If I had put this pilot episode together, I would have done it differently. If one didn’t know the show’s premise in advance, I believe it would have been a confusing start.If you’re reading this and you don’t know the premise of the show, it’s this: In 1642, John Amsterdam (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), a Dutch solider in the colony of New Amsterdam (which later becomes New York City), stepped in front of a sword to save the life of a Native American girl during a massacre of her tribe. The girl in turn rescues John, and casts an ancient spell that made him immortal - that is, until he finds his one true love. Only then will he become mortal. At the present time, he lives in Manhattan as a homicide detective, with new partner Eva Marquez (Zuleikha Robinson). His current friend, jazz club owner Omar (Stephen McKinley-Henderson), knows Amsterdam’s secret.
Had I assembled this pilot, I would have started with a complete focus on his incident where he nearly lost his life and was rescued, then given immortality, by the Native American girl. I may not have spent any more time on it than they did over the course of the entire episode, but having the back story lead in to the show would have made everything else make more sense. I had to explain everything to my husband in the first 10 minutes or so of the show, which, after that point, it seemed to develop more into the present day story.
When John suffers a heart attack while chasing a victim, it may have been a little fuzzy at first if it was from exertion, or, if it was because he was in close proximity to “The One” true love (presumably Dr. Sara Dillane, played by Alexie Gilmore). Maybe it was a little of both. Again, for someone not knowing the premise of the show ahead of time, this could have caused some confusion for viewers.
The plot of the pilot was a little thin, but that is to be expected when you only have an hour to set up the back story and then get into the modern day homicide case. I did find it interesting, though, that the murder case led him to an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s who he knew in the past. Her question “Do I know you?” and his answer “Not any more” was a little predictable, but set up nicely for her running back out to him, clearly recalling how she knew him. Of course, she appeared to everyone else that she was off in the head, but John knew better. I suspect that there will be more situations like this as the episodes progress, but hopefully it will not be an overused plot device.
We also got to see some of John’s talents that he’s built over the years. Lip reading is one that came in handy working this case, and it will be interesting to see what other skills he has.
As far as the cast, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is perfect in the role of John Amsterdam. He’s got the right mix of seriousness, levity, and charm. He’s attractive. Only one downside is that his voice is a little quiet, which sometimes makes his dialog hard to hear. His partner Eva (Robinson) seems flat in her role, and at times delivered her lines as if she were reading lines in rehearsal. And his friend Omar (McKinley-Henderson) brings some depth and realism.
Despite a possibly poorly executed back story for the pilot, the show has a lot of possibilities. I am hoping for a long, long life.
My New Amsterdam blog home page can be found
here.
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