In this episode ,so much time is given over to the victims' flashbacks and to the police's investigation that one loses sight of the essentials ,that is to say people on an exotic island where a fiendish criminal is doing away with them one by one ;hardly ten minutes (on a fifty-five minute episode) take place on the fateful place.
The story essentially concerns the Bohringer family ,father and daughter in the miniseries and in real life : vaguely inspired by Christie's Dr Armstrong 's crime, it deals with the umpteenth melodramatic story of the wealthy surgeon who left his wife and his daughter who now wants to surpass daddy in his field .
The rest concerns a selfish psychiatrist/guru's past and his chauffeur (the actor was certainly influenced by Jacques Villeret 's playing) and an au pair girl ,Ninna ,who's in love with a professor .
These subplots ,instead of giving the characters substance,like in Phelps' adaptation, throws the story off balance ; what a mess!
The story essentially concerns the Bohringer family ,father and daughter in the miniseries and in real life : vaguely inspired by Christie's Dr Armstrong 's crime, it deals with the umpteenth melodramatic story of the wealthy surgeon who left his wife and his daughter who now wants to surpass daddy in his field .
The rest concerns a selfish psychiatrist/guru's past and his chauffeur (the actor was certainly influenced by Jacques Villeret 's playing) and an au pair girl ,Ninna ,who's in love with a professor .
These subplots ,instead of giving the characters substance,like in Phelps' adaptation, throws the story off balance ; what a mess!