She had to keep a straight face in a show that had no idea whether it was a crime thriller, parody, steamy romance, sex farce, horror movie or slapstick comedy. But the budget wasn’t the worst problem facing Lyndsey Marshal, who played a young Agatha Christie. “Set on an archaeological dig in Mesopotamia during the Twenties, the walls wobbled in this bargain basement adventure, like a Miss Marple mystery at the Crossroads motel. Lyndsey Marshal stars as Agatha Christie and Jonah Hauer-King is Max Mallowan, the archaeologist vying for her affection. Because although this was a pale imitation of an Agatha Christie plot, what it lacked in unexpected twists and depth it made up for in nostalgic comfort-blanketry and good, clean murder.” Another enjoyable melding of fact and fiction. In its denouement, which you could see coming for quite some time, it simply proved what Christie fans know: the queen of crime is not easily emulated. “If you haven’t already watched Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar I’d recommend saving it to use as a little pick-me-up as and when required. It was a neat and jolly enough premise but sadly, the ideas were superior to their execution. The script’s swearing and more racy scenes - notably the Carry On-style antics of a sexually voracious ex-pat couple and Christie initiating congress in the catacombs (what would Miss Marple say?) - felt gratuitously crowbarred in to spice things up for contemporary audiences.” Stream Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar, watch trailers, see the cast, and more at TV Guide.
“This fictionalised tale played fast and loose with history. Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar, Channel 5
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