What it's about: Sherlock not got enough of a plummy British accent for your liking? Monk's quirks simply not quirky enough? Think that the Americanised Elementary doesn't feature enough science fiction mumbo jumbo? Well not to worry, because ABC is all up ons with a new mystery procedural that involves a charmingly English protagonist with a totally unique MO who may or may not be immortal. Well, no may or mat not about it, to be honest: the whole premise of Forever hinges on Dr Henry Morgan (played by Ioan Gruffudd, aka Mr Fantastic, aka Tony Blair) never being able to die. At least not permanently, since every time he kicks the bucket he wakes up in the nearest body of water - which, in most cases, tends to be New York's East River. And with that ability, he solves murders. Fancy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JmVnyJ16d4 Why it looks good: Medical examiner shows are a dime a dozen. Less common are shows about people who purposefully kill themselves in a variety of gruesome ways as part of an autopsy, a particularly novel way of trying to figure out how somebody was killed. With a high concept like that powering things and Gruffudd's wit and charm selling the more ridiculous parts of the show, this could be a heck of a lot of fun. Plus the darkly comic concept of seeing him die a bunch, no doubt in inventive Final Destination-esque manners, sounds like a richly untapped vein of the sort seen in this summer's Groundhog Day-goes-sci-fi film Edge Of Tomorrow. Just so long as the charm never passes over into smarm, and the gimmick never feels too...gimmick-y, this could be a standout of the fall TV line up.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
