He said it was used in undercover narcotics (where the character was before being moved to homicide).
It’s used in training for noobs who may not have smelled the odor before, and for undercover narcs (as mentioned). When I went through training as a volunteer, they actually lit up a bowl of the real stuff and passed it around. Some of the veteran cops in the room tended to hold onto it for longer than necessary. 
For what it’s worth, my wife and I both really like the series so far. Part of that may be our predisposition to like an AMC series after all the great series they’ve put together recently. But, the characters feel much more real and human to me than in many police procedurals. It’s not The Wire, but that’s too lofty a standard to hold any show to. That’s my favorite TV series ever.
I also appreciate the focus on the family. As the parent of one daughter and two sons, it’s fairly grueling and wrenching to watch some of those scenes. But the two parents seem to be doing a fine job acting and I agree with a previous posted that the four-part discovery of the body was really, really well done.
I think I’m going to give this show a hesitant shot. Lots of people with good taste seem to like it. I have yet to see the Wire though, should I wait to watch the Wire before watching this?
I think you should wait. The Wire needs full attention. Something else that helps with The Wire is rewatching, without waiting – maybe watch three episodes and then watch again. It’s made me appreciate the show even more, seeing how some little thing that happened early in an episode affected events at the end.
All righty then, I shall wait till I finish the Wire :). But then I’ll definitely watch it.
AMC is really something else these days. I really hope it’s not a short lived thing, since really quality shows often tend to be more expensive. Apparently they lose quite a bit of money on Mad Men alone.
Having seen the original Danish version, the butler did it.
Kidding, but having seen the Danish version, there are times when it’s exactly like it and there are times when it’s completely different. The “fake” weed for example. That’s not how Holden (who in the Danish version is named Meyer) finds out in the Danish version.
So far, I’d say the Danish version is better. Will keep monitoring if it gets better. I heard rumors that the killer won’t be the same.
Or watch The Killing first, so you can participate here when it’s fresh, and watch The Wire later. And then start a Wire thread so all the fans can come back and relive it. 
NiceGuyJack, I went looking for the Danish DVD – the price was 38.99 (in pounds or Euro or whatever the money is called now) which translates to what, almost $60 US?
How did Meyer find out in the Danish version?
Something that I’m not getting, maybe because I still haven’t seen 100% of the first two episodes and none of the third – are there two victims? Rosie died by drowning, so where did all the blood at the school come from?
Perhaps she was injured, but alive when she was put in the trunk? (FYI, I don’t think this was explained in the third episode.)
I was confused by that too. I think when they found the body they said she had been punched in the face? Is that right? And for some reason they were looking for the murder scene elsewhere.
I’m not sure how they can base a whole season around solving one murder, unless every week is just another red herring. Since it’s only the 2nd episode, I’m guessing Rosie wasn’t raped, that was something she planned with the two boys (for some reason, maybe to send the video to the person who *did *kill her? Whom I’m guessing works at the campaign), and neither of them are actually connected to her death.
I’m getting a bit annoyed with the female detective’s facial expressions. She looks like at any moment she may burst into tears and/or then stares off into space. I will still keep watching though.
I guess I’m going to have to watch The Wire someday. I tried watching an episode some years ago and couldn’t get into it, but that can happen when you freefall into a complicated series.
[QUOTE=AuntiePam]
NiceGuyJack, I went looking for the Danish DVD – the price was 38.99 (in pounds or Euro or whatever the money is called now) which translates to what, almost $60 US?
How did Meyer find out in the Danish version?
[/QUOTE]
In the Danish version Meyer (Holden) finds out from a janitor but Lund (Linden) is finding out at the same time from one of the rich boys. They are on the phone together when the discovery is made and Meyer (Holden) tells Lund (Linden) she must get over there right away.
[QUOTE=AuntiePam]
Something that I’m not getting, maybe because I still haven’t seen 100% of the first two episodes and none of the third – are there two victims? Rosie died by drowning, so where did all the blood at the school come from?
[/QUOTE]
Can’t tell you this yet without spoiling it for you.
In the Danish version, they had established that she had been repeatedly raped before she was killed, but that does not appear to be the case in the Us version.
nm, sorry
What does nm mean?
Did I say something I shouldn’t have?
nm = “never mind.”
That was EXACTLY my thought about 5 minutes after my post. Then I thought “no no, listen to the good people who have given you so much good advice about TV over the years.”
I’ll catch up on the Killing and participate in the next thread then when I’m all caught up.
That can be arranged!
Once all the episodes have aired, I thought I could compile a youtube video of all of her reaction shots back-to-back in chronological order without recycling a single one. At this rate, it feels like my video would be 15 minutes long.
It’s nowhere near as bad as the long intervals of silent staring in Rubicon, though. They almost resembled fugue states. I have an ongoing thread that I hope to post to once a year in memory of that show.
In another way it reminds me of Rubicon in that just about all the lead characters are just not believable for the occupations they’re supposed to have. In Rubicon it’s like a high school year-book class is running an intelligence agency. In The Killing it’s like a massage therapist and pizza delivery boy suddenly were assigned to investigate a murder.
The Rubicon folks seemed like typical data analysts, aka nerds. You wouldn’t hire them for field work, but as computer geeks and analysts, they were perfect. I can absolutely see the male character in The Killing as an undercover narc. He’s got that whole slacker attitude working for him.