Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

BBC’s remastering of Joan Hickson’s “Miss Marple” episodes is a huge success as far as I’m concerned. The colors and clarity are bright and beautiful. The sound has been cleaned up. Hickson’s masterworks now look as good as her acting and Christie’s writing deserve. Joan Hickson played Miss Marple in 12 episodes and all 12 of them are included in this Complete Collection. That’s 23 ½ hours of top-notch mystery viewing. English subtitles are available. The Complete Collection includes one Bonus Feature, the 3-part 2013 British TV series “A Very British Murder”. Each part of the bonus feature is 50 minutes long. Host Dr. Lucy Worsley takes you on a tour of England’s love affair with murder mysteries. Part One tells how real-life murders became an entertainment industry, starting in 1810. Part Two covers two important changes. First, the London Metropolitan Police Force, in the last half of the 19th century, becomes scientific. They actually start detecting. Secondly, improved literacy rates and cheaper books meant that fictional detectives became stars. If you’ve read about the public’s outcry when Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes in 1893, you have an idea of the grip fictional mysteries had on the public. Part Three carries forward with the newly sensationalized reporting of real murders, as well as the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. All in all, this Bonus feature is a pleasant few hours of murder! In case you are wondering, there is no NEW material in this Complete Collection. Hickson’s remastered episodes were previously issued in three DVD/BluRay sets, titled Volumes One, Two and Three. Each of those 3 sets has one of the 3 parts of Lucy Worsley’s TV series. So, if, like me, you already have the three Volumes of remastered episodes, you will get nothing new in the Complete Collection. Volume One Episodes: “Murder at the Vicarage” “The Moving Finger” “The Body in the Library” “A Murder is Announced” Miss Marple: Volume One Volume Two Episodes: “They Do It With Mirrors” “A Pocketful of Rye” “4:50 From Paddington” “The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side” Miss Marple: Volume Two Volume Three Episodes: “A Carribean Mystery” “At Bertram’s Hotel” “Nemesis” “The Sleeping Murder” Miss Marple: Volume Three If you haven’t yet sprung for the remastered Miss Marple, I can highly recommend it. It is amazing how well the show looks. Happy Reader