Clémence Berg

In Rendez-vous avez la mort, the France Télévisions adaptation of the novel Appointment with Death, Clémence Berg is the parallel of Mrs Boynton from the original novel. She is the elder sister of Ernest Tricard and the tyrannical and very unpleasant invalided matriarch of the Berg family.

Her characterisation is very similar to Mrs Boynton, Madame Berg was also a former prison wardress. In this case, she worked at the juvenile prison at Belle-Île-en-Mer. Thereafter, she married the governor of the prison and followed him to French Guiana when her husband was posted to take charge of the French prison system in Cayenne. She only came back to France for the funeral of her mother. Like Mrs Boynton, she terrorised all the people around her: Philippe, her eldest son, married to Caroline, Louis and the eleven year old Suzanne. She also bullied and mistreated her maid, Mélie Lacour. When Mélie was later found strangled, Madame Berg had no sympathy at all. Mélie was a thief because she was wearing her employer's clothes and jewellery. All Madame Berg was interested in was recovering her possessions.

While in France, Madame Berg was introduced to Tricard's friend, Raoul Neuville, an examining magistrate who aspires to be the next mayor of Lille. She recognised Raoul as a former inmate of her juvenile prison and like Mrs Boynton, summoned him, intending to have sport with him. The only difference is in the manner of her death. Neuville, in agitation, picked up a rock to strike her. Madame Berg, who had a heart condition, suffered a cardiac attack and died. Neuville nonetheless continued striking her with the rock to make sure.

Madame Berg is involved in a number of sideplots. After the death of her maid Mélie, Alice Avril is sent in as a replacement in order to act as a bodyguard and also to learn more about the family. She doesn't succeed in this mission and only manages to learn that the entire family is creepy and weird. However, like Mrs Boynton, Madame Berg kept copious records of all her past dealings. By going through there with the help of Suzanne Berg, Alice was able to discover the link and explanation for why she was killed. In another sideplot, Madame Berg develops a liking for commissaire Laurence. At one point she even arranges the delivery of a box of chocolates with a fake card bearing Laurence's name on it. She injects poison into the chocolates and then proceeds to poison herself. She is saved by the timely intervention of Laurence and Glissant. In the process, she revealed that her wheelchair bound state was just a fake and that she could actually walk quite well. Her purpose for poisoning herself was not revealed.