Initial New Amsterdam thoughts

I'll be honest: Due to my long-time friendship with one of the stars, I was going to give New Amsterdam a glowingly positive review no matter what. But I'll be damned if it wasn't actually a pretty cool show. Click below for my thoughts on the first episode.

Incidentally, my friend Alexie (who plays Dr. Sara Dillane -- although I will refer to her as "Alexie" until I get used to her as a television character) didn't have a great deal of screentime in the pilot. The way I see it, the reason was two fold: First, the purpose of the episode was to establish Amsterdam's back story. Additionally, the story revolved around Amsterdam finding her, and I think the impact would have been somewhat lost if the viewer was constantly watching her. In many ways, I think it's important that the audience learns about her alongside the protaganist. That said, I think her screentime will increase exponentially once their "relationship" settles.

I read this morning that much of the show was rewritten to make Amsterdam a more up beat character. I guess in the original conception, his immortality had driven him to depression. While I do think that would have made an interesting character, I actually think they made the right choice here. Truth be told, we a huge reason why I enjoyed the show so much was because of the Amsterdam character. He was charming, humorous, and overall very likable. On top of that, it was really cool watching him exhibit the wisdom and quirky knowledge that he had acquired over the past 400 years.

And while he was overall positive, in his own way he was tortured as well. Immortality has a price, that being the loss of people close to you. This shown twice, the first time with Amsterdam discussing the passing of his son, and the second time when he was confronted by an old flame from years (and years and years) ago.

I also like the spin on his immortality. When I initially read about the show, my first impression that his eternal life, which only lasts until he falls in love, was a curse (like with Angel). The way they presented it on New Amsterdam, they made it clear that this was a reward. The Native American woman was granting him immortality so that he COULD meet his soul mate.

Oh, and I loved the culmination of Amsterdam's episode-long desk creation, ultimately revealing that he was actually a famous carpenter (or was it artist?) thus making the desk worth thousands of dollars.

Finally, the show had some really, really cool effects, most notably the photo collage of Times Square, and the montage at the end, showing the high speed evolution of that same area, in addition to its significance (I had joke to my dad earlier in the episode that Amsterdam had wonderful foresight with his original that the area would turn from a barren landscape into a beautiful vista) as the location of where he was awarded his immortality.

Long story slightly less long, they've got a loyal viewer in me! Highest recommendation..