I really don't like to admit this, but CURTAIN has to be one of the weakest entries in the entire Poirot canon. Hettie Macdonald's production sets up an intriguing situation, but the resolution is weak in the extreme, with the surprise plot-twist involving Poirot himself seeming particularly implausible. I realize that this is probably in the source-text, and that screenwriter Kevin Elyot was trying to make the best of a weakly plotted book, but for me the episode simply did not work in televisual terms. On the other hand there were incidental pleasures; it was nice to see Hugh Fraser returning as Hastings, the eternal innocent unable to see what was distinctly in front of him, supported by a clutch of memorable cameos from Aidan McArdle, Helen Baxendale and Anne Reid as a particularly sour-faced old woman. The lighting was appropriately shadowy, making every character in the episode seem suspicious. Towering above everything was David Suchet's masterly performance as Poirot - as the detective taking his last bow on the stage, he was both clear-eyed yet moving as he realized that he no longer possessed the physical capacities to solve any more cases. He has been easily one of the best - if not the best - Christie characterization in any media adaptation of her work.