Da Vinci's Demons (2013)/Death on the Nile (1978)

I just finished watching the first season of Da Vinci's Demons and it was very entertaining.  The premise is basically Sherlock Holmes in the 15th Century, but that shouldn't discourage you from watching it.

Leonardo Da Vinci (Tom Riley) is an extraordinary genius working for Lorenzo "the Magnificent" de Medici (Elliot Cowan).  He must help defend his beloved Florence from the incursions of Rome, keep Medici from finding out that he's having an affair with the man's mistress, Lucrezia (Laura Haddock), and also uncover the mystery surrounding the mysterious Sons of Mithras. 

He is a very busy man.

There are only 8 episodes with a huge cliffhanger at the end and season two doesn't start until 2014, so if you haven't started this one, you may want to wait until later in the year.

  I had previously seen Murder on the Orient Express from Netflix, so it recommended that I watch Death on the Nile.  It's just as star-studded and Peter Ustinov does a much better job as Poirot than Albert Finney.  He just nailed it.

Detective Poirot (Peter Ustinov) is taking a vacation through Egypt with a motley crew that includes heiress Linnet (Lois Chiles) who is on her honeymoon with her estate manager Simon (Simon MacCorkindale).  Unfortunately, no matter where the young couple go, they are followed by Simon's jilted lover Jackie (Mia Farrow).  There's also a crooked lawyer, a defamed doctor, and a libelous novelist to contend with, ensuring that everyone on the boat had a motive when Linnet ends up dead.  Poirot must use his considerable wit to discover the identity of the killer.

The real standouts here were Bette Davis and Maggie Smith as a contentious old lady and her bitter nurse.  Every exchange they had was comedy gold.  They had to have aged Angela Lansbury for this role because she looks ancient compared to Maggie Smith, even though they're less than a decade apart.