New Amsterdam

Message

fantine33 · #51 Post by **fantine33** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:33 pm

earendel wrote:
MarleysGh0st wrote:And Fox had to schedule the second episode tonight at the same time as Lost.

Feh!
Which just confirms my suspicions that FOX is burning off these episodes just to have something to air until the regular programs come back.

I'm surprised no one has compared this show with "Moonlight" on CBS - same idea (immortal in the big city), except that the hero is a vampire.

Maybe that was the one I was thinking of, because Knight Rider was the KITT show. Ha! I thought it was a USA show, though. Does it have Rick Springfield in it?

PlacentiaSoccerMom · #52 Post by **PlacentiaSoccerMom** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:15 pm

MarleysGh0st wrote:
eyégor wrote: I have also read in several places that tonight's episode is supposed to be much better than Tuesday's.
I hope they offer it over the web, because Lost is getting my viewship tonight.

I bought a splitter for my Tivo. We can watch a different channel while Tivoing is recording or we can Tivo two channels at once. If things are really desperate, we can Tivo two channels and watch the TV downstairs.

earendel · #53 Post by **earendel** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:16 pm

fantine33 wrote:
earendel wrote:
MarleysGh0st wrote:And Fox had to schedule the second episode tonight at the same time as Lost.

Feh!
Which just confirms my suspicions that FOX is burning off these episodes just to have something to air until the regular programs come back.

I'm surprised no one has compared this show with "Moonlight" on CBS - same idea (immortal in the big city), except that the hero is a vampire.
Maybe that was the one I was thinking of, because Knight Rider was the KITT show. Ha! I thought it was a USA show, though. Does it have Rick Springfield in it?

I don't know who the lead actor is but I'm sure it's not Rick Springfield.

MarleysGh0st · #54 Post by **MarleysGh0st** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:26 pm

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:
MarleysGh0st wrote:
eyégor wrote: I have also read in several places that tonight's episode is supposed to be much better than Tuesday's.
I hope they offer it over the web, because Lost is getting my viewship tonight.
I bought a splitter for my Tivo. We can watch a different channel while Tivoing is recording or we can Tivo two channels at once. If things are really desperate, we can Tivo two channels and watch the TV downstairs.

Do you have cable? Can Tivo decode the cable input or does the signal have to go through the cable box first? I've been thinking about getting the cable company's DVR, but they're raising their rates again and that's going up from $8 a month to $10 a month. <grumble>®

PlacentiaSoccerMom · #55 Post by **PlacentiaSoccerMom** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:30 pm

MarleysGh0st wrote:
PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:
MarleysGh0st wrote: I hope they offer it over the web, because Lost is getting my viewship tonight.
I bought a splitter for my Tivo. We can watch a different channel while Tivoing is recording or we can Tivo two channels at once. If things are really desperate, we can Tivo two channels and watch the TV downstairs.
Do you have cable? Can Tivo decode the cable input or does the signal have to go through the cable box first? I've been thinking about getting the cable company's DVR, but they're raising their rates again and that's going up from $8 a month to $10 a month. <grumble>®

I have cable. I put the splitter on after my cable box, but before the Tivo box.

wintergreen48 · #56 Post by **wintergreen48** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:23 pm

MarleysGh0st wrote: I agree with ear; the central premise is strange (even for a fantasy show) but the show has potential. Essentially, Amsterdam is Duncan MacLeod, without all those annoying guys trying to chop off his head.

One other point I found strange was the implication that he's remained a resident of New Amsterdam/New York all through the centuries, instead of roaming the world, a la MacLeod. That would seem to increase the risk of having awkward run-ins with aging, past acquaintances.

Like the one last night:

Spoiler
An essential clue to the night's murder case was a unique type of paint found under the victim's fingernails, which had real flecks of gold mixed in it. Amsterdam knows the artist who used that paint as a sort of trademark and he pays her a visit. She turns out to be elderly and suffering from Alzheimer's, but she recognizes Amsterdam as an old lover and scolds him for just walking out on her one day. Her son dismisses this as just another delusion, of course.

There was a Twilight Zone episode from about 1960 that starred Kevin McCarthy (Mary's little brother) as an immortal. In the story, he was a history professor at some college who had a lot of insights about stuff historical, and people wondered about him precisely because he seemed to be so knowledgeable about the past (the back story is that he was some Greek guy who was born about 2,500 years ago, who took some potion that made him immortal). Bit by bit his mystery is revealed (a student finds an old photograph in which the professor appears as one of Grant's officers during the Civil War). The conclusion is that he gets shot and killed by a very elderly woman whom he had abandoned decades earlier. But it does demonstrate the problem of an immortal being recognized by people from his past, who have aged while he has not.

#57 Post by **eyégor** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:26 pm

Rexer25 wrote:
eyégor wrote: I have also read in several places that tonight's episode is supposed to be much better than Tuesday's.

Isn't that kinda like saying the next president is supposed to be better than this one?

Or is it more like saying you heard Godfather 2 is better than Godfather 3 even though you only saw #3?

#58 Post by **eyégor** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:30 pm

wintergreen48 wrote:
MarleysGh0st wrote: I agree with ear; the central premise is strange (even for a fantasy show) but the show has potential. Essentially, Amsterdam is Duncan MacLeod, without all those annoying guys trying to chop off his head.

One other point I found strange was the implication that he's remained a resident of New Amsterdam/New York all through the centuries, instead of roaming the world, a la MacLeod. That would seem to increase the risk of having awkward run-ins with aging, past acquaintances.

Like the one last night:

Spoiler
An essential clue to the night's murder case was a unique type of paint found under the victim's fingernails, which had real flecks of gold mixed in it. Amsterdam knows the artist who used that paint as a sort of trademark and he pays her a visit. She turns out to be elderly and suffering from Alzheimer's, but she recognizes Amsterdam as an old lover and scolds him for just walking out on her one day. Her son dismisses this as just another delusion, of course.
There was a Twilight Zone episode from about 1960 that starred Kevin McCarthy (Mary's little brother) as an immortal. In the story, he was a history professor at some college who had a lot of insights about stuff historical, and people wondered about him precisely because he seemed to be so knowledgeable about the past (the back story is that he was some Greek guy who was born about 2,500 years ago, who took some potion that made him immortal). Bit by bit his mystery is revealed (a student finds an old photograph in which the professor appears as one of Grant's officers during the Civil War). The conclusion is that he gets shot and killed by a very elderly woman whom he had abandoned decades earlier. But it does demonstrate the problem of an immortal being recognized by people from his past, who have aged while he has not.

This isn't really the post to quote for this point, but....

Why do people have so much trouble with 'suspension of belief' regarding shows like this one, but have absolutely no problem with something like Harry Potter.

MarleysGh0st · #59 Post by **MarleysGh0st** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:39 pm

eyégor wrote:This isn't really the post to quote for this point, but....

Why do people have so much trouble with 'suspension of belief' regarding shows like this one, but have absolutely no problem with something like Harry Potter.

Oh, we have suspension of belief if we read/watch fantasy, which always involves the laws of nature being different from what we know. I don't have a problem with that. But, once a writer presents that twist in reality, is what follows consistent with that?

In this show, we start with a shaman who can bring back the dead. Fine. What I find ridiculous is the "immortal until you find your true love" application of that.

But the immortality theme, in general, is fascinating, as attested to in the other stories/shows mentioned in this thread. I think I'll be watching New Amsterdam for this part and trying to disregard that other.

PlacentiaSoccerMom · #60 Post by **PlacentiaSoccerMom** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:02 pm

eyégor wrote:
This isn't really the post to quote for this point, but....

Why do people have so much trouble with 'suspension of belief' regarding shows like this one, but have absolutely no problem with something like Harry Potter.

I have no problem suspending belief. That's why I enjoy reading romance novels.

tanstaafl2 · #61 Post by **tanstaafl2** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:43 pm

eyégor wrote:
This isn't really the post to quote for this point, but....

Why do people have so much trouble with 'suspension of belief' regarding shows like this one, but have absolutely no problem with something like Harry Potter.

You mean Harry Potter isn't real??? Say it ain't so!!!

I think maybe they just put a spell on you and turned you into a troll!

Or something...

earendel · #62 Post by **earendel** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:19 am

I watched the second episode last night.

Spoiler

Yes, it turns out that Omar is John's son, by a woman he met in 1941. They also introduced Omar's grandson and his daughter. John told his great-grandson that he couldn't die - why hasn't he learned that discretion is important? The flashbacks were a little interesting - his secretary was his daughter, too. It seems like John is related to half of the people in NYC.

MarleysGh0st · #63 Post by **MarleysGh0st** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:01 pm

earendel wrote:
Spoiler
It seems like John is related to half of the people in NYC.

Spoiler

Like I said, if he's stayed in NYC all these years, he could be. I wonder if he keeps track of them all?

In Anne Rice's Vampire series, there's a character who does that, keeping genealogies of her mortal descendants (but only through the female lines) down through the millenia. Members of the "Great Family" don't really understand how they happen to keep in touch with so many far-flung branches of the clan, but "Aunt Maharet" is always there to provide a helping hand.

PlacentiaSoccerMom · #64 Post by **PlacentiaSoccerMom** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:04 pm

Spoiler

MarleysGh0st wrote: In Anne Rice's Vampire series, there's a character who does that, keeping genealogies of her mortal descendants (but only through the female lines) down through the millenia. Members of the "Great Family" don't really understand how they happen to keep in touch with so many far-flung branches of the clan, but "Aunt Maharet" is always there to provide a helping hand.

I was thinking about the same thing, as you were discussing the show.

ghostjmf · #65 Post by **ghostjmf** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:09 pm

According to my current temp office-mate, the vampire-related aspects of the season plot of Moonlight that I recited was essentially lifted from Anne Rice novels (which I have not read). I didn't tell officemate the latest twist (before the writers' strike ended episodes) in case they're interested in watching any new episodes, but now, from what you tell me, that may have a Ricely tie-in too.

Spoiler

In the final-so-far episode of Moonlight, it is revealed that What's-her-face, the vampire ex-wife, is a daughter of Louis the something-teenth of France, whose whole family is essentially vampires.

MarleysGh0st · #66 Post by **MarleysGh0st** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:13 pm

ghostjmf wrote:
Spoiler
In the final-so-far episode of Moonlight, it is revealed that What's-her-face, the vampire ex-wife, is a daughter of Louis the something-teenth of France, whose whole family is essentially vampires.

Spoiler

So that's what happened to the Lost Dauphin!

silverscreenselect · #67 Post by **silverscreenselect** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 2:18 am

Spoiler

If this guy is immortal until he discovers his "one true love," then it would seem he would be forced to chase after women over the centuries to do so, because he can't know for sure a woman is "the one" until he winds up getting involved with her, which probably involved getting married (for the first 200-300 years he was around) and having one or more children. The show has hinted that we will see more of his exploits over the centuries, presumably with other women.

starfish1113 · #68 Post by **starfish1113** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:20 am

I love the premise to this show and have watched the first two episodes, however I won't be able to stick with it if the acting continues to be this bad! The death reaction and subsequent scenes with the father who lost his son in Episode 2 was just one example of the unintentional humor that this show has. If it stays like this, there may not be a show to watch in the very near future.

Bob Juch · #69 Post by **Bob Juch** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:25 am

Hey folks, it's suspension of disbelief.

Actually the whole phrase is "willing suspension of disbelief."

MarleysGh0st · #70 Post by **MarleysGh0st** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:12 am

Bob Juch wrote:Hey folks, it's suspension of disbelief.

Actually the whole phrase is "willing suspension of disbelief."

Yeah, you got us, Bob.

peacock2121 · #71 Post by **peacock2121** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:12 am

Okay, I have now seen the first two shows. I am interested. I like meeting the people from the past. I love the grandson thing. They were very cute together.

I am more into the relationship part of it than the other stuff.

He is going to form a very strong bond with his hot partner. I can feel that one coming.

Now..... if Life could come back, I would be a happy camper.