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New Amsterdam
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:09 pm
by MarleysGh0st
I watched the premiere of this new police show/fantasy show on Fox, last night.
John Amsterdam is an NYC homicide detective. But he's also a Dutch colonist who was stabbed through the heart in 1642 while trying to protect a Native American woman from his more brutal companions. This woman saves him with some magical blessing which gives him immortality, until such time as he finds the one, true love of his life. He's still looking.
All of which sets the stages for many adventures, I'm sure. It sounds like a rather odd blessing to me, particularly since he hadn't done all that much in the first place.
I did like the FX scene of the growth of Times Square, fast-forwarded from the 17th century to the present.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:44 pm
by PlacentiaSoccerMom
Would you recommend the show? I thought that the premise looked interesting, so I was going to Tivo it, but I forgot to.
Re: New Amsterdam
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:52 pm
by earendel
MarleysGh0st wrote:I watched the premiere of this new police show/fantasy show on Fox, last night.
John Amsterdam is an NYC homicide detective. But he's also a Dutch colonist who was stabbed through the heart in 1642 while trying to protect a Native American woman from his more brutal companions. This woman saves him with some magical blessing which gives him immortality, until such time as he finds the one, true love of his life. He's still looking.
All of which sets the stages for many adventures, I'm sure. It sounds like a rather odd blessing to me, particularly since he hadn't done all that much in the first place.
I did like the FX scene of the growth of Times Square, fast-forwarded from the 17th century to the present.
I watched. It had its moments, but I find it hard to understand why the native American shaman would save his life by, in effect, cursing him with eternal youth until he finds "the one". Maybe this will receive more exposition in future episodes. I thought it was cute that he could creae "instant antiques" - those desks. And how and why Omar the bartender knows his secret is something that will undoubtedly be explained later.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:54 pm
by earendel
PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:Would you recommend the show? I thought that the premise looked interesting, so I was going to Tivo it, but I forgot to.
It's hard to say - it's soft-core sci-fi, I guess, and if you can buy the premise, the show isn't too bad. There's a new episode on tomorrow night after AI, then it moves to a regular Monday slot at 9PM (replacing The Sarah Connor Chronicles).
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:06 pm
by MarleysGh0st
earendel wrote:PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:Would you recommend the show? I thought that the premise looked interesting, so I was going to Tivo it, but I forgot to.
It's hard to say - it's soft-core sci-fi, I guess, and if you can buy the premise, the show isn't too bad. There's a new episode on tomorrow night after AI, then it moves to a regular Monday slot at 9PM (replacing The Sarah Connor Chronicles).
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:
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.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:14 pm
by earendel
MarleysGh0st wrote: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:
I thought about that also - obviously he couldn't have been on the police force all these years because surely to goodness some alert officer would realize that, hey, that guy isn't getting any older.
I suspect that the "accidental run-in" with acquaintances is going to be recurring feature of the show.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:15 pm
by Catfish
PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:Would you recommend the show? I thought that the premise looked interesting, so I was going to Tivo it, but I forgot to.
The main character is hot, not Riggins hot, but hot.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:34 pm
by PlacentiaSoccerMom
Catfish wrote:PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:Would you recommend the show? I thought that the premise looked interesting, so I was going to Tivo it, but I forgot to.
The main character is hot, not Riggins hot, but hot.
Yeah. I noticed when I saw the previews, but I didn't want to be the first to comment on it. I didn't want people to think that I completely objectify men.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:48 pm
by Catfish
PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:Catfish wrote:PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:Would you recommend the show? I thought that the premise looked interesting, so I was going to Tivo it, but I forgot to.
The main character is hot, not Riggins hot, but hot.
Yeah. I noticed when I saw the previews, but I didn't want to be the first to comment on it. I didn't want people to think that I completely objectify men.
Pleased to be of assistance. Hotness of main character is an important criterion for me. I'm counting the days till
Prison Break returns.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:52 pm
by tlynn78
I watched. It was. mmm, okay. I was disappointed in it, it didn't live up to my expectations or its own possibilities. THere seems to be no chemistry at all between him and his partner. I'm hoping it will improve and intend to watch at least a couple more episodes to give it a chance.
I was annoyed by his comments to his partner (who is supposed to be a DETECTIVE) continuously referring to his longevity, and her just staring agape or rolling her eyes. Like the "this place was a speakeasy in the '30's" How did you know?" "I used to drink" and the "I read lips .... temporary deafness ... from landing at Normandy" A few of those here and there could be clever, but if it keeps being so heavy-handed it'll get old quick, especially given her failure to catch on and call him on it.
t.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:56 pm
by ulysses5019
I was annoyed by his comments to his partner (who is supposed to be a DETECTIVE) continuously referring to his longevity, and her just staring agape or rolling her eyes. Like the "this place was a speakeasy in the '30's" How did you know?" "I used to drink" and the "I read lips .... temporary deafness ... from landing at Normandy" A few of those here and there could be clever, but if it keeps being so heavy-handed it'll get old quick, especially given her failure to catch on and call him on it.
...yeah, but is she hot?
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:58 pm
by MarleysGh0st
tlynn78 wrote:I was annoyed by his comments to his partner (who is supposed to be a DETECTIVE) continuously referring to his longevity, and her just staring agape or rolling her eyes. Like the "this place was a speakeasy in the '30's" How did you know?" "I used to drink" and the "I read lips .... temporary deafness ... from landing at Normandy" A few of those here and there could be clever, but if it keeps being so heavy-handed it'll get old quick, especially given her failure to catch on and call him on it.
t.
And also the reference to his ex-wives. "How many have you had?" "Just one at a time."
And that raises another problem with his remaining in NYC all these years. If he's been married many times and raised children from all these marriages, the city has got to be crawling with countless generations of his descendants by now.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:01 pm
by earendel
tlynn78 wrote:I watched. It was. mmm, okay. I was disappointed in it, it didn't live up to my expectations or its own possibilities. THere seems to be no chemistry at all between him and his partner. I'm hoping it will improve and intend to watch at least a couple more episodes to give it a chance.
I was annoyed by his comments to his partner (who is supposed to be a DETECTIVE) continuously referring to his longevity, and her just staring agape or rolling her eyes. Like the "this place was a speakeasy in the '30's" How did you know?" "I used to drink" and the "I read lips .... temporary deafness ... from landing at Normandy" A few of those here and there could be clever, but if it keeps being so heavy-handed it'll get old quick, especially given her failure to catch on and call him on it.
t.
I figured it was just something that people thought was a quirk of his personality, not to be taken seriously, as in the scene at the AA meeting. He could easily attribute some of his comments to being "a student of history". After all, if someone said something about hearing loss due to landing at Normandy I'd just toss it off as a joke.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:01 pm
by MarleysGh0st
ulysses5019 wrote: ...yeah, but is she hot?
Of course!
Aren't all police detectives hot, just like on the TV shows?
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:02 pm
by earendel
ulysses5019 wrote:I was annoyed by his comments to his partner (who is supposed to be a DETECTIVE) continuously referring to his longevity, and her just staring agape or rolling her eyes. Like the "this place was a speakeasy in the '30's" How did you know?" "I used to drink" and the "I read lips .... temporary deafness ... from landing at Normandy" A few of those here and there could be clever, but if it keeps being so heavy-handed it'll get old quick, especially given her failure to catch on and call him on it.
...yeah, but is she hot?
Not so much, in my estimation.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:03 pm
by earendel
MarleysGh0st wrote:And also the reference to his ex-wives. "How many have you had?" "Just one at a time."
And that raises another problem with his remaining in NYC all these years. If he's been married many times and raised children from all these marriages, the city has got to be crawling with countless generations of his descendants by now.
He hasn't exactly been celibate, has he? Again, though, I figure that he's the "love 'em and leave 'em" type for the most part.
Part of me thinks of the ST:TOS episode "Requiem for Methuselah" when I think about this show.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:05 pm
by PlacentiaSoccerMom
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:06 pm
by PlacentiaSoccerMom
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:10 pm
by ulysses5019
So, where's a pic of his partner?
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:22 pm
by MarleysGh0st
ulysses5019 wrote:So, where's a pic of his partner?
Fox uses Flash so I can't embed the image here, but you can follow this link to see her.
http://www.fox.com/newamsterdam/gallery ... ?epi=pilot
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:24 pm
by MarleysGh0st
MarleysGh0st wrote:Fox uses Flash so I can't embed the image here, but you can follow this link to see her.
Wait, here's one:
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:44 pm
by MarleysGh0st
earendel wrote:Part of me thinks of the ST:TOS episode "Requiem for Methuselah" when I think about this show.
Yes, particularly when he crafted that "antique" desk.
<Spock>Definitely a work by Brahms and in Brahms' own hand. And yet completely unknown!</Spock>
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 3:00 pm
by tlynn78
Wait, here's one:
I think the chick playing his partner is very pretty. He is hot, as well. I thought the chick playing the doctor/one-true-love possibility looks old enough to be his much older sister.
t.
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 3:07 pm
by MarleysGh0st
tlynn78 wrote:I thought the chick playing the doctor/one-true-love possibility looks old enough to be his much older sister.
But on the show, she could be his great-great-great-great-granddaughter!
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 3:08 pm
by tlynn78
But on the show, she could be his great-great-great-great-granddaughter
!
That, too.
t.
