#forever pilot

Let's get over the biggest hurdle for me personally. There's something a little too Sherlocky/Elementary/Housey for my taste. They do two bits in the pilot that are my least favorite trope on TV of "I know totally insane things about stuff because DETAILS" but the problem with this character doing those tropes is he then verbalizes these things even though it makes other people suspicious of him when he's trying to fit in. 

Now that we're past that, let's discuss all the great things. Henry is great, he's *almost* too good-guy but he toes the line magnificently. He ends up teaming up with this detective named Jo who has all her own issues (and reminds me that Do No Harm was really good) and the duo work really well in a platonic way. 

The best part for me is that we get a father-son relationship which is my favorite thing in all media. Henry lives with his adopted son Abe, who is now 63. So that alone makes it a super fascinating dynamic. Even more interesting is the flash backs showing Henry's girlfriend/wife finding Abe without any family. The best moment comes in the second episode of this two-night premiere. Henry is looking at a picture of girlfriend/wife and Abe says he also misses her and Henry basically asks him if his whole life has been good/worth it. Damn. 

The character development is truly excellent and there's an impending mystery of another person who has been alive for 2000 years and is basically messing with Henry for reasons to be determined. The other great part of the show is that when Henry is trying to figure out what killed people (I didn't even mention he's a medical examiner. He is but he's basically a detective) he is able to explore what killed victims to such a more severe extreme because he doesn't have to fear death. He takes the poison that killed a man to try and figure out what it was, he hangs from a bridge to look for clues no one else would risk finding etc.

Both the mysteries in the first two episodes were pretty compelling even without all the magic/Henry elements. With back-to-back 1.7 ratings following reasonably solid ABC shows (but certainly not ratings stars) there's a real possibility for the time being that the show could continue. If it can keep it's ratings in the mid-high 1's it's got a shot. There's a lot they can do with these characters and what should be gimmicky quickly falls way to really fascinating characters and the dynamics between them. 

Forever airs on ABC at 10pm on Tuesdays.