Dead in the WATER
ABC's `Forever' has little chance of survival
With so much competition from the premium and basic cable networks, many of the new network shows seem as densely plotted as Russian novels on steroids.
Then there's ABC's “Forever,” which comes off like a show a couple of drunks scribbled out on a cocktail napkin.
Cribbing elements from “Highlander,” “Elementary,” Fox's short-lived “John Doe” and even the network's own “Castle,” “Forever” stars Ioan Gruffudd (“Fantastic Four”) as medical examiner Henry Morgan, who just happens to be immortal.
That's not exactly true. He can die, and he has often, and he does in the opening minutes, in the kind of harrowing subway crash that will have you rethinking public transportation. Henry just gets reborn, emerging full-grown, always in water.
Wait, what? Why? How? Huh? All good questions.
Henry first died about 200 years ago, tossed from a ship into the ocean after trying to defend a slave. Maybe that has something to do with it. Since then, he's traveled the world, becoming a student of death, searching for an explanation for his condition and trying to find out why he's the only one so “gifted.”
“I need to find a way out of this — a key to unlock my curse,” he says.
As Henry investigates the subway crash, Detective Jo Martinez (Alana De La Garza, “Law & Order”) bears down on him for answers. Video footage identifies him as one of the last passengers stepping aboard the ill-fated train.
Henry has one confidant (Judd Hirsch, “Taxi”), who is his Alfred, his Lurch and his Hazel. Hirsch is also back to driving a taxi, as he did in the recent “Sharknado 2: The Second One.” This might be the most extreme form of typecasting any actor has every endured. Even Subway's Jared gets more varied work.
For someone who purportedly knows the necessity of living under the radar, Henry is a blustery egomaniac, constantly sharing his Sherlock Holmesian deductions with everyone. Because the way to not attract attention is to tell everyone you're the smartest person in the room. Jo is fascinated by him, which suggests either a lack of intelligence or a history of concussions.
An additional episode airs tomorrow at 10 p.m. as the show slides into its regular Tuesday time slot. If the pilot is any indication, Henry will be dying in new and exciting ways each and every week. At least there's that much to look forward to.