The Killing on BBC4

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

poorly publicised but i was hooked last night:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/jan/21/the-killing-bbc-police-drama-women

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search?q=The%20Killing

[Globaltruth]

poorly publicised but i was hooked last night:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/jan/21/the-killing-bbc-police-drama-women

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search?q=The%20Killing

We're just debating whether to persevere with it.

Twin-Peaksian in approach, with so many sub-plots and a fair old bit of repetition (for example, her sidekick Meyer can be relied on to mess up every single encounter with monotonous regularity) and I'm beginning to overdose on meaningful looks indicating another bit of plot to unravel. The use of 'real time' is beginning to pall too - but then hardly surprising given the plethora of '90 minute to complete your story arc' dramas?
Having said all that, there is a quality about Nordic drama which strikes a chord...gloomy, bad weather, unglamorous, depressing, stark, brutal. I can't for the life of me think why it does..

I'm also mystified at what happened to poor old Wallender - he seems to have had a whole body transplant. I think we should be warned in advance...

[Uncle Monty]

Yes, I think it's well worth persevering with. There's bound to be a slightly soapy element in a 20-hour drama (even the peerless Edgar Reitz Heimat trilogy had a bit of that), but at this stage we can't be sure what's merely narrative padding and what may turn out to be absolutely central.

A few too many reaction shots perhaps (we now know who was the mole in the politician's office, and it's pretty clear the dead girl's mother is going to do something awful before long), but film directors can't seem to help themselves on that. They always assume we're too thick to take in the nuances

The only really distressing thing for me is that Lund's rough-trade sidekick bears a distinct resemblance to Charles Hazlewood

[kernelbogey]

Thanks, Calum, for the tip-off. Just watched the first episode on iPlayer. Think it looks good.

Uncle M - please don't give away crucial info to those of us still catching up!

[Globaltruth]

Thanks, Calum, for the tip-off. Just watched the first episode on iPlayer. Think it looks good.

Uncle M - please don't give away crucial info to those of us still catching up!

Best not mention the flying monkeys, the crystal astrolabe and the outrageous incident with the Giant Rat of Sumatra then...

[aeolium]

I've enjoyed what I've seen - the plot seems quite complicated and there are a few interesting characters. There does seem to be a fair bit of padding, and I didn't like the excessive focus on the parents' grief which seemed almost voyeuristic. On the other hand it's a welcome contrast with Wallander, who almost seems to be an anti-detective in that he relies solely on hunches and instinct (which often prove to be wrong) - as if someone wanted to create the exact opposite of Sherlock Holmes. And the Swedish countryside was so depressing that I'm surprised the Swedish Tourist Board allowed the series to be sold overseas

[PatrickOD]

Must have a dekko at this.
Just read my first Wallander after resisting for years. What a drip!
Enjoyed Stieg Larsson - what a dame!
The Europeans are IN it seems. I have an Italian - Donato Carrisi, The Whisperer, and another Swedish thriller - Jo Nesbo, The Leopard, to read, and I'm picking up traces of other European writers cashing in.
The Americans are best at this genre, do you think? I'm looking forward to starting James Ellroy's Blood's A Rover, completing his trilogy of the US Underworld. And his LA Quartet has many a dissonant note.

[kernelbogey]

I recommend Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti thrillers set in Venice; and Andrea Camilleri's Commissario Montalbano series, set in Sicily. Both are elegant portraits of police work, Italian life and food.

Just watched the first four episodes of The Killing. I thought the parents' grief realistic, and the whole thing has a human touch so often absent in the genre. People being pulled this way and that by unexpected events... that's life!

[Angle]

I, too, have just watched the first four episodes, finding it atmospheric and tense but with perhaps rather too many threads. Will they all link eventually? Do we really have to wait another seven weeks before the criminal is uncovered? If so, I am not sure that I shall be able to find the time to see them all.

I am surprised that no-one has commented on how green Denmark clearly is: hardly one indoor scene is well illuminated. Not one room, except in police headquarters, is lit by anything other than the occasional table lamp and sometimes by nothing more than feint light from a remote window. It's all a bit of a strain on my eyes.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

well last night's two instalments kept me glued; each plot element spirals into complexities ..... the tension between Lund and Meyer is stunning and says volumes about the life in bureaucracies full of brusque Meyers and suffering Lunds .... the bereaved mother and father are acted incredibly well, you could see the explosion coming in Theis over the four hours before the end of the instalment ... only the politics rings a tad clichéd but may still be the way it is ....

[DracoM]

Just watch out for Hartmann's PA. Looks a bit slippery to me.

[ostuni]

Just watch out for Hartmann's PA. Looks a bit slippery to me.

Agreed! What's the betting on Lund & Hartmann getting together by the end?

[antongould]

I must own up to being well and truly hooked IMHO the acting is of a very high standard.

[Uncle Monty]

I do actually know who done it. . .

(A friend in Australia who's seen it was "kind" enough to tell me )

A tenner from each of you will secure my silence :cool2:

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

... and if you do spill the beans Uncle Monty your genial presence will not prevent your entering the North Sea wearing concrete boots!

ah the plot twists, we must be due at least another half dozen ..... the Bengt Lund is coming centre stage, an interesting exploration of the love me for myself dilemma [love me/love my absence] .... bit of a cheat that we are told 8 episodes in that he is a criminal psychologist [most psychologists do have psychopathic tendencies] and a source of new insights .. i.e plot twists ....

unmissable