Image from NewAmsterdam-Forever.comNew Amsterdam “Reclassified” was filled with too many stereotypes, too much forced dialog, and too much bad acting to be enjoyable. And the initial scene of the story where John is called to a scene and helps negotiate a hostage situation was such a red herring that it seemed a colossal waste of time. It would have made more sense to tie in that story to the main story line – if they did that, I certainly missed it. Still, why waste time on a crime that has no bearing on the main story?
This episode involved John’s (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) first detective partner Andy (Chris Bauer) asking John to help investigate his own murder. Andy felt that a bullet still lodged in his body from an unknown shooter caused his leukemia. During this episode John flashes back to experiences working with Andy, which I felt were uninteresting and frankly added nothing to the main story or even to John’s own story. I was incredibly distracted by the fact that Andy was the healthiest looking man who was only days away from dying from leukemia. He wasn’t convincing at all as a dying man, besides not really being convincing as a detective. And I would sure like to know what Andy did so get his wife suddenly cured from stage 4 lymphoma. That seemed like it could have been a more interesting story but the issue was raised and then dropped, almost like the writers couldn’t figure out what to make of it either. And please, how corny was it that Andy just so happens to pass on while in the ride with John?
John’s investigation into his original partner’s shooting is almost thwarted by his own boss’s desire for John to actually work real, active cases (another trite plot device – the seemingly overbearing, unbending boss). John is directed to the stereotypical Russian mob group with the stereotypical Russian mob leader Viktor Brodsky, played by the stereotypical Olek Krupa. Personally, I think Olek suffers from Law & Order Repeat Offender Syndrome, meaning he’s already been so typecast in that franchise that I’m note sure he can play anything else but the proverbial bad guy foreigner.
Another bizarre thing was that I thought that John actually looked much OLDER when he started working with his partner Andy than he did in the present time. It was a strange look and didn’t quite seem to fit the character and the time.
And Sara’s (Alexie Gilmore) treatments of John’s injuries were inconsistent with what I would expect from an ER doctor. The first time, when he was beaten up, she seemed to react normally for a doctor. But, suddenly when he gets shot, she seems helpless and simply yells for help without really reacting to his injury. If I were a doc, I would tend to him immediately at the same time calling out for help.
Nearing the end of the show after John is shot, we see what seems to be his near-death experience, and suddenly he realizes he’s alive and, well, probably not quite mortal yet. Now he did appear to have that “Oops, maybe she’s not the one” look on his face because he was still alive. But, couldn’t him being alive just be due to the fact that they were able to fix his injury from the gunshot?
Another problem with the show is the waste of John’s co-worker Detective Santori (Robert Clohessy). They had a chance to use Clohessy as a serious detective, yet every week they make him seem either more annoying or more idiotic. In this episode, he has a line that is reminiscent of the goofy controller in the movie "Airplane" who always had witty comebacks. Callie Burnett (Susan Misner) says to John “A neighborhood bookie? What’s next?” and Santori answers “Mah-jong. Bingo.” I thought it was silly dialog, a cheap imitation of Airplane, and another shot at making Santori look like a buffoon. Personally, I think the guy from Airplane played the goofball better – maybe because Airplane was intended as a comedy. This show shouldn’t need comic relief.
I’m consistently annoyed with this series with what I call bad transitions. If this series fixes one thing – well, besides a weak supporting cast – it should be better transitions from scene to scene, and better transitions even to commercials.
I give this episode poor marks overall. Still, I think the whole premise of the show could work if they would just decide what kind of show they want to be, get a better supporting characters and actors, and bring consistency in direction and style. They need to somehow ground the show because it seems too scattered that it may not give fans enough to hold on to, week to week.
My New Amsterdam blog home page can be found
here.
This episode involved John’s (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) first detective partner Andy (Chris Bauer) asking John to help investigate his own murder. Andy felt that a bullet still lodged in his body from an unknown shooter caused his leukemia. During this episode John flashes back to experiences working with Andy, which I felt were uninteresting and frankly added nothing to the main story or even to John’s own story. I was incredibly distracted by the fact that Andy was the healthiest looking man who was only days away from dying from leukemia. He wasn’t convincing at all as a dying man, besides not really being convincing as a detective. And I would sure like to know what Andy did so get his wife suddenly cured from stage 4 lymphoma. That seemed like it could have been a more interesting story but the issue was raised and then dropped, almost like the writers couldn’t figure out what to make of it either. And please, how corny was it that Andy just so happens to pass on while in the ride with John?
John’s investigation into his original partner’s shooting is almost thwarted by his own boss’s desire for John to actually work real, active cases (another trite plot device – the seemingly overbearing, unbending boss). John is directed to the stereotypical Russian mob group with the stereotypical Russian mob leader Viktor Brodsky, played by the stereotypical Olek Krupa. Personally, I think Olek suffers from Law & Order Repeat Offender Syndrome, meaning he’s already been so typecast in that franchise that I’m note sure he can play anything else but the proverbial bad guy foreigner.
Another bizarre thing was that I thought that John actually looked much OLDER when he started working with his partner Andy than he did in the present time. It was a strange look and didn’t quite seem to fit the character and the time.
And Sara’s (Alexie Gilmore) treatments of John’s injuries were inconsistent with what I would expect from an ER doctor. The first time, when he was beaten up, she seemed to react normally for a doctor. But, suddenly when he gets shot, she seems helpless and simply yells for help without really reacting to his injury. If I were a doc, I would tend to him immediately at the same time calling out for help.
Nearing the end of the show after John is shot, we see what seems to be his near-death experience, and suddenly he realizes he’s alive and, well, probably not quite mortal yet. Now he did appear to have that “Oops, maybe she’s not the one” look on his face because he was still alive. But, couldn’t him being alive just be due to the fact that they were able to fix his injury from the gunshot?
Another problem with the show is the waste of John’s co-worker Detective Santori (Robert Clohessy). They had a chance to use Clohessy as a serious detective, yet every week they make him seem either more annoying or more idiotic. In this episode, he has a line that is reminiscent of the goofy controller in the movie "Airplane" who always had witty comebacks. Callie Burnett (Susan Misner) says to John “A neighborhood bookie? What’s next?” and Santori answers “Mah-jong. Bingo.” I thought it was silly dialog, a cheap imitation of Airplane, and another shot at making Santori look like a buffoon. Personally, I think the guy from Airplane played the goofball better – maybe because Airplane was intended as a comedy. This show shouldn’t need comic relief.
I’m consistently annoyed with this series with what I call bad transitions. If this series fixes one thing – well, besides a weak supporting cast – it should be better transitions from scene to scene, and better transitions even to commercials.
I give this episode poor marks overall. Still, I think the whole premise of the show could work if they would just decide what kind of show they want to be, get a better supporting characters and actors, and bring consistency in direction and style. They need to somehow ground the show because it seems too scattered that it may not give fans enough to hold on to, week to week.
My New Amsterdam blog home page can be found
here.
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