N or M?: Part 3 

Tommy and Tuppence have to come up with their most ambitious and risky plan yet in order to protect the lives of British citizens.

Director:

Edward Hall

Writer:

Claire Wilson

Stars:

Jessica Raine, Matthew Steer, David Walliams

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Jessica Raine	...	Tuppence Beresford
Matthew Steer	...	Albert
David Walliams	...	Tommy Beresford
Roy Marsden	...	Commander Haydock
Danny Lee Wynter	...	Gilbert Worthing
James Fleet	...	Carter
Aoife McMahon	...	Sheila Perenna
Pinar Ögün	...	Veronika Urbanowicz
Ed Speleers	...	Carl Denim
Christina Cole	...	Mrs Sprot
Hannah Waddingham	...	Blonde Assassin

Storyline

Attacked in the underground tunnel by his prime suspect, Tommy escapes and is rescued by an apparently friendly face, who imprisons Tommy along with the missing scientist Gilbert Worthing. Tuppence follows her own line of inquiry, collecting two unexpected allies to help her release the captives. However they still have to identify and outwit N, who possesses the means to trigger off the bomb unless their demands are met, and this leads to a confrontation which is literally the end of the pier show.

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Plot Keywords:

pier | reference to albert einstein | fall to death | theatre | blackmail | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 August 2015 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Chatham Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Endor Productions, Agatha Christie Productions, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

54 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

User Reviews

N or M: Solid enough for a Sunday night, but seems designed by committee rather than having a real spark of its own

This second part of the Partners in Crime series should have had an easier job; the characters are introduced, they are setup in their crime-investigating roles, and the tone is set. To a point this is true of the second lot of episodes and there is a more relaxed tone to them as a result. The third episode gets a lot darker and more urgent quite suddenly, and while the narrative does sort of need it, it is also a reminder that this series is not really comfortable with what it is trying to do. There seems to be a lot of people involved in making it this way, and it does feel like a series designed by a committee, knowing it has the pressure of the Christie brand, and the successful Sunday night shows on BBC and ITV that have gone before it in the same way.

The pressure of this means it does seem to jump around quite a lot, and doesn't settle particularly well. The second serial also shares a pacing issue with the first – in that it really didn't feel like it justified three hours to be told. This is not to say it drags or is padded too obviously, but for sure there is a sense that it is in no great rush to get things done – so if there is a chance for a bit of a chase sequence, then that is what we're going to get whether it adds a lot or not. The cast also seem a bit out of sorts. Not so much Raine, who is pretty decent, but Walliams never is really settled into how to play someone brave but yet bumbling, smart but yet stumbling – in the end he just flits between what the scene requires, and never sells us his character. Not sure where the fault lies, but the bigger damage of the cast is that Raine and Walliams really do not have any chemistry at all – there is no spark between them, which means the fun and adventure that we should feel drawn into by virtue of them as a couple, really doesn't happen.

All told, this did the job for a Sunday night and was easy viewing with high production values and enough about it to distract and entertain. It did feel longer than it needed to be, and it never really settled into doing what it wanted to do in a relaxed and precise manner; the casting didn't help as the lead two don't spark as they should, and Walliams in particular just seems ill at ease throughout.