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Maybe They Should Have Called It 'Roughly Three Seasons': 'Forever' Review

By Emily Cutler | TV | October 23, 2014 |

By Emily Cutler | TV | October 23, 2014 |


Forever is the new ABC drama starring Ioan Gruffudd as Henry Morgan, a New York City medical examiner and Alana De La Garza as Jo Martinez, a New York City detective. Also Henry Morgan can’t die. Below is my internal monologue during the first three episodes.

- So Henry Morgan’s developed an amazing ability to observe and interpret details about people. And he uses it to impress people, but also it kind of creeps those people out. This is basically a less clever, Americanized version of Sherlock? Sounds like us.

- Oh right, but he can’t die. Even after getting stabbed through the heart with a subway pole. So it’s a high concept, less clever, Americanized version of Sherlock.

- I get why living and dying in various ways over 200 years would segue well into a career as a medical examiner, but isn’t it a bit dangerous for Henry to be working in the place where all of his many bodies are eventually going to end up? Wouldn’t someone notice body after vaguely Britishy- looking body showing up that look just like the guy doing the examining?

- The showrunners really want to make sure we understand the plot. During the opening credits:

“My name is Henry Morgan. My story is a long one. Over the years, you could say I’ve become a student of death. I need to find a key to unlock my curse. Something happened nearly two centuries ago. And I was transformed. My life is just like yours … except for one small difference. It never ends. Every time I die, I always return in water, and I’m always naked. Now you know as much about my condition as I do. It’s a long story.”

- Also I don’t want to tell you how to live your unending life, Henry, but shouldn’t you have become a student of more than just death? I get you want to die, but maybe you’d want to know how you were transformed?

- Hey, here’s the sassy female cop with emotional difficulties stemming from the tragic death of a loved one. So Jo Martinez is the Watson to Henry’s Sherlock? Everything’s falling into place.

- Apparently his body disappears after he dies. And his clothes disappear. That’s good.

- Nope, scratch that. Henry and Jo don’t have nearly enough sexual chemistry to be these guys:

sherlock.gif
Guess we’ll go with Castle and Beckett

- Judd Hirsch is Henry’s adopted son who is now 30 years older than Henry. And who was 6 months old when rescued from a concentration camp as evidence by the numbers tattooed on his arm. Would an infant have been given a concentration camp number tattoo? Even for Nazis that seems excessively cruel.

- Henry’s clothes budget must be out of control.

- There’s another guy who also doesn’t die, and he’s tracked down Henry. Of course he’s being all mysterious and menacing because when you have an unusual characteristic that makes you an outsider and unable to connect with most people, the first thing you want to do is be a total dick to the one person who might understand you.

- Seriously, what kind of closet space is this guy rocking? He’s died twice in just the first two episodes. That’s two full outfits, people. Where do you store enough clothes to keep up with that kind of routine?

- The other immortal is able to track down a lot of details about Henry and his past. Weird things that seem like they shouldn’t be trackdownable. Maybe just try a lunch date, guy. There’s no reason you have to be enemies. This isn’t highlander.

- Speaking of, does it bother anyone else that the tagline for Highlander is “There can be only one” when the whole movie is about the last of the highlanders killing each other? Clearly there can be more than one, they’re just trying to chop each other’s heads off. This isn’t Miss America. There can be many.

- This show is going to be great to watch when it’s eventually shown in syndication on TNT on Saturday mornings.

- Do you think God needs all of Henry’s clothes? Is that why Henry can’t die? Is God keeping them?

tl;dr Sherlock Highlander Castle is fine to watch when nothing else is on.

HT Joanna Robinson