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Hercules Suspects ABC’s THE FORGOTTEN May Soon Be Gone!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
A drama from screenwriter Mark Friedman (the 2006 Sam Jackson-Jessica Biel soldier drama “Home of the Brave”), “The Forgotten” follows a former cop who, haunted by the abduction of his daughter, leads citizen volunteers who work to identify murder victims the cops have given up on.
It’s hard to know what attracted ABC to the pilot since its script is undistinguished and its leads were recast over the summer; Christian Slater (“My Own Worst Enemy”) now plays the franchise’s central character. Maybe it was just the name of uberproducer Jerry Bruckheimer.
USA Today says:
… to the extent the show has tonal problems, those can be tweaked. You have good actors working for a proven producer in a proven format. That may not guarantee you a great show, but it could bring you a sturdy piece of weekly entertainment. …
The New York Times says:
… in every way a generic Bruckheimer procedural. Its look and pace closely resemble those of “Without a Trace”; it puts its dead victims on screen to observe the action, a device borrowed from “Cold Case”; and it has the stilted, overexplanatory dialogue that somehow characterizes every series in the Bruckheimer canon, regardless of show runner or writers. … may not be distinctive enough to catch on, but fans of Mr. Slater can hope that the show’s writers give him something to play besides the melancholy renegade in future episodes.
The Los Angeles Times says:
… there are so many things wrong with "The Forgotten" that it's hard to know where to begin. … In between a regrettable "The Lovely Bones"-like voice-over from the victim, dialogue that is laughably self-important ("This is where it ended for her, and where it begins for us," Donovan intones at one point) and ghostly glimpses of the dead, an only barely believable murder mystery emerges.
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… goes well beyond familiar as it takes obvious to new levels and hammers home every missing-person and investigative trope you can think up. TV viewers don't deserve to be condescended to in this manner. And there's also the issue of the dead providing the voice-overs. Not a great idea. Not as unfortunate as the show's title, however, which should describe the fate of this series in the fall onslaught all too well.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… just another run-of-the-mill crime procedural. Nothing more, nothing less.
The Newark Star Ledger says:
… Slater actually does some interesting work as Alex — he’s jittery and more desperate than he was on last year’s NBC flop "My Own Worst Enemy," offering the edge he had in his early career work without the annoying Jack Nicholson impression that came with it — but he’s hamstrung by corny dialogue, as well as a hoaky device that has each episode narrated, in non-specific fashion, by the murder victim in question. …
The Boston Herald says:
… The worst new series of fall, ABC’s “The Forgotten” calls to mind a TV show that was conceived on toilet paper, sold to drunken network executives and brought to the small screen by felons working off their court-imposed community service. …
The Boston Globe says:
… I liked this show, more or less, not least of all because the investigators - they call themselves “The Forgotten Network’’ - aren’t especially angst-ridden. There’s something mildly cheerful about them, perhaps because they are all choosing this work rather than fulfilling their professional duties. … if you’re not a fan of procedurals, “The Forgotten’’ won’t change your mind. But there’s plenty here to satisfy those of us who definitely are.
Variety says:
… while the pilot is a polished enough product, the term "product" clearly applies. In that respect, "The Forgotten" might hang around for awhile -- but the show proves utterly forgettable.
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… Slater has TV charisma, and the rest of the cast is energetic and earnest. But even if you put the reasoning part of your brain on autopilot, you still can't avoid the sloppy melodrama that washes over this show like an oil spill on a coastline. …
10 p.m. Tuesday. ABC.
From The Guy Who Wrote
The Making of Star Wars
And The Guy Who Wrote
Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays!!
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+ Expand All
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doesn't seem to mean as much since I'm out of work reading AICN in the middle of the day....
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I guess you an I are the only ones with nothing to do on a Tuesday morning.I saw this on the schedule and had no idea what it was. Saw Christian Slater's name in the show description and thought that was not a good sign (not that he was in it, but that he was in it and still it was the first I was hearing about it, or at least taking notice of it).
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Seriously? Slater's gotta be pretty pissed he's going to be on another no-hit wonder show.
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Not really interested in this show...sounds tired and uninspired.
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Maybe 3
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What makes them think Slater can save this? And plotwise? Thank God for Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Rescue Me, Nip Tuck, etc etc etc. Police dramas peaked with Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue and The Wire.
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with NYPD Blue (1993 - 2005) in the middle. That's not a peak, that's a plateau (but a mighty lofty one, so point still valid).
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There ya' have it. Plus it has a shitty timeslot.
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Brit actor whose biggest credit seems to be the show "Spooks" (called MI-5 in the US, iirc). Slater obviously has more name recognition, even if his career has been on the skids for the last decade or so.
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You got my drift...
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For some reason, I enjoy a good murder mystery whodunnit on the big screen, but am BORED STIFF with these things on TV, which are just for unimagiative people who don't have the attention span to follow a "mythology"-heavy, serialized show like Lost or 24. Feh.
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Where the fuck is the SoA talkback?
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His name on the credits alone, made me not interested in this production.
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Seriously, this shit is unprofessional.
"...follows a former cop who... leads citizen volunteers who work to identify murder victims have given up on"
To identify murder victims have given up on? There's a word or four missing from that sentence. I have a vague sense that this is another "Cold Case" ripoff from what you wrote Herc. But when writing an article about a new TV show, then failing to adequately explain what said TV show is about because everything you write is haphazardly slapped together and generally unprofessional... well, maybe it's time to get an editor for AICN. Or at least pretend to take some sort of pride in your work. Maybe cut and paste into Microsoft Word and see if any red or green squigglys show up underneath words? Something. Anything. -
I'm not watching much of any new network shows now. Fuck you, networks! Fuck you HARD in place that doesn't feel good!!
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Sons of Anarchy on FX has no excuse if it fails to become a hit. They have no competition on any channels, including HBO, Monday through Friday.I know Broadcast Network Execs are scared of American Idol, so why don't they put on a very strong series that runs September to Christmas for 13, and only 13, episodes. They fill a large void, get good ratings, and get out of Idol's way come January. And to hell with the audience members who want 25 eps a year. It's too expensive, the writers and actors get burned-out, and did I mention it's too expensive.-----later-----m
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Watched The Forgotten and thought it was a decent pilot however had I read the reviews maybe I would've not watched because everytime I get hooked on a new show it gets cancelled. I like Slater alot and hopefully this is his comeback. It's interesting how much this show is being trashed yet people are ok with hundreds of Law And Order, NCIS, CSI spinoffs.
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man, you are super-angry.
it was an easy fix. no need to pee your pants. -
the gas station were blurred. Quick 1/2 second shot of something which I probably would not have noticed except that the blurring caught my eye. I guess nothing sneaks past the censors (except that guy's penis on Survivor last year, but that was CBS).Decent enough show but it got quite cheesy at the end."I didn't do it alone, I had help""Are they here?""They're everywhere"Um, yeah, or he could have said "they're the 4 people standing 2 feet behind me; the same group that 10 seconds from now will follow me out of the cemetery in V-formation". But, I guess a cryptic reply to a woman looking to express her appreciation for what they did was the better way to go, right?
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i've seen a lot worse. sure there are a million cop dramas but this one has a slightly different take because they aren't cops.
but knowing the way tv works if people don't watch it, it'll be cancelled and we'll get another crappy reality show for the idiot masses to worship. i.e american idol and all the crap like it.
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