New Amsterdam: Pilot (series premiere)

Can you say Highlander...
Can you say Forever Knight...

Same story, different actor.

I love Pete Hamill. But i also like this show. However... they could've done better.. i expected better. Forever is a story that has stay with me for years and will always.

I'm glad to see Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in something with more focus on him. I have noticed his work off and on since the film Enigma with Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet, and then more recently Wimbledon with Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst. In both, I remember saying, "Who the heck is HE?" and wondering why no one did more with him than these small supporting roles.

However, though I enjoyed New Amsterdam, I was constantly reminded of the Highlander film and TV series with their lead character Duncan MacLeod as an immortal, who has centuries of experience of life and love to make him an uber-urbane and mysterious city dweller. Also, continuing references to "the ONE" felt familiar, even though the phrase was used in a different concept.

Unless Niklolaj catches on like wildfire, personally, which may happen as he's a fine actor and endlessly watchable, I'm afraid this series, itself is a bit of a retread and won't hold enough interest to be extended.

It kind of reminded me of "Life"- odd police detective with a rare understanding of the inner workings of the human soul. Except I like Life a lot better. Although because I am sort of starved for fresh scripted TV- I enjoyed it.

I think his partner will turn out to be his true love, the doc is too easy.

Did anyone else notice some sort of accent kept creeping through his attempt at NY-speak. Aussie? Please, if you are going to cast an actor to play a different nationality, at least make it believable. Other than that, I liked the actor.

I understand he's supposed to be immortal, but he's not invincible, right? If he jumps off a building he won't die from it but he might still have to deal with a broken leg or something.
The show has promise. I'll give it a chance to find it's groove.

I just finished watching the Pilot and I though It was pretty good. Sure there might be a few plot holes, but i think it's an interesting idea, and I'm looking forward to see how it goes.

I've got the next episode 'Golden Boy' ready to go, and I hope it's good. Apparently 7 episodes have been filmed.

I like the title, as New Amsterdam was the Dutch colonial that became New York.

It's also interesting to note, that the lead actor is from Denmark, [hence his accent, which suits the show, as the character would have been from Europe originally].

Also the Pilot was directed by Lasse Hallström, who also co-produces the show, a well known Swedish Director. The show seems to have a Nordic connection

Cheers

Dave

It sounds interesting. I will check it out. In your lead-in, when you said he was "fatally stabbed" and it made sense, I wondered if it was either a misuse of words or if we had another Jack Harkness on our hands.

The show looks ok at best. It's an interesting premise, but yeah, the crimes are just like every other crime show. And, I don't know how long he can run around looking for his true love before it gets old. One season, tops.

This show was based off a book, so I'm told. In the book, he cannot leave New York or he will die by suicide apparently, which will prevent him from going to heaven, so he's trapped on the island. This contradicts what some other people have observed, but that's my two cents about it.

In this interview the actor says his character hasn't been a cop before and has to reinvent himself every 25 years or so.

http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Trivial-Mattrs/Got-Mega-Minute/800034879

The most interesting parts were the photo collection and the times lapse at the end.

The whole thing felt rushed, like another hour would have served the plot and the character development very well. I wasn't overly surprised by the first episode, because all the key parts were in previews. And while the murder plot sucked, that wasn't the focus of the show and shouldn't have been. Later on, they should.

I wonder if this is the same pilot critics saw months ago. It just feels like there was a lot of re-editing with Fox not being sure they'd air it, and then limiting the episode run.

Like other new shows, Journeyman and Eli Stone, for example, this show's first episode proves it just needs to find its groove. I'm willing to stick it out another couple of episodes, to see how things develop.