New Amsterdam: Golden Boy

A boy suffocates to death inside a plastic bag and the viewing audience gets to see it. Fun!

One thing I like about this show is that after hundreds of years, Amsterdam has a wealth of knowledge about everything else in New York, except love. He thinks he knows what it is, but then something else turns up that throws him all off. The fact that he's a demi-immortal, but doesn't know everything about life, is a nice little touch.

The recap: A young man is killed during a game of erotic suffocation. (Yeah...) The case leads to an elite private school, where Dead guy was kicked off of track and had an affair with the coach's wife, also a teacher at the school. Teacher then killed her husband, because she really liked doing the nasty with the Dead guy, but covered it up as a suicide. Amsterdam noticed that the suicide note was forged, so he forged a letter to get a confession from the teacher. Which, is tricky, legally? Maybe? I don't know. Anyhow, case closed.

Meanwhile, we found out that Amsterdam's bartend buddy, Omar, is actually his son. And this week's flashbacks are about John's love affair with a black woman, which did not go over well in 1940. At the end of the episode, John gives his son more information about his mom, and Omar gives his dad the identity of "the one" in the subway station.

What worked: Zuleikha Robinson and her character, Eva, were great this week. She played off Amsterdam perfectly, was not intimidated, nor tried to be intimidating to her partner. She was cool, professional and just a little pushy - when in the interrogation room. If they could cast Michelle Rodriguez as her sister (named Ana-Lucia Ortez?), I would be in tough-cop-heaven. Another element that worked: the opening credits. They were cool, refreshing and fun to watch.

What didn't work: In the "previouslies," they showed a clip of Amsterdam saying "I'm an alcoholic." But then didn't do anything with that! What's up, show? Also, while I appreciate the occasional film-nor approaches that the show makes, it needs to tone down the extreme camera tilts. They are cool once in a while. But not often. Lastly, the show could use some color for current day NYC. The desaturated pallet is "edgy," but also sometimes "boring."

Next episode: On Monday at 9 (the show's new regular time spot), Amsterdam investigates some suspicious claims made by a war vet, played by Orlando Jones.

New Amstedam: Pilot

John Amsterdam saved the life of some native Americans, who then blessed/cursed him with eternal life, until he finds his true love and their "souls are wed." He has a dog named "36," has had 609 girlfriends, and has taken pictures of Times Square every year for decades. When he is not solving crimes, he builds desks, which, because he did so decades ago as a furniture artists, are worth tens of thousands of dollars. He has gone through so many partners, he doesn't even accept them anymore, because he knows they will either transfer out, or will be killed in the line of duty. He thinks indoor plumbing is the best invention, the alarm clock the worst. And to relax, he likes to swim naked. Got all that?

The recap: John meets all the shows characters. THE END!

The (actual) recap: John meets all the shows characters. Including a bartend named Omar, his new smart detective partner Eva Marquez, and he gets a glimpse at a woman who may be "the one" who will make him mortal again. A young actress, Chloe, is murdered and her boyfriend, Eddie, is blamed. John believes that it wasn't Eddie, and proves that is was the (old) head of a chain of hotels. That's not before they out the hotel's owner son - who dated Chloe - as a gay.

John temporarily dies. He leaves the hospital, without a name on the record and with a very worried staff. Especially since his blood type tested as RZRZ, which became extinct a long time ago. (Good to know!) One of the said hospital workers happens to be John's potential soul mate, so I think he'll be finding her soon enough.

What worked: The show was very restrained. It would have been very easy to make John as the "I'm old, I'm cranky" type, but they didn't go down that route. (Being able to see sunlight probably helps, Angel.) And Eva was smart and witty, but she wasn't a laugh a minute. And her performance was really restrained, and felt... real. The detective stuff and John's personal life balanced really well, I felt.

What didn't work: There were just one too many "I'm old" references. There weren't as many as some writers would have been tempted to throw in, but, it felt like it was beating me over the head with it.

Lasting power: Three seasons, based on the pilot alone. The show's mythology, about having 400 years of experience, surprisingly doesn't seem to have much to draw out over the course of the show. But the chemistry between John and his new partner, Eva, is electrifying and compelling, almost in a Law & Order: SVU kind of a way. And for that reason alone, the show will last a while. It's not a terribly smart show. It's definitely no The Closer as far as procedurals go. But it's entertaining, and there's still a hint of mystery that makes me think that the show has some good things to show us in the future.

I'm not terribly energized about the show at this point, but, I'm going to keep watching. It has promise, and the show feels smart enough where I will probably trust whatever direction the show goes in.

Next episode: Tonight, Thursday at 9. According to the previews, John has another son, who is dead? Alive? I'm so confused, FOX promotions department.