The Killing - Should I Watch?

[tivoboyjr]

My intention is not to have spoilers in this thread. My set up/question may have a broad, generalized spoiler, however, depending on how you define a spoiler. If you haven't seen the show, proceed with caution. For those who have seen it; please - no spoilers.

I have not watched this show. I thought it looked really interesting and then about the time I was going to start watching it, the first season ended in a way that seemed to leave a lot of viewers unhappy. (I know this simply from reading headlines here and there.) So I never got around to watching. I watch other AMC shows, and it still looks like I might enjoy this show, but don't want to start if it's not worth the trouble (meaning I'll probably get frustrated with it and stop watching). I haven't heard anything, good or bad, about the second season.

I'm just curious as to whether people who have watched it, and are still watching it, would recommend it.

[mrdazzo7]

The answer depends on the kind of shows you like... You have to go into knowing that the entire series is built around one central mystery--who killed Rosie Larsen. If you're the type of person who need things to be wrapped up in a certain amount of time, you're not gonna get that from this show...

I like the show enough in that I think it has decent acting and I like the twists and turns they take, but also on a smaller scale which is how that central event effects the lives of everyone involved. I basically consider it the "Anti-Law and Order"... In a typical episode of Law and Order, a crime happens, the detectives go from person to person interviewing them, something new comes up that changes everything, the killer is caught (in a twist) and then prosecuted by the DA's office. You see almost nothing of the detective's lives, or the effects the murder has on everyone who knew the victim, etc). You have the entire story in 42 minutes.

With this show, the whole 26-episode run (to date) is centered around one murder, so it really gets into the characters involved and a much wider scope in terms of the story. I think the main problem people have with it is the pacing because if some episodes are more character heavy, they feel like it's a waste because it doesn't necessarily move us closer to the end point (which is a potential issue on any serialized show).

I think if you like mysteries and go into knowing that it's gonna be a while before that ONE question is answered, it's a great show. Really good acting, sufficient twists, etc. Is every episode stellar, no. but looking at it overall, it's good. I think a big part of it is that people have ADD and need to know the resolution by the end of the episode, so asking to commit to 26 episodes (or whatever it is) is too much. But at the same time stretching out one mystery for that long leaves room for story issues too so that's another problem.

That said, it's impossible to give the show a solid Yes! recommendation until I see the season finale... You can't judge a show like this until that last episode because that's when you see if stuff was legit or not (being vague to avoid specifics). Once that airs we'll be able to give you a more definitive yes or no. I liken it to "Lost" which was my absolute favorite show for season 1-5 and then season 6 just kind of ruined the whole experience for me.

But this is definitely a "journey not the destination" show in that it's not JUST about who committed the crime (like a L&O ep would be), but about the ripple effect of that crime on everyone it touched... that said, the reveal of who did it still needs to be good (and fit with what they've established), so it's a balancing act.

[Bierboy]

Yes, you should.

[robojerk]

No.
If you read crime books you'll hate this.

This show is not an anti-law and order show as the two have really nothing in common other than being a crime drama.. I only watched the first season, the concept of following all the characters through a murder sounds intriguing and smart, but the show is anything but. Red herring after red herring and the big breaks in the case practically finding the cops instead of the cops doing real police work to solve the case was infuriating.

However the answer is really up to you.. I could imagine watching it in a marathon over the summer would make it more palatable instead of having a week to digest each episode.

[caslu]

I have mixed feelings... I watched all of the first season and enjoyed it but felt it got into a (well acted) rut and hated the way it ended.

I've watched the second season on and off, and to be quite honest it's well done but more of the same. Plus, even though I've skipped several episodes it never actually feels like I've missed anything important... and to me that's a bad sign.

[sieglinde]

I enjoy watching it but then I had the patience to watch that show that was on last year about the intelligence company and the conspiracy. (see I cannot even remember the name of the show.)

[cheesesteak]

I watched all of last season but gave up a few episodes into this season. I'm tivoing the last two episodes though. I guess my answer then is "maybe".

[astrohip]

I vote no. Unless you have nothing to do, there is too much good TV to watch. The Killing falls into the very rare group of shows I dropped after watching for a while.

Originally Posted by sieglinde

I enjoy watching it but then I had the patience to watch that show that was on last year about the intelligence company and the conspiracy. (see I cannot even remember the name of the show.)

Rubicon.

[janry]

I like the show. I don't need every show I watch to wrap up nice and clean. Some remaining mystery is OK. If they don't EVER solve the crimes, that's OK also, and resembles real life sometimes.

Main thing for me is the show is quality and in today's TV shows, there isn't enough quality (again, IMO).

[jrtroo]

Great show to TiVo. You can fast-forward if you want to skip any character development stuff, and do a quick rewind if you don't happen to pick up a piece of dialog that is obviously important. I like to burn through ~3 episodes in about 2 hours.

[tivoboyjr]

Originally Posted by sieglinde

I enjoy watching it but then I had the patience to watch that show that was on last year about the intelligence company and the conspiracy. (see I cannot even remember the name of the show.)

Originally Posted by astrohip

I vote no. Unless you have nothing to do, there is too much good TV to watch. The Killing falls into the very rare group of shows I dropped after watching for a while.


Rubicon.

Thanks for all of the great feedback so far. I appreciate it.

Maybe Rubicon is a good frame of reference. I loved Rubicon through the first few episodes, then it seemed like nothing was happening and I gave up on it (and later it was cancelled).

I really enjoyed Homeland, and I know the Rubicon guy (forgot his name) has been involved with a couple of people from 24 on the production and writing of that show. To me, that was a nice balance. You have the back room CIA type stuff (like Rubicon) but also some action (thanks to the 24 guys, I'm sure) to keep it moving along.

My guess was that I'd like The Killing but would probably get frustrated with it eventually, and that's likely what will happen, but I think I'll give it a try.

And I don't know about there being so much good TV to watch right now. Most of the shows I watch are done for the summer or are done, period, so I'm trying to be proactive and find some decent summer viewing. I'm thrilled that Breaking Bad is coming back, but that just occupies me for an hour per week.

[mrdazzo7]

Originally Posted by robojerk

This show is not an anti-law and order show as the two have really nothing in common other than being a crime drama...

Well if you look at the genre of "police procedural" then it is the "anti law and order" of that genre... like I said, Law and Order follows a single case per single episode at a very high level where is this show, a drama based around a murder, is only about one murder over time. 2 shows, same concept, completely opposite executions.

However the answer is really up to you.. I could imagine watching it in a marathon over the summer would make it more palatable instead of having a week to digest each episode.

This is a key part I forgot to mention yesterday...this show is a great example of one that is much better when viewed marathon-style as opposed to once a week. That will make a huge difference because if there's a pacing issue you're not gonna see it the way others did. I watched Jericho later and absolutely loved it but read that a lot of people hated the pacing. Same with some seasons of 24 that I re-watched, infinitely better in a marathon.

[Peter000]

We're not going to make your decision for you.

[tivoboyjr]

Originally Posted by Peter000

We're not going to make your decision for you.

Okey dokey

[philw1776]

Originally Posted by astrohip

I vote no. Unless you have nothing to do, there is too much good TV to watch. The Killing falls into the very rare group of shows I dropped after watching for a while.

Precisely.
As someone who spent an entire season of diminishing expectations on this train wreck, I continue to beseech the good graces of posters here to simply post a final paragraph stating who and why Rosie Larsen was killed. Their stalwart viewing sacrifice means so much to those of us unable to bear telegraphed weekly red herrings.

[robojerk]

Originally Posted by philw1776

Precisely.
As someone who spent an entire season of diminishing expectations on this train wreck, I continue to beseech the good graces of posters here to simply post a final paragraph stating who and why Rosie Larsen was killed. Their stalwart viewing sacrifice means so much to those of us unable to bear telegraphed weekly red herrings.

I wish this forum had a "like" button for posts..

[DLiquid]

I vote yes. I found season one on Netflix just a few weeks ago, watched it, then got caught up on season two. I've enjoyed it quite a bit. I was hooked from the start. I think I watched something like 6 episodes in a row the first night.

Because of the slowness of the show and the long story arc, I think a marathon pace of watching works well. I think I would have gotten more frustrated if I was watching weekly, then waiting a long time between seasons.

My main gripe with the show is that it started off so strong and then degraded quickly. It went from great to good. Add in that they stretched the single case across two seasons, and it started to seem stale after a while, even when watching both seasons within a month. I've still been enjoying it though, and I look forward to the finale.

The season one threads on here are pretty entertaining. People start off loving the show, then by the end of the season it seemed like a majority hated it.

[robojerk]

I loved the pilot... It was scene by scene remake of the original according to those that watched the Danish(?) version of it. Everyone loved the pilot.
Everything after the pilot was changed, and that's when it started to go bad.

At the end of I believe episode 7, I hated this show, but the season was almost over and we all assumed it would be over soon.. Get some resolve since I already committed 7 hours into this story, might as well finish if I was at the end, then it turned out the s01 finale was just another red herring....

Spoiler:

episode 7. The girl cops son is missing, they spend the day looking for him instead of looking for leads.. Then at the very end of the episode the girl cop while on a jog accidentally runs into the big break of the case. There was zero real police work involved, she practically stumbled into it by luck.. I went on a rant in the episode's thread about a simple google search could have gotten them there, and if this case is so big, why are only 2 people are working it. This seemed to be the most mishandled police case in history, and there is nothing smart about this show.

[TAsunder]

I'm firmly in the Maybe camp.

[Peter000]

Originally Posted by philw1776

Precisely.
As someone who spent an entire season of diminishing expectations on this train wreck, I continue to beseech the good graces of posters here to simply post a final paragraph stating who and why Rosie Larsen was killed. Their stalwart viewing sacrifice means so much to those of us unable to bear telegraphed weekly red herrings.

I think calling it a "train wreck" is overstating it way too much. I enjoyed watching most of the episodes even though the pacing of crime solving was glacial. Now that I've let go of my expectations, I'm enjoying the series a whole lot more.

[Rob Helmerichs]

Yeah, it's not really a train wreck.

It's more like the train derailed, and they got out and started walking along the tracks. And they take frequent breaks. And wander off sometimes. But eventually, they remember they're supposed to be going somewhere, and wander back to the tracks, and walk along them some more.

[staplet2]

I watched the first season as it was airing and found it to be very frustrating. It wasn't up to AMC's usual standards, like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and even the short-lived Rubicon.

That being said, I've heard that the season that's ending tonight has been better, but still not up to most people's standards.

I'd skip it until it begins to get better reviews (if it in fact does get renewed).

[fliptheflop]

Originally Posted by Rob Helmerichs

Yeah, it's not really a train wreck.

It's more like the train derailed, and they got out and started walking along the tracks. And they take frequent breaks. And wander off sometimes. But eventually, they remember they're supposed to be going somewhere, and wander back to the tracks, and walk along them some more.

Exactly

[mm2margaret]

Originally Posted by tivoboyjr

Okey dokey

I've watched both seasons 1 and 2. Yes, I had problems with season 1 and the way it ended, but season 2 is much better. I would suggest you should check out the thread on the Killing, but that thread contains spoilers. But if you did, you would lots of folks here enjoyed it. There have been a few here that did not like it, and they were very vocal.

It's very much a mood piece, and it moves slowly, sometimes very slowly (especially in the first season), as they try and find out who killed rosie larson. And in some ways, I suspect any real investigation goes that way, where some times the investigators go down the wrong path, because they make some bad assumptions, or don't get the evidence clearly enough. In that sense, the Killing gets it right. I think we're all jaded, or at least influenced from all the cop shows we see where the investigation goes right to the killer. I sincerely doubt most investigations, real investigations work that way.

But really, the only way to know for sure is to watch a few episodes.

[getreal]

Based on this thread, I just marathoned my way through S01 and enjoy it. But it helps to plan my own breaks.

Onward to S02 ...

[billypritchard]

No.

Watched the first season, didn't come back for the second.

[tivoboyjr]

I thought I'd report back that I did watch The Killing. It held my interest and I got through it, but it wasn't a very good show. Meaning I thought the writing was sloppy and a lot of what happened just didn't make sense or was the result of too many coincidences.

And maybe it being so flawed is part of what kept me going with it to the end.

The way I'd sum up this show is that it's Twin Peaks if it were made by someone who worked on Cold Case instead of David Lynch. Pretty much the same general story, but without the quirkiness and more TV show cliches.

I think the concept could have worked (I saw where the show was canceled) if they did one case per season and had better writing (fewer red herrings, more real police work, fewer stereotypical characters, etc). I thought the acting was generally pretty good, but the actors didn't always have much to work with.

[spidershowl11]

Originally Posted by tivoboyjr

I thought I'd report back that I did watch The Killing. It held my interest and I got through it, but it wasn't a very good show. Meaning I thought the writing was sloppy and a lot of what happened just didn't make sense or was the result of too many coincidences.

And maybe it being so flawed is part of what kept me going with it to the end.

The way I'd sum up this show is that it's Twin Peaks if it were made by someone who worked on Cold Case instead of David Lynch. Pretty much the same general story, but without the quirkiness and more TV show cliches.

I think the concept could have worked (I saw where the show was canceled) if they did one case per season and had better writing (fewer red herrings, more real police work, fewer stereotypical characters, etc). I thought the acting was generally pretty good, but the actors didn't always have much to work with.

The Danish original was stylish, haunting, gripping, realistic, superbly acted, beautifully shot, and had soul. This scene for scene copy has none of those things, so why bother making it? Within about 20 seconds of the opening it became clear that nobody involved in this understands how to create tension and draw the audience in.

Mireille Enos in the lead role is so different to Sofie Grabol, with little of the talent or charisma of the Danish star. Not her fault of course, but nobody who has seen the original will be happy with this performance. In truth, each of the main players here is inferior to their Danish counterpart. It smacks of shoddiness and cost-cutting. I can't watch this - watch the original instead.

[David Platt]

Originally Posted by spidershowl11

The Danish original was stylish, haunting, gripping, realistic, superbly acted, beautifully shot, and had soul. This scene for scene copy has none of those things, so why bother making it?

Is the American version a scene-by-scene remake? I've read a lot of media coverage of the show, and I've never heard that before.

[robojerk]

Originally Posted by David Platt

Is the American version a scene-by-scene remake? I've read a lot of media coverage of the show, and I've never heard that before.

From what I have heard, the pilot was. I still need to see the danish one