With Alexie Gilmore (who stars as Dr. Sara Dillane) being one of my sister’s best friends and having known her for nearly twenty years, I’ll be honest: No matter what, I was going to give New Amsterdam a glowing review. I’m sure that would jeopardize my journalistic integrity, but the fact of the matter is: I’m not a journalist, and integrity is overrated.
I offered the above in the interest of full disclosure because the truth is that I genuinely enjoyed the premiere of New Amsterdam. I found the characters likable, the dialogue believable, the premise stimulating, and the story interesting. It had a terrific Buffy/Angel vibe to it, which is a very high compliment. I enjoy these types of shows, and even considering that, the show was much, much better than I expected.
Incidentally, repeatedly postponing the New Amsterdam premiere could end up being the show’s saving grace. Evidently, in the initial pilot, Amsterdam was a somber and depressing character, and as such the show in general was far darker and grimmer, to the extent of detriment. This ended up being a very wise decision, as in the revised version – where several shots were rewritten and reshot – Amsterdam was more upbeat, creating a rather charming, personable character. I especially enjoy how he’s so open and honest about his background and immortality (by revealing that he’s been sober for 40 years and that he was briefly deaf, for example), but people ignore what he says because of his seemingly disingenuous tone. It was also pretty neat listening to him spew off the various knowledge and skills he had acquired through his 400-year existence.
I also appreciate that while Amsterdam is portrayed as being relatively cheerful, the unpleasant side of having eternal life isn’t simply glossed over. You can tell that he’s tortured by the memories of those he’s lost, whether it was through death or abandonment. This was especially apparent when talking about his late son, and when being confronted by one of his former lovers.
As mentioend earlier, the first episode really reminded me of Angel and Buffy, and I think it would be a huge credit to the show if it able to reach that audience. Speaking of Angel, when I had first read synopsizes of the series, I was under the impression that this immortality – which will only come to an end when he meets his one true love – was a curse (much like Angel, the character). I really enjoyed the other side of the coin view that New Amsterdam has taken, however, where the protagonist is GRANTED immortality so that he can meet his one true love, and they can grow old together.
My only concern is that it seems questionable for the show to let the cat out of the bag so early, leading me to think (and worry) that Alexie’s apparent role as “the one” may be a red herring. Let’s hope I’m wrong.
I must also complement the cool effects employed during the pilot. I especially loved the collage of Times Square photos, and the quickened evolution of the area at the conclusion of the episode. It was also pretty cool how that area was where he was initially given his immortality.
I think that the second episode managed to maintain the momentum while also giving a better indication of the show’s formula. While I felt that the second episode was not quite as exciting as the first, I did get a much stronger Lost-esque feel from it. And that’s never really a bad thing. I am now under the impression that the show will use Amsterdam’s flashbacks to: (a) provide the viewer with a greater understanding of his past, and (b) tie his past events to his latest present-day crisis. Again, that’s very similar to the first few seasons of Lost. However, New Amsterdam seems to give the flashbacks enough of its own flavor that it doesn’t reek of copying.
One thing I was surprise about, however, was the fact that they spilled the beans so quickly that Omar is Amsterdam’s son. I think it would have made more impact if we grew to understand their relationship and dynamic better before making such a grand revelation. To once again use Lost as an example: When the viewer found out that Jack and Claire are half-siblings last year, it was a pretty neat and surprising moment. Imagine how much less of an impression that discovery would have made if the big reveal occurred in the second episode of the first season.
Along with that, the cutting of flashbacks and present-day activities seemed somewhat choppy. It appeared as if the final scene, where past-Amsterdam holds the baby and decides to name it Omar, was supposed to be the climax where the audience finally received confirmation that, yes, Omar is Amsterdam’s son. However, earlier in the episode Omar had already mentioned that his grandson is Amsterdam’s great grandson.
Based on the first two episodes, I highly recommend the show, especially to viewers who have enjoyed Angel, Buffy, and even Lost.
