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Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death Television Movie

Good news! Ian sent me a note all the way from across the pond telling me something I absolutely have GOT to share with you all. M.C. Beaton‘s first Agatha Raisin mystery has been made into a television movie. Since they are showing the movie in Great Britain on Boxing Day (December 26), we should be getting “Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death” pretty soon.

Ian:

Just in case you’re not aware, the first Agatha Raisin book ‘…and the Quiche of Death’ has been filmed and is going to be on Sky1 (in the UK at least) on Boxing Day. The trailer makes it look quite good and it stars Ashley Jensen (Extras) as Agatha.

Thank you, Ian! We won’t be seeing it for a while, but it’s great to know they have made it!

Here’s the trailer I found on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4jlAieV5vE

I’m already looking forward to seeing this television movie. If you’re anything like me, you are probably wondering why Ashley Jensen (a beautiful, trim blond) is playing Agatha Raisin. Keep in mind, they had beautiful Sharon Small playing Sgt. Barbara Havers in the Inspector Lynley television shows, and that show was very good.

Again, thank you, Ian!

Comments

  1. I love both of M.C. Beaton’s cozy mysteries series, Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth and I can’t wait until this television movie makes it to the United States.

    The actress chosen to play Agatha doesn’t even come close to resembling Agatha as she was described in the novels. (Brunette and in her 50s.) Hopefully her actions will.

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    • Susan, this certainly isn’t the first instance where liberties have been taken with books when they were made into movies/television shows. I remember watching M.C. Beaton’s Hamish Macbeth television series and liking it a lot, even though Hamish wasn’t at all Hamish-y.

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    • I totally agree with you, im a huge fan of both agatha raisen and the hamish series of books, and was really thrilled to hear that agatha was to be televised, but after watching it, i was left really disappointing, as agatha is nothing like the way the character is described in the book, and neither is the vicar’s wife as she is portrayed to be young, when in the book she was an older lady, i really wish they would keep the characters as the author intends, as this has spoiled the forthcoming series for me, and im not a huge fan of the actress portraying her.

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      • I live in the UK and saw the pilot when it was aired on Christmas Day 2014. This was made by Sky TV and I belong to an online group they run where members are asked to comment on shows. Almost everybody gave this the thumbs down, and the few that didn’t said it was so-so; usually they had not read the books. The glamorous blonde they have chosen looks more like Priscilla from Hamish Macbeth and thus most of the humor is lost leaving behind a rather rushed but thin story. But obviously they did not listen to us and now they have made an 8 part season which airs tomorrow (07.06.16) on Sky One. I imagined Caroline Quentin as the protagonist, 50+ and predatory! The vicar’s wife is too young (so is the rather oddly behaved vicar), her neighbor mostly absent and the Chinese policeman too attractive. Actually he was the best thing about it…!

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        • Well the comments from the fans are obviously not taken into consideration, as why then would they make a full series with the same actress who is nothing like agatha raisin

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  2. Yippee! It looks a lot like Midsomer Murders! I haven’t read the books, does anyone know if it seems to follow the author’s intentions? I prefer a TV show that stays “in character” as much as possible. This looks very good, so I shall definitely stayed tuned!

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      • Oh, yes, Danna! Imelda Staunton would have been a perfect Agatha!

        Reading the comments about the Agatha Raisin TV show, it might be a good thing I never saw it. 🙁 Why oh why do producers insist on changing such a good thing. I wonder how MC Beaton felt seeing her Agatha played by a young blond? Just amazing. Of course, as you pointed out, the Inspector Lynley TV series changed the Barbara Havers character big time, and that TV series was terrific! And if I’m not mistaken, in the book, Inspector Lynley was a blonde, and Nathaniel Parker, who played Lynley on TV, had very black hair!

        Kind of reminds me of the British TV show “As Time Goes By” when Lionel and Jean’s life was made into an American TV movie, and the producers completely changed everything about the characters. Lionel and Jean were both totally shocked by the sex in the TV movie and how totally out of character they were portrayed, right down to the costuming! It was a disaster!

        Oh, well, just goes to show that I’d make a lousy producer. Also goes to show that I no longer want to see shows about young people. I like my characters with a lot of life experience behind them, wrinkles, and gray hair!!!

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        • To answer your question about how MC Beaton feels about the way Agatha is portrayed in the television series, I recently watched a behind the scenes video on Acorn TV of an interview with her regarding the series. She says she thinks Ashley Jensen portrays her brilliantly, she doesn’t mind the different hair color because she captures the essence of Agatha and she goes on to say many other complimentary thing about the show. She seemed very pleased with it.

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  3. I think we all have pictured Agatha in our minds. Our different Agathas probably all look somehow different yet similar. I don’t think anyone would have pictured Agatha to look like Ashley Jensen. At least no one who has read the series. She probably is an excellent actor. I just wish they made her hair brunette with a reddish tint. Probably not much one can do about Agatha’s bear eyes. This Agatha would not have a problem holding on to any male, she went after. This Agatha would be the pursued person not the pursuer. Oh, please!

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    • Lynn T, I totally agree about this Agatha being the pursued!

      When the Inspector Lynley shows started airing, I absolutely would not watch them because of their treatment of Sgt. Havers, who happened to be my favorite character in Elizabeth George’s books. However, when I finally gave the show a try, I found that I liked it a lot. I just didn’t think of it as based on George’s Inspector Lynley books.

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  4. I love Agatha, but I too, pictured Agatha as having brown hair and brown eyes. I imagined her to be very pretty but not blond. Oh well! Hope this Agatha fits the other qualities but most of all I hope we get the movies here in the U. S. A.
    I have heard that this is supposed to be the last season for “Downton Abby”, maybe Agatha could be a replacement!!!???

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    • Linda C, that’s a good question.

      I am one of the few people who do not follow Downton Abby, so didn’t know it was finishing up. (We watched it the first season, and enjoyed it a lot. We just never “got into it” again.)

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      • Danna, I just happened to be listening to a radio interview on WLW out of Cincinnati when the talk show host, Jim Scott, was talking to actress Elizabeth McGovern, who is a star on the show “Downtown Abby.” Evidently some of the cast and characters had put out a Christmas musical album using the name “Downtown Abbey,” which was the main reason for the interview. During this interview it was mentioned this would be the fifth and final year for the series.
        I, myself, have fallen in love with the series. I will be sad to see the series end. As I have said many times I watch very little major network television. This is a good series to watch.
        It was said during this interview this year’s series would start on January 4th.

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  6. I too have read and enjoyed all the books and don’t need to imagine Agatha as she is well described in the books. Unfortunately she looks nothing like this cool glamorous blonde who closer resembles Priscilla from the Hamish Macbeth series. The whole point of the series is that it is funny as Agatha desperately pursues her men; this side of it missing and you merely have a cozy village mystery with a not very interesting plot.

    I’m going to watch something else…

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    • Rachel AH, you are so right about her resembling Priscilla! What a keen observation. I agree that a lot of the series focuses on Agatha pursuing her man, but perhaps if you try watching the show as simply a mystery show , instead of an Agatha Raisin show…

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  7. Yippee! I can’t wait to see this and hope we get it soon. I just love Agatha but do wish someone resembling the book’s character is playing Agatha’s part. Part of Agatha’s esteem is how she is aging and trying so hard to hold on to her looks, (and men)! These fun bits will likely not be a part of this movie as the actress bears no resemblance to the book’s Agatha. Still, I’m looking forward to seeing it!

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    • Constance, I’m always in the market for a good mystery show that features a woman who is over 30, who is a strong character. I have to admit that it’s odd the producers would totally take Agatha’s aging and determination about finding a man out of the equation. But I’m looking forward to seeing it, also.

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  8. She does not resemble Agatha described in the books. Oh well, I will be watching anyway whenever it gets over here!

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  9. Usually television knock-offs copy the most obviously interesting things about the book to make an entertaining show, but they miss those quirky personality traits and behaviors that make us love the books. In the case of female characters, they populate them with age inappropriate actors a good 10-20 years younger than the actual character who’s true charm and interest lies within their own unique flaws and vulnerabilities. It’s difficult to believe that someone who looks so much younger and more beautiful than their properly cast 50-year-old counterparts could ever feel inadequate.

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    • BookLiver, I’m still looking forward to watching this movie. I watched the Miss Marple movies with Margaret Rutherford and thought they were very entertaining. The producers went about 180* from how Miss Marple was written, but they were still fun movies.

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    • Agreed, and not that I mind but AgaTha hasn’t smoked a single cigarette or had five black cups of coffee and Mrs Bloxby really??

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  10. Oh goodee! I hope this reaches Australia. The budget for our TV station that usually airs such shows from the UK has been severely cut, unfortunately. However, I do hope one of our TV stations picks up the show.
    I have been listening to the Agatha Raisin audiobooks, narrated by Penelope Keith. I really admire her and she would be perfect as Agatha Raisin, rather than Ashley Jensen. However, she would be well over 50 now and so she wouldn’t fit the bill, I guess, in the view of the show’s producer. Pity.
    Awaiting the show with great anticipation, though.

    Reply

      • Thanks, Danna. I agree with you about the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and really enjoyed watching them (I had previously enjoyed the books by Kerry Greenwood). Curiously, the very television station that commissioned the series is the one whose budget has been cut?!?

        I also enjoyed Kerry Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman books and would love to see them made into a tv series. Always pictured Dawn French as Corinna Chapman 🙂 One day, someday, maybe. Always can live in hope, I guess.

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  11. Some UK shows are accessible early, prior to airing, depending on TV provider. So I’ve seen this movie! I’ve read the books and don’t feel like the main character – or a few others – resembled those in the books. An overall younger feel to the characters and Agatha was more likable which was probably necessary so that viewers would watch. Still, I enjoyed the show and it would be great if they made more.

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  13. Well, now that it has aired, I thought I had read the books all wrong! I pictured both James and Agatha as older! And the cleaner?? But, it was fun, lots of great actors I’ve seen many times before.

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      • I think the show misses the angst that Agatha experiences as she ponders losing her looks and sex appeal. But I’ll probably watch the show and pretend it’s about a different Agatha!

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  14. I was excited to finally catch an Agatha Raisin movie on my daughter’s local PBS station, the Walkers of Dembley. Very disappointing, lacked the subtle humor and the energy of the books. I could look past the blonde hair but the whole production came across flat to me.

    Reply

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