“Forever” is one of the most unique shows on Primetime TV.
(The other one, as of today, is “Castle.”) The show has elements that we all
already know, and some elements are relatively new. It is like a stew. A few cooks came together,
put a pot on, and added the basic ingredients. Then, they added additional
ingredients along with spices to make this stew thick, palatable, and well-seasoned.
As a result, some people jumped-in head first into trying it; others circled
around first before trying; and the rest just pinched their nose and walked off
into the sunset since the first smell tells them everything for the wrong
reasons. Therefore, how does this relate
to “Forever”?
The show is like any other procedural on TV: “Law &
Order: SVU”, “Blue Bloods”, “Elementary”, etc. We have our hero cop (Detective
Jo Martinez), her trusted sidekick (Detective Hanson), and tough as nails boss
(Lt. Joanna Reece). These guys have their regular crimes that they try to
solve. Of course, what procedural wouldn’t have its Medical Examiner (M.E., Dr.
Henry Morgan) with his weird, young and naïve assistant (Lucas Wan). And this is
the regular ingredients for a procedural. (This description reminds me of “NCIS”
show.) And that is it. One needs nothing else for a show. A writer would just
create storylines given this scenario for crimes and delve into lives of our
characters. However, the writers were not done.
They decided to keep everything as is but make M.E. even more
intelligent. They gave him the brain of Sherlock Holmes. (Yes, move over “Elementary”).
And how did he acquire his keen sense of deduction? Well, he is immortal. Or,
at least, somehow he was made immortal. He wasn’t born immortal. Therefore, our
M.E. is the one really solving the crimes, and detectives are his “sidekicks”.
This is very reminiscent of a popular 1990s show “Diagnosis: Murder” along with
“Sherlock Holmes” varied series.
So, to recap: We have regular procedural drama with elements
of “Diagnosis: Murder” and “Sherlock Holmes”. All shows have been popular in
their time.
The immortal factor is of “Highlander” popularity-saga that
was created in books and made popular as movies and TV show. The difference, of
course, is that our immortal doesn’t go walking around at night brandishing a
sword and cutting-off people’s heads. Well, at least, it hasn’t happened yet.
As such, we now have “NCIS”, “Sherlock Holmes”, “Diagnosis: Murder”, and “Highlander”
in our pot. Therefore, what is left: spices?
Spices here are the human factor of our characters and
especially that of Dr. Morgan. He constantly believes that his immortality is
an affliction that must be dealt with. Since he was brought up like a
God-fearing man, some of that nurturing dominates his point of view. Of course,
over the years he became a wise sage that tries to teach us something about
life and its circumstances, as is shown in the TV show when we hear Dr. Morgan’s
Voice-Over in the beginning and at the end of an episode.
In addition, we have Dr. Morgan’s “enemy”, “friend”,
arch-rival, or nemesis in the face of Adam. We still don’t know what his real
game is. Last time we saw him, Adam gave
Dr. Morgan a pistol that was used to kill our hero before his “illness”
surfaced. Adam believes that if an immortal kills himself with a weapon that
was used to kill him, then he will die. Conveniently, Adam was killed 2,000
years ago in Rome. His murder-weapon was lost to time, or has it?
This is one of the spices. Other strong spices are the relationships:
Det. Martinez and Isaac Monroe, and Dr. Morgan with his son Abe. As well, we
have personal battles that everyone has: Det. Martinez and her lost husband,
Isaac Monroe and his questionable past (from the hood to ultimate riches), and
Dr. Morgan and his immortality and his past. In fact, the flashbacks to Dr.
Morgan’s past is a brilliant touch to already well-boiling pot. This allows the
viewers to better understand our immortal’s current life. Overall, the show
doesn’t have “Law & Order: SVU” and “Blue Bloods” thick-drama. It is more like
“Castle” where atmosphere is dramatic but light. After watching it in the
evening, it doesn’t feel like you’ve been through fire and water ordeal. You are just on this journey with Dr. Morgan
to experience a glimpse of his life and people who surround him.
However, this show might have way too many already mentioned
ingredients. Viewers could be fed up
with the main storylines for whatever reasons: the story moves to slow; we don’t
believe in the whole immortality thing, and other stuff.
According to TVBytheNumbers.com, “Forever” is likely to be
cancelled due to its low “Renew/Cancel Index” of 0.57. (For show to survive to
the next season, the Index has to be above 1.0). The Index is derived from
Nielsen daily report. Nielson tracks TV shows’ popularity. However, its
gathering of statistics is probably suspect. Unfortunately, the show could be
cancelled regardless what die-hard fans, like me, think or even write emails to
ABC not to cancel. A TV show could be cancelled because network (especially primetime)
is not earning money. The lower ratings a TV show has, the network will have
hard time selling advertising space for high price. That is how it makes its
millions. Unfortunately, in entertainment business, money is good. And Mr.
Gordon Gekko’s quip in “Wall Street” that “Greed is good” is correct. Art and entertainment
of the audience is secondary.
It is an unfortunate fact. The show shouldn’t be cancelled.
It should be given a second season either on ABC or maybe in the realm of New
Media.
Another reason for “Forever” to stay on air is what I mentioned
above. Many different unique ingredients that surprisingly work well together
unlike “Pan Am” whose many ingredients were not complimentary. In addition, “Forever” and “Castle” complement
each other in terms of their storyline and actors’ play. “Castle” is on Monday,
while “Forever” is on Tuesday. However, unlike “Castle”, “Forever” is suffering
in its 10pm slot. It should be moved to 9pm at least.
Therefore, I will end this blog by saying that it is highly
likely, yet unfortunate, that another intelligent show will go off the air when
it shouldn’t. We need more shows that are intelligent, take audience on an
adventure where you have to think but not too hard, everything is clear, and
storylines are seamless. And at the end
of watching a TV show, you are satisfied.
Therefore, ABC Executives, please, keep “Forever” on air and
give it one more chance.
After all, why shouldn’t M.E. be like Sherlock Holmes and be
an immortal. The stories are familiar yet still unique due to great main
character’s play.
