dark as a dungeon at The Killing
I am a cheery sort of gal. I may kvetch and kvell about a lot of stuff, but basically, I am upbeat. Hey, I write comedy. I can generally find something to laugh about, even in the darkest moments. (Just like my heroine, Lulu, in Deadly Dues.) Get handed a lemon, make lemonade, I say. And if you can make people laugh while you are making the lemonade, more power to you.
This is a preamble to my rant about The Killing, a series I enjoy. Now we all know there is not a single laugh in The Killing. Not a chuckle. Not even the hint of a smile. And that is the sort of program it is, and we all know that is what we are getting into once we watch the first two minutes. I watched the second season premiere the other evening. My enjoyment of the program was affected by my constant whipping off my spectacles (I wear contacts in public, specs at home) to see if there was some sort of dark cloud on them.
Finally, I realized that the poor, impoverished producers of The Killing couldn’t afford decent lighting and had decided to make the cast and crew work in the dark. No wonder I couldn’t distinguish one character from another. I imagined the crew working with coal miners’ lights on their heads, while the cast fumbled around, trying to find their marks and not send each other flying into the dark.
This is such a great series. I think we should establish a charity fund for the producers, who obviously are making people work in the dark, and viewers squint accordingly, all in the name of atmosphere. Atmosphere is great. Communication and clarity are better, in my opinion.
Linda
The incessant rain is what gets to me. I don’t think it rains that frequently in the tropical rainforest, much less Seattle. When a character mentioned feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin, I burst out laughing. When was the lat time any of these morose people saw the sun? I’m watching the program, but I’m no longer sure why.
The sideways rain—dark dark. I watched part of one and lunged for the knife drawer. Actually on a LOT of these shows, it’s dark–they shine a flashlight around a crime scene–click on the darn lights! I only have one sighted eye left and these night scenes and gloom are impossible for me! The only one where I persist is GRIMM.
I agree. Still so murky and mumbly on The Killing. The actors are great, but I bet they all need light therapy after this long, gloomy shoot. In last night’s episode, I swear I saw a scene with a few shots of sunlight. Are the writers and producers trying to give us a sign that there is light at the end of the tunnel?
Linda