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Lund Calling

I have post-The Killing blues, after completing the Box Set marathon.  British viewers will know that, recently, a moody 20-hour Danish TV series from 2007 (now being aired in America as a remake with the same name) caught the imagination of the mystery-mad UK.  Combining aspects of The X-Files (the paranoia, the flashlights/torches, the man-woman detective team, the creepy ambiance and techno theme), The Wire (complex examination of politics, the media, and schools, as well as police procedure), and Prime Suspect (enigmatic determined female DCI up against a thick-skulled patriarchy), The Killing is one of the best TV shows Eyewear has ever seen.  Britain wanted the nerdy wool-knit sweaters Sarah Lund, detective, wore.

This is not the place for a spoiler alert, but the only problem with the brilliantly twisty show (with its superb silent montage sequences at the end of every episode) is that its dramatic structure was so literate (combining Ibsen and Shakespeare) that the arc was visible by episode two, and, given certain symbolic utterances, and the image system, the perpetrator was obvious by Day Three, if not sooner.  Also, the increasingly comically melodramatic cliff-hangers meant that, for the plot to make sense, everyone had to be lying (Rashomon style) or withholding evidence; and the cops had to wade through a plethora of suspects before finally tumbling across the most obvious one.

That being said, I love the main character, whose stoic, and yes, sexy, demeanor always means she does the right thing, even if that means breaking the law.  I can't wait for The Killing Two (filmed in 2009, but not yet aired in Britain) and indeed, the third season, now in pre-prod in Denmark.
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Poetry Pleases! said…
Dear Todd

I didn't actually watch The Killing as I'm usually in bed by 9 o'clock but my wife was absolutely glued to it and was bitterly disappointed when it ended. If they ever repeat it, I might take a look.

Best wishes from Simon
Sat Apr 16, 10:53:00 am 2011
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