Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable--if
anything is excellent or praiseworthy--
think about such things.
Philippians 4:8
There is precious little on television these days that would fit into any of the categories laid out by Paul in our verse from Philippians. My favorite show on TV is NCIS (mostly because they do not show the actual crime, just the results and then the excellent field work), and I love Downton Abbey (which is full of all types of naughty goings-on that are neither lovely nor pure). I like to watch Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, but once in a while I want to see a really good sleuth, and I find that the cleaner ones are usually on PBS.
I love Masterpiece Mystery, specifically Inspector Lewis and his sidekick, Sergeant Hathaway. But my current favorite is an Italian series with English subtitles, entitled Don Matteo. The series stars Terrence Hill (born Mario Girotti) as a parish priest with a spectacular talent for investigating crimes. He is a constant thorn in the side of Marshall Cecchini and Capitan Anceschi from the start of every investigation. Father Matteo is a unique character as a sleuth, for his insights are due as much to his instincts as to his faith in God. He is a wily crimefighter as well as a figure of forgiveness and redemption. He fights to obtain justice but cannot turn away from a soul. Even though I don't understand a word of Italian and have to get my plot lines from the subtitles, Father Matteo's face tells as much of the story as the printed word. He is insightful, thoughtful, and really cares about people, and that is a rare commodity in the world of TV characters today.
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