TV round up

I have to squee at you dear reader, please take a seat. I have to squee because I've got a new show which ticks my boxes and that doesn't happen as often as it should do.

Forbrydelsen.

Or The Killing if you prefer. How did I miss this first time round? Dear old BBC Four didn't really trail it and I'd heard the hype but didn't want to come into something half way through and was going to rent it from love film but Auntie saw fit to give this show a repeat showing. 20 tense episodes over four weeks.  I currently am one episode behind as its hard to make time enough to sit down and watch on a daily basis but its so good my chap and I caught up at the weekend and we can happily watch two episodes when we get behind.

So what's so good about this show? I know a lot of people get put off something if they have to watch it with subtitles, but not this puppy. Denmark seems familiar but different; we've had a lot of rain recently and the colouring of the show matches it perfectly. A lot of US shows are very colourful and sunny, this is bleak looking but there's beauty in the bleakness.

The protagonist is Sarah Lund, she wears chunky jumpers and in that respect alone, she's a woman after my own heart.  She's dedicated to her job so much so, she can't leave even though she has a young teenaged son and a Swedish boyfriend who looks like Richard Gere.  She's also very good at her job, she has principles and she isn't an alcoholic and she doesn't have any of the more usual foibles which detectives all seem to have in modern mysteries.  Her grumpy replacement Meyer is irked by Lund's continued presence and her boss doesn't want her to leave.  Meyer and Lund don't really get on, he's somewhat slap dash but his heart is in the right place even when he goes for the easy option.

Add to the mix the family of the murdered girl the Birk Larsen's their reaction to their daughter's death played beautifully and truthfully. 

There's also a political Layer Troels Hartmann campaigning to become mayor, he has his advisor and lover Rie and Morten his campaign manager.  His party are backstabbing and his opponents seem to be capable of stooping to ever more scary depths.

The story is utterly compelling, littered with red herrings and twists, just when you think you've got a handle on things and a working theory, new information comes to light and your prime suspect is now innocent.

I'm loving the tenseness of the show its operating on so many levels and seemingly effortless while it does so.

I can't wait to see how it does.

I'm also rejoicing because Doctor Who is back.

Let's Kill Hitler was a romp wasn't it? Many questions answered, and a fair few more asked. Thank you Steven Moffat, this was excellent when a Good Man Goes to War felt to me to be all set up with not enough satisfaction.  I love that the title was a joke and Rory Williams is a complete BAMF.

I can't really discuss much about the show without spoilers but I will say, "you are authorised;  your existence will continue" made us guffaw along with "you may experienc a tingling feeling then death."

The Borgia is my current catnip.  Its sumptuously shot and Jeremy Irons is second only to Alan Rickman in voice and making me go kind of gooey.  He is quite simply acting the socks off anyone else in shot with an extreme close up and an eyebrow quirk.  The show itself is ridiculous in the way that the Tudors is and in that respect most enjoyable but I'm not expecting nor even wanting historical accuracy. And what's more I don't care I'm having fun watching it and that's all that matters.

I'm also watching the third season of Warehouse 13 which is now being shown in the UK on SyFy.  The show goes from strength to strength, I love the quirkiness of it and the steam punk elements which make this show great for family viewing.  The cast is a great ensemble and its always reasonable viewing.  Its never going to change the world but who said every tv show had to?