Forever debuted on ABC last night and will now settle in to its regular timeslot Tuesday at 10pm. The show stars Ioan Gruffudd as Dr Henry Morgan, Alana De La Garza as Detective Jo Matinez, and Judd Hirsch as Abe. The series was created by Matthew Miller, who also wrote the “Pilot” and the second episode “Look Before You Leap.” The “Pilot” was directed by Brad Anderson. Miller was a co-executive producer on Chuck and executive producer on the high concept 666 Park Avenue. He was also a consulting producer on The 100. Anderson’s many credits include Fringe, Boardwalk Empire, The Wire, and Almost Human.
Gruffudd’s earliest well known role is as Horatio Hornblower, but he may be better known for the Fantastic Four movies and most recently for Ringer. De La Garza was one of my favorite characters on Law & Order but may be familiar from CSI: Miami or Do No Harm. Hirsch’s credits are too numerous to list, but he’s probably still most recognizable from Taxi.
The show is an enjoyable procedural with a Sci Fi twist. Cop and medical examiner team up to solve the crime of the week with the medical examiner having a bit of a secret – he’s 200 years old and can’t die. The basic premise has a further twist – someone is on to Morgan’s secret. And to make that revelation even more compelling, said mystery man is also immortal. Starting off, then, this series feels a lot like Bones, Elementary or Castle, complete with on-going mystery and a parent figure. Again, of course, there’s a twist. Instead of Hirsch actually being Morgan’s father – a parallel to Castle’s mother if you will – Abe is actually closer to being Morgan’s son.
For me, what becomes make or break for such a series is a combination of writing and chemistry. I very much like all three lead actors, but there didn’t seem to be a real sizzle of electricity – yet. Part of that, I think is that Morgan is trying to keep himself aloof from those around him. He’s only just allowing himself to come back to life a bit. I very much liked how they teased out just exactly what Abe and Henry’s relationship was until the end of the episode. The scene in which Abe beats Henry at chess was very touching, and I loved the casually affectionate way Henry draped his arm over Abe and kissed his head. The scene nicely delineated their relationship without the sentimentality that both characters say they dislike.
The episode opens with the shocking crash of the subway train and a nice explanation of Henry’s “condition.” As with any pilot, there needed to be a fair bit of exposition. In this case, there needed to be quite a bit of exposition, in fact. The show does a good job with the flashbacks and balancing the on-going story with the backstory. Mackenzie Mauzy plays Abigail – Henry’s one true love. Clearly there will be more to their story, but for now we know that she found baby Abe in a Concentration camp in WWII – the same night she met Dr Morgan. Abigail is gone in the present, so this is an immediate bond Henry shares with Jo – whose lawyer husband died of a heart attack while away in Washington giving a deposition. Does that sound highly suspicious to anyone else? Seems both main characters may have an on-going mystery that needs to be solved.
Rounding out the cast is Joel David Moore as Lucas Wan – Henry’s awkward lab assistant. Wan is clearly the comic relief. There is good chemistry between Moore and Grufffudd, who is no stranger to comedy either. In fact, there’s a fair bit of dry, macabre humor throughout the episode. It’s fun to watch Henry use his vast knowledge – gained over centuries – in putting the clues together. Of course, the highlight is him killing himself to determine what the poison is faster than a toxicology lab can! The mysteries are going to have to be a bit more clever and tightly written for me, however. One big blunder that I caught was that in first examining the body, Wan states that the body has suffered from exsanguination, in addition to a number of other things. In a later scene, they are able to find the site of the poisoning and determine it was the cause of death, precisely because bodies stop bleeding after death. There didn’t appear to be any large holes in the body. But perhaps I’m being overly picky…
Over all this was a solid start for the series. Jo and Henry make a formidable team. I’m intrigued to learn more about Henry’s backstory and see how his special brand of knowledge will help him solve the crimes of the week. If the show is smart, however, they won’t have Jo “almost” see Henry die every week. I’m looking forward to watching Gruffudd and De La Garza develop their working relationship. It might be even more intriguing if it doesn’t have to develop into a romantic one. I’m also looking forward to seeing more or Gruffudd and Hirsch together. What did you think of the “Pilot”? Will you be tuning in for more? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
