The Killing - Danish Crime Thriller DVD

Is it just me or is time going faster?  Maybe it’s a part of my old age creeping in.  But before I know it, it’s the weekend again and I have a list of chores to do before I even consider sitting down to watch the programmes I have recorded on my trusted satellite box.

But with so many television channels now available it’s common to miss a programme or worse a series that everyone starts to rave about after a few episodes.

At the beginning of the year BBC4 began showing The Killing, a Danish crime thriller and it was nowhere to be seen on my radar.  By the time I decided this was something I must see, the first episode was no longer available online or as part of the Catch up TV service from my cable television provider.

At this point I decided to wait for the DVD release but was shocked at the price.  £48 for a 5-disc 20 episodes box set was more than I wanted to pay for something I was more than likely only ever going to watch once.

With the added incentive of a one month free trial I opened an account with lovefilm.com and within days received the first disc.  I began watching the first four episodes and immediately realised why everyone was raving about this series.  The disc was soon winging its way back through the post in a prepaid envelope via my local letterbox.

A few days later, the second of the five discs arrived. The process was simple and the cost much cheaper than buying DVDs.

The Killing was absorbing, dark, intriguing and had more twists than a curly wurly in a way that Nordic crime thrillers do best.  It is therefore with some delight I hear the BBC will be showing The Killing 2 later this year but it’s with some trepidation to know that a US version of The Killing is on its way.

Similar to the British remake of Wallander starring Kenneth Brannagh I find that as disturbing as the storyline itself.  I’m intrigued to know what the US version will be like and will have to take a look.  But like Kenneth Brannagh’s version of Wallander, I think it will probably be more for those who haven’t watched the original or find watching foreign films with subtitles distracting.

madness

On Friday October 2nd BBC4 will be dedicating the whole night to those Nutty Boy’s of pop music, Madness.

BBC4 will become Madness TV with a set of films previously unseen on television that chart the rise and continued success of one of the UK’s most successful and best loved bands.

Take It Or Leave It charts the early years of Madness, from their emergence on the Camden pub scene as The Invaders through to the early chart successes of The Prince and One Step Beyond. With a wry take on the truth, ‘Take It Or Leave It’ is an early example of the wit and intelligence with which the band became synonymous throughout their chart conquering period in the 1980’s and sees the band play themselves in a rather loose take on the facts behind the formation of Madness.

Allied to ‘Take It Or Leave It’, Young Guns Go For It is a documentary looking at the band from their early years through to the turn of the century featuring interviews with all the members and key people in the Madness story.

The Julien Temple made film The Liberty Of Norton Folgate will receive its first showing UK tv. The rockumentary style film was made to accompany the album of the same name  and captures Madness performing tracks from the album ‘live’ at Hackney Empire Theatre. The set is  combined with a narrative that explains the stories behind the tracks that inspired the album.

Madness in concert has always been a special thing to behold and no more so than this year at Glastonbury. One of the highlights of this year’s festival, their Sunday sunset slot saw a procession of old favourites and choice moments from recent album, The Liberty Of Norton Folgate, wow a massive crowd. Relive the set on Friday October 2nd as part of the Madness Takeover.

I really don’t know how I missed the Flight of The Conchords first time around – did it clash with Lost or something? However the BBC are kindly repeating the whole series and I have made sure to watch it this time.

Last night’s show was hilarious, in particular the ‘Mother Uckers’ song and the tiny little viewing box at the end of the show with Bret, Jemaine and the racist fruit vendor flippin the bird at the Australian Embassy – luckily the Aussies can take a joke….

If you want to brighten your day and hear one of their brilliant songs -’Think About It’ – just visit British Comedy Classics to see a great clip.

The duo, or trio (we don’t want to leave Murray out) are filming the second series in New York now and It’s due to air in America in January, so I hope we don’t have too long to wait for it to reach our shores.