Why The Killing Is the Best Thing on Television - 10 Reasons
1 Sarah Lund In The Killing actress Sofie Gråbøl plays Sarah Lund, a deputy superintendent with Copenhagen police.
She has become something of an icon across Europe - and it's not just because of her jumper, which is now a fashion must-have.
She is the antithesis of most female cops on TV - no suit, no ball-busting bust-ups with male colleagues, and she's not a dolly or glam in the mould of Anna Travis (Above Suspicion) or Marg Helgenberger (CSI).
She is low-key and shrewd, and while non-confrontational she remains a very strong personality.
When her colleague, the un-subtle Meyer (Søren Malling), says to her, 'You owe me an explanation,' she just walks away.
So, that will be a no then, Meyer.
The camera often simply focuses on her eyes, and we sense her mind moving way ahead of her colleagues'.
2 It's better than most Brit/US shows For depth of character and storytelling honesty, The Killing is up there with the best US shows, such as The Wire and The Sopranos.
When it comes to the procedural stuff - CSI, Law & Order, Silent Witness - or the pretty postcard mysteries made in the UK - Marple, Midsomer Murders, Inspector George Gently - oh, please, let's draw a veil over such non-comparisons.
3 Good whodunnit Liable to spark lengthy debates on the front-room sofa - was Nanna's killer a psychopath, her teacher, boyfriend, or part of a political conspiracy? When the series was originally shown in Denmark in 2007, large bets were placed on the perpetrator's identity.
4 Better than a whodunnit But it's so much more than a whodunnit.
The power of the series is the brilliantly drawn, complex characters, who can make bad choices or lie but never lose our empathy.
5 Focus on relationships Most crime dramas lack any emotional pull because the victim is treated indifferently, as a device to kick-off the plot.
How often do such shows start with grumpy detectives turning up a murder scene, where the victim is showcased in all their gore, and then virtually forgotten.
In The Killing the murder of student Nanna Birk Larsen reverberates through the whole series, it's impact on her family being portrayed with respect and painful honesty.
And the relationships shift - Lund and Meyer, with all the pace of a glacial thaw, gradually form an unlikely partnership.
6 No ludicrous plot shifts No, it's not likely that Lund's colleague Meyer will turn out to be a bent cop turned nutty killer who frames her, or that Lund will form an alliance with a serial killer (why does the BBC's Luther come to mind here?).
7 Multi-strand storylines brilliantly juggled Where most British series focus solely on the investigation and the cops, The Killing superbly interweaves Lund's tangled relationship with her mother, son and lover, a political election and all its dirty tricks, police department power games, and the ongoing, heartbreaking trauma for Nanna's family.
8 Atmospheric Forest, rainy nights and sombre interiors.
9 Beautifully paced We've all seen those series that are desperate to stop us turning over, with three murders and/or several dismembered corpses before the first ad break.
The Killing savours every scene, devoting one episode to each day of the 20-day investigation.
10 Tremendous performances If any actor can convey more anguish with the blink of an eye than Bjarne Henriksen as Nanna's rough-diamond dad, Theis, then please fill out the comment box below.
Theis and his wife, Pernille (Ann Eleonora Jørgensen), are the soul of the series.
Lars Mikkelsen as the mayoral candidate under suspicion, Troels Hartmann, is moving.
Any actor who can make us feel for a politician has to be a marvel.
She has become something of an icon across Europe - and it's not just because of her jumper, which is now a fashion must-have.
She is the antithesis of most female cops on TV - no suit, no ball-busting bust-ups with male colleagues, and she's not a dolly or glam in the mould of Anna Travis (Above Suspicion) or Marg Helgenberger (CSI).
She is low-key and shrewd, and while non-confrontational she remains a very strong personality.
When her colleague, the un-subtle Meyer (Søren Malling), says to her, 'You owe me an explanation,' she just walks away.
So, that will be a no then, Meyer.
The camera often simply focuses on her eyes, and we sense her mind moving way ahead of her colleagues'.
2 It's better than most Brit/US shows For depth of character and storytelling honesty, The Killing is up there with the best US shows, such as The Wire and The Sopranos.
When it comes to the procedural stuff - CSI, Law & Order, Silent Witness - or the pretty postcard mysteries made in the UK - Marple, Midsomer Murders, Inspector George Gently - oh, please, let's draw a veil over such non-comparisons.
3 Good whodunnit Liable to spark lengthy debates on the front-room sofa - was Nanna's killer a psychopath, her teacher, boyfriend, or part of a political conspiracy? When the series was originally shown in Denmark in 2007, large bets were placed on the perpetrator's identity.
4 Better than a whodunnit But it's so much more than a whodunnit.
The power of the series is the brilliantly drawn, complex characters, who can make bad choices or lie but never lose our empathy.
5 Focus on relationships Most crime dramas lack any emotional pull because the victim is treated indifferently, as a device to kick-off the plot.
How often do such shows start with grumpy detectives turning up a murder scene, where the victim is showcased in all their gore, and then virtually forgotten.
In The Killing the murder of student Nanna Birk Larsen reverberates through the whole series, it's impact on her family being portrayed with respect and painful honesty.
And the relationships shift - Lund and Meyer, with all the pace of a glacial thaw, gradually form an unlikely partnership.
6 No ludicrous plot shifts No, it's not likely that Lund's colleague Meyer will turn out to be a bent cop turned nutty killer who frames her, or that Lund will form an alliance with a serial killer (why does the BBC's Luther come to mind here?).
7 Multi-strand storylines brilliantly juggled Where most British series focus solely on the investigation and the cops, The Killing superbly interweaves Lund's tangled relationship with her mother, son and lover, a political election and all its dirty tricks, police department power games, and the ongoing, heartbreaking trauma for Nanna's family.
8 Atmospheric Forest, rainy nights and sombre interiors.
9 Beautifully paced We've all seen those series that are desperate to stop us turning over, with three murders and/or several dismembered corpses before the first ad break.
The Killing savours every scene, devoting one episode to each day of the 20-day investigation.
10 Tremendous performances If any actor can convey more anguish with the blink of an eye than Bjarne Henriksen as Nanna's rough-diamond dad, Theis, then please fill out the comment box below.
Theis and his wife, Pernille (Ann Eleonora Jørgensen), are the soul of the series.
Lars Mikkelsen as the mayoral candidate under suspicion, Troels Hartmann, is moving.
Any actor who can make us feel for a politician has to be a marvel.