The Killing (Forbrydelsen in Danish) is a twenty episode series, dealing with the murder of a teenage girl. Unlike the 'solved in forty-two minutes' approach of the likes of CSI, this is a slow-burning account of the police's attempts to find a killer. Although I can't vouch for the accuracy, I would imagine that the portrayal is closer to the real-life struggles of detectives as they try to solve the crime. In CSI and some other series, they seem to be increasingly able to solve a murder before real-life crime scene techs would have completed their initial collection of evidence.
The featured detective in "The Killing" is Sarah Lund. Played by Sofie Gråbøl, she is the mother of a pre-teen boy and is due to leave Denmark for a new life in Sweden with her son and boyfriend. She delays her departure for Sweden as she becomes involved in the search for the girl and then her murderer. Judging by the first two episodes she is sensitive and emotionally aware, the perfect foil for her temporary police partner, the gung-ho Jan Meyer, played by Søren Malling.
In the first two episodes the connection to a politician is established and a possible suspect identified, the story is beginning to boil up nicely but it is the way the victims family are portrayed that was interesting to me. The scene where the parents of the victim have to tell her little brothers that their sister was never coming home was well played by the actors and was a poignant reminder to me of my own similar situation.
If it continues as it began, The Killing, will be a fascinating addition to Saturday night viewing, if you don't mind subtitles. You can see the first two episodes on the BBC iPlayer.
