Matt Tracker
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Since: 8.5.03
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|  #1 Posted on 19.4.11 1419.59 | Instant Rating: 8.71 | A show that can be heartbreaking and lapel-grabbing at the same time. Unlike the majority of police procedural shows on TV, this show so far hovers around one murder and its effects on those involved.
It gets a lot of comparison to Twin Peaks, and that's deserved. The body of a seemingly top-notch high-school girl from the Northwest is found in a body of water. Her death rattles her schoolmates and combines two disparate police officers (one is fresh from narc duty, the other is browbeaten into staying in town to work the case, leaving her son and fiance in limbo). The soundtrack is heavy on prolonged, deep tones. We learn there may have been more to our victim than everyone knew. But Twin Peaks was also a loving satire on soap operas, and this ain't.
This is a dark, dark show, treating each episode as a day in the investigation. The most recent episode "The Soundless Echo" allows the roster to blossom into moral complexity, and seemingly everyone is a suspect. That makes for a fascinating mystery. There's also a mayoral race nearing its end, and it's (as of now) only indirectly connected to the murder).
But the show will destroy you in the moments of utter agony where the family finds itself. The mother and father lumber forward in their grief, and their two young sons are baffled by the seismic shock. Watch the parents stand frozen when they see the evidence photos of their daughter's body. Watch them prepare to tell their sons about their sister. Harrowing.
The texture of this show, the intelligence and patience of the investigation, and the emotional trauma of the family provide a packed hour of TV each week. It's not light watching. It's great TV. I hope this can be maintained.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker| Promote this thread! |           | John Orquiola
Scrapple
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| #2 Posted on 19.4.11 1504.38 | Instant Rating: 6.15 | What you said. Plus it's reminiscent of The X-Files, with the redheaded, frowny grim woman teamed up with the rakish, more locquacious man.
The Killing's geek cred is worth noting. It's shot in Vancouver, substituting for perpetually rainy Seattle, like Dark Angel ten years ago. I instantly recognized several of the same locations The Killing used where Dark Angel once tread, like the alleys and graffitied underpasses The Killing teenagers hang out in are the same as where Max and the Jam Pony bike messengers used to congregate at. Plus, the lieutenant in charge of the two detectives is the same actor who was the cop that used to hound Max and her roommates for rent money in the building they lived in.
Then there's Billy Campbell from The Rocketeer and more recently The 4400. Good to see him back on television.
And of course Michelle Forbes from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Battlestar Galactica positively KILLS as Rosie Larsen's grieving mother. Forbes gives good grief.
Speaking of BSG, Callum Keith Rennie, who plays Sarah Linden's fiance, is of course Leoben, one of the 12 Cylons.
(edited by John Orquiola on 19.4.11 1455)
@BackoftheHead
www.backofthehead.com | Matt Tracker
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| #3 Posted on 19.4.11 1513.38 | Instant Rating: 8.71 | Originally posted by John Orquiola
And of course Michelle Forbes from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Battlestar Galactica positively KILLS as Rosie Larsen's grieving mother. Forbes gives good grief.
I use the term "heavy lifting" a lot when I'm talking theatre and moments where actors have to shoulder the scene to make it work. She is doing heavy lifting every episode. And I get the feeling she's slowly sloughing the stultifying grief and I can't wait to see what she'll do.
So far every actor is at least interesting to watch. And Lost fans (like me) may have geeked out at the appearance of Charles Whitmore this week.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker | Mr Shh
Liverwurst
Since: 9.1.02
From: Bergen County, NJ
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| #4 Posted on 20.4.11 0907.05 | Instant Rating: 7.98 | Michelle Forbes is incredible. At the end of the *first* hour, she had me crying.
I really love the interplay between Linden and Holder.
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Loukanika
Since: 1.5.11
From: Springfield
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|  #5 Posted on 1.5.11 1020.19 | | Yeah, I remember thinking Forbes was always under rated. I think because of her looks a lot of people automatically assume she can't act, but she really can. | geemoney
Scrapple
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| #6 Posted on 1.5.11 1136.10 | Instant Rating: 9.33 | | Got caught up on this about two weeks ago via AMC's website. Ended up staying up 'til almost 3am to watch all the episodes up to that point, rather than go to bed and finish watching them the next day. Just great stuff here, and I also want to say that following the parents and their grief (especially at the moment of discovery) is, to me, what really sets this apart from most shows that it may get compared to. |
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