Wednesday, 30 March 2011
The Killing on Amc

titleOne of Britain’s most popular series is a Danish thriller that is the antithesis of a cop show.

No car chases. No explosions. No serial killers. Cops make mistakes. A crime isn’t solved within an hour.

The show is The Killing and this 20-part subtitled series has been a hit in Britain for the past four years mainly because its action unfolds slowly and deliberately, drawing in the viewer. Friends in Europe claim The Killing it is as addictive as HBO’s The Wire. For the record, the series originally was broadcast in Denmark under the name Forbrydelsen.

Americans will finally get a chance to see what all the fuss is about when AMC’s 13-week version of The Killing debuts at 9 p.m. on April 3. Yes, this is the Americanized version so the dark tone will be a bit uplifted, but not by much. Remember, this is AMC, home of the deliciously dark series Mad Men.

AMC had kept the action low-key, the atmosphere moody, and the emotion tapped-down. Like the original, each hour of AMC’s version will stand in for an entire day but the setting is now Seattle instead of Denmark. If that makes you remember the haunting Twin Peaks, I doubt it’s just a coincidence.

Homicide detective Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) is ready to leave the job to get married. She's a single mom, ready to leave Seattle and move to Sonoma with her child and her soon-to-be husband. But on her last day of work, she is drawn into a new case about the disappearance of a teenage girl, Rosie Larsen. Mitch and Stan Larsen frantically try to track down their 17-year-old daughter when they learn she did not show up at school. The case leads Sarah and fellow detective Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman), who was to be her replacement, to Rosie’s school. The teenager’s disappearance also may affect the re-election of City Councilman Darren Richmond (Billy Campbell).

The Killing’s quiet, thoughtful approach makes the investigation nightmarishly unnerving and utterly compelling. This is television to savor.

The Killing will air on Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on AMC.

PHOTO: Detectives Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman) and Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) in The Killing. AMC photo

The Killing on Amc
Oline Cogdill
the-killing-on-amc

titleOne of Britain’s most popular series is a Danish thriller that is the antithesis of a cop show.

No car chases. No explosions. No serial killers. Cops make mistakes. A crime isn’t solved within an hour.

The show is The Killing and this 20-part subtitled series has been a hit in Britain for the past four years mainly because its action unfolds slowly and deliberately, drawing in the viewer. Friends in Europe claim The Killing it is as addictive as HBO’s The Wire. For the record, the series originally was broadcast in Denmark under the name Forbrydelsen.

Americans will finally get a chance to see what all the fuss is about when AMC’s 13-week version of The Killing debuts at 9 p.m. on April 3. Yes, this is the Americanized version so the dark tone will be a bit uplifted, but not by much. Remember, this is AMC, home of the deliciously dark series Mad Men.

AMC had kept the action low-key, the atmosphere moody, and the emotion tapped-down. Like the original, each hour of AMC’s version will stand in for an entire day but the setting is now Seattle instead of Denmark. If that makes you remember the haunting Twin Peaks, I doubt it’s just a coincidence.

Homicide detective Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) is ready to leave the job to get married. She's a single mom, ready to leave Seattle and move to Sonoma with her child and her soon-to-be husband. But on her last day of work, she is drawn into a new case about the disappearance of a teenage girl, Rosie Larsen. Mitch and Stan Larsen frantically try to track down their 17-year-old daughter when they learn she did not show up at school. The case leads Sarah and fellow detective Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman), who was to be her replacement, to Rosie’s school. The teenager’s disappearance also may affect the re-election of City Councilman Darren Richmond (Billy Campbell).

The Killing’s quiet, thoughtful approach makes the investigation nightmarishly unnerving and utterly compelling. This is television to savor.

The Killing will air on Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on AMC.

PHOTO: Detectives Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman) and Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) in The Killing. AMC photo

Saturday, 26 March 2011
James M. Cain's Mildred Pierce on Hbo
altTo most mystery fiction readers, James M. Cain remains one of the classic noir authors. His novels are still considered a major part of the crime fiction canon.

The Postman Rings Twice and Double Indemnity are terrific novels that became intriguing movies. But Cain was quoted as disliking being labeled as a hard-boiled author: “I make no conscious effort to be tough, or hard-boiled, or grim, or any of the things I am usually called.”

Cain also wrote several novels not considered crime fiction, such as Serenade.
New fans are sure to discover Cain, thanks to the excellent HBO five-part mini-series Mildred Pierce that begins at 9 p.m. Sunday, March 27.
The cable series is based on Cain’s 1941 novel, which was made into an Oscar-winning movie in 1945 starring Joan Crawford. That original film is a personal favorite, but the HBO series starring Kate Winslet is a revelation.

True, there are no murder mysteries, guns or real crimes in Mildred Pierce, but the interlocking family drama is the stuff upon which many a crime fiction novel has been based. Evan Rachel Wood plays Veda, the treacherous daughter.
The HBO series is closer to Cain’s dark novel, keeping many of the original subplots and dialogue. Oscar-winner Winslet is, as always, breathtaking as she gets to the heart of Mildred Pierce, a waitress turned restaurateur who sacrifices everything for her daughter.

Each time a film or TV series is based on a novel there usually is a spike in the author’s work. It’s happening with Michael Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer. I hope that will happen for Cain.

And here’s another quote from Cain from the introduction of Double Indemnity: “I merely try to write as the character would write, and I never forget that the average man, from the fields, the streets, the bars, the offices, and even the gutters of his country, has acquired a vividness of speech that goes beyond anything I could invent.”
Photo: Kate Winslet in Mildred Pierce. credit: HBO
James M. Cain's Mildred Pierce on Hbo
Oline Cogdill
james-m-cains-mildred-pierce
altTo most mystery fiction readers, James M. Cain remains one of the classic noir authors. His novels are still considered a major part of the crime fiction canon.

The Postman Rings Twice and Double Indemnity are terrific novels that became intriguing movies. But Cain was quoted as disliking being labeled as a hard-boiled author: “I make no conscious effort to be tough, or hard-boiled, or grim, or any of the things I am usually called.”

Cain also wrote several novels not considered crime fiction, such as Serenade.
New fans are sure to discover Cain, thanks to the excellent HBO five-part mini-series Mildred Pierce that begins at 9 p.m. Sunday, March 27.
The cable series is based on Cain’s 1941 novel, which was made into an Oscar-winning movie in 1945 starring Joan Crawford. That original film is a personal favorite, but the HBO series starring Kate Winslet is a revelation.

True, there are no murder mysteries, guns or real crimes in Mildred Pierce, but the interlocking family drama is the stuff upon which many a crime fiction novel has been based. Evan Rachel Wood plays Veda, the treacherous daughter.
The HBO series is closer to Cain’s dark novel, keeping many of the original subplots and dialogue. Oscar-winner Winslet is, as always, breathtaking as she gets to the heart of Mildred Pierce, a waitress turned restaurateur who sacrifices everything for her daughter.

Each time a film or TV series is based on a novel there usually is a spike in the author’s work. It’s happening with Michael Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer. I hope that will happen for Cain.

And here’s another quote from Cain from the introduction of Double Indemnity: “I merely try to write as the character would write, and I never forget that the average man, from the fields, the streets, the bars, the offices, and even the gutters of his country, has acquired a vividness of speech that goes beyond anything I could invent.”
Photo: Kate Winslet in Mildred Pierce. credit: HBO
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Abc’s Body of Proof
titleThe real proof in the new medical examiner drama Body of Proof, which from a special preview looks like a run-of-the mill series, may not be in the plots, but in the appeal of Dana Delany.

Delany brings a touch of class and an emotional resolve that makes you want to root for whatever character she is playing.
Body of Proof will need every millimeter of Delany’s appeal if there is to be a future for this new ABC drama that begins at 10 p.m. EST on March 29. (Check your local listings).

Delany stars as Dr. Megan Hunt, a once-successful workaholic neurosurgeon in Philadelphia. Professionally, Hunt was brilliant, even if she often appeared cold and a bit too clinical. Then she pretty much lost everything. Following a divorce, she lost custody of her daughter and then, following a horrific car accident, lost her job.
Body of Proof picks up five years after that accident when the only job Hunt can get is as a medical examiner.

Although her confidence has been a bit shaken, Hunt is still tough as nails and sure of her skills. She also has found a new calling – speaking for the dead.

Body of Proof follows a formula set by previous cop and medical shows. Hunt will, of course, be in constant conflict with the cops with whom she works, the medical examiner’s staff and her supervisors. And she will often be right. And everyone will have a grudging respect for her.

Although Body of Proof doesn’t break any new ground, Hunt’s unresolved issues with her ex-husband and her daughter bring an undercurrent of vulnerability to the character and a hope of more complex and original storytelling to come.

Sonja Sohn (The Wire) co-stars as Det. Samantha Baker, although her role seems to be just window dressing for now.

Body of Proof replaces Detroit 1-8-7, which had an 18-episode run.

ABC’s “Body of Proof” stars Dana Delany as Dr. Megan Hunt. (Photo/ABC)
Abc’s Body of Proof
Oline Cogdill
abcs-body-of-proof
titleThe real proof in the new medical examiner drama Body of Proof, which from a special preview looks like a run-of-the mill series, may not be in the plots, but in the appeal of Dana Delany.

Delany brings a touch of class and an emotional resolve that makes you want to root for whatever character she is playing.
Body of Proof will need every millimeter of Delany’s appeal if there is to be a future for this new ABC drama that begins at 10 p.m. EST on March 29. (Check your local listings).

Delany stars as Dr. Megan Hunt, a once-successful workaholic neurosurgeon in Philadelphia. Professionally, Hunt was brilliant, even if she often appeared cold and a bit too clinical. Then she pretty much lost everything. Following a divorce, she lost custody of her daughter and then, following a horrific car accident, lost her job.
Body of Proof picks up five years after that accident when the only job Hunt can get is as a medical examiner.

Although her confidence has been a bit shaken, Hunt is still tough as nails and sure of her skills. She also has found a new calling – speaking for the dead.

Body of Proof follows a formula set by previous cop and medical shows. Hunt will, of course, be in constant conflict with the cops with whom she works, the medical examiner’s staff and her supervisors. And she will often be right. And everyone will have a grudging respect for her.

Although Body of Proof doesn’t break any new ground, Hunt’s unresolved issues with her ex-husband and her daughter bring an undercurrent of vulnerability to the character and a hope of more complex and original storytelling to come.

Sonja Sohn (The Wire) co-stars as Det. Samantha Baker, although her role seems to be just window dressing for now.

Body of Proof replaces Detroit 1-8-7, which had an 18-episode run.

ABC’s “Body of Proof” stars Dana Delany as Dr. Megan Hunt. (Photo/ABC)