Do you have proof it originally aired as the first episode of the third series?

I can see that ITV currently starts the third season with The Mysterious Affair at Styles (this match the Acorn DVD):

https://www.itvstudios.com/catalogue/251
https://www.itv.com/hub/agatha-christies-poirot/L0830

But as another mod pointed out in an older report, "How Does Your Garden Grow" previously was episode 3x01: https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/agatha-christie-s-poirot/series-3/episode-1-how-does-your-garden-grow At least some newspapers have the same season break, but not enough to be certain.

According to Wikipedia and IMDB The Mysterious Affair at Styles (2x10) should be S03E01. Also It would appear that S02E01 is in two parts - At least it is offered that way on Youtube, both with the full introduction. So it was not split by the uploader, but this is listed as only 1 part on both Wikipedia and IMDB but it is noted as being an extended episode. Perhaps in some regions it was released as two parts??

I add to my previous post that Amazon report the following as Season2:

1. Peril at End House (Part 1)
2. Peril at End House (Part 2)
3. The Veiled Lady
4. The Lost Mine
5. The Cornish Mystery
6. The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
7. Double Sin
8. The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
9. The Kidnapped Prime Minister
10. The Adventure of the Western Star

We list the series based on the first initial broadcast, not the way they are listed now.

So, do you have a proof describing the first broadcast of the series ?

No. That makes scrapping difficult, but I guess you have to make a line in the sand somewhere. Thanks.

We (the rest of the world accessing TMDB) would appreciate anyone having the capability to correct entries for seasons 2 & 3 to please do so. Is someone making a case that 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles' didn't air in season 3 as listed elsewhere? (Amazon, Wikipedia, IMDB, agathachristie.fandom.com, etc., etc., ...) An air date does not define a season, the producers do. "The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first episode of the third series of Agatha Christie's Poirot. It was broadcast on 16 September 1990." Why is this even a discussion?

They should be: Agatha Christie's Poirot S02E01 (1990) - Peril at End House (pt.1) Agatha Christie's Poirot S02E02 (1990) - Peril at End House (pt.2) Agatha Christie's Poirot S02E03 (1990) - The Veiled Lady Agatha Christie's Poirot S02E04 (1990) - The Lost Mine Agatha Christie's Poirot S02E05 (1990) - The Cornish Mystery Agatha Christie's Poirot S02E06 (1990) - The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim Agatha Christie's Poirot S02E07 (1990) - Double Sin Agatha Christie's Poirot S02E08 (1990) - The Adventure of the Cheap Flat Agatha Christie's Poirot S02E09 (1990) - The Kidnapped Prime Minister Agatha Christie's Poirot S02E10 (1990) - The Adventure of the Western Star

Agatha Christie's Poirot S03E01 (1990) - The Mysterious Affair at Styles Agatha Christie's Poirot S03E02 (1991) - How Does Your Garden Grow? Agatha Christie's Poirot S03E03 (1991) - The Million Dollar Bond Robbery Agatha Christie's Poirot S03E04 (1991) - The Plymouth Express Agatha Christie's Poirot S03E05 (1991) - Wasps' Nest Agatha Christie's Poirot S03E06 (1991) - The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor Agatha Christie's Poirot S03E07 (1991) - The Double Clue Agatha Christie's Poirot S03E08 (1991) - The Mystery of the Spanish Chest Agatha Christie's Poirot S03E09 (1991) - The Theft of the Royal Ruby Agatha Christie's Poirot S03E10 (1991) - The Affair at the Victory Ball Agatha Christie's Poirot S03E11 (1991) - The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge

" Poirot S03E01 (1990) - The Mysterious Affair at Styles " I have the DVD for season 3 and I can verify that episode 1 is indeed "The Mysterious Affair at Styles " Image of DVD View Here

I would be nice to get this updated..

As indicated above, our listing are based on the original TV broadcast, not on the content of the current DVD.

If you want them listed in the order of your current disc, you need to use this episode group.

Oh, so it was originally the last episode of Season 2... Yikes.. what a mess!

Firstly, as has been repeatedly stated a few times by a mod, (primary) listings are based on original TV broadcasts so Peril at End House should be two parts as clearly explained/evidenced by multiple users already.

(For those whose releases amalgamate them into a single episode, Kodi users at least can use a filename containing "S02E01_S02E02".)

Secondly, as to whether The Mysterious Affair at Styles is end of series 2 or start of series 3, that it was broadcast between series possibly more as a special (but for the love of god please don't classify it as a special) may make it troublesome to some pedantic users given no clear historical evidence but as everyone else in the world - DVD and bluray releases, IMDB, TVDB, wikipedia, and specifically the original broadcaster ITV - except TMDB classify it as first episode of series 3. Could we please match them.

@Reiver said:

Firstly, as has been repeatedly stated a few times by a mod, (primary) listings are based on original TV broadcasts so Peril at End House should be two parts as clearly explained/evidenced by multiple users already.

(For those whose releases amalgamate them into a single episode, Kodi users at least can use a filename containing "S02E01_S02E02".)

As visible on this newspaper page from the day of the broadcast, "Peril at End House" was originally broadcasted in one single part.

Secondly, as to whether The Mysterious Affair at Styles is end of series 2 or start of series 3, that it was broadcast between series possibly more as a special (but for the love of god please don't classify it as a special) may make it troublesome to some pedantic users given no clear historical evidence but as everyone else in the world - DVD and bluray releases, IMDB, TVDB, wikipedia, and specifically the original broadcaster ITV - except TMDB classify it as first episode of series 3. Could we please match them.

As already indicated above and in other reports, most of the newspapers of the time of the broadcast indicate that "How Does Your Garden Grow?" is the start of a new series, for example this one and this one.

So, we need an absolute proof from the time of the original broadcast to do a change here.

@superboy97 said: As visible on this newspaper page from the day of the broadcast, "Peril at End House" was originally broadcasted in one single part.

It may have been advertised on that regional newspaper as one episode but as someone who actually watched it in 1990 it was very much broadcast as two separate parts consecutively on the night.

@superboy97 said: So, we need an absolute proof from the time of the original broadcast to do a change here.

Conversely, we need an absolute proof from the time of the original broadcast that it was not! The minimal examples given so far are regional newspapers are not exactly authoritative. TMDB is, in the words of Andy Dufresne, being obtuse when everyone else in the world has consensus that it is first episode of series 3.

To further support that The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first episode of series 3, the Agatha Christie Limited company as setup by Agatha Christie herself previously documented (archive.org link due to website changes) that;

"The Mysterious Affair at Styles was Agatha Christie’s debut novel, published back in 1920. It was adapted for TV as a tribute for Agatha Christie’s centenary year in 1990 and also to mark the beginning of season 3 of the series."

I sent an email to ITV (itvihelp@itv.com) inquiring about which season "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" originally aired in, and the response I received confirmed that it belongs to the third season. ITV suggested that the error in categorization might be due to the fact that "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" originally aired in the same year as Season 2, which could have led to the incorrect classification.

Now, the web archive of the Agatha Christie Limited company (provided by @Reiver) and ITV, which originally aired the series, both indicate that "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" belongs to Season 3. It is time to correct this error.

Here are the original texts of my email and the response, with names replaced by "NAME":

Dear ITV Team,

I hope this message finds you well.

I am a dedicated fan of Agatha Christie's Poirot series, and I have recently encountered some confusion regarding the episode "The Mysterious Affair at Styles." While browsing different sources, I noticed that TMDB (The Movie Database) categorizes this episode as part of Season 3, whereas other websites list it under Season 2.

Could you please confirm which season "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" originally aired in? Your assistance in resolving this discrepancy would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time and help.

Best regards,

NAME

2024.08.21

Dear NAME,

Thank you for your email.

Regarding "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" the answer you are looking for is that it was part of season 3 as a feature length to celebrate the centenary of the author's birth, subsequently its year of release aligned with season 2 which may be the cause of some confusion, however it was definitely a part of season 3. I hope this helps!.

Kind regards,

NAME

ITV Customer & Viewer Services

After internal discussions, the episode has been moved to the start of the 3rd season.

We reserve the right to return it to the end of the 2nd season if we find more proofs from the time of the broadcast.