The adaptations were written by T. R. Bowen, Julia Jones, Alan Plater, Ken Taylor and Jill Hyem; and the series was produced by George Gallaccio.

In addition to its availability on VHS and DVD, the series began to be released on Blu-ray Disc in October 2014, marking its 30th anniversary.

Agatha Christie had never been very happy with most filmed adaptations of her works, and according to her grandson Mathew Prichard, who handled her estate after her death, she "did not care much for television", either.

Producer Pat Sandys of London Weekend Television first approached Prichard and the Christie estate with a researched, detailed plan to film the novels Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

Decades before, she had appeared in a minor role in Murder, She Said, in which Margaret Rutherford played Miss Marple and interestingly referred to Hickson's character as the younger generation.

They are the official detectives, and both (particularly Slack) originally dislike and are exasperated by Miss Marple, her interference and her methods, but they eventually come to respect (and indeed, in the case of Lake, like) her.

The first series consisted of four books adapted into ten episodes, each approximately 55–60 minutes in length and were broadcast between December 1984 and March 1985.

"A Caribbean Mystery" was shot on location at the Coral Reef Hotel in Barbados, where Christie had stayed in her visit to the country, and which had been the inspiration for the setting of the novel.

Owners Budge and Cynthia O'Hara, who still owned the hotel thirty years later, were the inspirations for the characters in the novel and were able to share a treasure trove of Christie memorabilia with the cast.

The series opening titles featured paintings by renowned illustrator Paul Birkbeck of seemingly pleasant village life, darkened by suspicious looking characters and the shot of a murder victim behind a cricket sight screen.

The colour drawing of the lady in her Manor House also includes a degree of animation, as the curtains she looks through gently billow in the wind.

Because the two episodes were filmed out of order, viewers of "Nemesis" are clueless as to what part Jason Rafiel played in Miss Marple's life until they watch "A Caribbean Mystery".

This takes place after the events of "The Body in the Library", which Miss Marple relates briefly when describing how she first came across Inspector Slack.

"A Caribbean Mystery" is set prior to this, in either 1951 (from the date on a library book) or 1952 (photographs of Queen Elizabeth II in the office of the Barbados administrator).

For episode two, "The Moving Finger", The Daily Telegraph stated "Once again Guy Slater's production is built around the brilliant performance of Joan Hickson, behind whose faded blue eyes and spinsterish sibilants, the wheels of detective intelligence can be seen positively whirring around.

Like many BBC programmes, production values are impeccable and costumes, houses and decor, cars, hairstyles and make-up could all be described as "sumptuous".

Miss Marple does not chase the villains herself as Margaret Rutherford does in her film series, nor are the titles of the books altered to make them more sensational.