The light-hearted crime-fighting team of Tommy and Tuppence Beresford was created by Agatha Christie, perhaps as a counterweight to the graver Hercules Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries. Christie's grandson has said that her grandmother meant the Tommy and Tuppence stories as somewhat autobiographical , reflecting her happy life as the wife of Col. Christie, her first husband.
These two cheerful detectives are as smart as the other Christie 'tecs, but with a youthful flair that sets them apart.
As played by James Warwick and Francesca Annis, they might remind you of Nick and Nora Charles from "The Thin Man" series --- they have some of the same dash and wit, even if in a different setting. In 1983's "The Affair of the Pink Pearl", one of the British TV "Partners in Crime" series based on Tommy and Tuppence's adventures, they solve a cute little puzzle, while having a little fun.
It's all very light and well-done. The two stars are able farceurs and can keep up with each other in the rapid-fire dialogue. (Francesca Annis is perhaps too beautiful for the part – her looks steal every scene she's in.)
A little bit of TV history. One of the roles is played – and very well indeed -- by the British actress Lynda La Plante, who went on to greater fame as the writer of the remarkable "Prime Suspect" series, which starred Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, detective extraordinaire.