The Killing is based on the wildly successful Danish television series Forbrydelsen. Like Twin Peaks, The Killing is the story of the murder of a young girl in Seattle. The police investigation takes place in semi-real time. Each episode represents one day (how very 24ish). Season One consists of thirteen one-hour episodes. Tonight, the 2-hour premiere starts at 9 P. M. Check your local listings for the broadcast time in your area. If you’re a fan of “Nordic Noir,” this is going to appeal to you. For more information, click on the NPR story below.
I am really excited about this one. AMC does a great job on choosing material.
You’ll be getting a big noir fix tonight, Patti. THE KILLING is supposed to be very, very dark.
I’m glad they’re acknowledging their debt to “Twin Peaks.” The first time I saw the ad, I thought immediately of “Who Killed Laura Palmer?”
I had the exact same thought, Deb! David Lynch made a colossal mistake that wrecked TWIN PEAKS when he revealed who killed Laura Palmer.
I know–and it was such a hackneyed “twist,” unworthy of the great material that had come before it. A friend of a friend (etc.) knew the actor who played the killer and he said that one morning Lynch came to him and said, “It’s you; you’re the killer,” but up until that point there had been no indication at all that his character was the killer.
I think the European version was different, with the character “Bob” playing a more ominous role.
There’s a “complete” set of TWIN PEAKS, Deb. I don’t know if it contains the European version. I’m waiting for the Blu-ray version.
Watched the first two hours. It is very very SLOOOOWWWWW.
Most of the critics have mentioned the slow pace of the program, Stan. The Danish series is in its FOURTH YEAR!
And they still haven’t solved the crime? After 4 years . . .
In the Danish version, each episode is a day, Stan. So after three series episodes, this has to be one of the longest running investigations ever! And thanks again for the tip on BIG LOTS. I dashed over there and was able to cherry-pick the DVDs. Some of them found their way to Beth.
So, did everybody watch this? The Danish version was a huge hit in England so we saw many articles about it and some surprisingly positive views of ths American version. We got home last night so will have to catch up on this and other stuff we missed, like NURSE JACKIE.
Like Stan, I thought THE KILLING was slow, Jeff. But, I’m hanging in there for future episodes. I’ll really like to see the Danish version.
We picked up several DVD’s of British series in London, including the complete UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS at a really good price. Very few books, however, as most were things easily available here at a cheaper price. I’d say at least 75% of all British paperbacks are now coming out in trade paperback format, by the way.
I’m guessing the trade paperback format is preferred for the larger print, Jeff. That’s why I prefer them. The complete UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS a good price…nice!
There is a new series of UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS (updated to the 1930’s) coming shortly – it ran in Britain last December – and I think they wanted to drum up interest by reissuing the original series at a more reasonable price. I wouldn’t be surprised if they do that here too.
Jackie doesn’t agree but I also prefer the trade paperback size.
I’ll be watching Sam’s Club and BJ’s for a discounted set of UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS, Jeff. When I get Patrick’s iPad (he’s upgrading to the iPad2 and giving us his “old” iPad), I’ll be reading books on it using the large font option. I dislike reading small print in paperbacks.