Partners in Crime

I remember watching this series when I was about 10-11 years old with my parents every Friday night at 9:00 on MYSTERY. Ever since that time, whenever I think of Tommy and Tuppence, I think of Francesca Annis and her male actor friend, as I truly loved this series and all of the lush period detail. The only downside was the effect the series had on my late mother, possibly more profound than I believed when she was still alive. Every time we were together in the family care and she saw a period automobile, she would cry: "Oo, look, Anthony! A Tommy and Tuppence car!" Despite this, PARTNERS IN CRIME has remained amongst my favorites of the original MYSTERY! TV series.

This is a must have DVD for every Agatha Christie fan ! It is just as i imagined Tommy & Tuppence from the short stories. There is a lot of humor and Annis and Warwick are superb as are most of the rest of the cast. The whole series has an intimate feel about it that i liked very much. Every episode is a spoof on one of the famous detectives of the time the stories were written like Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown etc. as Agatha Christie intended. It would be nice if ITV decided to use Warwick and Annis again for a follow up on this series, they could use the novels about Tommy and Tuppence this time as they are written about the couple when they are older. It would be a good idea to do this instead of remaking Miss Marple or Poirot movies.

Absolutely and gorgeously great. The fact that it was made almost 25 years ago only adds a peculiar charm to the production. I even love the old video feel to it - feels almost like watching something 'live', not the edited scenes shot over several sessions. They didn't usually pay too much attention to period details in the early 80s, but this show is a refreshing change, even though a modern viewer might be distracted by the sometimes too obvious studio sets. Annis and Warwick are so good that the characters might easily have been written especially for them. The acting style might appear a bit theatrical for some tastes, but they have found the key to playing the protagonists the way actors did in the twenties and thirties. I trust times and people were more "artistic" than they are nowadays, therefore I feel secure that they did take the right direction and succeeded remarkably well. Perhaps one wouldn't be allowed to create such characters in a modern hi tech TV series, but back then it seems they just had a lot of fun doing what they did.

Tremendous fun to watch, and fortunately available on DVD.

Delightful adaptation of Agatha Christie's light Tommy and Tuppence stories.

These productions are rich in period detail, delightful lead performances, and charm and whimsy to spare. This isn't typical Christie fare; it's light as a soufflé and as bubbly as champagne. James Warwick and the stunning Francesca Annis make a yummy twenties couple who solve crimes and flirt with each other. The scripts are sometimes padded out to flesh out Christie's admittedly thin short stories, but always done with humor, style and flair. The whole series has a wonderful Noel Coward type feel to it that will appeal to those who appreciate the style of the 1920's. I just wish that the producers would bring the leads back for Christie's later Tommy and Tuppence novels.

I read a few other reviews, of this series, & felt like saying that they seemed to miss the point. Being familiar with the original novel "The Secret Adversary" (which was made into a full-length TV feature after these) as well as the "Partners in Crime" short stories I believe that those involved with this series captured the spirit the author intended very well indeed.

The tone of the original stories was much lighter than that of other Agatha Christie novels and the playfulness & risque humor (which come across clearly in the dramatizations) came right from the characters in the books. I also believe the overly stylized performances were perfect for the period & mood of the pieces. The acting actually comes across more as a good staging of a Bernard Shaw or Oscar Wilde play in the style of the early 20th century than as a current modern TV program & I for one completely enjoyed the contrast.

2 side notes: I've purchased these on DVD as well as the sets of the Poirot series & while the Poirot are exceptional (wonderfully made & acted) I actually enjoy re-watching the "Partners in Crime" Series more because the emphasis is much less on the crime than on the characters, compared to the Poirot series which always seems to need a twist (right out of Christie) and some kind of action/chase sequence (not so much from Christie).

Also, I'd personally love to see James Warwick and Francesca Annis reprise these roles 20 years on, since there were several novels ("By the Pricking of my Thumbs" and "Postern of Fate" are the two I remember) which caught up with Tommy & Tuppence later in their lives.