I don't go to the movies, but this would be one movie you would not be able to keep me away from, or my husband (who incidentally keeps bugging me as to when there will be another Barbara Paul book out) I think it stinks that they ended the Marian Larch series. I loved those books, as did my husband.

Pierce Brosnan as Holland - definitely!! Swoooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

My wife says Debra Winger should play Marian.

Debra Winger, yeah. Good idea. Pierce Brosnan, I don't know. He's not quite right. (Which is to say he doesn't ring my bell!)

Gary Oldman, maybe? Or David Straithairn.

Barbara, you've been quiet about expressing a preference. She's your character -- can you see any of these suggested actresses as Marian?

Yes, I can. Lindsay Crouse would be my first choice. I like Lindsay Crouse; I like her a lot. But even in her "plain" mode, she's a little more elegant than I think Marian should be. Nevertheless, she has the authority and the presence a police lieutenant should have, and she'd make an excellent Marian.

My second choices would be Debra Winger and Martha Plimpton. Winger is too pretty and Plimpton too thin, and neither has that built-in authority that Crouse possesses; but as far as acting is concerned, either one of them could carry it off.

Holland is a different matter. I admit that now I have trouble seeing anyone other than Paul Darrow in the role -- but the Paul Darrow of 1970. I don't know any current actor in the right age range with the right qualities: British, acerbic, and immensely attractive. I suppose Pierce Brosnan comes closest, but he's a lightweight; someone with "stage weight" is needed, like Patrick McGoohan in his forties. I just can't think of anyone.

I can think of someone who fits - but I guess I'm too old, Barbara . But surely Holland isn't British? OK, Paul Darrow is, but I don't recall any suggestion in the books that Holland is anything other than an American.

Some miscellaneous suggestions, if you're serious about "British" (including Irish): Jude Law? Rufus Sewell? Dylan Moran? Nathaniel Parker? Steven Mackintosh? David Morrissey? Mark Rylance? Gabriel Byrne? John Hannah?

British by birth; who knows what he is now? In one of the books I had Holland say he was born in London, but I didn't make anything out of it. Just a statement.

Of the actors you list, the only one I'm familiar with is Gabriel Byrne.

I've been trying to visualize Gabriel Byrne as Holland and it just isn't working. Too soulful. Not snippy enough. Something.

Not sexy enough.

Paul Darrow circa 1970? He was 29 in 1970, and I "see" Holland as older than that. i.e. about the same age as Paul Darrow when he was playing Avon ten years later...

I picked up from the books that Holland is British, but then I came to the books because I'd been told that I should go read about this Avon avatar, and that's influenced my view of Holland right from the start.

Irritatingly, I can think of a couple of British actors who might suit, but I've completely blanked on their names. Can see and hear them, but not remember who they are. Unfortunately most of the ones I'd like and whose names I *can* remember are probably too old by now.