Seven out of ten simply because a muddled 'Masterpiece Mystery' still has redeeming features: a great ensemble cast, nice sets, and interesting camera angles. However, as our IMDb colleagues have noted, the story drags and the chemistry isn't there between Laurence Fox and Kevin Whately (as our inveterate DI Lewis). What makes these Brit mysteries work is the complexity of the lead character - not a plethora of sub-characters and possible suspects. In fact, that's what makes only two Hollywood TV 'Mysteries' somewhat compelling: 'House', and 'Lie to Me', both played by non-USA leads.
So, for this story, we need another element to make it a compelling character study: i.e. someone accuses Lewis of improprieties; an interesting romance develops and flops, because Lewis fails to pull the trigger (Inspector Frost made a franchise out of that one!); or an old nemesis shows up to make his life miserable. None of these are terribly original, but they add depth to the tale whilst we sort through the suspects.
One of our reviewers fingers Churchett (screenplay) as the culprit. I concur that this script is sub-par, and that his 'Marple' episodes left us wondering what the heck we were watching. So, BBC - get the message?
So, for this story, we need another element to make it a compelling character study: i.e. someone accuses Lewis of improprieties; an interesting romance develops and flops, because Lewis fails to pull the trigger (Inspector Frost made a franchise out of that one!); or an old nemesis shows up to make his life miserable. None of these are terribly original, but they add depth to the tale whilst we sort through the suspects.
One of our reviewers fingers Churchett (screenplay) as the culprit. I concur that this script is sub-par, and that his 'Marple' episodes left us wondering what the heck we were watching. So, BBC - get the message?
