The Killing Returns

I am one of the unhappy first season viewers of AMC's The Killing (as noted in an earlier posting).  This murder mystery/family drama involved great acting with a riveting story, only to be weakened by a poor ending.  Well, the second season returns this Sunday with a two-hour premiere.  I am hoping the series can get to the bottom of Rosie Larsen's death and continue to develop the story. 


For new and existing viewers, AMC has provided a helpful video summary of the first season, which reminded me again of the high quality of this program.  The network also provided this brief written summary (with more details than the video):

Seattle homicide detective Sarah Linden is partnered with Stephen Holder, a transfer from county narcotics, to investigate the case of Rosie Larsen, a teenage girl who disappeared after attending a school dance. A car is pulled from a lake in Discovery Park; Rosie's body is in the trunk. The vehicle is registered to the campaign of Darren Richmond, a Seattle city councilman who is running for mayor against incumbent Lesley Adams.

Rosie's parents, Stan and Mitch, have no idea who harmed their daughter. An early lead focuses on Rosie's wealthy ex-boyfriend, Jasper Ames, and his pal Kris Echols. Suspicion intensifies after video surfaces of the two boys performing lewd acts with a girl in the high school's secret basement party room on the night of the dance, but it's revealed that the video is a fake, and the girl in the video is Rosie's best friend, Sterling Fitch, not Rosie.

Jamie Wright, Richmond's campaign manager, and Gwen Eaton, Richmond's campaign adviser (and secret lover), urge Richmond to use the case to generate voter sympathy by linking Rosie's untimely end to his own wife's death in a drunk-driving accident. Richmond refuses.

Gwen introduces Richmond to Tom Drexler, a wealthy local entrepreneur with a grudge against Adams. Drexler donates $50,000 to Richmond for a media blitz.

In need of cash to cover the costs of Rosie's funeral and the mortgage on a house he purchased to surprise Mitch, Stan gets a loan from Janek Kovarsky, a mobster he once worked for.

One of Rosie's teachers, Bennet Ahmed, becomes the prime suspect after Holder connects Rosie to an after-school hoops program where Bennet volunteers and Sarah discovers letters from Bennet in Rosie's bedroom.

Bennet tells Sarah and Holder that he was at his apartment when Rosie stopped by to return a book on the night of the dance, but a video proves that Bennet was at the school. Bennet's wife, Amber, tells Sarah and Holder that Bennet's friend Muhammed Hamid has a key to their apartment.

Richmond begins airing a commercial promoting the hoops program that prominently features Bennet. During a televised debate, Adams reveals that Bennet is a murder suspect and hammers Richmond for coddling criminals.

Stan's friend Belko Royce tells him that the police are investigating Bennet. When Bennet shows up at Rosie's wake, Stan offers to drive him home but instead brings him to a dock, though he releases Bennet unharmed.

Adams outmaneuvers Richmond at a City Council meeting, getting Richmond's program defunded. Drexler brags to Jamie about having dirt on Adams.

Sarah and Holder's search for Muhammed brings them to a downtown meat market, where they become ensnared in an FBI anti-terrorism raid. While inside, Sarah spots a pink T-shirt that Mitch later identifies as belonging to Rosie.

Sarah becomes suspicious of Holder after seeing him receive an envelope of cash and follows him to what turns out to be a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, where she learns about his junkie past.

Richmond approves going public with the dirt on Adams provided by Drexler: the mayor got a teenage intern pregnant. Adams denies the affair.

Holder has a wiretap placed on Bennet's phone and tells Sarah that a judge friend of his can issue a warrant for arrest. In a wiretapped conversation, Bennet and a caller discuss passports and "the girl."

Sarah prepares to arrest Bennet, but the judge refuses to sign the warrant. The detectives catch a break when Amber provides Muhammed's cell-phone number and they use his phone's GPS to track him down. Muhammed reveals that the conversation wasn't about Rosie but rather a Somali girl he's trying to help.

After Mitch accuses Stan of letting Rosie's killer get away, Stan and Belko kidnap Bennet. Stan beats Bennet, unaware that there is evidence proving the teacher is innocent. Upon learning about it, Stan surrenders to the police.

Video from a cab places Rosie inside the Larsen apartment after the dance. Belko, who, unbeknownst to Rosie, was in the apartment when she stopped by, recalls overhearing Rosie say, "Adela, I'll be there." Sarah discovers that a local ferry named Adela has a late-night departure for a casino whose logo matches the key chain found with Rosie's body.

Sarah requests a warrant to review the casino's ATM footage but becomes distracted when her son, Jack, goes missing. Sarah and Holder spend the day searching for him.

ATM footage places Rosie, made-up and wearing a low-cut blouse, at the casino. The footage leads the detectives to Beau Soleil, an escort service. Rosie's Aunt Terry tells Sarah and Holder that she occasionally works as an escort and describes hearing another escort's tale of a john with the pseudonym "Orpheus" discussing a drowning scenario similar to Rosie's.

Sarah obtains Orpheus' e-mail from the Beau Soleil database and e-mails him. While visiting Richmond, she sees the e-mails to Orpheus on Richmond's computer. Richmond catches her looking at his computer.

As the detectives seek more evidence against Richmond, rumors surface about his affairs. Richmond issues a public denial but confesses to Gwen that he dated several women after his wife's death.

After hearing that Stan has reconnected with Kovarsky, Mitch refuses to post bail, but Terry does so.
Holder directs Sarah to a gas station whose attendant describes hearing a girl screaming on the night Rosie disappeared. The police search a nearby forest and turn up Rosie's sneaker.

Sarah visits Richmond again and accuses him of murder. Gwen overhears her and withdraws the alibi she previously provided. After Holder produces a tollbooth security-camera photo of Richmond driving the car that Rosie's body was found in, Sarah arrests him.

Stan returns home. "Every piece of this place hurts me," Mitch sobs. Later that evening, she leaves her family.

Sarah receives a call from highway patrol: the tollbooth cameras have been off-line for weeks. The Richmond photo is a fake. Elsewhere, Holder gets into a car and tells an unseen driver, "Photo worked. He's going down."

As police escort Richmond to a car, Belko approaches Richmond and pulls out a gun.

I am trying not to read all the press on the second season until I see it for myself.  However, I have read ahead a little bit and I am glad that some story lines have dropped, such as detective Linden's planned move to California with her son (per HitFix):

Another bad idea, handled poorly last season: the fiction that Linden was always on the verge of heading to the airport with her son Jack(*) to move to California wine country with her fiancé. It's among the oldest tricks on the crime story book, and one presented with the same solemnity as the rest of "The Killing." (Not that this needs to be a light show, given the subject matter, but the only way you can get away with that tired "just one last case" nonsense today is if you're making fun of it.) The premiere abandons the idea almost instantly, and instead focuses on the emotional impact the case is having on Linden. We were told frequently last year that Linden gets too wrapped up in her investigations —yet another ancient cop show trope, by the way — but this year "The Killing" actually shows it to us, and Enos' performance gives fragile life to the cliché.

I look forward to the continuation of this story and reacquainting myself with the characters. 

Update:  While the second season dragged at times,  the mystery was finally resolved in an interesting way.  The acting was superb again during this season, but it was sad to see so many of the characters walking in circles.  I imagine the show lost many followers while it was finding its way.  I have not heard anything about a third season.  In a June 18th interview with People magazine, The Killing actress Jamie Anne Allman provided her opinion:

I don't know why it wouldn't be picked up for a third season. As far as I'm concerned, the Rosie Larson case is wrapped and it's done and none of us are coming back, obviously. As far as I know, there's going to be a new crime introduced and a new cast if it gets picked up for a third season.

Spring is Here, as is A Game of Thrones

At long last we will be able to rejoin the ongoing saga of the Stark family members as they attempt to regain some balance after the loss of their head (literally) of household.  HBO's A Game of Thrones returns on April 1 at 9 pm EST. If you need a quick refresher of season one, you can catch up here.

HBO's saga started last year with A Game of Thrones, the first book in George R.R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire. We now move onto A Clash of Kings, though the HBO series will be keep the first book's title (it is less confusing that way).  You can get a quick preview of the new season here.

And what should we expect?  Well, SFReviews has a nice summary of the book A Clash of Kings, though I expect HBO may play around with the plot points somewhat.  What I expect is another fairly faithful retelling of a great adventure saga, which is something HBO has proven it can do well.  Whether or not A Game of Thrones speaks to our time is a matter of opinion, though I believe any tale that highlights the costs of corrupted power, the sometimes thankless courage against the odds, and the importance of true friendship and family in troubled times is a story for all ages.  Will there be blood?  Absolutely.  Mr. Martin and HBO are not squeamish.  But I believe there has been and will be much more from this story-telling.  And I for one look forward to it.

Update:  On April 10, it was announced that A Game of Thrones has been given the green light for a third season.   With 8.3 million viewers watching the second season premiere, HBO knows when it has a good thing. 

March Madness: Return of Mad Men

After a 17 month wait, Mad Men returns to AMC this Sunday (March 25, 9 EST/9 CST) with a two hour premiere.  I look forward to the fifth season of Don Draper and his adventures as an ad man.  We shall see if he can stay sober this season, whether marriage number two goes well, and who is gunning for a promotion at the firm.  TVRage has a good summary of the previous episodes.

Fortunately, creator Matthew Weiner signed up for a total of seven seasons, so we can live in the 1960s that much longer.  Of course, the negotiations between AMC and Weiner were probably more dramatic than anything on the show itself, but I am less concerned about the sausage-making than the final product.  Nothing is easy in Hollywood nor a sure thing, as we saw recently with Luck. 

The Guardian put together a nice series on favorite moments.  It is worth checking out to remind you of the great scenes over the years, from the lawn mower incident to the family picnic. Here is a quick reminder of the picnic:

It's been the perfect outing, but at last it's time to make a move. The couple rise with a satisfied yawn, the kids are inspected for cleanliness before getting into Don's gleaming motor (a great touch for what follows) – then comes one of the most shocking scenes in modern drama: Don gives one last squint into the distance and then blithely flings his empty beer can while Betty does what any hardworking American suburban housewife would – lifts the corners of the picnic blanket and showers their rubbish all over the grass. A gem.

The Guardian also has a good summary of each character.  Reading this reminds us all about the depth of each person on the show and how they have become very real in this sometimes unreal world of ours.

Update:  Slate magazine has a nice recap of the first four seasons here.

Luck Runs Out for HBO

Unlike Terra Nova, some shows are cancelled for issues beyond story quality.  In the case of HBO's new show Luck, a horse-racing drama, the planned second season has been cancelled because of unfortunate accidents involving horses.  Three horses have died since HBO starting the series, including one last week.  HBO issued the following notice about the shut down of Luck:

It is with heartbreak that executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann together with HBO have decided to cease all future production on the series 'Luck'.

Safety is always of paramount concern.  We maintained the highest safety standards throughout production, higher in fact than any protocols existing in horse-racing anywhere with many fewer incidents than occur in racing or than befall horses normally in barns at night or pastures.  While we maintained the highest safety standards possible, accidents unfortunately happen and it is impossible to guarantee they won't in the future.  Accordingly, we have reached this difficult decision.

We are immensely proud of this series, the writing, the acting, the filmmaking, the celebration of the culture of horses, and everyone involved in its creation."

Michael Mann and David Milch said, "The two of us loved this series, loved the cast, crew and writers.  This has been a tremendous collaboration and one that we plan to continue in the future."

Luck was getting mixed reviews before this latest accident.  Emily Nussbaum in the New Yorker put it this way:

...the show has a musky, appealing sensuality to it, a stink of leather and aged Scotch. Starting with the pilot, filmed at the Santa Anita racetrack and directed by Michael Mann, the show’s camera noses into everything, lapping up the dirty allure of the stables, the twitchy degenerates filling the bleachers, the champions gloating for the cameras, and particularly the races themselves, sequences in which the camera gets so close that it might as well be a horse itself. When it comes to story, unfortunately, “Luck” is a drag. Like David Simon’s “Treme,” “Luck” has lofty, loving aims: it yearns to celebrate an exotic subculture, one whose argot can feel as impenetrable as Klingon.

It did not help that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has been on the sidelines (or should we say in the stands) criticizing the program from the start.  Maybe HBO needed more digital horses, as was the case with Spielberg's War Horse. 

At least HBO has one full season for its library and maybe David Milch can get back to some better ideas.  Milch himself is a horse-owner and occasionally bets on horses, so he knows that tomorrow is another day with another set of odds.  With Luck and John from Cincinnati behind him, maybe he can work on something more interesting (and successful) such as Deadwood. 

Death of the Dinosaurs, Again

I cannot say I am surprised that Fox's Terra Nova has been canceled after one season.  I think I noted many of its weaknesses in my first review, but let's recount them again:

The central family returning to the past is an odd pairing of personalities which never convinced me they cared about one another.  And the dinosaur battles seemed to be the only passion on the screen, with everyone else mumbling predictable lines as they walked around their Gilligan huts filled with Apple-like machines.  The show takes me back to Episode One of the Star Wars movies where George Lucas still had his machines but he had lost all interest in writing a script with convincing dialog.  I did not expect the same from Spielberg, but that is what I see here.

However, the show may be saved by Netflix or another outside party since it still had quite a few viewers (it averaged 7.5 million viewers) and some international appeal.  I would prefer to see Netflix continue to focus on its own original programming rather than a warmed-over SyFy-like flop.

Update:  The Hollywood Reporter says Netflix has officially canned the idea of a Terra Nova second season.  

Awake Has My Attention

NBC's new show Awake, on Thursdays at 10 pm EST/ 9 pm CST, started with a very intriguing pilot.  We immediately learn that a horrible car crash may have killed the main character's son or wife, but he continues to live with each of them when he awakes afresh in the morning, or has he awoken?  His dual lives, or dreams, are both frustrating and hopeful (for both the main character and the rest of us).

The father (Jason Isaacs) also works as a detective in both scenarios where oddly enough some clues start crossing the barrier separating his family.   His son Rex, played by Dylan Minnette from Saving Grace, is your typical mopey, disconnected teenager, whereas his wife Hannah, played by Laura Allen from the short-lived yet superb Terriers, seems both threatened by her husband's inability to move on after the accident while oddly interested in her son from this alternative reality.

The show reminds me of another new show, Touch, where a hard-working dad tries to pick of the pieces of his broken family, connect with his son, and understand odd random clues.  Others have compared it to the movie Inception, where one cannot figure out if they are in a dream or living "reality."  Awake's creator Kyle Killen, who likes Inception, had his own opinion in a recent Blastr interview:

I don't know how much we have directly in common with it, other than there is certainly that idea of your waking life and your dream life and the dreams feels incredibly real, sometimes so real that you can't quite tell which is which. I think beyond that, Awake is not necessarily an Inception-like experience on a weekly basis. We are simply playing different notes. But anytime someone associates your work with something that is iconic and, I thought, fantastic, I have no problem with that whatsoever.

What I find most interesting about the show is the conflict between the two psychiatrists, who seem both fascinated and threatened by their counterpart in the other reality.  The main character becomes a proxy between these two parties and seems none the worse for wear (in the first episode, at least).  Whether this remains a theme in future episodes is still up in the air, but I welcome more of it since this battle can speak to all of us in our own realities.  Like Touch, this show will take some deeper thinking, but it should be worth the effort.

Update: Unfortunately, Awake turned into cover for a detective story rather than something truly fresh and interesting.  I lost interest a few episodes into the series and so did many others since it has not been renewed for a second season.