New Amsterdam – A New TV Series
The
TV series New Amsterdam depicts the life of the hero John Amsterdam
who is blessed (or cursed) with immortality. John Amsterdam is the false
identity of Johann van der Zee who used to be a soldier in the 17th century
in the new world, America. John Amsterdam cannot die and he does not grow
old. It is not clear from the first episodes if this quality is inherent in
him or if he got it as a gift from an Indian female shaman whose life he had
saved in an attack on an Indian village.
One thing is clear, though. New Amsterdam is based on a quest for
love. John Amsterdam is destined to find his true love and only then will the
circle be completed and he will be able to regain the human natural
inclination to grow old and die.
Thus unlike other similar themes of an immortal heroes, New Amsterdam
is first and foremost a drama, especially a romantic drama. A comparison to
another immortal hero theme in another famous movie is inevitable –
Highlander (1986), starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery. There is no
doubt that Highlander is the source of all immortal heroes themes.
New Amsterdam, in comparison to Highlander, lacks action and suspense.
John Amsterdam (played by the actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) has no
enemies and he is not facing dangers like Christopher Lambert's character. In
addition, New Amsterdam resorts less to the past. The plot, it seems to be,
is quite independent of Amsterdam's previous lives. He can keep on being the
brilliant detective that solves homicide cases without any connection to his
past. There seems to be a missing link between the present and the past. On
the contrary, Christopher Lambert's life in the present, is inseparable from
his past; he carries with him the burden of the past. The contest or the
challenge of 'there can be only one' shapes and reshapes his whole being
through the ages.
And there is something more that is missing in New Amsterdam and is abundant in
Highlander. It is the epic tone of the struggle between good and evil. New
Amsterdam lacks this battle of good versus evil, a battle that is so
disturbingly interwoven within our daily existence. Instead, New Amsterdam
depicts a love story that is too kitsch and even juvenile. At times, while
watching the first episodes, I felt as if the plot were taken directly from the
lines of a teenage pop song.
Nevertheless, there is still hope for New Amsterdam. As long as the
screenplay writers do a fairer job and supply us with a little more of what I
have mentioned above vis –a –vis Highlander, we might be able to enjoy good TV
as we deserve to after 24, Prison Break and Heroes. It is a brave new world on
the TV screen. The past is behind us with series like Beverly Hills or Melrose
Place. It's time to progress because nothing is really immortal.
by: tomer rival