grimorie | [review] i don't let tv control my life! ...much.

New Amsterdam
Okay, here's the thing, over the course of... three episodes I find myself liking John Amsterdam less. Not because he was a douche to his family (the one where he was an artist), he lived a a long time , there would be a period in his life when he was a douche but that isn't the reason, it's because I don't like how he treats his partner.

I know, shallow.

But I came into New Amsterdam because I missed the amazing partnership between Reese and Crews and thought I'd found, to use

vonnie_k's words, my methadone in New Amsterdam. I thought New Amsterdam and Life had the same flavor and I quite like stories with immortal detectives in it (plus, Nikolaj(?) is so very easy on the eyes) but so far it didn't rise to its potential.

But there is potential there and it has its way of surprising me. In Keep the Change, I thought I was pretty much done with the show but Legacy (just as an aside, I don't buy John as a stand-up comic but if they were going for lounge singer, I'm all for that) and Reclassified kept me interested. I was, however, momentarily thrown off when I saw Joyce Summers (Buffy's mom!) and Frank Sobrka! (The Wire S2)

John and Sara got together too early for my taste but, eh.

I do like the new sergeant though. She's sassy and I like how she handles Amsterdam and her weird comments to Eva. I feel like she can out weird Amsterdam which is awesome in itself. (ooh, she's the Humphries' mother from Gossip Girl! No wonder she looked familiar!)

She and Omar are on the same level of awesome. I want them to gang up on John as much as possible.

What about Eva, you ask?

I thought Eva had potential, especially in the second episode when she was interrogating a suspect but so far... nothing. Yes, there was that scene with her father but I want more, dammit!

The Marquez rift felt generic, I didn't feel the tension between them. Eva is pissed off at her father for interfering with her career and her father was a typical macho cop with a heart of gold, or maybe he does have a twist on his own.

How new is Eva to the detective squad? She feels like a rookie to me. She doesn't have that hard edge I usually associate with cops, that seen it all air. And the way Eva kept reiterating she was a 'cop now' reinforces that. Hmm... Things, I know about Eva are as follows:

She's from a family of cops, whose father is a chief of another precinct. Eva wanted to be in Undercover Narcotics but was assigned to Homicide instead, probably through her father's interference (was this confirmed in canon?).

And...?

I'm really trying to think of more beyond that. I don't even know if she likes coffee or juice.

I want more from the character, I want Eva to snark at John more beyond the requisite 'You're weird' and give John what for, for frequently vanishing on her and coming up with plans to get the bad guy without checking with her first.

Okay, I know, I'm not being fair to Eva but every time I watch the show it feels like Eva was just put there to be the partner and then forgotten about until the time John (and the writers) remembers he has a partner.

And, a little confession, I think the first time I began feeling discontented with her character is the time when she brought a bag to a witness interview. For the life of me I don't know why it bothered me so much. Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson (The Closer) does it all the time and she's far more girly than Eva but it doesn't bother me as much as Eva bringing a bag bothers me.

Isn't it awkward when you have to pursue a suspect and you have to worry about your bag all the time?

I admit, it's a shallow reason too.

But I feel the show would improve a lot if Eva were to smack Amsterdam across the head, for every time he leaves her and investigates on his own. Heck, the man prefers his dog to his partner when he's tossing around his theory!

Yes, I am all about the partner dynamic. It's a thing for me.

As for Sarah Dillane, I wish my reaction to her wasn't limited to: 'Oh, it's John's love interest. How nice.'

Chuck

I've seen a few episodes of Chuck, I don't think it's my thing though. It's funny and I like Captain Awesome and Sarah and Casey but I don't think this show is for me. It reminds me a little too much of Jake 2.0, which I really liked then was cancelled *shakes fist*.

I do wish they stop making Sarah wear that ridiculous outfit and, I don't usually notice these kinds of things: but Sarah Walker punches like an amateur and not like a scary CIA agent.

Chuck, the character, I don't like so much. Maybe because he reminds me too much of Seth Cohen. I've endured enough of Seth Cohen when he was in the OC, I can't endure him in another show.

I know the show is all about Chuck/Sarah but I think, I like Sarah/Casey more... uh, apparently, because of Life I know have a partner kink! *face palm*

Samantha Who?

Samantha Who, on the other hand, has charmed me. Sam was a hit and run victim who discovers she has amnesia, she discovers that pre-amnesia, she wasn't such a good person and is making steps to rectify this while trying to regain her memory. I didn't think I'd like it but it's charmed me but good. I love Sam's attempts to right the wrong she's done when she was 'Evil Sam' or when 'Evil Sam' manifests in 'Good' Sam. And, hey, they made Barry Watson look hot! Hah!