Greys Anatomy - No Longer Testing Our Patience.

Can there be another show so enamoured of season finales as Grey's Anatomy? Last season we had the mad gunman running through Seattle Grace, wiping out a whole herd of peripheral characters. So what would they serve up to top that? Well, it went totally in the opposite direction, instead of physical danger, we had almost everyone in some sort of mental, or moral, turmoil. Quite clever really and every bit as exciting. If you like Grey's Anatomy that is.

And there is the rub. A lot of viewers might have drifted away. The Grey's Anatomy of season seven is not the same as that of seasons one to four, it is much better. I felt when it started, it was a very self centred and almost arrogant, affair. There was too much emphasis on the titular dippy Meredith Grey,needy Izzy and dull George. The only character with any real umph was Christina nd for about three seasons it went on that way. testing everyone's patience (no pun intended)

But then it started to change, more characters were introduced and the show adopted a much more ensemble feel. But for me the real shift in gear came when Izzy (Katherine Heigl) left. The character was so needy and overly sentimental that she seemed to suck the air out of every episode. With her gone and the Meredith character reduced to fit into the ensemble, Grey's Anatomy gained pace and became a proper (well sort of) medical drama. OK, it's never going to be better than ER at its peak, but I'd bet it kills Holby. Think I've just damned Grey's Anatomy with faint praise there.

It still can err on the side of sentimentality and it's still wedded to endless, dour songs over the emotional moments (Elbow seem to be flavour of the month) but we can forgive that. Mainly because Grey's (as we like to call it, or do we?) is finally a show that seems comfortable with itself.

Over

The Chicago Code - It was over before it even begun.

I was really looking forward to Sky 1’s new show, The Chicago Code. Sky have been plugging it for the past two weeks, and have called it ‘the new Shield.’ As a massive fan of The Shield (it’s probably my favourite show ever) this made me extremely excited. And when I found out Shawn Ryan was involved, I knew I was in for a treat. To steal a phrase off Cheryl Cole, The Chicago Code looked ‘right up my street’

That was of course until I found out it had been cancelled in the US. That’s right, Sky 1’s brand spanking new, American cop series has only lasted one season in America. Despite receiving critical acclaim, The Chicago Code has been shown the door. FOX didn’t even give the show a chance to see if it would sell well on DVD. So now, despite being really excited about it, I won’t be tuning in.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not assuming The Chicago Code is a bad show because FOX cancelled it. We all know 90% of the time FOX can’t make a right decision when renewing and cancelling shows. This is the network that cancelled ‘Family Guy’ for ‘That 80’s show’ and got rid of ‘Arrested Development’ after only three seasons, when it may just be, one of the best comedies of our generation. Note that FOX brought back Family Guy almost immediately because of public outcry and are now funding an Arrested Development film!

No, FOX cancelling The Chicago Code only confirms my belief that it would have been a great show. But, what’s the point of only watching something for one season? Why get attached when it’s not going to be around for any longer than six months? I can watch a miniseries, I’ve enjoyed shows like ‘Pillars of the Earth’ and ‘The Pacific’ even though I know there are only a limited number of episodes. But watching one series of a show that was never meant to end after 13 episodes doesn’t seem right. What happens if I think it’s the best show I’ve ever seen and then have to come to terms with the fact it won’t be back on the air. What if it is like watching the first series of The Shield and then never having any more episodes. I can’t be dealing with all that.

To be honest I’m more concerned for Sky. I mean, how embarrassing! Here they are, flogging this show constantly, telling us it’s the BEST SHOW EVER, whilst their friends at FOX have already decided they think it’s a waste of space. What with the Mad Men/Sky Atlantic saga, they really aren’t having much luck with their American imports lately.

I suppose I can’t be too mad at FOX, they did renew ‘Fringe’ for a 4th season, but I just wish they would give things a bit more time. Otherwise, before we know it, all the good cop shows will be dead and all we’ll have to watch is a constant stream of Simon Cowell reality shows and 158 episodes of Glee per series.

The Killing - Revisited.

A fair few weeks back I raved about the first few episodes of the Danish crime thriller The Killing. But wondered if it could keep up the quality and suspense over twenty instalments. Well I needn't have worried. If anything it got better and better. This was magnificent television. I won't give anything away because, if The Killing gets a repeat, and it should, it's a perfect fit for BBC 2, you should watch it. I promise you, you will be gripped by it.

But it's sad to see Danish television do something we can't. There's no way a British station could mount something so contemporary and epic. As we all know most British shows start to fade after three episodes. Mad Dogs anyone? Plus there is no way a British company would attempt twenty hours of television without James Nesbitt. You could imagine the pitch.

"It's called The Killing. It's a twenty part thriller. Our main character is DCI Sarah Lund."

"A woman? "

"Well, yes. "

"Couldn't we make it a man, and couldn't that man be James Nesbitt? "

"Well, err- "

"James Nesbitt. James...Nesbitt. Sounds good doesn't it. "

BBC 4 teased us with the trailer for The Killing II. I got all excited at the prospect of more Sarah Lund and her penchant for knitted jumpers. But the spectre of sequels past descended. Would it be the wet fish that was Prime Suspect 2 was? Or the damp squib of the second season of Murder One? I can't believe it will. I doubt it will beat The Killing, but if it's half as good, it will still be the best thing on the BBC, Nurse Jackie excluded, by a very long, long way.

Over

Who's up for some Danish drama?

How unappealing does this sound, a slow burning, twenty part, subtitled, Danish crime drama on BBC4. And to make matters worse it is being shown in double doses. Stieg Larsson and that whole Scandinavian thing has got a lot to answer for.

Well that's what I thought just before I watched the first episode of The Killing, ( BBC4 9.00 Saturday ), by the end of the second, I wished I had the box set. This really is looking like something special. Our hero is Sarah Lund, a Copenhagen police detective, thankfully free of all the maverick foibles that made Thorne so dreadful and laughable in equal measures. She is about to emigrate to Sweden, with her boyfriend and son, when the report of a missing girl falls into her lap. OK we've all been here before with the last case scenario. But The Killing is about much more than just Sarah. We meet the girl's family as their anxiety rises about the fate of their daughter, also the murky world of politics lurks around the edges. Well as murky as Copenhagen politics can be. When the girl's dead body is found in a rental car. The various strands come together.

A refreshing element, to The Killing, is that I wouldn't recognise a well known Danish TV star if he, or she, kicked me. So the characters have the element of surprise.What I'm getting at is, how many times have you watched a thriller only to see a quite well known actor, in what is supposed to be a minor role. You know full well they will be coming back to influence the story in a later episode. We have none of that here.

Just how The Killing will pan out, it's hard to say. Who knows it might fade twelve or so episodes in. But on the evidence of the first two, it's a little gem. Also, there is an American remake in the pipeline. But get in first and watch the Danish version. You won't be disappointed.

Over.

The Killing. BBC 4 - Saturdays 9pm.

Jack The Ripper - The Definitive Story.

Fans of bad acting should tune into the second part of Five's Jack the Ripper- The Definitive Story. (Thursday 20th at 9.00) If the first episode was anything to go by, we’re in for a treat. It's a docudrama, light on the docu, even lighter on the drama. It seems like we've all been Jack the Rippered to death. With, what feels like ten thousand documentaries all boldly announcing a different, it's definitely him, killer. Who is promptly rubbished in the next documentary. But, like I've said, the true joy of The Definitive Story is the acting. The makers have obviously blown the, slender, budget on their state of the art, (Radio Times words not mine) re-creations of Whitechapel in 1880. So when it came to hiring the talent to people their world, the coffers must've been empty. Sending out the message to agents, give us your cheapest. There were some real great acting moments. But the real high was the witness with the urinary infection rushing to the toilet. He is supposed to have heard one of the victims fall against his fence in his mad dash to relieve himself. But instead of being poor, ill, and in discomfort, the actor bowls jauntily out of his back door, jumps, as if startled by a car backfiring, then continues to bowl merrily to the toilet. He looks more like he's wandering along Brighton seafront, than a mad dash for the khazi. Let's hope for more moments like this in the second ripping installment.

Over.

Jack The Ripper - The Definitive Story

Channel 5 - Thursday 20th January. 9pm.