AMC's The Killing

Yes, only censored versions.

I have a guy here who gives me a lot of shit -- rightfully so -- that the only version of Pulp Fiction I've seen is the AMC version, a gigantic hole in my repertoire.

 

There are certain movies that there is just no reason whatsoever to try to make a censored version of. Pulp Fiction is definitely one of those movies.

I remember seeing the censored version of Scarface awhile back and just laughing at how stupid it was with certain things cut out.

 

AMC did the same thing with The Walking Dead. They only aired six episodes and didn't order a 13-run season until midway through Season 1 (or maybe it was later, I'm not sure off-hand).

 

Can't speak for "The Walking Dead," but Season 1 of "Breaking Bad" got truncated by the 2008 writers' strike.

As for "The Killing," I enjoyed it and will definitely stick with it. Hate to use the "W" word at this stage, but it seems, as with "The Wire," it will slowly build and then pay off in a major way.

They really kept the suspense going through the first hour with all the "it looks like someone's about to find the body, but it's really just something innocuous" moments. And yeah, the male cop came off like a real creep early on, but I like the way they had him break the case wide open by pretending to hit on the two high school girls as his "in" to find the murder scene.

By the way, for those who watch "Mad Men," the male campaign aide plays Betty Draper's brother in MM. He was also the trigger-happy HumVee gunner in "Generation Kill."

 

I finally got through the whole first episode.

Dark stuff. The scene where they were telling the boys that their sister was in heaven just about killed me.

 

There are worse movies to rip off than Seven, considering how good it really is.

The two leads can act.

 

True, and unlike "Seven," the mood of "The Killing" is not a construction. Seven was shot in L.A. and Lancaster, Calif., but set in an unnamed city. (What city has a subway/el train system, rains all the time AND is near a desert? There isn't one, not in the United States, anyway).

But Seattle really is that gloomy in November.

 

Another "inspiration:" The mother listening to the answering machine greeting over and over again while wracked with grief. Aaron Paul did it much better in Breaking Bad.

I really like this show so far, and I'll stick with it. Sarah's husband is a passive-aggressive cock smooch.

 

I watched the first two episodes of Breaking Bad last week. Needless to say, I'll be getting caught up between now and July. They're showing two episodes on Wednesday nights and then one random show on Sundays.

 

I think I've noticed some references to Veronica Mars as well. The kid named Echols for one. On another site there are a lot of people complaining about it ripping off this show/movie or that, but I think it's cool they give some nods to works that were an obvious influence.

 

Mizzou, I nearly lost my dinner when the bathtub fell. Ugh.

 

Finally got around to watching the latest episode. I definitely enjoy the pacing, like a novel on television.

Also, for you "West Wing" fans, the woman who played Reggie (Sarah's sister or friend who lives on the boat and has been keeping her son) is Anne Corley, who played Mary Marsh on the pilot episode. She was the religious right commentator who nearly got Josh fired, but whom Bartlet ultimately told to get her fat ass out of his White House.