Every now and then a series comes along that breaks the mould. Breaking Bad. Buffy. Utopia (the UK version). Deadwood.
This is one for the record books.
Police procedurals are old. Really old. They pre-date TV. Sherlock Holmes was a police procedural. For all I know Roman and Greek writers did them as well. They are old.
Even the CSI series (brilliant BTW) often hailed as a breakthrough moment for the genre was merely a twist on the old formula.
I think TRUE DETECTIVE has broken new ground.
The producers have somehow melded a police story with a horror story. I base this conclusion not merely on the astonishing evolution of the story arcs in Season 1, but on the background music in this first episode of Season 2. Drum beats. Suspense.
Almost counter-intuitive. We know that not much is going to happen because this is the first episode and there are pieces on the chess board to set up, but the writers are telegraphing by the camera angles (massive and unusual wide angle shots, subliminally suggesting that the scope of the story is more than it seems) and also by the sound track, what is yet to come.
The hallmark of this series is that the pace can change -- and often does -- at a moment's notice. This is is a police tale with a pulse. Anything can happen.
The horror of course comes not from traditional monsters but rather the hidden, invisible ones. The ones you walk with on the street. The ones you greet at work. The ones that look normal on the surface but are monsters deep inside.
Historical. Great series.
This is one for the record books.
Police procedurals are old. Really old. They pre-date TV. Sherlock Holmes was a police procedural. For all I know Roman and Greek writers did them as well. They are old.
Even the CSI series (brilliant BTW) often hailed as a breakthrough moment for the genre was merely a twist on the old formula.
I think TRUE DETECTIVE has broken new ground.
The producers have somehow melded a police story with a horror story. I base this conclusion not merely on the astonishing evolution of the story arcs in Season 1, but on the background music in this first episode of Season 2. Drum beats. Suspense.
Almost counter-intuitive. We know that not much is going to happen because this is the first episode and there are pieces on the chess board to set up, but the writers are telegraphing by the camera angles (massive and unusual wide angle shots, subliminally suggesting that the scope of the story is more than it seems) and also by the sound track, what is yet to come.
The hallmark of this series is that the pace can change -- and often does -- at a moment's notice. This is is a police tale with a pulse. Anything can happen.
The horror of course comes not from traditional monsters but rather the hidden, invisible ones. The ones you walk with on the street. The ones you greet at work. The ones that look normal on the surface but are monsters deep inside.
Historical. Great series.