Original Airdate: 25 December 2010 Written by: Stewart Harcourt Directed by: Philip Martin Recurring cast: na Based on:Murder on the Orient Express
Tropes
Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the original novel, Poirot rather cavalierly lets the murderers go free, but in this version, this is shown as a difficult choice for him to make due to his Catholic beliefs. The first ten minutes or so of this particular adaptation come across as a Trauma Conga Line; first, the case in Palestine mentioned in the novel is revealed to Poirot giving one heck of a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to a British Army officer that it makes him shoot himself rather than stand trial. Then Poirot and some other characters witness the public stoning of an adultress on the streets of Istanbul. There are implications that these events are what ultimately convinces him to make the final decision he does.
Adaptational Villainy: Dr. Constantine becomes one of the murdering conspirators, whereas in the novel he was innocent and in fact could not have been involved in the crime.
Adapted Out: This adaptation drops the character of Mr. Hardman, instead making Dr. Constantine one of the co-conspirators.
Aliens Speaking English: Subverted; many other characters speak other languages (Poirot, for example, has a conversation with Countess Andrenyi in French, which she would know as an educated upper class Eastern European and a diplomat's wife), but fortunately the subtitles act as translation for the languages.
As the Good Book Says...: After Poirot exposes the entire Armstrong family as murderers and delivers a speech on the importance of the rule of law, Greta Ohlsson tells him that Ratchett's/Casetti's escape is what is wrong with Catholicism and claims that she took the part in killing on God's orders, even quoting Jesus' words in John 8:7 ("Let those without sin throw the first stone").
Cool Train: Naturally, the titular Orient Express.
Darker and Edgier: This adaptation has a much darker tone than the original novel.
Detective Mole: In this adaptation, Dr. Constantine's involvement in the murder plot makes his subsequent assistance to Poirot this.
Disabled in the Adaptation: Miss Debenham is paralyzed on her right side. She was injured when Daisy was kidnapped, giving her an extra reason to want revenge.
Evil Is Deathly Cold: The train's generator fails soon after it runs into the snowdrift, so everything gets progressively colder and darker as Poirot comes closer to the truth. In the novel, the victim's compartment was cold because the window was left open.
If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: After Poirot refuses to show mercy to the Armstrong family and gets into a heated argument with Xavier Bouc, Colonel John Arbuthnot gets up and intends to shoot them both dead while placing the blame on Casetti's "assassin", but Mary Debenham stops Arbuthnot, telling him that if he kills Poirot and Bouc, he would be just like Casetti. Arbuthnot gives in to her advice.
Just Train Wrong: This episode was filmed in the UK with a series of Wagon-Lits Pullman lounge cars and a British steam locomotive. The Simplon-Orient-Express did periodically have Pullmans, but only west of Italy - and not exclusively.
The Killer Was Left-Handed: Invoked when Poirot points out that, judging by the angles, some of the stabs on the Asshole Victim were made by right-handed people, and others by left-handed people.
Men Don't Cry: Played straight at the end. Poirot reluctantly and grudgingly lets the family of killers go free, and yet he still struggles with the decision while holding back his tears as he walks off while clutching the rosary in his hand.
Orgy of Evidence: Invoked, in that the entire carriage's worth of passengers is trying to throw off detectives as to the truth.
Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: While in other versions of the story Cassetti merely escaped from the law, in this version, he used his mafia and political connections to avoid prosecution.
To Be Lawful or Good: This trope creates more of a dilemma for Poirot than it did in the original novel. At first, he refuses to compromise his principles by allowing the killers to go unpunished and delivers an angry rant about how taking the law into your own hands will plunge society back to the middle ages. To which their only response is, "We tried it your way. The law failed us." With the weight of the entire Armstrong family on his shoulders, Poirot ultimately walks right past the police, letting the perpetrators off the hook. Downplayed, though, in that Poirot seems unsure if what he did was "good".
Two Scenes, One Dialogue: Poirot recites a prayer of repentance in one scene, while Ratchett goes to his own compartment and recites the same prayer in another scene. As two scenes blend in, it acts as Ratchett has joined in the prayer in one language — Poirot in French, Ratchett in English — until it ends with Poirot finishing the prayer with "Amen."
Villainous Breakdown: Cassetti/Ratchett becomes increasingly unhinged as he realizes the people looking for retribution are on the train and starts praying to God for forgiveness.
What You Are in the Dark: When Poirot discovers that all his fellow passengers were the killers, he plans to turn them into the Yugoslavian police, regardless of how monstrous the victim was. Problem is, he and the train manager are the only witnesses and they are stuck in the middle of nowhere. Arbuthnot actually draws his gun on Poirot, until the rest of them realize that would make them like Cassetti. He lets them go anyway.
