AMC's The Killing

I really enjoyed the third episode. Both cops have great chemistry. I echo the sentiments about pacing. Not that I need something exciting to happen every five minutes but better balance of all three storylines would be make this show beyond stellar.
I still say it was the Cylon that did it.

Originally Posted by matik23

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I'd say the ones that dislike the show would rather have it like CSI where it gets solved in 40 minutes.

This is exactly why I like The Killing, because it's not like that.

I saw some stuff floating around the internet about this... decided to watch the danish version instead (I am half danish and really...the Scandinavian originals are usually better than the US remakes). I got a version with BBC subtitles hard coded in and made it through the first episode...will definitely be watching more.

Originally Posted by Reynard369

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This is exactly why I like The Killing, because it's not like that.
American audiences seem to struggle with plot lines that go more than 2 episodes....think about something like twin peaks

Originally Posted by otc

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American audiences seem to struggle with plot lines that go more than 2 episodes....think about something like twin peaks

I don't think that is necessarily true
Twin Peaks did really well in it's first season and really bottomed out in terms of ratings after they solved laura palmers murder.

Lost made it 6 seasons and it was full of extended plot lines.

I think it's more of a slower narrative pace that US audiences have problems with then extended plot lines per se.

Did any of the X-files plot lines end? That show lasted a while

Originally Posted by Gradstudent78

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I don't think that is necessarily true
Twin Peaks did really well in it's first season and really bottomed out in terms of ratings after they solved laura palmers murder.

I meant twin peaks to be an example of a very similar show that actually made it (until it went all trippy and probably shed all of its viewers).

Originally Posted by Jodum5

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Did any of the X-files plot lines end? That show lasted a while

Shows can have big overarching plot lines but they tend to have single episode plots that make them stay watchable without knowing what is going on. I don't know if the danish killing will be like this (having seen only ep1) but I doubt it.

X files had some sort of single wrap plot in every non-cliffhanger episode. Burn Notice goes the same way (in a still running show) where there is some job done for a client in every episode; you could watch a random one, see some baddies get taken down, and mostly enjoy yourself having not seen anything else. Sure there is also a season long plot (and a series-long one too) going on...but it is usually inserted as a small obstacle to the episode-length plot so that it basically makes sense without any background.

I think previous posters are right about some of these shows really doing well when they hit dvd/marathon status. Everybody says this applies to the wire (which is on my list to watch) and I can see it applying to burn notice (which I enjoyed a lot in the beginning when I marathoned through but in the last season I realized i would forget everything that was going on in the "big picture" plots between episodes).
That is another big reason I decided to watch the danish one first...I know that it wraps the big plot up. Having watched other long form shows that got cancelled...I would prefer to know that the story goes somewhere (if the Office had been cancelled before jim and pam got together, who cares...but if twin peaks had been canned halfway through the season, it would blow)

HTF is this different from any of the other AMC shows?

Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Walking Dead - none of these have single episode plots.

Originally Posted by otc

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Shows can have big overarching plot lines but they tend to have single episode plots that make them stay watchable without knowing what is going on. I don't know if the danish killing will be like this (having seen only ep1) but I doubt it.

Some of this might have to do with differences in show formats. When you have 20+ episodes to fill a stand alone episode can benefit the series (the traditional US model), the xfiles balanced this really well in its early years. A 6 to 13 episode series has to remain more focused on a single plot (more of the european and cable model).

That was one of the big problems I saw with walking dead, for such a short run they threw in extra material that wasn't needed (like the mexican gang plot).

Anyone still interested? Thoughts?

now the teacher is the suspect. i hope this isn't one of those mystery shows that shows evidence for many different characters being the killer throughout the season then throws a curve ball at the finale with no foreshadowing for it.

Originally Posted by ctp120

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Anyone still interested? Thoughts?

yes.

the dirtbag cop ******* cracks me up.

Originally Posted by sexandcandy

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now the teacher is the suspect. i hope this isn't one of those mystery shows that shows evidence for many different characters being the killer throughout the season then throws a curve ball at the finale with no foreshadowing for it.

Has crossed my mind. Still enjoying it a lot.

I'm enjoying The Killing quite a lot so far. Enough that I'm beginning to think AMC can do no wrong with its original series. Except that I'm unhappy with the cancellation of Rubicon, which, though glacial in its pace, was very much my cup of tea.

Any thoughts on the ex-vice cop's cash winnings? Or the people whose mailbox he put the cash into? I'm sure I wasn't the only one who noticed a child playing inside the house.

Some people take issue with what they perceive as the humorlessness of shows like Rubicon and The Killing, but I like that they take things seriously. Usually in crime shows the dead body is a site of evidence and an occasion for quips, but little else; whereas on more than one occasion now Rosie's body has provoked deep grief, and The Killing is honest enough to show it.

the show has been somewhat of a letdown in light of the comparisons to twin peaks that i had read about prior to watching. ill continue to watch though now that i've invested the time so far. i'm guessing the danish version is probably infinitely better, right?

Originally Posted by ctp120

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Anyone still interested? Thoughts?

Yes, still very interested.

Originally Posted by sexandcandy

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now the teacher is the suspect. i hope this isn't one of those mystery shows that shows evidence for many different characters being the killer throughout the season then throws a curve ball at the finale with no foreshadowing for it.

I totally agree with you. That is one thing that I always liked about The Wire was that you knew who the cops were going after, you just didn't know how they were going to do it.

Up until the conclusion of the fourth episode I was pretty convinced that it was going to turn out to be the ex-vice cop who did it. That dude is creepy to the max.

I was disappointed that they tried to slip in a Del Taco reference. It's been a while since I've lived in the Pac NW, but I was pretty sure that there Del Taco hadn't made it there yet. I looked it up and it turns out that there is one in Federal Way, but there's now way that she's driving all the way to FW just for some bad take out Mexican. Any self respecting native would always choose Taco Time over Del or The Bell.

One thing I keep thinking about is how is this show going to move on beyond one season. Assuming that they solve the murder, the chick is moving to Sonoma to live with her fiance, right? Will they do the show w/o her and it will be all about the creepy guy lurking in the shadows and smoking "narc scent"?

Finally, this show may be the all time leader in making decent quality tail look like total shite on the screen.