The Killing - Series 1 and 2 [DVD]

These thirty hours of riveting film cover two exciting, pacy thrillers, with each episode ending on a cliffhanger which lures you straight on the next one.

It is easy to grasp the appeal of detective Sarah Lund, obsessively focused on solving the puzzle of brutal murders at the cost of her personal life, and wonderfully liberated in true Scandinavian style from any concerns about her appearance, or need to use any feminine wiles to achieve her ends. In typical small touches of humour, she knocks cartons of coffee over her colleague's desk, or misinterprets her mother's horror as she thoughtlessly waves around graphic photos of murder victims during one of the phone calls that always seem too urgent to be left to a more suitable time.

What sets the series apart is the gradual revelation of the main characters' personalities, and the development of their relationships. The best example of this for me was grieving of the couple who lose their teenage daughter in Series 1, as they move very convincingly through the various stages of stunned disbelief, anger and desire for revenge, sometimes blaming each other to the point of estrangement.

In both series, the murders soon develop a political angle. The political shenanigans are hugely entertaining in their own right. If Danish politics can be portrayed as so corrupt and devious, what hope for the rest of us?

My main reservations, which do not seem widely shared, are that Series 2, with "only" ten episodes is too condensed, which can make it hard to keep track of all the plot twists and leaves too little time for the in depth emotional development we see in Series 1. Perhaps the producers needed to take more account of the needs of viewers trying to read subtitles alongside observing every fine detail.

Although I admire the level of depth that leaves everyone damaged in some way by events and some questions unanswered, I think there are too many flaws - such as why a trained assassin would shoot someone several times in the torso, rather than once in the head? (Need to avoid spoilers precludes other better examples).

The nagging loose ends may be the "downside" of the author writing one step ahead of the filming, the plus side being the vitality and spontaneity of many scenes. Also, of course, the slight sense of "let down" at the end of Series 2 may be withdrawal symptoms after all that excitement. At least there is Series 3 to anticipate!

The danish crime thriller "The killing" is "insanely brillant" wrote The Times. The Guardian also gave it 10/10. Believe me, it really, really is that good. The whole series (1 & 2) runs for nearly 28 hours, and I guarantee you, not a minute too long. The story is very clever and well written, the acting so good, that you almost can't switch the TV off at night to go to bed. No wonder it won the "British Academy Television Award" for its acting and story line. My highest recommendation.

I hated 'The Wire', and only lasted one episode; lots of swearing and violence are not big or clever or for me. I loved 'The Killing' (series 1), and unlike 0 star guy, actually watched the whole series (Nb. to 0 star guy, the father is not PC, but has a violent criminal past, and it was your misinterpretation of this aspect of his character that made me suspect you had not watched the whole thing; if however you did, and this was still your assessment of him, well, I would seriously begin to question your ability to judge character. No-one in this series fits into all good or all bad, clever or stupid moulds. As in life, everyone is in some way flawed).

Do not be put off by the subtitles (you may even learn something- I now have several Danish phrases under my linguistic belt). The story twists and turns more than a twisty turny thing and the final 2 episodes blew me away, as I never saw it coming.

In a nutshell, Sarah Lund is on her last day with the Copenhagen police before emigrating with her boyfriend and son. Her replacement is her polar opposite, but at first this is not a problem, as they are not going to be spending much time together. However, what seems to be nothing (the discovery of clothing and a video rental card) turns into an involving and disturbing case, with Lund persuaded to stay on until it is solved. Meanwhile, a local politician is dragged into the investigation during a crucial phase of his election campaign, and political intrigue abounds. This is played out against the quiet devastation wreaked on the lives of her parents, who are trying to hold things together for the sake of their sons.

If I were being picky, my only beef is that Danish CID seem very keen to jump to conclusions, and more than once they definately know who the killer is, only for it to turn out not to be.

Anyway, felt I had to write a review to counter the O star one. All those who love quality drama (and, being British, a good murder), will love this. Gotta go, time for me to pre-order series 2.