Hercule Poirot receives a telegram from the Russian countess he had met in a previous adventure (see the episode "Double Clue" for more info) asking him to come to Bagdad to help her on an urgent matter. He does, but she is nowhere to be found. But the journey is not all for naught; pretty soon he gets caught up in the investigation of the murder of the wife of an esteemed archaeologist working in the area. The woman had been receiving threatening anonymous letters that seemed to have been written by her long considered dead first husband, and, much like an archaeologist, Poirot thinks that he must dig into the past in order to solve the mystery.
My one-line summary is a quote from Poirot himself, and it gives you an idea of the pacing of this episode. Not that it is bad, mind you; the production values are great (easily on par with the theatrically released Ustinov film "Appointment With Death"), and the killing method itself is haunting and cruelly ingenious. However, there is also a crucial timing inconsistency in this episode: not wanting to spoil anything, I'll just say that something that lasts about 10 seconds when it happens for the first time, lasts at least 30 seconds when Poirot's customary narration at the end replays it from another perspective. Comedic highlight: Poirot's battle with a mosquito in the middle of the night. (**1/2)
My one-line summary is a quote from Poirot himself, and it gives you an idea of the pacing of this episode. Not that it is bad, mind you; the production values are great (easily on par with the theatrically released Ustinov film "Appointment With Death"), and the killing method itself is haunting and cruelly ingenious. However, there is also a crucial timing inconsistency in this episode: not wanting to spoil anything, I'll just say that something that lasts about 10 seconds when it happens for the first time, lasts at least 30 seconds when Poirot's customary narration at the end replays it from another perspective. Comedic highlight: Poirot's battle with a mosquito in the middle of the night. (**1/2)