The Killing is a new show on AMC. Same network that has brought us The Walking Dead, Mad Men, and of course, the best show on TV, Breaking Bad. (That's right, Breaking Bad not Mad Men.... sorry, Roland.) AMC has transformed itself from showing not so classic movies into producing really detailed, really adult stories for a demanding audience.
And The Killing continues this. It's based on a Danish series of the same name. Basically, the series is about the death of a high school girl and what follows, the investigation, the family and a local political race. Great actors, moody atmosphere, here played by Seattle with great aplomb. 12 episodes, 12 days of the investigation leading to the murderer.
So… why am I getting a little bored?
I think it’s me.
One of the things I REALLY like about The Killing is that it feels like a more authentic investigation of a murder than we normally see. Chemical anylses take longer than a commercial break. Detectives talk to a LOT of people before finding a lead. Things that just don’t happen in Law And Order.
And we see how the family struggles to cope with the unimaginable, the loss of your child. (Side note: Michelle Forbes is amazing, doing a role that she doesn’t normally get to do, bravo!)
But…
And I hate to write that but…
But it’s slow. The pacing is tempered by American standards. It takes slow burn to a new standard. Don’t get my wrong, I’m all for slow burns. As long as I feel it’s 1. Filled with something else and 2. Building tension. I’m not entirely convinced that either is happening.
There are a lot of longing looks at walls… things in the distance… at suspects… For every glimpse of the inner turmoil of a character, we get about three or four long… long… looks at something.
Because of these moments… it’s losing tension for me. Revelations that come at the end of an episode that feels decompressed feel more like bumps in a gentle road rather than the game changing revelations they should be.
I understand the challenges… they have 12 hours to fill… with clues, plots twists, surprising character moments. They can’t give to much away without it being revealed who is the murderer to soon, or point to much at a red herring and then have the viewers pissed when something is revealed pulling a hard turn in the plot.
Then, again, it’s me… and growing up with the expectation of HOW a show moves…
I’m in it to the end, because I want to see how they pull it off… but, I want to be in it because I can’t turn away… (Like Breaking Bad…seriously, if you aren’t watching it, what are you doing with your life????)
Larry
