The Case of the Discontented Soldier

In the first episode of this short-lived television format, "The Case of the Middle-Aged Woman", we met the character of Parker Pyne and he made sure a hurt and unhappy woman - whose husband fell for a young gold-digging secretary - found back her confidence and self-esteem via a convoluted but ingenious scheme. For you see, Pyne is an "arranger" and he puts ads in the local newspapers to attract people who are unhappy with their lives. He does it again here, in "The Case of the Discontented Soldier", and thinks up a whole mysterious plot to bring back action and excitement in the dull life of an early-retired military major. The best thing I could write about both these episodes is that, with a bit of imagination, they are some sort of forerunners of films like "Ocean's Eleven" and "Now You See Me". You know, puzzled stories in which every tiniest detail eventually turns out to be planned and part of a greater set-up. Films like these require a lot of suspension of disbelief, and so does this one, but in the capable hands of dame Agatha Christie they at least also contain a large portion of down-to-earth humor.