In my personal top ten of greatest people who ever lived, Agatha Christie appears at least three times! I've read so many of her stories and saw so many film/television adaptations based on her novels and plays, and yet the wit and creativity in her work never ceases to amaze me. The character of Parker Pyne is one I wasn't familiar with yet, and most of the individual episodes in "The Agatha Christie Hour" I hadn't watched, either, mainly because they don't feature any complex murder-mysteries (and those are - like the case with most people, I reckon - my favorite Christie tales).
After witnessing the "The Case of the Middle-Aged Woman", I can safely state this lovely piece of work also benefices from most of the brilliant Agatha Christie trademarks, including super-intelligent detectives and unforeseeable plot twists. In fact, this is a full-fledged Christie conundrum; but without murders. Admittedly I did miss the murders sorely, but what can you do?
I'm amused with the idea this is what 'romance' and 'love story' looks like in the wonderfully twisted mind of Mrs. Christie. Not sure when exactly she wrote this tale, but one can only assume it's inspired by her own experiences, namely when Agatha's first husband left her for a younger woman, and she came out of it as a much stronger and more independent person. Something rather similar overcomes the titular middle-aged woman of this story, but in the end she's a much happier lady. I'm looking forward to the next installments of "The Agatha Christie Hour", and particularly to the returns of Parker Pyne. He's a retired government employee turned detective, and moreover a meticulous planner with a fetish for statistics. Such a bizarre but fascinating character could only spawn from the mind of dear old Agatha.