Masterpiece: Case Histories

<p> Jackson Brodie is a hardboiled private detective trying to improve his mind. While staking out an adultery case, waiting in his car to document mischief with a high-powered camera, he listens to a French language instruction CD. But when his wisecracking secretary calls, it\'s to tell him one of his clients, a dotty old lady, has lost her cat again. </p> <p>Brodie is the smart, unshowy but often put-upon protagonist of \"Case Histories,\" the latest British detective show to land in America via PBS Masterpiece Mystery. It stars Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies) as a detective who lost his wife and his job with the police force, but remains a devoted dad to his little daughter and a stalwart pursuer of truth, wherever the trail may lead. </p> <p>With his flinty perseverance and adherence to a code of values, Brodie is a contemporary British working class heir to Sam Spade, a man of rough integrity in a world where integrity is hard to find. If Brodie (or \"Case Histories\") has a problem, it\'s a tendency to take on too many cases at once. A more intense focus might result in a more compelling drama. </p> <p>8 p.m., Sundays Oct. 16-30 on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10.1 </p>