotted puzzlers. Suchet is, as always, perfect as Poirot, with Hugh Fraser also doing an excellent job as Poirot's companion in detection, the amiable Captain Hastings. The stylish world of 1930s Britain is captured perfectly in the sets and costumes of the show, and reflected nicely in the "Art Deco" look of the DVD's title sequences and cover art.
Video
The image quality of Poirot Set 2 is about average for a television presentation. It's perfectly watchable, but could certainly have been better, and for instance is not as good as the image quality found on the later feature-length Poirot DVDs. Colors, including skin tones, generally look accurate and are pleasing to the eye, but contrast is only adequate, suffering a bit in dark scenes. Some print flaws and a moderate amount of noise detract from the overall image quality as well. The episodes of Poirot Set 2 are presented in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
Audio
There's not much to say about the Dolby 2.0 soundtrack other than that it fits the bill reasonably well for what the episodes require, which is mostly just clear dialogue. The sound quality is good, with a clean sound that's free of background noise or distortion.
Extras
The special features are of mild interest, consisting of short text pieces on David Suchet, Agatha Christie, and the character of Captain Hastings.
Final thoughts
The Poirot Set 2 offers three more episodes in an engaging and worthwhile series of mystery stories. Existing fans of the series starring David Suchet will certainly want to pick up this set right away; I'd also recommend the set to any other viewer who's looking for an enjoyable mystery.
Poirot Set 2 is the second collection of episodes from the series, and, like the Poirot Set 1, Set 2's episodes are drawn from the second season of the television series. I would expect to see further installments of the series as time goes by. The DVD contains three episodes that run 50 minutes each, which is an excellent length for an adaptation of a short story. While the episodes of Set 1 are all based on stories from the collection Poirot Investigates, the three episodes included in Set 2 are slightly more wide-ranging. "The Cornish Mystery" is taken from the collection The Underdog, "Double Sin" comes from the collection of the same name, and "The Adventure of the Cheap Flat" comes from Poirot Investigates.
This collection of short mysteries is sure to please any lover of nicely-plotted puzzlers. Suchet is, as always, perfect as Poirot, with Hugh Fraser also doing an excellent job as Poirot's companion in detection, the amiable Captain Hastings. The stylish world of 1930s Britain is captured perfectly in the sets and costumes of the show, and reflected nicely in the "Art Deco" look of the DVD's title sequences and cover art.
Video
The image quality of Poirot Set 2 is about average for a television presentation. It's perfectly watchable, but could certainly have been better, and for instance is not as good as the image quality found on the later feature-length Poirot DVDs. Colors, including skin tones, generally look accurate and are pleasing to the eye, but contrast is only adequate, suffering a bit in dark scenes. Some print flaws and a moderate amount of noise detract from the overall image quality as well. The episodes of Poirot Set 2 are presented in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
Audio
There's not much to say about the Dolby 2.0 soundtrack other than that it fits the bill reasonably well for what the episodes require, which is mostly just clear dialogue. The sound quality is good, with a clean sound that's free of background noise or distortion.
Extras
The special features are of mild interest, consisting of short text pieces on David Suchet, Agatha Christie, and the character of Captain Hastings.
Final thoughts
The Poirot Set 2 offers three more episodes in an engaging and worthwhile series of mystery stories. Existing fans of the series starring David Suchet will certainly want to pick up this set right away; I'd also recommend the set to any other viewer who's looking for an enjoyable mystery.
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