My favorite thing to watch these days....

I have always loved mystery shows and books. It's what intrigued me as a child. I think the only two books I read in my first 8 years of school were two mystery novels. I would love to remember the names as I type, but they escape me. Now that I'm back from my short nostalgic pause, we'll discuss how my pechant for mystery has reemerged this past year.

When I was younger I loved to watch the Sunday night program Murder She Wrote. It seemed that I always watched it at my grandparents home, before my mom would pick me up. Angela Lansbury's deductive skills excited me. I liked the twists and turns in the plot, the suspense of the who done its. I am always looking for a challenge in life. Whether in be sports competition, board games, trivia or solving mysteries; I am and have always been attracted to the works of the great mystery writers.

I first learned of Agatha Christie in High School shortly after reading some works from Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle and his hero sleuth Sherlock Holmes. I believe the novel that jumps out is The Hound of Baskervilles. A few years back when our first child was born, I took advantage of Netflix service and ordered a number of Agatha Christie films. At the time I knew of her book and the accompanying movie- Death on the Orient Express. I had read the book and watched the movie with Peter Ustinov playing the esteemed role of Hercule Poirot. The famous Belgian detective in many of Christie's great books. At the time I rented the movies from Netflix (and a couple from Blockbuster) , I wasn't interested in any version of Poirot except the one played by Ustinov. I knew that the books had been remade with various actors through the years but I was not interested in trying them out. I watched Evil Under the Sun, and Death on the Nile and thoroughly enjoyed them both. One day shortly after Madison's birth, I was burping her after a feeding and I popped in one of my netflix videos. Much to my chagrin, the Poirot in this movie was David Suchet and not Peter Ustinov. I watched a couple minutes to give it a chance and then I quickly popped it out and put something else in. This particular Hercule Poirot was not funny, fat or stammering around. He was very proper, full of order, unemotional and all business.

Well 3 years later, I can no longer watch Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, it must be David Suchet. I have purchased (about the only thing I've bought the last few years beside golf clubs) almost every movie, the entire A&E series and anything else I can find that captured Agatha Christie's great books via David Suchet's portrayel of Poirot. He is truly a pro. I've read that Suchet studied Christie's works for years to develop the particular mannerisms of the perfectionist sleuth Hercule Poirot. Suchet brings out the focus on order, method, and symetry that symbolized the famous Hercule Poirot. From his precise combination of French and English in his speech, to the way he organizes his flat and his processes. He must have his tea at 9:30 and 11:00. He must always be punctual. He thrives on the routine and schedule. This character is a man after my own heart. My wife Ashley laughs at me each time we sit and watch an episode. Its fun to see many of my own strengths and weaknesses in a character like Poirot. He grows very angry when things do not go as planned, or when he fails to achieve his goal. He stubbornly progresses by his order and routine and his keen abilities manifest from this approach.

If you like the art deco period in London right before World War II you'll love these movies and the A&E series that followed. I keep hoping that they'll make more. Once you've watched a mystery you have to give it a good while before you can rewatch it. Over time you'll forget the plot, the suspects and the guilty party. I love the formality of sitting down for coffee or tea. The afternoon and evening post. The use of trains and boats and the small shops and cottage industries. Sometimes I think I was born a few generations too late- that would question God's sovereignty though, so I would say he just has a great sense of humor sometimes.