Tag Archives: amc

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Follow-Up: It Was Called THE KILLING, What Did *I* Expect?

So THAT happened.

I came out early on this blog to defend AMC’s latest drama The Killing, an Americanization of the Danish “Nordic Noir” series Forbrydelsen, from claims that it was too slow, too bleak, too maudlin. I expressed a desire to see a story like this played out at a slower pace than your typical TV procedural. I have always enjoyed deliberate pacing, particularly when combined with darker, more atmospheric stories. And there’s no denying that “atmosphere” was a major component, practically a top-billed character, of the series. So allegations of it being slow I understand, but that never bothers me. Bleak, or as I called it, “atmospheric,” I also get. But again, it was part of the charm of the series for me. I’m originally from Seattle, so I’m drawn to stories set in those environs. And I’m a diehard Twin Peaks fan, and The Killing is, if not a spriritual brother to that kitschy 90′s classic, certainly a distant cousin.

As for maudlin? Well yeah. It’s called The Killing, so what exactly did people expect? However, in the wake of the season finale this past week, having experienced the story as a complete narrative (only not really, am I right?), and feeling my own frustration and disappointment with the show, I have to ask myself the same question…

It was called The Killing, what did *I* expect?

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It’s Called THE KILLING, What Did You Expect?

AMC’s new crime drama The Killing premiered tonight with the first two episodes played back-to-back. That was probably a smart decision considering the pace this series seems set to follow. Adapted from the “Nordic noir” Danish series Forbrydelsen, the show tells the story of the murder of a young girl in Seattle through the eyes of the investigating detectives, the girl’s grieving parents, and the suspects. Season One is slated to run thirteen hour-long episodes, each one covering roughly one day.

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Don Draper Will Have Existential Problems for at Least Two More Seasons

Mad Men fans, rejoice! In recent weeks, the show’s future seemed up in the air as talks between network American Movie Classics and creator Matthew Weiner seemed on the brink of collapsing due to the kind of ordinary Hollywood bullshit negotiating that derails many a project. AMC wanted two cast members cut and more product placement; Weiner wanted neither, plus more money. Weiner even decided to take a ski vacation during negotiations, and just as he hit the slopes, AMC announced that Mad Men would officially return for a fifth season in 2012. Though they didn’t say as much, the implication was clear: “We can get all mad about men with or without you, Weiner.”

Though popular shows changing showrunners isn’t abnormal, Weiner occupies a rarified position among showrunners. He doesn’t just run the show, he is its creative voice. It would be like Buffy the Vampire Slayer without Joss Whedon, or The Sopranos without David Chase. In fact, for the last two seasons of Buffy, Marti Noxon was the showrunner–which some cite as the reason for those seasons’ relative weaknesses–but Whedon was still involved, and his voice and guidance was evident in every major plot twist or character development. What almost happened with Mad Men is that Weiner wouldn’t have been involved at all; not to be hyperbolic, but it would have been like removing Orson Welles from Citizen Kane three-quarters of the way through and replacing him with, say, Frank Capra. That’s not to say the movie still wouldn’t have been decent, but the ending would have been markedly different and it certainly wouldn’t be revered as possibly the greatest film ever made. In essence, we would have seen an ending to a story about the people of Mad Men, but not the ending to the story we’ve been watching for the last few years.

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Stephen King May Pen an Episode of ‘The Walking Dead’

The Walking Dead: great pilot, good show, could be better. And if you want your horror series to get better, who do you sign on to write an episode? Stephen King, of course. We here at Gobbledygeek (at least the half that’s me) are huge fans of King, and think this news couldn’t be much better. King isn’t officially confirmed to be writing an episode, but he’s currently in talks, and says that executive producer Frank Darabont is enthusiastic to get him onboard either next season or the season after. King and Darabont go way back–all the way back to Darabont’s 1983 short film The Woman in the Room, but also The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist. King would be making his contribution a family affair as well, co-writing an episode with his son, the popular horror novelist Joe Hill.

As an aside, I was going to review King’s latest book, the novella collection Full Dark, No Stars, on our most recent episode, but that episode was already way too long for me to start babbling about literature, because what the hell do I know about literature. Anyways: check it out, it’s pretty good! Especially brutal opener “1922,” about a farmer who kills his wife; and fascinating closer “A Good Marriage,” in which a woman finds out her husband has been hiding a pretty dark secret.

In summary, two Kings + Darabont + The Walking Dead = our utmost anticipation.

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Gobbledygeek #31 Tonight!

Bucketness: Off the charts.

The thirty-first episode of Gobbledygeek airs live tonight at 10:00 PM EST right here. To close out our month-long celebration of monsters in pop culture, we’ll hone in on the shambling, shuffling, slack-jawed zombie. Your typical zombie enjoys sunsets, long walks on the beach, and BRAAAAIIIINNNSSSS!!!! We’ll have an early review of AMC’s pilot for The Walking Dead, and of course Romero, Fulci, Wright, and other cult favorites will get their turn in the dim, gray, post-apocalyptic sun. In the bonus hour, we’ll have upcoming DVD releases, Rock Band 3, and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Reminder: Calling into the show is potentially a toll call, but if you’ve got a free Skype account and a free BlogTalkRadio account, you can use the free “Click to Talk” button to call in…for free!

(And hey, did anyone else notice that last week’s blog post didn’t include a link to the show, and that there was never a “Listen to Last Night’s Blahblahblah” post? Yeah, didn’t think so. All the same, I apologize.)

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Gobbledygeek #19 Tonight!

The nineteenth episode of Gobbledygeek airs live tonight at 10:30 PM EST right here. Last week, when discussing the fact that AMC’s The Walking Dead will not be beholden to any sort of gore restrictions, but still can’t say “fuck” or a few other salty words, Paul and I briefly mentioned about how ridiculous America’s backwards notions of language are. That, coupled with a recent ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, led to tonight’s topic: language and censorship. Also, look out for a quick mention of a certain film Paul was able to see earlier this week, plus, of course, Part 6 of our countdown of the Top 100 Characters in Modern Pop Culture during the bonus hour.

Reminder: Calling into the show is potentially a toll call, but if you’ve got a free Skype account and a free BlogTalkRadio account, you can use the free “Click to Talk” button to call in…for free!

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First Look at Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’

Above is our first non-zombie production photo from the set of AMC’s The Walking Dead, a forthcoming series based on Robert Kirkman’s acclaimed comic book. It’s of Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, the police officer who serves as the main protagonist in Kirkman’s tale of a post-apocalyptic, zombie-ravaged planet. This photo arrives at a pretty good time for me, as I just finished reading all 72 current issues of the comic this afternoon, and I watched Frank Darabont’s The Mist last night.

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