Although the episode had been screening online for a few weeks, the new ABC drama Forever doesn’t premiere on television until tonight (September 22) with a special Monday night preview at 10PM. Forever stars Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four, Ringer) as a medical examiner in New York who has a secret: He’s an immortal of sorts, and every time he “dies” he wakes up again, naked, in a body of water. His character, Dr. Henry Morgan, also has used all of these years of experience as a way to pick up the tics that people have that can make them very easy to figure out.
Dr. Morgan’s closest friend and confidante is Abe, a friend who would get older in all the time that Henry has stayed the same. Abe is played by Taxi’s Judd Hirsch. The events of the series premiere see Henry interacting with a detective named Jo Martinez (Alana de la Garza), who, at first, doesn’t totally know what to think of Henry and whether or not he tells the truth about places he says he has or hasn’t been in.
I feel Forever has been overlooked in a lot of run-downs of Fall 2014 pilots, because some of it does feel like things we’ve seen before. I’ve seen comparisons to a FOX show called New Amsterdam, but since I’ve never seen the series, I don’t make that connection. What I do see comparisons to, for better or for worse, would be Castle (some of the sets, the dynamic with Henry and Jo, and even the music) and Elementary (the deductive skills, the accent, and the way Henry Morgan dresses). It doesn’t help that the second episode, airing on Tuesday, name-checks Sherlock Holmes. But with that said: It’s comfortable. It also leaves me curious, with some mysteries set up in the pilot. How did Henry get to be the way he is? Is there anyone else like him? Will we see those people? Those are questions I asked, and those are questions that will keep me tuning in from week to week.
Ioan Gruffudd is fantastic (no pun intended to his Reed Richards past) as Dr. Henry Morgan, and you can never go wrong with Judd Hirsch, who has been something that has made TV good for about 40 years now. I still haven’t totally warmed to de la Garza’s character yet, but I’m sure more development will send her character to the like column too. What I especially like about Gruffudd is he is someone that could appeal to both a male and a female audience: Women (and some men, probably) will think he’s gorgeous, but men won’t be threatened by him because they’ll think the things that Henry Morgan does are kind of cool. As for Henry and Jo, there’s good reason not to “ship” them together just yet; but give the show a little bit more time, and we just might.
I also appreciate that — unless there was a line or something that I just didn’t miss — Dr. Henry Morgan doesn’t seem to be a vampire, nor is he especially brooding. Been there, done that. While yes, Morgan does have a past that will sometimes bring him a sadness and a longing, he’s definitely not a negative kind of character. I think TV needs more of those.
Hopefully, once Forever moves to its usual Tuesdays-at-10 time slot, it won’t be lost in the shuffle, because it could turn out to be one of this Fall’s surprises. I don’t expect the show to be on forever, but I’d really enjoy seeing a few seasons of it. If you miss tonight’s premiere – which is quite possible, since so much is on tonight – be sure to catch it on DVR or repeats. You might like it.
Forever premieres with the pilot tonight (Monday 9/22) before moving to its Tuesday timeslot September 23. Below find some promo images from the series premiere:
135338_0020
FOREVER - What if you could be immortal and live forever? Would you find it a blessing or a curse? Meet Dr. Henry Morgan (Ioan Gruffudd), New York City's star medical examiner who has an unusual secret. He doesn't just study the dead to solve criminal cases -- he is trying to solve a mystery that has eluded him for over 200 years: his own inexplicable immortality. Henry's exciting, adventurous and intriguing long life has blessed him with amazing insight and observational skills, which not only impresses his new partner, Detective Jo Martinez (Alana De La Garza), but peaks her curiosity about who he is. Each week, a new case and their budding friendship will peel back the layers of Henry's colorful extraordinary past, on ABC's new drama, "Forever." (ABC/Patrick Harbron) IOAN GRUFFUDD, JOEL DAVID MOORE
