Original Airdate: 14 September 2008 Written by: Nick Dear Directed by: Ashley Pearce Recurring cast: Ariadne Oliver, George, Harold Spence Based on:Mrs. McGinty's Dead
Tropes
Adaptation Decay: In-Universe, Ariadne Oliver's detective character undergoes many changes in the process of being adapted to the stage. When her playwright collaborator is revealed to be the murderer, she's ultimately not too torn about losing an adaptation of her books in the process.
Adaptational Heroism: Dr Rendell is suspected of prescribing drugs for terminally ill patients who wish to commit suicide, rather than murdering his first wife. It is also his current wife Shelagh Rendell who tries to kill Poirot to protect him in this version.
Adaptational Job Change: Downplayed. Maude doesn't work as a maid in order to help Poirot's investigation.
Adaptational Slimness: Maude Williams is mentioned to be a buxom woman in the book, yet here she's played by the average-figured Sarah Smart.
The Kiddle family is excised from the adaptation, with the Burches moving into Abigail McGinty's house shortly after her death.
Miss Sweetiman's assistant Edna is also absent.
Since Deidre Henderson's character is folded into Maude Williams', her mother and stepfather, the Wetherbys, are removed as well.
Clear Their Name: Although Poirot is not completely sure of James Bentley's innocence, he nevertheless agrees to look into the case due to Spence's doubts.
Composite Character: Deidre Henderson is removed from the story and her role is given to Maude Williams; she now has dark hair, works as a secretary and ends up with James Bentley.
For Doom the Bell Tolls: There are church bells tolling ominously in some parts of the soundtrack's background music.
Gender-Blender Name: We learn that Evelyn Hope was a name not for one of the three women, but for a man who changed his name to Robin Upward (since in England "Evelyn" could be a man's name as well as a woman's), who murdered both Abigail McGinty and his foster mother Laura Upward for assuming that the photo of Eva Kane could be Robin's real mother herself.
Pragmatic Adaptation: The episode removes two of the photographs from the newspaper article to focus on the two important ones, and combines Bentley's two love interests into one character.
Railroad Tracks of Doom: Someone pushes Poirot under an oncoming train close to the railroad tracks, but fortunately another one pulls him out before he is to be run over. It turns out at the end that it was Mrs. Shelagh Rendell who made an attempt on Poirot's life after she believes that her husband, Dr. Rendell, is suspected of mercy killing terminally ill patients. (In the novel, however, it was Dr. Rendell himself who is suspected of killing his first wife and attempts to kill Poirot for doing so.)
Token Romance: Discussed. Robin Upward insists that the stage version of Sven Hjerson must be Hotter and Sexier and get together with his young love interest Ingrid, or people will think he's a "pansy". Ariadne fiercely protests and insists that he should be a Celibate Hero like in her novels.
