tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post6049617545559508828..comments2024-03-05T21:05:36.848-05:00Comments on CommentaramaFilms: TV Review: The Killing (2011- )AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-916502191071906252011-09-08T16:33:42.941-04:002011-09-08T16:33:42.941-04:00T-Rav, I can see where the one episode = one day t...T-Rav, I can see where the one episode = one day thing can work, and it may work here (I haven't seen the show and can't say for sure), but it's an artificial time constraint that is probably very hard to work around. I personally wouldn't want to tie myself to that formula if I were making a show. But I see the appeal.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-81489361567748873332011-09-08T15:15:15.488-04:002011-09-08T15:15:15.488-04:00P.S. Sorry for the lateness everyone, but I got de...P.S. Sorry for the lateness everyone, but I got delayed--first I was caught up in watching last night's debate, then my Internet connection went out and didn't get back up until this morning, by which point I had a class to go to. So this is really the first chance I've had to check back in.T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-59130810280057198102011-09-08T15:13:34.587-04:002011-09-08T15:13:34.587-04:00Andrew, see my reply to tryanmax.
For what you s...Andrew, see my reply to tryanmax. <br /><br />For what you specifically mentioned, this became evident in one of the later episodes, when Linden's son ran off and she and Holder spent the entire day looking for him. In some ways, this was a very moving episode and provided a lot of development for both of them. You really got to see where they were coming from emotionally, and they had a better understanding of each other at the end. Classic character-driven material.<br /><br />But the problem is, the Larsen case didn't just go away, and it's hard to believe they could have been allowed to just roam the city looking for him and not keep abreast of any leads. Despite being a good episode, this may have been best broken up and distributed over several episodes (and not involve her son, who was a pretty useless addition to the show).T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-56629689204487073822011-09-08T15:08:02.640-04:002011-09-08T15:08:02.640-04:00tryanmax, I'd recommend it. That sort of appro...tryanmax, I'd recommend it. That sort of approach has a lot to say for it. It may be why the Danish original was so popular. <br /><br />On the one episode=one day thing, that's a fair point. It does have some relevance to the storylines of the characters, in that it makes more sense for their personal and professional lives than would a case that stretched out for weeks and months, but it wasn't exactly vital. <br /><br />However, I think a larger problem was the need for a more obviously central character (or characters). Take my criticism of how the Larsen parents were handled. That wouldn't be such a big deal if you only saw a few minutes of them per episode, but their grief and how they dealt with it was one of the main subplots. So the fact that their characters didn't develop over the season became more evident, and more irritating. That's what really hurt the show, in my opinion.T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-20147185996891536082011-09-08T15:01:40.001-04:002011-09-08T15:01:40.001-04:00Koshcat, I liked it too. And I agree, the realism ...Koshcat, I liked it too. And I agree, the realism is refreshing. My only complaint about that is, you sometimes have to bend to the desires of the audience, and The Killing wasn't always good at doing that. <br /><br />I have no idea what you're talking about with CSI: Miami! ;-)<br /><br />(P.S. Thoughts on the season finale?)T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-19127739370148266632011-09-07T23:23:14.829-04:002011-09-07T23:23:14.829-04:00tryanmax, I had that same thought. While I see th...tryanmax, I had that same thought. While I see the appeal of doing one day per episode -- it feels like that would make a lot of sense -- it really probably doesn't work as a storytelling device because the days aren't always full of the exact same amount of plot. So it would artificially control your timeframe and force you to either move things around or waste time on slow days and rush through fast days.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-67508419538932277022011-09-07T23:20:34.563-04:002011-09-07T23:20:34.563-04:00Koshcat, It's funny how everyone Hollywood cas...Koshcat, It's funny how everyone Hollywood casts these days look like models isn't it?AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-38721588320288123262011-09-07T23:08:09.917-04:002011-09-07T23:08:09.917-04:00Sounds intriguing. I think I'll give it a look...Sounds intriguing. I think I'll give it a look. I generally like the type of drama series that take the entire season to tell one story. It's sort of like the novelization of television, if you ask me. <br /><br />Just from reading your review, I would suspect the character development problem stems almost entirely from the approach of using one episode to represent one day. Unless that approach has some central relationship to the story, it's just the writers locking themselves unnecessarily into a particular pace.tryanmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881154741574720094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-33279405266377763702011-09-07T18:18:45.927-04:002011-09-07T18:18:45.927-04:00Although the ending annoyed me, overall I liked it...Although the ending annoyed me, overall I liked it. Yes it was a little depressing at times, but a young girl was brutally murdered. The tone of the show fit the crime. I think they also tried to bring some realism into it by having red herrings. Detectives take the clues they get and investigate them, sometimes they lead to a dead end. Yes, sometimes a piece of would exonerate someone but occasionally they would get a piece of information that would bring that same person back as a suspect. <br /><br />I agree it wasn't edge of your seat kind of show, but it held my interest. I like the fact that some characters were developed slowly and got to know them well. And, there wasn't some perky, big boobed blond trying to convince us that she was legitimate (see CSI-Miami).Koshcatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-34448582674880380502011-09-07T16:11:27.665-04:002011-09-07T16:11:27.665-04:00T-Rav, Yeah, there are a bunch of critics who real...T-Rav, Yeah, there are a bunch of critics who really don't know what they are talking about and they are relying on their audiences not knowing better.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-65051123462326906902011-09-07T15:53:51.817-04:002011-09-07T15:53:51.817-04:00Andrew, there sure are a lot of idiots on the Inte...Andrew, there sure are a lot of idiots on the Internet. And a lot of them earn their bread and butter by getting other idiots to read their stuff. <br /><br />Maybe they need to eat their fiber, too. :-)T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-48489805343170074102011-09-07T14:56:57.305-04:002011-09-07T14:56:57.305-04:00T-Rav, I never trust the critics unless I know mor...T-Rav, I never trust the critics unless I know more about them. For example, most of the critics you see on a site like Rotten Tomatoes are idiots who just tell you if they liked something or not, but really don't have any great understanding or appreciation of film. So what's the point in reading their reviews unless you share their tastes?<br /><br />Others like Ebert, get blinded by the politics. So you have to learn to decipher his stuff.<br /><br />Random idiots on the net often are responding to what they heard rather than what they personally saw. And even then, they often didn't understand what they saw.<br /><br /><br />P.S. Angsty vampires come from not eating enough fiber.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-39870135397210322472011-09-07T14:46:47.310-04:002011-09-07T14:46:47.310-04:00LawHawk, okay we'll say 90 percent of the time...LawHawk, okay we'll say 90 percent of the time, it's raining with no sun. I wonder if that's why so many angsty vampires live over there? :-)T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-47580776004354197582011-09-07T14:44:51.449-04:002011-09-07T14:44:51.449-04:00Thanks, Ed. I agree, it wasn't gripping enough...Thanks, Ed. I agree, it wasn't gripping enough. Good, but not edge-of-your-seat good.<br /><br />As an aside, what many people don't know is that The Killing is based on a miniseries of the same name from Denmark (really, Denmark), where it was wildly popular; something like three-fourths of all Danish households were tuned in at one point. I read an anecdote once that the lead actress once visited a hospital for publicity purposes, and met a woman with terminal cancer who begged to know the identity of the killer, as she didn't think she'd make it to the finale. The actress wrote the name down a piece of paper and handed it to her; the woman read it, then swallowed it, and died like two days later. Apparently the original was edge-of-your-seat; we must have lost something in the translation.T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-60345786526217485452011-09-07T14:39:23.301-04:002011-09-07T14:39:23.301-04:00Andrew, I would say this is definitely a case of N...Andrew, I would say this is definitely a case of No. 2, not so much with No. 1. It seems to be a slam-dunk against each suspect until something comes up that explains it all away. And even then, I don't think the criticism is so much about that as it is about the fact that the investigations into each suspect sometimes go on for multiple episodes before the red herring reveal. <br /><br />Some of the criticism for this show is definitely from people who don't know what they're talking about. Again, this is especially true for the season finale. Beyond the fact that it left us not knowing who really killed Rosie, which is a valid complaint, most of the attacks I saw (on the Internet) were so shallow and off-base that I once wrote back and told off a supposedly professional TV critic, which is when I got the idea to do a review myself someday. So yes, take the criticism with a few grains of salt.T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-11060739085874129502011-09-07T14:14:13.124-04:002011-09-07T14:14:13.124-04:00Ed, The Shield was one of my biggest surprises whe...Ed, <i>The Shield</i> was one of my biggest surprises when it was on FX. I hard rumors that it was good and decided to check it out, despite the fact cop shows really have become pretty lame. It was incredible! You just couldn't guess what was going to happen next. Great show!AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-63019141944313608172011-09-07T13:47:29.754-04:002011-09-07T13:47:29.754-04:00T-Rav: Holder does have a wry sense of humor. I ...T-Rav: Holder does have a wry sense of humor. I think the fact that I wasn't getting constant left-wing messages helped. Not so for <i>Damages</i>. Like you, I didn't find the somewhat ambiguous ending too off-putting. Oh, and it doesn't rain in Seattle <i>all</i> the time. They need to take advantage of the occasional sun and blue skies. LOLLawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-53517339187289204832011-09-07T13:27:04.837-04:002011-09-07T13:27:04.837-04:00T-Rav, Good review. I enjoyed the show though I a...T-Rav, Good review. I enjoyed the show though I agree it's flawed. What it's missing for me is the intensity of some of the other new shows. It's got a good story and it moves along well, but it never kept me on the edge of my seat. When I think back on a show like "The Shield" or "The Sopranos" I was blown away each week. This never reached that level for me. It's not as banal as "CSI" or "Law and Order" but it's not as good as the other higher quality shows these days.Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18122308626703654554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-87205717632987820962011-09-07T13:20:51.699-04:002011-09-07T13:20:51.699-04:00T-Rav, As I said, I haven't seen it and this i...T-Rav, As I said, I haven't seen it and this is just what I've heard. In general, I think multiple suspects is a good thing, but it does depend on how you handle it. Two things that I don't care for which a lot of mystery writers seem to fall into are (1) each suspect is given an equal amount of reason why they are guilty so it's not legitimately possible to determine who it is, and (2) when shows go from suspect to suspect making it appear they are 100% obviously the choice until some "critical" piece of evidence is suddenly found at just the right time to create drama. I think both are cheating and aren't that interesting.<br /><br />I obviously don't know if this show does that, but that <i>SEEMS</i> to be the criticism I've read. Although... I have also learned not to listen to most criticism, because most of it is given by people who simply missed the point.<br /><br />That's the long way of saying, I'm not deterred from watching it -- I just need the time.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-73145665730440443462011-09-07T13:02:33.014-04:002011-09-07T13:02:33.014-04:00LawHawk, I think everybody loves Holder (that woul...LawHawk, I think everybody loves Holder (that would be the partner), perhaps as a counterpoint to all the depression. It's also a nice political balance: on the one hand, some of the messaging in the show is left-wing, but on the other, he gets referred to by Linden as "a vegetarian Jesus freak." And he clearly has it more together than she does. So I thought that was a nice touch.T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-16557095251927849792011-09-07T13:00:11.325-04:002011-09-07T13:00:11.325-04:00Andrew, thanks! Like I said, I recommend watching ...Andrew, thanks! Like I said, I recommend watching it if you get the time, but the caveats you mention are well taken. I personally don't mind the somewhat depressing tone the show takes--like I said to LawHawk, this is Seattle, we're not talking sunshine and roses here--but it might put off some people. But I think the multiple red herrings are what really got people irritated. Several people are investigated in turn, due to evidence that looks damning at first but always turns out to be a misunderstanding. (Warning: One of the suspects is a Muslim, so we get to hear about profiling and such for a while. It's not so bad that you want to stop watching, but it is there.) While there is an arrest in the season finale, there's a great deal of ambiguity at the end as to whether or not he's in fact guilty. Actually, the season finale made a lot of people very angry for a couple of reasons--not me, because I think it was overblown, but I don't want to give too much away. But it does sometimes feel like you're being jerked around.T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-24193289847596518542011-09-07T12:31:19.085-04:002011-09-07T12:31:19.085-04:00T-Rav: Yep. It is the detective in The Killing a...T-Rav: Yep. It is the detective in <i>The Killing</i> and the younger female attorney in <i>Damages</i>. They both seem to be suffering from post-partum depression only without the partum. In <i>The Killing</i> her surly, mysterious-past partner could be a power of positive thinking counselor compared to her.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-65738910796058667262011-09-07T12:20:06.404-04:002011-09-07T12:20:06.404-04:00T-Rav, Thanks for the review! I haven't seen ...T-Rav, Thanks for the review! I haven't seen this, but I've been interested. I've been impressed with all of the shows that the non-networks have been doing lately, I just don't have enough time to see them all.<br /><br />I've actually been working on a BH article about that for next week.<br /><br />I am concerned, however, about two things. (Keeping in mind that I haven't seen one.) First, a lot of people seem upset that they apparently keep finding different suspects each week. Some of the critics said it felt like the writers were jerking you around. Secondly, as Lawhawk mentions, it looks depressing more than clever. But as I said, I haven't seen it yet.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-48544385879637966422011-09-07T12:07:29.930-04:002011-09-07T12:07:29.930-04:00LawHawk, I've watched a couple episodes of &qu...LawHawk, I've watched a couple episodes of "Damages" but couldn't really get into it, though it was clearly well-acted and well-written. I think it was the first season. I haven't seen any from this season, though I did get the impression from the commercials that it was tacking hard to the left. <br /><br />I assume you mean you wanted to slap the detective? ;-) It's been a pretty grim tone throughout, I'll have to agree. Although, if that's what the writers were going for all along (and I assume it was), setting the show in Seattle was an inspired choice. Was there a single episode where it wasn't raining at some point?T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-74491225719083444352011-09-07T12:03:35.775-04:002011-09-07T12:03:35.775-04:00Jed, I can't say as I've ever watched &quo...Jed, I can't say as I've ever watched "Mad Men." I have started on "Breaking Bad" a little, though, so I may have to get into that a little as well.T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.com