The Killing Series 1 Overview

After twenty episodes, The Killing has proven to live up to expectations. By the time I finished the finale, I was bumb with shock and awe. As the series progressed, suspects emerged, secrets and lies were discovered, careers and lives were put on the line, livelihoods and families were brought down crumbling. Characters were killed off, no one could be trusted, and those few who were should never have been trusted. The cast were fantastic, especially the actors who played Sarah Lund, Troels Hartmann, Theis Larsen and Jan Meyer, but the cast as an ensemble were top notch. The writing was tight and drama always built towards a grand climax at the end of each episode. The score was brilliant and was stuck in my head for days. I can see how the subtitles may put people off if they don't know Danish, or can't keep up, as I first thought, but I got used to it quickly as the story got more absorbing. A grand find this was and I can't wait for the second series to be shown in the Autumn.

The Killing Episodes 4-6

As my viewing of the sublime and compelling "The Killing" marches on, the plot takes more twist and turns in the case of Nanna Berk Larsen. We discover that Nanna's ex-boyfriend Oliver had revenge sex with her best friend, Lisa, the night she disappeared, and that she left the Halloween party for a secret rendezvous. A teacher is suspected, and after a certain teacher's record turns up stating that he was accused of rape by a third year, he becomes chief suspect. Meanwhile, Hartmann, suspecting his man Morten of leaking information to Bremer, sacks his employee and succeeds in forming an alliance with a fellow candidate. However, the basis of his campaign, "immigrant role models" is put into doubt when one of the role models, Rama, is made suspect to the investigation. Meanwhile, the Larsens prepare to say goodbye to their daughter. Having seen her body, Theis breaks down and orders Vagn to get information on the case, and learns that Rama is at the funeral. Theis, who we and Lund discover, has a criminal history of GBH and man slaughter, offers to drive Rama home, but obviously he has other plans. And of course, Sarah is literally on the plane when she realises that Rama is in serious danger. It's utterly complex and brilliant. I like the relationship between Sarah and her successor, Jan. I'm also a fan of the running "gag" in the programme of a character receiving good news and preparing to celebrate before they get a phonecall which instantly changes the mood. The acting and writing is superb and the dialogue is tight through the translation. I look forward to watching more.

The Killing Episodes 1-3

The Killing is a detective drama about a case of the disappearance of a nineteen year old girl called Nanna. I was apprehensive in the first ten minutes of the Danish cop drama; the subtitles were a turnoff and the slow buildup to  the body being discovered was boring. However, I'm glad I hung in there, because this DVD seems to be worth the forty five pounds. The story is told from the point of view of three characters involved with the case. First, there's the investigating officer Sarah Lund, who's supposed to be moving to Sweden with her boyfriend, but is forced to close one more case: the murder of a nineteen year old girl. She is aided by her replacement, DC Jan Mueller. Secondly, there's Troels Hartmann, a young politician and candidate for Mayor of Copenhagen. There seems to be a mole in his campaign committee who's leaking information to the press. Things take a turn for the worst when the dead girl is found in a car belonging to his campaign, implicating him in the murder. Was he framed? Why? Thirdly is Theis and Pernille Birk Larsson, the parents of the dead girl. The episodes after her death see them come to terms with her murder and make sense of what has happened, grieving and breaking the news to their young sons. Their story makes for heartbreaking viewing, sure enough. The drama comes in thick and fast, with suspects and conspiracy theories aplenty. Theis and Troels are deep characters that are not all they seem. It's well acted, each episode builds towards a thrilling climax and cliffhanger and the plot thickens in every scene. I love it.

A Game of Thrones: Book versus TV Series

Having just finished reading the first book of George RR Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series, A Game of Thrones, I felt compelled to make a comparison of book and program. First, let me say how blown I was away with the sheer scope and ambition this epic has. The series was stunning itself with it's mass of characters, worlds and back story. The characters are not black and white, good or bad, or those that are end up dead. Every character's got something to hide, or a secret agenda, a motto they live by, a back story full of deceit and a shameful nickname. What impressed me was the different orders and societies such as the Night's Watch, the Maesters, the Kings guard, that make this fantasy world seem real. Even the prejudices shown in the world towards bastards, cripples and dwarfs give an air of authenticity, as if Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms could have really happened. There are decoy-heroes, plot twists that would never have happened anywhere else, there are deconstructions of fantasy and fairy tale archetypes. There seems to be everything in the series and more.
The book and series compliment each other and take advantage of each medium to tell the story; the series seems to serve the book and vice verso. For example, the book uses exposition and thoughts of the characters to explain extensive back stories and such, which the TV series can never do. The style of POV chapters means we only see events from certain points of view, which means a lot of gaps are filled in when it comes to the series. We see sides to characters like Theon, Cersei, Jaime and Robert that the book doesn't give us, that do a lot to create emotional investment in the characters. The scenes where Robert is talking to Cersei, Jaime or Barristan Selmy were some of my favorite scenes from the series, and serve as signs of foreboding of his downfall. The scenes featuring Theon serve as a reminder to the audience that he's an unpleasant character. One scene that stands out that wasn't in the book was Jaime recalling war stories with Selmy and later Jory, showing the Kingslayer to be a morally ambiguous character.
Each and every character is memorable, even those who seem similar. From the book, I liked Tyrion, although I found him to be less likable than he was in the show. Perhaps that is because of Peter Dinklage's performance and take on the character, who knows. I enjoyed his scenes, especially when he's in the Eyrie and later when he's with Bronn and Shae. Speaking of the cast, all of them are exceptional and really go for it, and some play their characters differently to how I interpreted them from the book.

Game of Thrones Episode 10: Fire and Blood

The series finale of Game of Thrones has come and gone, and it did not disappoint! Things were set up nicely for a second series despite the main character and actor being killed off in the previous ep. There was so much going on and lines being drawn that you don't notice there's a stand out protagonist: the shades of grey, not black and white. Plot wise, we have learn that Dany's child died, but was sacrificed by the witch to "save" Drogo, who was in a vegetative state. Dany smothers Drogo rather than let him be a vegetable, and burns him and the witch as a sacrifice, before going into the fire herself with her dragon eggs. The next morning, Jorah finds her unharmed, with three baby dragons, a species believed to be extinct. Seeing the dragons, Jorah and the khalasar make her their new Khal. It was this scene that took up most of the episode and ended the series, and what a way to end it. Emilia Clarke was great as the coming of age heiress to the Targaryen legacy, showing grief and anger at the deaths of her son and husband, coldness at the Witch's suffering and confidence as she steps into the fire. I dismissed this plot line as tedious and predictable last month, and how wrong I was! First we get Harry Lloyd brilliantly humanizing an incestuous demon in Viserys as he gets the "golden crown", then we get Drogo giving his rousing war speech, before the program swerves us and kills him off. And then this happens; George RR Martin, take a bow!
Elsewhere, Tywin Lannister is in a state after losing the war to Robb Stark and learning that Jaime has been captured by the enemy. So he sends Tyrion to act as Hand to the King in his stead, which moves that subplot along nicely for series 2. And the more we see of Tyrion's woman, Shae, the better. Speaking of the king, Joffrey is a frightening bastard. A poisonous villain if ever there was one. It's bad enough he has Ned killed, but he brags about it to Stark's daughter and his future queen, Sansa, who he then had a servant hit for talking back to him. A mad king indeed. Jack Gleason plays him as a mad, creepy, psychopath who is uncontrollable. A delightful creation.
Speaking of bastards, Jon Snow tries to desert the Wall after learning of his father's death, eager to kill Joffrey. However, he is convinced to stay by his friends, and later joins the Night Watch go beyond the Wall to find Benjen and fight the White Walkers. Speaking of the Wall, Arya, having been sneaked out of King's Landing by Yoren, looks to be joining the Night's Watch alongside Chris from Skins (UK). Finally, Robb is declared as "King in the North" by his bannermen after their victory over the Lannisters, and Catelyn learns that Jaime tried to kill Bran all the way back at the start of the series. So much possibility for the second. Are that still going to call it Game of Thrones, or Clash of Kings, after the book?
One gripe I had was the amount of unneeded "filler" scenes to pad out the hour. There was a scene showing Cersei in bed with her cousin that showed no purpose except that she won't learn that incest is wrong, especially if you're in the Royal Family. There was also three pointless exposition scenes, one involving Bran teaching Osha about his ancestors, one where Grand Maester gives a lecture to a whore about past kings, and one where Varys and Littlefinger talk about how their roles in government are the same, no matter who the king is. Is this necessary in the series finale? Other than that, I'll be looking forward to series 2. I'm currently reading the book in the meantime to quench my thirst.

Game of Thrones Episode Nine: Baelor

"Ser Ilyn, Bring Me His Head"

And so bookends probably the most captivating and emotionally-charged piece of television this week. "Baelor" saw plot arcs and threads come together, join up and reach an inevitable yet unpredictable climax.
The main talking point this week was the judgement and execution of Ned Stark, the main protagonist and hero of the series, who was killed off for real. The scene of his judgement in front of Joffrey, Sansa, Cersei and the Small Council and the people of King's Landing was powerful and haunting, one of the best scenes of the programme and will undoubtedly go down in history as a classic death scene. There are so many great little touches to this sequence alone. The reveal of what happened to Aria, Ned being led out in chains, the fade to silence, the imagery of the birds flying away and transition to slow-motion as the impact of Joffrey's verdict sinks in; the reaction of the Small Council and Cersei to Joffrey's decision as Cersei's role as puppet master crumbles in light of King Joffrey's newly discovered defiance juxtaposed with Joffrey's triumphant, power-mad face as he calls for Stark's head; Ned and Aria's eyes meeting as he's led to the platform closely followed by Ned's speech and the Nights Watch guard shielding a desperate Aria from seeing the execution; Ned's resignation and peaceful acceptance of his death, while chaos, grief and horror reign all around him. Also, the scene came out of nowhere, given that the bulk of the episode focussed elsewhere, and that I wasn't expecting it. Joffrey has now taken top spot in the race for main antagonist, a truly despicable character. Even Cersei was questioning of his decision. Another mad king in the making perhaps. It opens up doors to what's going to happen next in the finale next week, and is, in my eyes, unmissable. The scene between Varys and Ned was a great set up to the climax, with Ned sacrificing his honour and pride to save his family, but sadly it was for nought.
I also liked Tyrion's sub plot; the scene where he, Bronn and the whore play drinking games on the eve of battle is another gem. The bit where Tyrion explains his back story was great, he and Bronn seem to have good chemistry and provide some humour and Tyrion's rousing speech to the mountain men followed by him being knocked out for the whole battle was abrupt yet memorable for the right reasons.
The Dothraki storyline took an interesting turn as Khal Drogo seems to be dying from an infected wound. Desperate to save both her husband and her Dynasty, Danearys orders that Blood Magic be performed and an animal be sacrificed  in order to save him. This leads to Danearys being forced to go into labour after a mutinous Dothraki general rebels against her. Emilia Clarke does a grand job of her performance as a grieving widow, a tyrannous queen and a lost girl all in one scene. An exhausting performance for the viewer, and so much to come. Meanwhile, at the Wall, Jon Stark learns of Robb's war with the Lannisters, and Robb proves to be a worthy commander in battle, defeating Jaime's army and capturing the Kingslayer. We don't get to see either of the two battles which is understandable due to time and budget constraints, and the reveal by Tywin that "Robb is with eighteen thousand of his men" was a highlight. Robb's defiance in front of Jaime was another great scene and looked as if maybe the good guys might triumph. Then the final scene happened. The repercussions of Joffrey's actions look to make for some gripping television, and I can't wait.

Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle Episode 6: Politics

The last in what is a treat of a series draws to a close, Stew casts his silver gaze over politics, specifically the Tories and David Cameron. As with every other topic, Lee soon goes on a tangent and talks about something else. He talks about how in the eighties everyone hated the Tories, questioning how they constantly got re-elected all those years. This segues into a twenty minute bit about David Cameron, "born into power", but having to do so as part of a coalition with Nick Clegg. He then told a touching story about betrayal and friendship concerning himself and David Cameron when they were at Oxford together. It's too long and brilliant to recap, but it turns out that the story isn't true, but a testament to Cameron's character. I'm glad this joke got a look in in the TV series since it's a favourite of mine from the "If You Want A Milder Comedian" live show, only in that show he talks about making friends with a teenage Richard Hammond, instead of a young David Cameron. It's a great, multi-layered joke and a favourite of mine. Throw in some parallels with Cameron's political career and some repetitive observational comedy "parodies", and its a typically Stewart Lee funny half hour and a worthy end to the series.