New Amsterdam (Page 1 of 2)

The biggest modification: Originally, John Amsterdam was bitter and depressed about his immortality.

He happens to be a recovering alcoholic. He has been sober 15,495 days, he declares at an AA meeting. But then he got overwrought after having possibly crossed paths with The One while on a crowded subway platform. He felt compelled to have a drink.

This crucial scene took place at the bar owned by Omar (Stephen McKinley-Henderson), Amsterdam's loyal confidant.

"If I can find her, time will have value," he told Omar, insisting that's "a good thing." Yet he seemed pretty desperate while saying so.

"He's waited 400 years for this moment and he finally has it, and then he decides to lose his sobriety over it? That was confusing to the viewer," says Manson.

In the bar scene as re-shot, Amsterdam looks happy instead.

"This is like nothing I've ever felt," he tells Omar. Somewhere near him on that subway platform, "she was there," he says. "I know she exists!"

So do viewers, who saw his apparent soul mate: a lovely young woman named Dr. Sara Dillane (Alexie Gilmore).

This time, John feels no need for a bender.

Coster-Waldau says playing a cheerier Amsterdam "was a big change for me. I had to redo my analysis of the character" when reshooting the scenes last summer. "But it made sense: He should be a character of hope, not disillusionment."

Besides brightening the hero's mood overall, other changes were made for the New "New Amsterdam." John's partner, Eva Marquez (Zuleikha Robinson), is introduced much earlier in the revised episode. And right away Amsterdam identifies himself to the audience as a cop, whereas, in the initial version, he didn't spell out his profession for almost five minutes, while, instead, the action dwelled on him in his 17th-century persona.

"We didn't want the viewer to wonder for too long who this guy is," says Manson.

...The Pilot was kind of "blah", but after watching the third episode, I'm really into this now.

it kinda makes me think of Moonlight... purely in the fact that the 'episode of the week' part of the story is pretty sucky, but the bigger mythology is much fun and goodness

This thread has been totally on topic so far...what's going on?