"You better call Kenny Loggins. 'Cause you're in the danger zone.", 31 March 2017
In order to bring more diversity to the workplace, Malory hires black agent Conway Stern. Sterling immediately suspects the worst of Conway, like is he some sort of double agent or is he sleeping with Malory? After a few hilarious run-ins, Archer and Conway head to Miami on a mission. Fortunately for Sterling, Lana doesn't trust Conway either and follows the pair to Miami.
As much as I liked the first two episodes, Diversity Hire is easily the best so far. It's absolutely hysterical. I'm completely enjoying the un-PC humor. The screenplay is full of amazing set-pieces - the locker room scene being an absolute riot. Sterling's relationship with his mother continues to be one of my favorite aspects of the show. Malroy's constant talk of having sex wit Conway, knowing what it does to Sterling, is another highlight. The ending is as "exciting" as anything in the series so far. Really nicely done. I just hope Conway comes back. The voice work in Archer is another strength. I noticed that Conway is voiced by Coby Bell who I know him from another spy show, Burn Notice. He's fantastic.
Favorite Moment: I'll call it "dueling penises".
8/10
"Death of a games mistress in a sports pavilion. Sounds like a highly athletic crime.", 31 March 2017
Poirot pays a visit to school for girls and is asked by the Headmistress, Miss Bulstrode (Harriet Walter), to use his powers of observation to help her select a replacement once she retires. Poirot's powers of observation, however, are soon required for something more sinister when one of the teachers is murdered – a javelin through the heart. Before Poirot can unmask the killer, a second teacher is murdered, another is hit over the head, and one of the students is kidnapped. Poirot must find The Cat Among the Pigeons.
I certainly don't remember every detail, but I do remember enjoying the book, Cat Among the Pigeons. And I'm happy to say that I also enjoyed this production. While a few details have been changed from Christie's original work, from what I remember, it stays fairly true to the source material. All the most significant plot points are here and only minor additions or changes have been made – most necessary for a 90 minute runtime. Similar to what I wrote about Elephants Can Remember, Cat Among the Pigeons has a lot of moving parts – a staff full of suspects, several girls who play the part of witness, a coup in the Middle East, missing rubies, two murders, a knock on the head, and a kidnapped princess. There's certainly a lot going on and director James Kent and screenwriter Mark Gatiss do an admiral job of keeping it all coherent. They also add quite a bit of atmosphere – that kind of sinister atmosphere that I usually associate with a good Giallo. The acting is, as I've come to expect in the Poirot series, first rate. Suchet is very good here. Harriet Walter, Susan Wooldridge, and Lois Edmett (in her only screen credit) stood out to me in the supporting cast. The only negative I can add is in the solution to the mystery. Poirot seems to guess at many of the answers in his denouement without much actual evidence to go on. Still, it's a very well done, entertaining episode.
8/10
"Oh, my god! You killed a hooker!", 30 March 2017
Episode 2, Training Day, is almost as good as the first episode. In this one, Malory is concerned that Lana may still have feelings for Archer. She decides that if Cyril were an actual agent, Lana might look at him differently. Cyril's training will be handled by Archer.
For a show that's less than 30 minutes in length, there's a lot going on here. Between Cyril's training, poison pens, underwear guns, Malory's allergic reaction to zucchini, Pam and Carol's health care selection, a dead hooker, and Lana shooting up Archer's car, there's plenty of action and hilarity. It all seems so random, but somehow goes together nicely to create a very funny episode. The flashback scene to Archer's childhood was a nice and unexpected touch. Because I didn't enjoy Training Day as much as Mole Hunt, so I'm rating this one a 7/10.
Favorite Moment: Archer and Cyril's discussion on hooker vs call girl. Funny stuff!
7/10
"Sterling Archer. Code name Duchess. Known from Berlin to Bangkok as the world's most dangerous spy.", 30 March 2017
Ah, Archer – why has it taken me so long to get on-board? The show is fantastic. It's funny, irreverent, and un-PC. The first episode, Mole Hunt, does an excellent job of setting-up the series and things to come.
Sterling Archer is a spy working for an agency (unfortunately) named ISIS - International Secret Intelligence Service. Archer is a sexist, misogynistic, egotistical, self-absorbed, hard-drinking, dim-witted guy with mommy and relationship issues who just happens to be hysterically funny. In Mole Hunt, Archer has withdrawn thousands of dollars in bogus expense money he can't re-pay. He blames it all on a mole working inside ISIS. As luck would have it, there is a mole. There are plenty of funny scenes, terrific dialogue, and interesting artwork throughout. The music fits nicely with the spy theme. The voice work is top notch. I was especially happy to hear the very funny Jessica Walter as Archer's mother. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series.
Favorite moment: The Mexican Standoff – what a funny scene!
8/10
It strays from Christie's work, but in this case, that's not a bad thing, 30 March 2017
I've loved Agatha Christie's books for as long as I can remember. But, The Big Four never did anything for me. It wasn't a typical Poirot story – dead body, cast of suspects, gathering information, drawing room denouement. That's the Agatha Christie I enjoy. The Big Four was always more of a spy story and not necessarily what I call a "true" mystery. And, to make things worse, it's a mess of a novel regardless of what you call it with any number of unrelated plot points and themes. As far as turning it into a television production, I couldn't imagine how it could be done. So, I was dreading sitting down with The Big Four. How was it? Well, better than the book – but that's not saying much. Thankfully (and I won't say this about many episodes), the decision was made to strip most of Christie's ridiculous plot and replace it with a more traditional, but equally ridiculous, plot.
What it all boils down to is a man who creates a mind-blowing scheme to win over a woman who rejected him in the past. His plan involves multiple murders, kidnappings, and threats of war between nations just so he can get close to his love. How utterly ridiculous! The idea is completely . . . well, it's just plain stupid. There's no reason to go into any more detail or write any more about it. The Big Four is about as bad as I've seen in the Poirot series.
The only saving grace is the inclusion of Miss Lemon, Japp, and Hastings. I really did enjoy seeing these characters again – even if Miss Lemon and Hastings' screen time is limited. It's like welcoming an old friend who's been gone for a decade. I'm glad the producers saw fit to get the band back together for one last time.
I'm being very generous with a 5/10.
5/10
Impressive, 29 March 2017
Hercule Poirot is approached by his friend, writer Ariadne Oliver, for help with a 13-year old mystery she's investigating. The mystery involves the unusual death of a husband and wife. Was it murder- suicide or some sort of suicide pact or murder by an unknown person? And if it was murder-suicide, who shot who? These are the questions Ms Oliver has been asked to investigate. Poirot, however, has little time for his friend. He has the recent murder of a semi- retired psychiatrist, Dr Willoughby, to investigate. The doctor was gruesomely murdered in the basement of the psychiatric hospital bearing his name in a discarded and discredited piece of equipment originally designed for hydrotherapy. Things get interesting (and fun) when Ms Oliver and Poirot realize that their separate investigations are starting to merge. It seems that someone with vital knowledge of the 13-year old mystery may know something about the new murder.
I haven't read Elephants Can Remember in at least 30 years. Therefore, I have no idea how closely this production stays to every single plot point in Agatha Christie's original work. I remember just enough about the book to know that certain key plot points are the same. Overall, I'm really impressed with this episode of the Poirot series. Elephants Can Remember has, what I call, a lot of moving parts and can easily get confusing. What I mean is that there are a lot of characters with a lot of information, two mysteries separated by 13 years, and two different investigations going on at the same time. It would be easy to forget who's who and who said what, etc. But the people behind this episode did a fantastic job of keeping the confusion to a minimum. Once the two plot threads start to come together, things become very clear. It's an amazing bit of storytelling on the part of the director and screenwriters. And to top it off, they kept everything interesting. The mystery grabbed me from the beginning and kept my interest throughout. Nice work!
I've gone on and on about David Suchet's work as Poirot. He once again gives a first-rate performance. While I may enjoy the lighter Poirot seen in the first part of the series, there's no denying the quality of Suchet's acting here. I've seen Zoe Wannamaker as Ms Oliver in a few episodes now and she's stating to grow on me. I never cared much for the character in the books, so it's taken a while. The supporting cast is as strong as I've come to expect. Vanessa Kirby, Greta Sacchi, and Iain Glen were stand outs for me. The sets, costumes, and most of the technical aspects were, once again, class. My biggest complaint is with lighting. The whole thing was just too dark for my tastes. Otherwise, it's a quality episode that I rate an 8/10.
8/10
"A death for a death", 29 March 2017
Simon Templar meets a young American woman named Sue Inverest while on vacation in Italy. During their tour of the coliseum, Templar is knocked out and Sue is kidnapped. Templar learns that Sue is the daughter of an American Governor (Indiana, I think). The head kidnapper has a brother on death row in Governor Inverest's state. He wants his brother's sentence commuted in exchange for Sue's life. Being The Saint, Templar intercedes to help secure Sue's release.
I'm going to have to disagree with the only other review (as of 3/29/17) on IMDb for The Latin Touch. I really enjoyed this episode. The tension in the episode came through for me. This is television, so you just know everything will be alright in the end, but the tension was still there. I could feel the governor's pain as he struggled with what to do – keep a killer locked-up or save his daughter. And, the trick Templar plays on the baddie was a pretty sweet scene. I suppose the fact that there was someone working for the mob from the inside was a given, it was still fun to watch events unfold. And, once again, I'm impressed with the acting. After just two episodes, Roger Moore continues to be something of a revelation to me. In the supporting cast, Alexander Knox, as usual, gives a good performance. And Warren Mitchell is an out-and-out scene stealer. His cabbie, Marco Di Cesari, is a hoot. Overall, a 7/10 from me.
7/10
