Masterpiece Theatre: Poirot: Appointment with Death (2008)

Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) is vacationing in Syria when he joins a party at the archaeological dig in for the skull of St. John the Baptist. When Lady Boyton is murdered, Poirot finds himself surrounded by family members with motives.

Suchet embodies Christie’s intrepid detective nicely. While I can’t speak to the faithfulness of the novels, Suchet’s Poirot is everything I imagine him to be. His accent is unforgiving as is his penchant for impeccable grooming.

The supporting cast in this episode include people ‘you know you know’, but can’t put a name with. Who played Evy’s brother in The Mummy? John Hannah! He moonlights here as an enigmatic rogue. Christina Cole—a BBC production staple—plays an eager your doctor trying to catch the eye of the younger Boynton lads. And Tim Curry!! Thick, aged, and delightfully eccentric, Curry appears as the obsessed archeologist Lord Boynton.

As I see it, Appointment with Death is as lavish a production as you've come to expect. Every detail is as refined as Poirot’s moustache. The episode is a surprisingly taut thriller that will have you guessing right up to the end. Fans of the Belgian will not be disappointed.