New Show Review: New Amsterdam
March 8th, 2008 by screenwriterguy
“In the city that never sleeps, he’s the cop who never dies.” The tag line sums the show right up. It’s all you really need to know, and if you want to know much more, you’re really out of luck. There is very little explanation of WHY a shaman cursed/blessed John Amsterdam to live immortal until he finds his soulmate (although it’s probably important that the shaman is female) but we mostly don’t care anyway.
Right off the bat, New Amsterdam observes magnificent economy of screen time in building character. We meet Detective Amsterdam, hundreds of years old, all angsty about his immortality. Rapid-fire character development shows us he’s a homicide detective, a ladies’ man, an irascible partner, a recovered alcoholic, an enabler for an old friend who knows his secret, a nude swimmer, an amateur photographer. It’s a complicated mix that doesn’t quite add up into a compelling protagonist yet, but full credit to the pilot script for trying, in a genre that more often yields the opposite problem.
Fans of slightly mainstream, slightly fantasy genre bending will not keep from comparing Amsterdam to Angel. In fact, following an encounter with a now-elderly former lover, Amsterdam muses on vampires for a moment. However, for the most part the exploration of ground heavily trod by vampire fiction was necessary, and they quickly get it out of the way. Plus, there’s some fresh texture added. Still, one finds oneself missing the pitch-perfect broodiness of Angel, to which New Amsterdam so far aspires but misses.
Best Aspect: The quips of Amsterdam’s new partner, Eva Marquez, his verbal sparring equal.
Worst Aspect: An overwillingness on Amsterdam’s part to let slip hints of just how long he’s been alive, and an obliviousness to it on the part of his associates.
Verdict: Not perfect, but overall strongly written. If I had just a little more free time, I’d add it to my list of appointment television. Since I don’t, it goes on the list of shows to someday watch all of in a row some weekend on DVD… if it makes it that far.
Odds of Success: Despite the recent upsurge of movies and television with fantasy components, the fact is that big crowds love storytelling they can neatly place in a genre box; such shows get cult followings. The fact that New Amsterdam saw a dip in ratings for its second episode, despite an American Idol lead-in, might portend poorly. Of course, that was against Lost, which has been excellent this season, and which competes for the same type of viewer. In its regular time slot this weekend, New Amsterdam may fair better. My overall guess, however, is that Amsterdam will only survive if its writing goes from very good to excellent.
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Mar 12th 2008 at 6:44 pm
Meh. I thought the “broodiness” of Angel was a little too narcissistically angsty — but I suppose that’s what made it appealing to younger viewers. I occasionally watched it, but sometimes all that tragic hipness would make me gag.
I’ve been watching New Amsterdam, and I agree that it’s somewhat underwritten and half-baked, and has some astounding whoppers in its story lines. Despite this, the characters are appealing, and the fact that I keep watching despite some of the astounding coincidences just goes to show you the power of actors’ chemistry.
After the near darkness of television — yes I’ve REALLY noticed the writers’ strike even if non-scripted shows seem ever popular — I’m very happy to see SOMETHING on TV that is at least trying to be an intelligent scripted show.
I’m also noticing that last week’s debut episode landed at #6. (See here
It also didn’t do half bad in its regular time slot last night; it improved on it’s lead-in show and held up okay against it’s competition. I’ll be watching its numbers closely to see if it at least gets enough episodes to make it to DVD. (At a guess, I’d say it appeals to a slightly older demographic than perhaps what Fox would like. With an impatient network like Fox, which is notoriously quick to pull the trigger, it doesn’t bode well.)
(Link)