In this episode of New Amsterdam, John Amsterdam (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) handles a murder case of a doctor, recalls being a doctor himself in 1862, and has a face to face with his possible one true love, Dr. Sara Dillane (Alexie Gilmore).
Frankly, the story and the back story were both a little dull in this episode. Still, it had my heart racing. Why?
It’s John Amsterdam. Or shall I say Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. In just about every scene he is in, his mere presence steals it. I suppose for a guy who’s 400 years old, he seems to have learned the fine art of flirting very well. He literally flirts with the camera in every shot. And this is why I think the show could very well be a winner if they make some minor changes in either the cast or the dialog.
There are some flaws with the show. First, John is a little too free with offering information to his detective partner Eva (Zuleikha Robinson) that relate back to previous experiences years ago. If I had a partner like that who appeared to be making up stories, I think I’d have him submitted for a psych evaluation. (Eve does, however, call John a “freak of nature.” Little does she know how right she is.) I think the show should drop these constant obvious references with his partner to his past lives, or save them for his interactions with Omar(Stephen McKinley-Henderson) who DOES know John's secret.
Second flaw is that John sometimes doesn’t do what I think would be the obvious. He feels strongly that Sara is “the one” and by nearly stalking her (along with his very obvious dog), he finds out she’s an ER doctor at St. Francis; lives alone in the West Village; walks to work; and likes Tex Mex, Merlot, and take out Tandori. Now, keep in mind that he’s a detective, he probably could have used tools of his trade to find out that she has a husband. The look on his face when he realizes this was classic, but had he done his homework using his detective tools, he could have saved himself the shock.
But, there is a lot of good in the show. Personally, I think Nicolaj pulls off this role with perfection. I keep looking at him, thinking to myself that he reminds me of someone. I've come to the conclusion that he reminds me of several different people. I laughed out loud when he was told that he looks familiar, and he responds that he has “one of those faces.” That is absolutely true.
I also enjoyed when he seemingly lifted one of the lines from one of Fox’s hit shows “House” when Amsterdam says “Everybody lies.” And for some reason, I thought of the original Star Trek when Dr. Dillane said “I’m a doctor, not an angel.” (I am thinking back to Dr, McCoy and his famous “I’m a doctor, not a bricklayer”-type lines.)
The show is also a fountain of information, if one pays attention. I did some checking, and Walt Whitman’s brother George had fought at Antietam (the bloodiest Civil War battle), and in 1862, Walt searched hospitals and camps for him when his brother was listed as wounded. Walt got a horrific view of the war from the injured soldiers, and wrote accounts of some who had served in battle. Whitman published “Leaves of Grass” in 1855, so it was believable that he gave a copy to John. I also did not know that “soldier’s heart” is another term for post traumatic stress disorder, shell shock, and battle fatigue. I was always familiar with those terms, but somehow never connected them with the modern-named PTSD. This show wins points to me in its snippets of information like this.
The real winner in the show, though is Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. As I said earlier, this man can flirt with the camera. In every scene, his expressive face seems to be conveying genuine feeling. His eyes have a sparkle to them that is hard to fake. His face visibly brightens when he sees Dr. Dillane face to face. He is thrilled when she touches him to take his pulse, which is racing. (So is mine.) And wow, was that some kind of physical exam she was giving him? Yes, it was just a simple traditional exam, but with the look on his face, you’d swear she was making love with him. I swear he was enjoying his exam a little too much. It was as if at that point, he was the happiest he had ever been in years. And his face showed it.
At the very end, though, when he discovers Dr. Dillane is married, it was a great “Oops” moment. How could he have missed it? Poor guy, he looked so crestfallen that I felt very bad for him. Of course, what we’re not told is the exact state of her marriage, so maybe there is hope yet for John.
I think New Amsterdam has great possibilities. With someone like Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in the lead role, it’s a certainty that I’m going to continue to watch.
My New Amsterdam blog home page can be found
here.
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