She trained Gladys, don't you see, and feels responsible for the poor girl, who has no other family. In the way of these novels, Miss Marple is quickly ensconced in the house, endears herself to the local inspector (Matthew Macfadyen) and is thus made privy to the entire investigation.
The acting is, of course, marvelous. As the prodigal son Lance, Rupert Graves is handsome and human, and Macfadyen, who was Mr. Darcy to Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Bennet in "Pride & Prejudice," provides a perfect stoic recipient of Miss Marple's shocking revelations. McKenzie is delightful to watch, if a bit direct for the purist; her most Marple-like feature is her piercing blue eyes, which she uses to great effect. A bit more disappointing is the loss of the main theme of the Marple mysteries -- that nothing happens in the halls of power that doesn't also happen, one way or another, in the smallest village.
Miss Marple solved most of her mysteries by drawing upon experiences she had with grocers who drank or clergymen who stole or maids who succumbed to the local heir. But none of that is in evidence here, which may cause an aficionado to feel something is missing.
Also, it must be noted that as there were so few Miss Marple mysteries, screenwriters have a history of sticking the old lady into other Christie stories. Here, in the fourth installment, "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?," the original non-Miss Marple story has been mangled beyond recognition, and Miss Marple takes on characteristics more appropriate to the satire "Murder by Death" than an actual Christie. But Natalie Dormer, fresh off her stint as Anne Boleyn on "The Tudors," costars, and if you pretend you've never read the book, you may enjoy it anyway.
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mary.mcnamara@latimes.com
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'Masterpiece Mystery!: Miss Marple'
Where: KCET
When: 9 p.m. Sunday
Rating: TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children)
