In the stylish BBC TV production “Zen,” the title character is no Buddhist but an Italian detective in a police force where his reputation for “scrupulous integrity” is not an asset. In the three episodes airing this month on PBS' “Masterpiece Mystery,” Zen must navigate between honesty and survival as well as the contending demands of powerful authority figures and the facts. Throw in some murders and car chases down the scenic streets of Rome (and Zen's swiftly moving, swiftly halting romance with the chief's gorgeous secretary) and the recipe for a witty, sexy thriller starts cooking.
Played by Rufus Sewell, Zen is a contemporary version of the outsider detective seeking justice in a corrupt world.his cynical pose masks his decency. He's something of a gentleman and also, like most believable heroes nowadays, a bit of a failure with an unhappy marriage behind him. He's living with his mother.
One odd thing about “Zen” and such other recent BBC productions as “Wallender,” with Kenneth Branagh as a Swedish homicide detective: many characters in this continental setting are unmistakably British in accent and attitude, while others actual seem to be local. It's an anomaly as old as Hollywood. Zen runs Sundays on MPTV's “Masterpiece Mystery,” 8 p.m., July 17-31,
