Reviews and More

The X-Files is one of my favorite television series of all time, so I was very excited to learn that FOX Home Entertainment will be releasing a Complete Collector’s Edition on Tuesday, November 6. This is a massive DVD box set containing 61 discs, and is definitely a must-have for true fans of the show. In addition to every single X-Files episode aired during its incredible 9-season run, the Collector’s Edition contains the full-length Fight the Future film, plus more than 9 hours of extra features, such as commentary, deleted scenes, character profiles, documentaries, games, and additional info about the mythology arcs.

I recently started watching Season 1 episodes of The X-Files just because I miss the show so much. Back when TXF was on the air, I thought Fox Mulder and Dana Scully were two of the best TV characters ever, and that opinion still holds true to this day. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson turned in consistently brilliant performances that I never get tired of watching. And of course, they had incredible chemistry, which makes it fun watching their relationship deepen and develop over all nine seasons.

I have to admit that I didn’t always understand the complexities of the various alien mythology arcs, so I think it would be great to see the special featurettes in the Collector’s Edition box set that focus on topics like abduction, colonization, the black oil, and super soldiers. I’m sure I would appreciate the whole series even more if I could actually understand all this stuff!

Obviously The X-Files Complete Collector’s Edition box set would make an awesome gift for devoted fans this holiday season, so keep this in mind if you know someone who loves the show. I’m going to put it on my list and hope that my husband decides to buy it for me.

Remember, the Complete Collector’s Edition will be released on November 6. Get your set early!!

I know that product placement in Hollywood movies and primetime television shows is a big moneymaker in the industry, but sometimes I get tired of seeing name-brand items being featured prominently every single time I turn on the TV or pop in a DVD.

For example, I remember watching Disturbia a couple months ago and thinking that it felt more like an extended commercial than anything else because not only did the characters use recognizable products, they also mentioned the products by name. That’s total overkill, in my opinion.

I mean, do viewers really need to know that a character prefers Prada loafers, Ethan Allen furniture, or Progress Lighting in order to enjoy the show? Of course not!

I don’t expect this trend to change anytime soon, but hopefully producers and directors (or whoever else is responsible for these choices) will scale back a bit.

After not being all that impressed with the last Christie book I read (Murder is Easy), I was looking forward to getting on track with the next title in my list, which happened to be Sad Cypress. This mystery featured Hercule Poirot, but I’d never even heard of this one before, so I didn’t get my expectations up too high here. I just wanted this book to be better than the last one. Fortunately, it was.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Sad Cypress represented a departure in format from the typical Christie novel. This one was told in three distinct parts, with flashbacks intertwined with current scenes.

The story begins in a courtroom, where we learn that a young woman named Elinor Carlisle is on trial for the murder of another young woman named Mary Gerrard, who was poisoned. We then get flashbacks to describe the circumstances leading up to Mary’s death.

It turns out that Elinor and her cousin Roddy (to whom she was engaged) stood to inherit a substantial fortune when their aunt Laura Welman, an elderly lady in failing health, died. There were no other relatives to speak of, so the inheritance was viewed as a sure thing.

But then Elinor receives an anonymous letter telling her that Mary Gerrard was busy worming her way into Mrs. Welman’s good graces, and that there was reason to believe Mrs. Welman might change her will to include Mary. Elinor and Roddy decide to go visit their aunt again to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Unfortunately, things don’t work out quite as expected. First of all, Roddy falls in live with Mary at first sight and decides to break off his engagement to Elinor. Second, Mrs. Welman dies even more suddenly than anyone expected, and didn’t have a chance to change her will before her time was up. She made Elinor promise to take care of Mary by giving her a substantial sum of money. And finally, of course, Mary winds up dead, and Elinor is [seemingly] the only one who had motive and opportunity to commit the crime. She’s arrested and brought to trial.

Things look bleak for Elinor until the county doctor, Peter Lord, gets Hercule Poirot involved. Dr. Lord is in love with Elinor and wants Poirot to prove her innocent, or, at the very least, to present the court with mitigating evidence that would save Elinor from the death penalty.

The second part of the novel then deals with Poirot’s investigation and questioning of all the people involved, while part three brings the reader back to the courtroom for the conclusion of the trial.

My Reaction: After positively hating Murder Is Easy, I was prepared to like almost anything that Christie could throw at me in this novel, and that’s precisely what happened. I thought the story was actually pretty good, and liked how we got to see the murder take place “on stage” so to speak, instead of occurring behind closed doors like it usually does in Christie’s works.

Elinor Carlisle was a sympathetic character, so it was easy for me to root for her. Of course there’s never a doubt about Poirot getting to the bottom of any mystery he’s presented with, so once I realized he was on the scene and was working to prove Elinor’s innocence, I was sure that her name would be cleared.

I have to admit that I didn’t figure out who the real murderer was before Poirot did. I got thrown off track very early on and didn’t pick up on all the clues that pointed to the actual killer.

Overall, I thought Sad Cypress was a pretty good read. It’s not the best Poirot title and is usually not even mentioned as one of Christie’s most famous works, but I think it’s worth a look anyway.