A thread for The Killing, aka much-lauded Danish drama "Forbrydelsen" (with spoilers)

do like this a lot but it's so ponderous at times and I've stalled at epi 5 for that reason

troels looks like limmy

that jumper costs 280 actual euros

Haha, yes, Troels does look like Limmy. And Pernille looks like Catherine Tate and Lund looks like Carol Branning.

I've read criticism of the similarities to other programmes: the round-up of where everyone is at the same point in time at the end of each episode (24) and the mayor's office/police station (The Wire). But I like all that stuff and I even like the spooky jingle they play whenever Lund does some Thinking. I suppose the only thing that annoys me a bit is that Meyer's character is quite 2-D.

It moves on pretty quickly after ep5, Cozen.

The initial ponderousness bothered me too, and also the slightly mechanical way that suspicion passes from one character to the next. Does get a lot better though, probably round about the time when she gives up on the chewing gum and goes back to smoking instead.

a lot of things like this drag (the Event, anyone?, that thing with the hobbit and the dead crows), because they have 20 plot points and 20 hours to fill so there's one thing per episode. or they throw things in and just confuse everybody (later Heroes). the Killing seems to be getting around this because they've spent time investigating plausible dead ends*

but introducing effectively new suspects in episode 16 is a bit of a cop-out, imo.

anyway, according to observer interview on sunday, series 2 exists (series 1 was 2007) and series 3 is filming. so here's hoping we'll get to see all those too.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/mar/13/the-killing-sofie-grabol-sarah-lund-interview?INTCMP=SRCH

* actually, Law & Order also does this, but in the space of a 1 hour show, makes my head spin sometimes.

BBC iPlayer has a 13 episodes at a time rule, where can I watch the first ones? Googling "The Killing" is not helping much at all.

stagevu.com

Thank you

Yeah, this has been totally worth my time, and I'm only five episodes in. I know everybody has been talking about Lund but (although I'm only at episode four) the real stars of this to me are Hanna's parents.

Because I'm terrible with names in my own language, never mind in Danish TV shows, I've found myself giving characters names like Mayor, Mother, Angie Harmon Lookalike etc

* I mean Nanna not Hanna, I did say I'm no good with names

the real stars of this to me are Hanna's parents

Yeah, the story of the victim's family is what sets it apart. It stays with them throughout and the way their relationship changes is really well done.

Got some good theories on the killer btw, but I don't really want to spoilerbomb this thread.

Haven't seen this yet but its funny how this kicked off just as Sky advertised like crazy how they hoovered up every HBO show.

xpost I am trying to get as many people as I know to catch up with me on this because I want to discuss it!

Also quite glad to discover that even with my basic Googling skills to try find a way to watch it online and read more of the hype, I've yet to have it spoilered for me at all.

loved the scene where they just lay into vaghn (sp), really horrible

for some reason he's been my prime suspect since early on: not sure how they insinuated it but they did

Finished watching the first series last night. Wow. The last episode is pretty much an hour of hands-over-the-face intense drama.

but introducing effectively new suspects in episode 16 is a bit of a cop-out, imo.

― koogs, Tuesday, March 15, 2011 10:01 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark

they didn't really: leon was in an early ep

i mean sure almost everyone is shifty in this so

Finished watching the first series last night.

You swine!

Just got the last two to watch. Don't think it's Vagn, I know he's a bit odd but he seems to genuinely care about the family. Where are you up to mayne?

#18, the one shown on bbc4 last weekend

was irl shocked by what happened to a major character

Yeah, that was bold, I thought that was someone who might feature in future series too. The one new character that has been introduced late that might turn out to be quite dodgy is Leon's brother. They also seem to be keeping Morten away from suspicion, which I'm finding a bit odd considering his closeness to Hartmann. Got dodgy eyes as well, it's always a sign.

"someone who might feature in future series too" -- exactly.

it's not clear what leon's brother does. but he is rich (?) and wears a suit while leon is a removal guy/cabbie. there's some story there, and i guess an explanation of how leon is mixed up in what seems to be a wider conspiracy -- brix (the police chief, that's his name right?) seems to have done something very bad this last ep. i mean, leon didn't pull the trigger did he?

I was trying to read the expression on the dude's face just before the bad thing and it wasn't really one of recognition imo. Think that the oh-look-leather-gloves bit was a very deliberate attempt to confuse us, but I'm not gonna fall for that.

My wife said something weird the other day: why did they have that thing about the new shoes in the first episode? And talking of expensive shoes, did we ever find out who bought the boots?

i thought meyer looked surprised above all

i guess holck bought the boots. maybe not, but that seems plausible enough.

but whose new shoes? i have forgotten!

We might have misremembered this but I think that the very first scene in the town hall was Morten telling Hartmann about his new shoes on their way to some meeting. Significant (what happened to his old ones?) or was it just a quirky way of introducing them?

> was irl shocked by what happened to a major character

i thought they fumbled this with that terrible cliche. (trying not to give too much away here)

hadn't spotted leon in earlier episode.

vagn and the dad have been involved with nastiness before, beating people up. he referred back to it when they were about to give the teacher a thrashing in the van. the two of them also seem to owe the boyfriend's dad a favour.

thought them uncovering leon's deserted flat, complete with death gallery, was done too fast - they'd've got 2 whole episodes out of that earlier on.

the bigger cliche would have been him surviving (like kima in 'the wire')!

yeah vagn and pops are shady and the thing in the basement is well suspect -- though i sort of feel those mean cops planted it

otm on the boyfriend's dad -- he has to come into it somehow

Boyfriend's dad seems more of an organised crime sort of guy than a rapey psycho, and that's how he ties in with Dad and Vagn and their shady past imo. I mean, this is a serial killer at work isn't it? Not sure why they haven't investigated more old cases though.

this is a serial killer at work isn't it?

Actually scratch that, I'm daftly assuming that both murders were done by the same guy, but there are inconsistencies in the way they were disposed of, so maybe it was two different killers? But they were in the same location, so it looks like at least the same person dumped both bodies (maybe they were being blackmailed, seems like some money has been changing hands between that one guy and his bro). But then that whole necklace thing... gah!

ok i don't actually think this but: vagn and leon had a sideline in disposing of bodies. maybe sometimes for organized crimey dude. sometimes for highly-placed murderers. hey it could happen.

Looking forward to check this out, but is it better than Spiral? That was the last euro-thriller to get all the critical raves, and it turned out to be, er, rubbish.

xp lol @ that, but I don't want it to be Vagn cos he's turned into quite a sweet character. The water pistol thing, his real anguish at seeing the mum and dad fall apart, the way he only wanted dad to beat a little bit of shit out of the teacher.

I don't know what Spiral is!

this has become a major saturday night pleasure.
current routine : eat with kids. drink red wine. watch crappy saturday night gumph. kids go to bed. watch this + more red wine.
subsequently, the catch up prior to the start of each episode is vital.
best thing on non-sky/cable tv in ages.
there was a time i thought they were referencing twin peaks with bloke-cop always eating, and there was even a scene with a lady who i thought was going to become similar to the log lady, making me for a week or two theorise it was going to go all surreal.
thankfully, it hasn't, and has kept me and my better half guessing/reguessing for last 2 months.
brilliant.

there was a time i thought they were referencing twin peaks

Absolutely, don't forget the video tapes of the dead girl.

yeah the pics from the american remake look super twin peaks

Towards the end of something like this, I start thinking of characters who appeared early, then disappeared from the radar but could be mixed up in it somehow. Rie's dad, for example, and the first police chief who left possibly Knowing Something and was replaced by dodgy Brix. Boyfriend's Dad also a good call, hadn't thought of him.

Rie's dad, for example

oh! that is a good point. yes. i think rie stayed true but obviously has something else in play.

Rie's dad is pulling strings somewhere for sure.

Thing that puts me off the boyfriend's dad is maybe a bit ridic, but wouldn't the producers avoid having a muslim as the villain of a major series like this considering the cartoon controversy in Denmark a year or so before this was made?

Not that anyone would protest against it or anything, but they might just be sensitive towards portraying muslims as the bad guys.

i definitely don't think he's the major villain -- but they have been sensitive to that, and to denmark's racial politics, they had a muslim guy wrongly accused, and hartmann vindicated by backing him

So, were we happy with how this ended?

Keeping it spoiler-free, but even though there were still loose ends I thought the quality of the drama, especially the scenes in the basement and the woods, more than made up for it.

is it me or are the doors to the offices in the police station terrible looking? like some terrible marbling effect.

thought the penultimate ep was str8 fire

a few probs with it, i guess... i hope that the old cases are a part of the next series

coz the cops seemed a bit unnecessarily shifty no, if there wasn't a high-up conspiracy, if it was just vagn, right? so brix telling lund not to pry must have meant something.

kind of funny but i can't keep track of 'what happened'

I thought it was just because Brix was worried that Lund might find something connected to City Hall and make his hopes of career progression suffer, a "trying not to bite the hand that feeds" affair.

I thought the ending suggested that there was more to it than had been revealed - Lund looked like she was still mulling things over in her mind as she walked outside in the final sequence, and Troels' phone call to Brix seemed a bit ambiguous to me - but Lund had finally realised her own "crime", if you will, was getting too wrapped up in the case.

yeah my gf + i were trying to sort of recap it, and we couldnt remember a lot of the reasons for difft things... like what was the deal with the bloody room downstairs at the school? how did that tie in

thank goodness for iplayer to help recall the bits that the red wine has fugged up.
way too many questions were flying around on sunday morning between my wife and i.
still one of the best tv dramas in a long time.

yeah no question

Just finished watching this. Some absolutely killer scenes (the hoodie moment! the bloodstain!) and some nice plot symmetries too but there are lots of niggly things that are still bugging me (he dumped the car in the water - how the hell did he get back to civilisation afterwards? I can't get apparent ages to fit the timeline either). Also a massive clue from earlier which they didn't make a big deal of or bother spelling out later, but in hindsight I should have picked up it (remember that plaster on that one guy's neck?)

Thinking about that top and wondering about its age. Did matey boy find it at the storage place and put it on there? To conceal his identity or as an act of remembrance? Couldn't have been in his wardrobe all that time, right?

xpost was the bloody room not where Oliver and Lisa (ie the classmates) had sex, and she tried to jump up because the pal Jeppe was filming it on his phone and she cut her arm?

Any reports on Borgen? I might start watching this on iPlayer

V much liked episode 1, family dynamic excellently done. Not sure I have the attention for something politics based though. Both Lund's partners from Killing 1 & 2 are in this btw.

Yes, (Killing Spoiler!) I kept expecting Strange actor to go on a murder spree. Not sure the politics will be enough for me either. I do really like some of the characters though. The spin doctor guy looks to be a good baddie.

they've done ok, especially episode 4 where they moved beyond the coalition-building back and forth. i liked the greenland montage, for instance.

I've just finished the first episode of Bron/Broen or just 'Bridge'. It's got that Killing gloomy feel. Anticipating watching the second one. I did love Borgen in the end. I liked how she transitioned from unlikely politician to, lets just say 'learning on the job'. There should be a collective scandinavian tv thread!

I really enjoyed the first two episodes of Bridge, partly because it uses the same central plot device as Bon Cop, Bad Cop.

It has the same kind of Northern European industrial noir feeling as The Killing but there's lots of comedy there as well.

anyone watching the third series? why does no-one finish their sentences on this show?

Yes. Because that's standard realism-tool. No one finishes their sentences in

We don't have time for that now - we have to bring the entire department where the killer isn't

I watched it, but I still haven't seen the final two episodes. How far are they in UK?

the last 2 (of series 3) are on this saturday

i still love lund but the plot has gotten tiresome esp. the political aspect

Yeah the problem w/this last series is the whole thing being so tied up with the PM's office. Additonally never quite believing the outcome of the kidnap would've determined the outcome of the elections, or that the opposition would use the kidnapping to score political points as that has a danger of backfiring.

Then you have the ending...again, would Lund step outside the law here? Other possible endings on a postcard please.

Go to admire the craft to keep you watching.

On episode 12 season 1. It's gripping as hell, though the 'He did it! Oh wait he didn't' structure could wear thin soon.

Danes seem to like smoking indoors a lot don't they?

Season 1 > Season 2 > Season 3. Still, this one was was good though. With hunky Borch showing his love and Mark making amends, with his newborn it was only going one way for Lund.....

Loving the 1st season. Is it bad I watched 14 episodes in a day. I tried to stop, but I just had to know what happened next.

Only passing out from tiredness stopped me. I intend to finish the last 6 tonight. I have seasons 2 & 3 ready, but I will leave it at least a week before starting them.

I haven't read the thread as I don't want to know, but I think I have an idea who I want it to be/who it is...

it's so good. just finished the second series myself. the first series was excellent, but i think i enjoyed the second even more. making it 10 episodes instead of 20 was the right choice, it was a lot tighter with fewer loose ends/red herrings. i'm going to take some time before watching the third series.

currently watching the sort-of knockoff series broen/bron. the plot and characters are a bit more csi and less bleakly realistic, but it's good fun and having the action switch between malmø and copenhagen is a genius move.

i prefered Broen / Bron (The Bridge) purely because of the red herring thing in the killing.

The french thing, Spiral, also well worth a watch (4 series now)

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sara!jevo
'84!
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On to episode 20 now. I'll have to dig out Broen / Bron & Spiral.

Will report back in 59 minutes.

boo, my little drawing didn't work.

Excellent.

meyer's bananas

The Bridge is back on BBC 4! First two episodes were really good.

lol

— Did you forget to log off?

— No way! … I don't know

The Bridge is good. Martin's charachter seems to have a more sympathetic on Saga's Aspergers like traits in this series.

—Are you walking out on your mother's speech?
—Yes, that's exactly what she's doing.

i was enjoying how no one on danish tv is familiar to me, and then i start watching 'borgen' and there's lund's old partner meyer in a new role, doh

oh man 'borgen' is so watchable, way more compelling than 'forbrydelsen'

it's like if they took all the sorkin shit out of west wing and just left you with the drama of governing

also half of it is about journalists so it is also better than the newsroom

there's lund's old partner meyer in a new role, doh

VERY different character as well

find Borgen extremely over-rated. The Greenland episode, oozing with Scandi goody-goodyness really threw me off the whole series.

i like how she started out all full of life and then became dead inside

the circle is drawn a little too closely, i think. like after their green party muslim friend quits government, there he is again 1-2 episodes later in their PEACE IN AFRICA episode to act as translator between the african presidents. they didn't have any professional translators in for that shit??

even ol bengt had basically disappeared before nyborg had to fire him. makes it seem like she runs the country w/ basically one pr flack and her secretary and civil servant. then again, it only has a population of 5 million.

So caught up with season 2 of 'The Bridge', well up to episode 8 anyway.
Saga Noren is such a BOSS!

Oh man, what an ending!

troels looks like limmy

― cozen, Monday, 14 March 2011 12:33

LOL

Just finished S1 of this. Good stuff! Would like to read the thread but don't want to see S2/3 spoilers.

Ha, that's a bit like us -- we snagged a cheap used Blu-ray import of all three seasons last year and saw the first, but haven't had a chance to do the follow-ups.

Got S2 lined up. Cheap used sets is usually how I do TV series'. Of course now I'm intrigued by The Bridge...

Saga Noren is such a BOSS!

I feel like I'm going to miss her when the show ends, although I've only watched the first two seasons so far.

The villains in seasons 1+2 of The Bridge were kind of ludicrous but heck it's very good entertainment.

oh, this is probably a better thread to bump.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bnc34

The Bridge series 4 starts on the 11th, on BBC2(!). all 30 previous episodes currently available on iplayer if you feel like a binge.

I'm down with any scene where Saga and her partner are in the car and she's aggressively questioning him about his sex life.

you may like this then (turn on subtitles):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ4bMOU23D0