There are two images in my head when I think of Hercule Poirot - David Suchet and this.
The explanation is that in episode 1 of series 4 of my favorite British game show "Taskmaster" the prize task at the start of the show was for the comedians "to bring in the most interesting autograph on the most interesting vegetable" and this is the one that won - "Suchet on a broad bean. Bang. That's what this competition is all about."
I have no idea why those words are so funny to me, but there you are. It's probably the fact such a distinguished actor would even do this.
Okay, let's get to David Suchet as Hercule Poirot.
Suchet was Poirot for almost 25 years, in 70 episodes from January 1989 to June 2013. And when I say "was" instead of "played", that's exactly what it felt like.
He studied him, made a list of "Poirot character notes", and worked on the role until he became the ultimate Poirot in the eyes of many devoted fans (me obviously included).
If you have missed it before, I'm not a fan of Christie's style and I'm not even a fan of all the adaptations with Suchet.
There are some I find painfully slow - my brother and I always argue about 45 or 90 minute episodes for crime shows in general and in Poirot's case I often prefer the shorter ones ... BUT I will also slog through the slowest ones for Suchet and the amazing sets.
As I love Art Deco, I didn't mind that they got stuck in the 30s for most of the episodes even if it wasn't true to the novel or story. I can absolutely entertain myself not paying any attention to the case - having seen all episodes multiple times, I don't really need to - and look at buildings, cars, furniture or decoration instead.
In the stories I have read I always found Poirot a tad annoying, but while Suchet's Poirot is definitely full of himself, I can forgive him much more easily because he has that gentleness and I love the little smile, how he walks and talks (in English, I hate the German dubbing).
It has been almost exactly two years since I made my last portrait and I've had this pattern lined up even longer than that, but finally I can welcome David Suchet/Hercule Poirot to my fan wall (you can find all of my bead loomed portraits here).
I like that portrait, Cat!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda!
DeleteI also liked David Suchet's Poirot. I don't remember who played him on the latest "Murder on the Nile," but obviously, whoever it was didn't make much of an impression. I also liked him as portrayed in movies rather than in print. So, is this beadwork? It's amazing, Cat!
ReplyDeletehttps://marshainthemiddle.com/
Thank you, Marsha!
DeleteThis is loomed on a bead loom. I have no idea why I only mentioned this in the tags, probably because it's my 40th portrait.
You probably mean Kenneth Branagh's film. He also played Poirot in "The Murder on the Orient Express". I haven't seen either because I can't imagine Branagh as Poirot.
I can't make up my mind about what's more fantastic: David Suchet, your fan wall, or the fact that a competition asked people "to bring in the most interesting autograph on the most interesting vegetable". I think I'll go with all three :))
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DeleteThank you so much, Mercè!
It's a lovely portrait! It looks just like Poirot!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I've still got it 😉 I needed a lot more breaks, though!
DeleteI love this portrait. It captures the sense of amusement and intrigue that always seemed to be part of Suchet’s Poirot. I know what you mean about Christie’s Poirot. We have listened to some of her Poirot books, and he’s really quite insufferable at times. Anyway, amazing work, Cat!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michelle! Amusement and intrigue says it nicely.
DeleteI had almost forgotten how limiting my seven color restriction can be, especially for the eyes, so once again I had to adapt my pattern while looming.
That would be tough. But the eyes look perfect!
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DeleteI love that you love Taskmaster! How up to date can you keep there? The last series was amazing - I liked all the contestants, too, there's usually one I don't like.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, they made the episodes available on YouTube for their foreign fans eventually. They are even live there now.
DeleteThe only series I couldn't watch was the tenth after the episode in which Daisy May Cooper started pouting. Maybe some day.
Of course, I often don't know the comedians or I don't know where I have seen them before (like I hadn't been aware of knowing Joanna Page from "Love, Actually", but also that I had seen her on WILTY once). So I'm going in with a pretty clean slate, so-to-speak, and some really grow on me after irritating me in the first episode.
The chemistry in the last series was amazing, such a great mix of personalities.