Rating: 
Summary: An enjoyable romp through the swinging 1920s' London.
Review: "The Secret Adversary" and the short story collection "Partners in Crime" (both from 1922) were Agatha Christie's second and third-ever book, but their quirky protagonists, Tommy and "Tuppence" (Prudence) Beresford, were not to share the eventful career of their colleague Hercule Poirot, who had debuted two years earlier with "The Mysterious Affair at Styles;" nor that of Christie's almost equally well-loved (and personal favorite) village sleuth Miss Marple, whose first adventure ("Murder at the Vicarage") would not be published until 1930. Christie only authored three more Beresford mysteries: 1941's "N or M?" (a WWII spy thriller set in a coastal guesthouse), 1968's "By the Pricking of My Thumbs" (where a visit to a nursing home prompts them to track down the real-life object of a painting, only to find themselves hunting for a child murderer) and "Postern of Fate" (1973), the last book written by Christie (although not the last one published); more a postscript to the superior earlier stories.Not as eccentric as Poirot and Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence are nevertheless immediately likeable, and perfectly cast in this 1980 - 1982 TV series with Francesca Annis and James Warwick, reprising their successful collaboration from the 1980 realization of Christie's "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" Taking its title from the second entry in the Beresford cycle, originally only the short stories contained in "Partners in Crime" were developed for television; "The Secret Adversary," although set earlier in the literary originals' sequence and providing critical background information on the couple's friendship, was only adapted as a feature film two years later. (Fortunately, the original order is restored in this video and DVD release.) Although "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" had already proved Christie to be a writer of exceptional talent, her first Tommy and Tuppence adventures - penned for financial reasons as much as out of a desire to write - still show her style as a work in progress, sometimes lacking certainty as to what exactly works in terms of characterization and storylines. While she succeeds, like in the first Poirot mystery, to immediately draw in her audience, and the Beresfords are presented in as much detail as the little Belgian with the many gray cells, the plotlines - particularly that of "The Secret Adversary" - sometimes stretch credibility and have a whiff of the kind of story that Arthur Conan Doyle could get away with 20 years earlier, but which Christie herself (wisely) only took up infrequently later (and generally with more solidly constructed plotlines and often with Poirot as the main character). Thus, if the televised versions of these early Tommy and Tuppence stories appear somewhat less convincing than the subsequent, more acclaimed adaptations of Christie's Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries, this is at least partly owing to the literary originals themselves: The creators of the TV series reproduced the mysteries' "swinging Twenties" setting successfully and with a fine eye for detail; and Francesca Annis and James Warwick give terriffic performances as the vivacious, hat-loving Tuppence and her (almost) equally witty, slightly more settled husband. Tommy and Tuppence's boisterous young assistant Alfred is portrayed by Reece Dinsdale (best known, since, as Guildenstern in Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet" and D.I. Scott in the mid-1990s British cop show "Thief Takers"); and there are recurrent appearances by British TV regular Arthur Cox as Detective Inspector Marriott, in the televised version chiefly responsible for establishing the couple as owners of Blunt's International Detective Agency (in the books, the agency is a cover for the Beresfords' spy activities), who informally continues to consult them whenever he feels that Scotland Yard's official capacities have reached their limits. "The Secret Adversary" sees Tommy and Tuppence after the end of WWI, both out of work (Tommy has been an intelligence officer, Tuppence a nurse) and looking for adventure. That opportunity presents itself when, as a result of two newspaper ads, they are sent on the hunt for a lost treaty which, if published now, would cause a general strike and throw the country into turmoil, thus playing into the hands of a mysterious criminal known only as "Mr. Brown," and set on nothing less than the attainment of absolute power. The key to the treaty is believed to lie with a young American woman named Jane Finn, who has likewise disappeared and whose cousin Julius P. Hersheimer (or is he really?), Tommy and Tuppence learn, is "the third richest man in America." - Further notable appearances here include those of Alec McCowen (influential barrister Sir James Peele Edgerton), Gavan O'Herlihy (Hersheimer), Peter Barkworth (intelligence chief Carter) and Honor Blackman, as well as George Baker of "Inspector Wexford" fame, as members of "Mr. Brown"'s gang. The shorter "Partners in Crime" mysteries have Tommy and Tuppence hunting for a vanished perl and uncovering, in turn, the mastermind behind a string of poisonings (drawing on Christie's trademark knowledge acquired when she was a nurse in WWI herself), the culprit of a murder during a masked ball, and the evil spirits responsible for a series of seemingly unearthly occurrences in an old house (again drawing on Christie's own experience, as the sleuthing couple's client is compelled - like Christie's mother periodically - to rent out rooms in her large house as a means of survival). The common trait of these mysteries is Tommy and Tuppence's repeated assumption of the roles of famous literary detectives; most obviously by attending the aforementioned masked ball disguised as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. While not quite on the level of Christie's more famous mysteries and their recent TV adaptations, this series is an enjoyable romp through the the swinging 1920s' London. And who knows - maybe 20+ years after its initial airing we'll see a realization of one of Tommy and Tuppence's later adventures? Annis and Warwick might be about the right age for "N or M" now ... or even better, "By the Pricking of My Thumbs," which unlike the earlier mysteries easily stands up with the best of Christie's other works!
Rating: 
Summary: "Campy" or "Hammy" ?
Review: A mildly enjoyable BBC series which suffers from a cast that seems to "ham it up", as opposed to the marvelous interpretation of Christie's Hercule Poirot as provided by David Suchet.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, quirky, an example of lighter Christie
Review: Christie's second novel, The Secret Adversary (1922), offers the first appearance of Tommy Beresford and Prudence Cowley referred to as Tuppence. By the time we begin the first of their adventures, "The Affair of the Pink Pearl", they have married. The Beresfords, playful and quirky, belong among Christie's lighter mysteries. While she involves them in espionage with the feature film, The Secret Adversary, the one-hour mysteries which follow the rest of the set allow Christie to parody detective novelists who wrote in her day.
The episode, "The House of Lurking Death" provides the Beresfords with a traditional English country house mystery. Sinister and cold, the estate of Thurnley Grange houses any number of suspects who stand to gain a large fortune upon the death of a young woman.
In "Finessing the King", the Beresfords seek out answers to a mystery when Tuppence reads an advertisement in the Daily Leader. The ad takes them to a costume ball and an after party at a speakeasy where they stumble upon a murder.
The concluding episode to the set, "The Clergyman's Daughter", has the Beresfords investigating another mystery at a country estate which may be haunted. Unlike the whodunit, "The House of Lurking Death", the "Clergyman's Daughter" focuses on a treasure hunt while greedy villains remain nearby with the hopes of collecting for themselves.
Mystery fans in search of something more complex and substantial may enjoy The Secret Adversary but the real charm in viewing these mysteries is in watching the relationship between Tommy and Tuppence, aptly played by Warwick and Annis.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy-going high jinks with a winning couple
Review: Good old Acorn Media, who has given us all those Wimsey and Poirot mysteries on tapes and DVDs, is now offering up the first set of <Tommy & Tuppence: Partners in Crime>. Here we have three tapes holding five episodes starring Francesca Annis and James Warwick as the young couple who decides to purchase a defunct detective agency and solve their crimes in the styles of popular fictional sleuths.
The first tape is dedicated to "The Secret Adversary," a full-length tale of espionage rather than crime. This was Agatha Christie's second novel (the first being the first of the Poirots) and was written to get some quick cash for keeping up her family home. Here they meet again after some years apart, fall in love, and become a team for the fun of it. The décor, as with the other mystery series, is immaculately period (around World War I); and the big feature of this series are the fetching and far-fetched outfits Tuppence dons by way of "disguise."
While this team was to last up to 1973 when their last novel appeared, this series emphasizes their youthful adventures and stands in good contrast to the Poirot and Marple sets available from Acorn Media and from A&E. Annis' antics are a delight--although in one episode (not yet released) she is made to look ridiculous--but Warwick turns out to be somewhat of a dull potato by contrast. Perhaps that was intentional. Who can tell?
The stories are light and quite enjoyable. "The Affair of the Pink Pearl" is their first official case as professional detectives. "The House of Lurking Death" concerns death by poisoning and the question of who the intended victim really is. "Finessing the King" centers around a costumed ball with a solution that telegraphs itself far too early; while "The Clergyman's Daughter" borrows the idea of a word game from the Holmes tale "The Musgrave Ritual" and bears a strong resemblance to "Gaslight."
Again, if this series suffers at all, it is only in contrast to the more serious doings in the Wimsey, Poirot and Marple tales. However, on its own merits, "Partners in Crime" certainly deserves a top rating.
Rating:
Summary: Lighthearted And Delightfully Charming Adventures
Review: I had never read any books by Agatha Christie, but I was familiar with two of her famous sleuths, Poirot and Miss Marple, mostly through their televised adventures. But they really didn't appeal to me too much. Then I discovered Tommy & Tuppence, and I was just in love. the reason I love this series is because the characters AREN"T Poirot or Miss Marple. The concept intrigued me, the lighthearted adventures of a husband and wife detective team. The show is amazing, it's funny, witty, thrilling, and absolutely charming. Francesca Annis is simply divine as Tuppence, and James Warwick is simply suave as Tommy. Both have a tendency of hiding their brilliant minds beneath an aura of frivolity and from a sense that maybe they're not entirely sure what they're doing or how to get out of their situation. The flirtatious wit and charm and chemistry between the main characters is a delight, as is how they employ their skills to unravelling the various mysteries that land on their doorstep. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Good Entertainment but Disappointing
Review: I recently bought the DVD's after reading the 5 Tommy & Tuppence books this summer, so that I could remember the characters. Those of you, like myself, who loved the books may be rather disappointed. Don't get me wrong, these are good entertainment and present the first two Tommy & Tuppence novels quite acceptably. Certainly the actors are good at their craft, but honestly they aren't really like the characters Agatha Christie portrayed in her books. Maybe the actual characters don't make the transfer to this medium very well, I don't know. It was like the producers picked the most well known actor/actress, without really using the books to match the characters' personalities or appearances for that matter. In the first book, The Secret Adversary, Tommy & Tuppence were in their early 20's, but the actors were at least 40, more appropriate for the later novels. Also, "Old Carrot Top"(Tommy) who was even called this by the Beresford twins in later books, has jet black hair. Tommy is a bit too stiff and Tuppence is rather silly and is obsessed with hats, which I found rather distracting. Also, although the main details are intact, small details were sometimes changed which is rather annoying for those who know the stories well. For example at the beginning of the Secret Adversary, Tommy tells Tuppence he has heard the name Jane Finn, whereas in the book Tuppence overhears it herself.
On top of it all the sound is very poor for some of the episodes, and I can't play them on my vcr-dvd combo machine. The other machines are fine, but I have to turn up the volume.
These will be enjoyable for those who are not overly familiar with the actual novels, but could be a disappointment for those who know the books quite well. I plan to give mine away to the public library as they just aren't the Tommy and Tuppence "I know".
Rating:
Summary: I LOVE TOMMY & TUPPENCE!!!
Review: I searched for this program for a couple of years and was so excited that it finally became available on amazon! I hope the rest of the episodes will also be released since there are only five of them in this set (I believe there are 11 total?). I used to watch this show with my mother when it was on PBS Mystery! in the eighties. It is worth watching just for the aesthetics. Francesca Annis is so beautiful and really carries the fashions of the time period (post WWI) well. If you like Hercule Poirot, and on a related note if you like House of Eliott (which is not a mystery but is set in the 1920's), you'll like Partners In Crime.
Rating: 
Summary: DVD Sound is Terrible
Review: Purchased the "Tommy & Tuppence: Set 1" as a gift. Picture quality was wonderful on all episodes and the sound quality on "The Secret Adversary" was likewise. However, the sound on the shorter episodes was non-existent. I contacted Acorn Media and they said that the master from the original production was in "mono", therefore not of high quality. Acorn Media suggested I change the television setting from stereo to mono to improve the sound quality. It didn't. Only turning the television volume up as high as it can go, are you able to hear any dialog. However, by doing this, you also hear an irritating "HISS" throughout the program, which is nearly as loud as the dialog/music. Forget it.
I am going to return the DVD and get the VHS, to see if it's any better.
Rating:
Summary: Great Content, Awful Presentation
Review: The stories are wonderful. The acting is cute and campy in a very good sense. Unfortunately, the DVD encoding leaves a lot to be desired. The main problem is that the 2 channel surround shunts all sound to the rear speakers (except for the first episode which is encoded properly). If you cannot turn off the surround sound on your system, this will become annoying quickly! It is very much worth purchasing, but be aware of the sound problems.
Rating:
Summary: Great Content, Awful Presentation
Review: The stories are wonderful. The acting is cute and campy in a very good sense. Unfortunately, the DVD encoding leaves a lot to be desired. The main problem is that the 2 channel surround shunts all sound to the rear speakers (except for the first episode which is encoded properly). If you cannot turn off the surround sound on your system, this will become annoying quickly! It is very much worth purchasing, but be aware of the sound problems.
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