Original Airdate: 17 December 2006 Written by: Guy Andrews Directed by: Andy Wilson Recurring cast: George, Harold Spence Based on:Taken at the Flood
Tropes:
Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: The meaningful title of the novel becomes Never Trust a Title thanks to the Setting Update. The name of the title Taken at the Flood (which was taken from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar) was supposed to refer to the killer making the most of the opportunity presented in the aftermath of the wartime bombing of Gordon Cloade's London house. Since the post-war events in the original novel have been moved back to the pre-WWII era in the adaptation, and the bombing becomes premeditated murder, it's obvious that the title doesn't work on any of these at all.
Adaptational Alternate Ending: The very problematic ending of the novel where Lynn ends up with Rowley after he tries to strangle her (and, it's implied, because he tries to strangle her) is thankfully changed. Lynn doesn't marry Rowley and just goes back to Africa.
Adaptational Jerkass: While David Hunter could be a jerk in the novel, he was still charming and witty. The series makes him a lot more obviously cold and creepy, and has him Kick the Dog a few times. For example, rather than just mocking the family for borrowing money from Rosaleen, he publicly humiliates them in the middle of a party by making them hand the money back in front of everyone. This goes hand in hand with his Adaptational Villainy into an insane mass murderer, which ends up turning him into more of a Devil in Plain Sight.
David Hunter was a former commando in the novel, but is an engineer by trade in the adaptation.
Lynn Marchmont was a Wren (a woman seconded to the Royal Navy) demobilized after the war ended. Here she instead hails from Africa and operated a hospital there.
Adaptational Villainy: in the original novel, David Hunter is a Jerkass who had no motive of killing his own sister, especially when it would mean depriving himself of the Cloade fortune, so he would have a female accomplice pose as his own sister, and then kill the accomplice once she is done. But in this adaptation, he is upgraded to a mass-murderer who is perfectly willing to kill his own sister.
Big, Screwed-Up Family: The Cloades certainly count. They include a solicitor who lost a good chunk of his clients' money and his enterprising wife, a slut-shaming spiritualist and her drug addict husband, and a possessive farmer given to fits of anger. Even their most sympathetic family member isn't flawless either with her terrible taste in men.
Break the Cutie: It is revealed that David Hunter raped and impregnated Eileen Corrigan, then performed an induced abortion on her, forcing her to submit to his will by posing as his sister Rosaleen. As if that was not enough, he also pressured her into becoming a morphine addict who would slowly kill herself by overdose.
Chekhov's Skill: David Hunter is noted to be a railway engineer by trade, which includes rigging dynamite as part of the job duties. Surely enough, he's found out to have bombed the Cloade residence with a dynamite time bomb.
Death by Adaptation: Although his novel counterpart would probably suffer the same fate, we get to see David Hunter's execution on-screen.
Dies Differently in Adaptation: Gordon Cloade and the real Rosaleen Cloade died after a bomb planted in their house explodes, rather than by their house bombed during the Blitz.
Disabled in the Adaptation: Major Porter lost a leg since he was a direct witness of the blast that killed Gordon Cloade and was therefore injured.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Invoked in the climax. Even if David Hunter is shown to be a very odious man, threatening to blow up the Stag Inn after being outed for his crimes, Lynn attempts to get him to relent, invoking the love they have for each other. David relents, revealing he was bluffing about rigging the inn with bombs.
Flashback Effects: During the Summation Gathering, flashbacks are presented with a red tint as well as lots of uncomfortable closeups and dutch angles.
Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Deconstructed. Eileen breaks after she's raped and her rapist forced her to get an abortion, feeling damned for something that she had no power over. This allows said rapist to manipulate her for the rest of their time together.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: David Hunter has a faint one on his left cheek that he gained after he told Eileen to slice his cheek with a razor, to make it more plausible that he was wounded by the ostensible gas leak that killed Gordon Cloade.
Incest Subtext: David's villainy is ramped up (see Adaptational Villainy above) when Poirot calls David's sister Rosaleen his "first love", and explains that the scheme to kill her was as much about revenge for "abandoning" him (by marrying someone else), as him trying to get his hands on her new husband's fortune.
Ironic Nursery Tune: David Hunter sings "Your Baby Has Gone Down the Plughole" as he is being hanged at the gallows... which is pretty ironic, considering that he raped and impregnated Eileen and then performed an induced abortion on her.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: David Hunter is rude to everybody and manipulates his sister regularly. It's then revealed that he cares for Rosaleen in his own twisted way, as he hugs her after her failed suicide attempt. However, that's all an act, as he's revealed to have been behind the bombing that killed off the real Rosaleen Cloade, not to mention all the monstrous acts he inflicted on her impersonator, Eileen Corrigan.
Kinslaying Is a Special Kind of Evil: David Hunter manages to outdo his novel counterpart's wickedness by being behind the death of his sister Rosaleen via dynamite time bomb, whereas Rosaleen merely died of a bombing run during WWII in the book.
The Living Dead: During the examination of Enoch Arden/Charles Trenton's corpse, the actor's breathing can be seen.
Mad Bomber: David Hunter is turned into one in the adaptation, having killed his sister, her husband, and the rest of their household by planting a bomb in their home. He also threatens to blow up the Stag Inn after Poirot conducts The Summation and fingers him as the culprit of said bombing, though he's revealed to be bluffing about that instead.
Obviously Evil: David Hunter spends his entire screentime either berating people or manipulating women like his sister or his lover. Unlike most Christie antagonists, his wickedness is so apparent that the driving question of the adaptation is not "whodunit?" but "howdunit?", as in finding out how he's connected to all of the criminal incidents shown.
Rape as Backstory: We learn that David Hunter seduced and raped his sister's maidservant, Eileen Corrigan, in the basement, leaving her pregnant, and afterwards performed an induced abortion on her, forcing her to endure the trauma for the rest of her life.
The first is to the Cloades, who resented and harassed Rosaleen for standing between them and Gordon Cloade's money; Poirot notes acidly that if they'd been able to kill her with wishes alone, she'd have died a thousand times over. The Reveal that she's not Rosaleen at all, but an innocent housemaid being forced by David to impersonate his dead sister, only makes them despise her even more, for holding on to "their" money that she never had a legal claim to.
The second is to David, who killed a dozen innocent people just to ensure his sister would die, and tells him that, contrary to the lies he fed Eileen, if there's one person on Earth God will deny His mercy to, it will be David.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After the harrowing events of the story, Lynn breaks off her engagement to Rowley and returns to her charity work in Africa. When Poirot asks her when, or if, she will ever return to England, she replies honestly that she doesn't know.
She Is All Grown Up: How everyone, Poirot included, reacts to a now-adult Lynn returning to England.
Somebody Set Up Us the Bomb: After David forced Eileen to pose as his sister Rosaleen and hid her in the bomb shelter, he made a surprise attack on the entire Cloade estate by planting dynamite inside the house and then detonating it.
Spanner in the Works: Dr. Lionel's own morphine addiction turns out to ultimately save Eileen Corrigan's life. By stealing a good chunk of her morphine and diluting the rest with castor oil, he inadvertently prevents Eileen from taking a lethal dose of the drug.
Spared by the Adaptation: Eileen Corrigan survives the attempt on her life. Not only did she die in the novel, but her death was the only actual murder in the story.
Traumatic Haircut: David is seen giving Eileen one in a flashback, to the point where her scalp bleeds. It serves the dual purpose of making Eileen look like the real Rosaleen Cloade, as well as make it appear that she was wounded in the blast.
Villain Has a Point: At a dinner party with the Cloades, David remarks to Lynn that their hatred of Rosaleen (for inheriting the money they believe should have been theirs) is on quite open display, and if they're trying to hide it, they're failing badly. Lynn is disconcerted to acknowledge that he's right.
What Happened to the Mouse?: In the novel, Rowley is tried and convicted of misleading the investigation and attacking Lynn. Here, it's unclear whether he gets Let Off by the Detective or his trial just isn't shown.
White Sheep: Lynn turns out to be the most sympathetic member of her family, given how the rest of the Cloade family are shown to be rather unsympathetic to varying extents.
" as he is being hanged at the gallows... which is pretty ironic, considering that he raped and impregnated Eileen and then performed an induced abortion on her.