I've just caught up with the TV movie of the first Agatha Raisin novel,. The Quiche of Death which was shown on Sky over the Christmas period, and to be honest I think Sky made a botch job of the movie.As a fan of the books the biggest problem with the TV movie was the casting - I just can't get over the casting of Agatha Raisin herself, actress Ashley Jensen is far too young and glamorous for the role of the nosey old battleaxe that is Agatha Raisin. And the neighbour, love interest, described in the book as being a distinguished looking man in his mid fifties is also far wide of the mark - Sky have cast Jamie Glover, a man more James Bond than James Lacey.
I'd been looking forward to this TV movie and I did give it a chance but it just didn't seem right to me. There was nothing wrong with Ashley Jensen's performance but she seemed ridiculously young - we are supposed to believe that she is a successful businesswomen who decides to retire and move to the Cotswold for a life of peace and quiet. but this just doesn't ring true. And no sooner did I settle into the show than they introduced James Lacey and I realized that Sky's production was Agatha Raisin in name only.
The BBC adapted the novels into radio dramas several years ago with Penelope Keith in the role of Agatha Raisin and these were uniformly excellent, and remained faithful to the original novels It's a pity that Sky took a different route with their version of Agatha Raisin.
I think I'll stick with the original novels and the BBC Radio series - that's where you'll find the real Agatha Raisin.
2 comments:
That's why I always read the book before seeing the movie. The actors don't fit the parts.
Your review is right on.
I have read 21 of the Agatha Raisin books, love them.
The casting of all the lead characters in the film was so far off, it just wasn't an "Agatha Raisin" film at all. Something totally different, that didn't hold my attention, and I changed channels after about half and hour.
Post a Comment