History Series / Marple

* {{Bookends}}: The opening shot of ''The Murder at the Vicarage'' scans across Miss Marple's dressing table; among the items is a copy of Creator/RaymondChandler's ''The Simple Art of Murder''. One of the final scenes is another scan of her dressing table after an [[TimeSkip unspecified time has passed]]; Miss Marple has moved on to Chandler's ''Literature/FarewellMyLovely''.

* WackyCravings: At one point in ''The Murder at the Vicarage'', Griselda Clement (the vicar's wife) asks for apricot chutney to season her meal, from which Miss Marple deduces that Griselda is pregnant.

** Gwenda Vaughn in ''Ordeal by Innocence''. At the start of the episode, [[spoiler:she's radiantly happy about marrying the man she's silently loved for years and becoming part of a real family at last, and excitedly inviting her former employer Miss Marple to her wedding.]] By three-quarters of the way through [[spoiler:her wedding has been cancelled -- the day before, no less -- and her new family has flipped on a dime to consider her guilty of murder, though no one's actually come out and said it, which probably makes it even worse. It's heavily implied that she would have committed suicide if she hadn't been [[DeceasedFallGuyGambit murdered instead.]] ]]

* SignificantWardrobeShift: Megan Hunter in ''The Moving Finger', who starts off wearing outfits more suited to a schoolgirl than a woman of 20 and gradually adopts a sleeker, more modern look over the course of the film. While this change symbolises her growing up in the wake of her mother's death, it also coincides with her moving from 'oddball friend' to LoveInterest in Jerry's eyes.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: While ''4.50 from Paddington'' has every male in Rutherford Hall express some interest in Lucy Eyelesbarrow, as it was in the book, the episode mirrors the previous BBC adaption in that there are only two men with a serious chance at her - Bryan Eastley and Inspector Craddock. The ending has her chose [[spoiler:Inspector Craddock.]]

** ''At Bertram's Hotel'' has a band of bored thieves becoming avengers of the Holocaust and a greedy teenager in love with a dashing racing driver becoming [[spoiler: a closeted lesbian racked with guilt over an accident she caused to her beloved girl.]]

** ''At Bertram's Hotel'' has a band of bored thieves becoming avengers of the Holocaust and a greedy teenager in love with a dashing racing driver becoming a closeted lesbian wrecked with guilt over an accident she caused to her beloved girl.

** Gwenda Vaughn in ''Ordeal by Innocence''. At the start of the movie, [[spoiler:she's radiantly happy about marrying the man she's silently loved for years and becoming part of a real family at last, and excitedly inviting her former employer Miss Marple to her wedding.]] By three-quarters of the way through [[spoiler:her wedding has been cancelled -- the day before, no less -- and her new family has flipped on a dime to consider her guilty of murder, though no one's actually come out and said it, which probably makes it even worse. It's heavily implied that she would have committed suicide if she hadn't been [[DeceasedFallGuyGambit murdered instead.]] ]]

* SurvivorGuilt: Mark Gaskell in ''The Body in the Library''. He's best friends with Mike Carmody (Adelaide's first husband), who died in the war, and Frank Jefferson (Addie's second husband), who was killed in a missile attack along with Mark's own wife Rosamund. In his conversation with Miss Marple, he reflected how it was wrong for Mike to die first before he could see his unborn child, and expresses regret that he didn't show as much affection towards his wife as he ought to have done. He also felt that his father-in-law resented him for being the one who "pulled through".

* Bookends: The opening shot of ''The Murder at the Vicarage'' scans across Miss Marple's dressing table; among the items is a copy of Raymond Chandler's ''The Simple Art of Murder''. One of the final scenes is another scan of her dressing table after an [[TimeSkip unspecified time has passed]]; Miss Marple has moved on to Chandler's [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic ''Farewell, my lovely'']] and the next scenes are [[spoiler: a flashback to Miss Marple's youth, where she breaks things off with her married lover, and the murderous lovers being hanged.]]
* BreakTheCutie: In ''The Body in the Library'', this happens to Peter Carmody when [[spoiler:his mother, who got an AdaptationalVillainy, was arrested for the murder of Ruby Keene and Pamela Reeves]], and his usual cheerful and enthusiastic demeanour was replaced by a blank look of despair when the case was closed.
** Gwenda Vaughn in ''Ordeal by innocence''. At the start of the movie, [[spoiler: she's radiantly happy about marrying the man she's silently loved for years and becoming part of a real family at last, and excitedly inviting her former employer Miss Marple to her wedding.]] By three-quarters of the way through [[spoiler: her wedding has been cancelled - the day before, no less - and her new family has flipped on a dime to consider her guilty of murder, though no one's actually come out and said it, which probably makes it even worse. It's heavily implied that she would have committed suicide if she hadn't been [[DeceasedFallGuyGambit murdered instead.]] ]]

* CanonForeigner: The adaptation of ''Ordeal by Innocence'' adds the character of Bobby, the fraternal twin to Jack Argyle.
** Of the twenty-one episodes, ''Miss Marple herself'' doesn't appear in nine of the books they're based on; given that 'The Blue Geranium' and 'Greenshaw's Folly' were both adapted successfully, it begs the question as to why more of the Marple short stories weren't adapted instead.

** Gwenda Vaughn in ''Ordeal by innocence''. At the start of the movie, [[spoiler: she's radiantly happy about becoming a part of a family at last, and excitedly inviting her former employer Miss Marple to her wedding.]] By three-quarters of the way through [[spoiler: her wedding has been cancelled - the day before, no less - and her new family has flipped on a dime to consider her guilty of murder, though no one's actually come out and said it, which probably makes it even worse. It's heavily implied that she would have committed suicide if she hadn't been [[DeceasedFallGuyGambit murdered instead.]] ]]

** Of the twenty-one episodes, Miss Marple herself doesn't appear in at least nine of the books they're based on; given that 'The Blue Geranium' and 'Greenshaw's Folly' were both adapted successfully, it begs the question as to why more of the Marple short stories weren't adapted instead.

* InNameOnly: The series' adaptation of ''The Secret of Chimneys'' shares a few character names with the original source material, but pretty much everything else were changed: the relationship dynamics between the people, the identities of the victim (actually a CanonForeigner) and murderer, and even the background/setting. In fact, it might as well be an original story, since one would hardly recognise any elements from the original novel.

** ''4:50 From Paddington'' does this to almost every character. The lecherous old man who called his wife stupid becomes a grieving widower. The cocky, smug artist of the book publicly announces he's an artistic failure and breaks down crying in front of his father in the film. The shady businessman type also breaks down crying after his disappeared accomplice. The prim politician detests his exaggeratedly unattractive wife and bitterly resents his parents' happiness. A minor, happily married character is given a sordid backstory of sexual assault. The central murder of the book becomes "a crime born of love." Even Mrs Mc Gillicuddy is given her share of tragedy in the form of unrequited feelings.

** ''4:50 From Paddington'' does this to almost every character. The lecherous old man who called his wife stupid becomes a grieving widower. The cocky, smug artist of the book publicly announces he's an artistic failure and breaks down crying in front of his father in the film. The shady businessman type also breaks down crying after his disappeared accomplice. The prim politician detests his exaggeratedly unattractive wife and bitterly resents his parents' happiness. A minor, happily married character is given a sordid backstory of sexual assault. The central murder of the book becomes "a crime born of love." Even Mrs McGillicuddy is given her share of tragedy in the form of unrequited feelings.

** ''The Moving Finger'' has an old military man commit suicide because of his taboo sexual orientation (unclear whether gay or bisexual), and turned Jerry's injuries into self-inflicted ones from a failed suicide.
** ''At Bertram's Hotel'' has a band of bored thieves becoming avengers of the Holocaust and a greedy teenager in love with a dashing racing driver becoming a closeted lesbian wrecked with guilt over an accident she caused to her beloved girl.

* DeadAnimalWarning: In "Endless Night", Eliie discovers a dead bird with a threatening message pinned to it on her doorstep as part of a campaign of harassment aimed at her.

** Two characters from ''The Sittaford Mystery'' swap surnames: [[spoiler:Charles Enderby and John Burnaby become Charles Burnaby and John Enderby. With the change in the murderer's identity, this name change serves to retain the novel's association of the surname Burnaby with the guilty party.]] Also, Trevelyan's first name is changed from Joseph to Clive.

** Similarly, ''The Pale Horse'' has an old friend, Father Gorman murdered. As she wraps things up, she dresses down the {{Smug Snake}} culprit's incompetence and wickedness so viciously ([[OOCIsSeriousBusiness just barely avoiding raising her voice in anger]]) that they have to be [[LetMeAtThem dragged away from tearing her limb from limb.]]

* ItsPersonal: Not overtly, but in ''A Murder Is Announced'', when [[spoiler:Murgatroyd is killed]], Marple is visibly devastated and in HeroicBSOD mode in the scene immediately following. During the SummationGathering, she is reminiscent of a shark.

** Angus [=MacWhirter=] doesn't appear in the adaptation of ''Literature/TowardZero'', with Miss Marple taking over most of his role in solving the case.

** ''Body In The Library'' has a ShellShockedVeteran Mark Gaskell agonise about not having the courage to "get a date with a dancer."
** ''A Murder is Announced'' turns the happy relationship of Mrs Swettenham and her son into a creepy possessive one, removes the son's mild love story and adds an angsty one between the mother and an alcoholic colonel.
** ''The Moving Finger'' has an old military man commit suicide because of his taboo sexual orientation (unclear whether gay or bisexual).

* PsychoLesbian: Just about every lesbian couple in the adaptations, with a few exceptions, turned out to be this, especially if they were subject to RelationshipReveal.