ABC’s ‘Forgotten’: Solid Crime Drama with Values
by S.T. KarnickAfter several years of mostly miserably failed attempts to ride the wave of crime dramas most of the other TV networks were successfully navigating, ABC has turned to the TV and cinematic crime drama maestro Jerry Bruckheimer for help. The resulting series, The Forgotten (Tuesdays, 10 p.m. EDT), is a solid crime drama and stands for some very appealing values.
The visual style of the show is familiar from Bruckheimer’s many other policiers, such as the CSI series. It has the same tendency toward dingy, low-level lighting, moving camera shots, eccentric framing, and the like, though in The Forgotten it’s not as frenetic and flashy as in most of Bruckheimer’s shows. That’s a good thing.
The stories and performances reflect the earnestness of Bruckheimer’s TV productions, while avoiding the sensationalism the other shows tend to indulge in. Christian Slater is Alex, an ex-cop who leads the Forgotten Network, a team of private citizens in Chicago who investigate cases in which the police have run out of leads and can’t afford to devote additional resources.
Avoiding both cynicism and romanticism, the program makes a point of showing how many people around the nation are willing to volunteer their help. It also shows people who refuse to help, thus making each such instance a test of a person’s character.
Alex’s daughter was the victim of a crime and is gone; each member of the team has experienced such a victimization or some past relationship with a criminal. These experiences give each of them a superpower, as they jokingly call it, such as a special ability to spot lies.
Thus instead of being crippled by their personal trials and tragedies, they overcome them and use their hard-won wisdom to help others in trouble.
Slater is very effective in his role as the group’s leader—it’s easily the best role he’s had in years, even better than his dual role in NBC’ short-lived series My Own Worst Enemy. And he makes the most of it, infusing the character with a surprising amount of charisma. Just watching his character listen to people is interesting, as Slater conveys the character’s judgments and reactions entirely through subtle cues in his posture and facial expressions.
Also refreshing is the openly judgmental nature of the show’s protagonist. Alex is no moral relativist–he has no hesitation about rebuking people who do wrong, yet he never seems priggish or smug. On the contrary, his concern is always directed toward the team’s mission, not any personal, ego-driven agendas.
A gimmick the show uses effectively is to have the dead person talk in voice-over occasionally throughout each episode, explaining things about their former life, especially as they bear on what might have led to their death. These voice-over narration passages also make clear why these persons’ lives had meaning and they should not be forgotten. They also lead to some rather tender, moving moments at an episode’s climax.
The back story that led up to the murder at the center of each episode is explained by various characters who may have been involved. That’s rather standard for mysteries, but what The Forgotten does particularly well is show interesting relationships among the suspects which afford some nice insights into the choices they make and why.
Also important is the fact that the murders aren’t committed by investment bankers, fashion magnates, and the like, who of course almost never commit murder in real life. Instead, the murders in The Forgotten are typically committed by people of lower social status and economic means, as is the case in the real world.
That’s another thing that makes The Forgotten at least a little bit more than just a formula mystery. It’s not Tolstoy, of course, or even Agatha Christie, but it’s a serious attempt at meaningful storytelling, and that can make for memorable television.
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32 Comments
Proof that Hollywood can redeem itself and be a force for values rather than continually broadcast and praise the worst in all of us. I may sound a bit 'pollyanna' here, but each of us can make a difference and should. It starts by keeping what matters most, our values, traditions and our legacies intact so that future generations have a chance to see what life was like before today. In my own life and in my own way I am doing something. Click on my icon to find a link to my site and start doing something for yourself, your family and its future.
This show is a good one. Even though the supporting cast has weaknesses and the dialog can be cliche (there have been at least one or two cringe-worthy lines in every episode I've seen), the stories have an emotionally-compelling quality that keeps me watching. Slater's very good in his role, the concept is a clever one, and I like the Sunset Boulevard-style voice-overs. I hope it gets renewed.
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What, a crime show where the criminals aren't rich businessmen? How could that be?
</sarc>
Maybe a somewhat accurate depiction of reality for a change.
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I have always liked Christian Slater and his Jack Nicholsonesque demeanor.
I hate to support anything on ABC, (and I hate to stay up past 9), but I think I'll check this out on Tues.
I really like this show too. It's like a better version of "Cold Case."
I heard Slater interviewed about the premise and was intrigued. I haven't caught it yet, but will make sure to do so this week.
Haven't seen it yet…If it's any good I'm sure ABC will cancel it soon enough for "Dancing with your Pets" or something else as inane…
Too bad some of those values are so blatantly anti-Second Amendment.
Gee, how did that go in the last episode I caught?
Team to telephone repair guy: You have a GUN?
Guy: It's kept locked up and unloaded!
Then we see later how dutifully he complies with draconian liberty-nullifying restrictions, such as obtaining a gun ownership ID (permission of the government to own), and after target shooting he readily hands his gun back to the guy running the range, which sure looks like it indicated his weapon never leaves the range.
In other fun settings, we see the team walk through tough gang-infested areas, they see illegal guns being carried, brandished, pointed in their faces… Yet do they ever arm themselves? No! They mumble about "safety in numbers," only going there in daylight, etc. Slater's character has said he wishes he was still a cop, when he was going into a situation unarmed. Therefore the ex-cop acknowledges it is better to be armed, but he would have to be a cop to be allowed to properly defend himself. Oh, for added benefit the unidentified victim of the episode was able to easily obtain an illegal handgun (no surprise) but ultimately (surprise!) it proved no good as the criminal was a faster and better shot. After all, a theme running throughout the episode, those handguns take lots of training and practice to use correctly! You can clearly see why it should be required for ownership!
We can tell the subtle shift on ABC. The completely anti-gun message was shot down long ago, so now? They have floated several times the notion that yes, you can own a gun. If you comply with these "commonsense" restrictions, on ownership, and will keep it stored in a way where it will be no use to you in a crisis "for safety." Etc. You know, like how they have sold encroaching restrictions on the way to bans in the UK, etc.
And now we have another ABC product doing the same, giving the Second Amendment lip service while stabbing it in the back. See these brave heroic volunteers, they don't need guns!
Now let's see "crime show standard" where people looking for info on a murder unarmed and by themselves get murdered themselves…
I second this reviewers recommendation. This is one of ABC's best this season. It's not doing too good in the ratings, so a little 'big hollywood' love this week could convince ABC to keep this show on through sweeps.
I'll take Dirty Harry any day.
We watched several episodes of this show. Tried really hard to give it a chance, but we stopped watching. If anyone affilitated with the show is reading, this is why:
1. We never really "liked" any of the characters. Perhaps, if we had gotten closer to them outside their "forgotten" tasks, we might have.
2. We do not like to look at gory scenes, especially morgue scenes. This may be the fashion, but we don't like it. America has been desensitized to the shock of trauma and death. We do not enjoy sitting down with a nice cool drink and a snack only to look up and see a "dead" person with their skin half missing. In the classic films, what you didn't see, whether related to crime or love, spoke more than the graphic depictions today. It's called imagination…
3. Lack of realism. The guy who always wears his jacket with the company logo when he goes to solve crimes would have been so fired after the first time someone called to complain. That is just ridiculous.
This is why I don't watch TV at all.
It's not perfect, but I like it a lot for the values of the characters. It's refreshing, and I like anything with Christian Slater.
I don't have a working television (except for dvds), so I watch on Hulu or Fancast.
3. Oh I loved that on the episode! On the job, at a pole, he is making a personal call using his repairman's telephone test set. Elsewhere, he is casually asked what he found out from the phone records. What?! From what I recall, it sure did not seem like he was reviewing police-obtained, likely with a warrant, records that had been given to the group.
But remember, these are the good guys!
Meant to set the TIVO for this but forgot — thanks for the reminder.
Bruckheimer's work is a cut above but what I've noticed is that the writers occasionally slip in the "liberal tell" (as Nolte has termed it). I've noticed this a lot on CSI since Peterson left the show (I don't watch it as faithfully now that he is gone. Fishburn is an excellent actor but is not believable in this particular role). Right now CSI NY is better than the original CSI (as is CSI Miami).
Slater is an underappreciated actor. He has that rhesus sardonicus facies that makes one wonder all the time what he's up to.
The main problem with Fishburne is that they're trying too hard to make him into a replacement for Grissom, which I doubt would work under any circumstances, but especially not here. I like him all right but he's not cut out for such a leadership role, at least not yet. CSI: Miami and CSI: NY are both better, although I feel like the quality of the former has fallen off in recent episodes, especially after that pathetic ode to volunteerism and communal gardens last week. Honestly, I think some people tune in to that show just to be amused by Caruso adjusting his sunglasses at the beginning and uttering some clever line.
To be fair, the reason the characters were so appalled that the one guy had a gun was because he's clumsy and he's always getting himself into trouble. He's the type of guy that you could see doing more harm with a gun than good.
I kinda like this show. It's still finding its stride, so there are some cliches and bad dialogue and acting, but for the most part, it's a decent show. I hope it sticks around for a little while, because I love Christian Slater.
Another show with a liberal agenda. This time gun control. I am sick of all the networks froce feeding us Obama shows. I no longer watch.
"Clumsy and he's always getting himself into trouble. He's the type of guy that you could see doing more harm with a gun than good?" Isn't that the point? To portray the average citizen as a idiotic, bumbling fool, who has no business owning a weapon. That we shouldn't bother protecting ourselves but instead put our total and complete safety in the hands of the government.
The show is doing poorly and is widely expected to be canceled shortly.
Reality check: TV is now a female/gay ghetto, excepting USA and a few other cable outlets. So the Forgotten is doomed on a broadcast net known for female-gay shows, such as Witches of Eastwick or Desperate Housewives or Lost. Women have not found the show appealing, and men don't know it is on or that they might like it.
The Forgotten is like say, the Dodge Challenger. An intriguing if flawed car that some might like to own, but put out by a company whose reputation is in such tatters that few will make an investment in time, money, and emotional connection. Indeed the liberal tell which is reflexive is simply alienating to the half of viewers who are not liberal. Thus the show fights for the audience which watches "Biggest Loser" or Law and Orderen, where the criminals are all rich White guys who are conservative.
For this show to succeed, it needed to be on USA or FX or TNT or TBS, push the populist angle harder, and show the "defeat" of official non-caring, brutal criminals, and conflict avoiding "get along" people by that network of ordinary people. Too much deference given to the PC-driven police (a black female detective as the liason) is the "liberal tell" that undermines the populist message. Populism is fine as long as it is deferential to the politically correct multiculturalism of officialdom.
I'll have to check it out. I haven't really watched ABC in a long time. Same for NBC. Thanks for the heads up.
Fair enough Whiskey. I'd go a little farther than USA/TNT/TBS and say go 'commercial free' please.
The mere fact that numerous positive posts are from the Pro-Breitbart world is the ONLY reason I'd consider watching. But the 'hard and fast' reality is that ABC is still ABC. It may not be MSNBC but it is ABC. After (pardon the pun) years of deprogramming away from network TV it's going to take more than one "atta boy" to get this viewer back.
Sucks for them that they can't re-brand sans their news divisions. Well no. They made their beds.
Clumsy people are not sent out with bucket trucks to work right next to high voltage power lines while using testing equipment that can cost a thousand bucks or more a piece, where delicate work may need to be performed in small junction boxes to ever-increasing high standards for today's high-speed communications and mistakes can be very expensive and lead to very many upset customers.
Although it is natural to assume he's clumsy since he's the fat guy.
LOATHE "Cold Case" with its smarmy PC attitude and its ludicrous depiction of the eeeevilll America of the 1950's and 60's.
Here, here. I'm naturally drawn to procedurals & this one is interesting but the dialogue definitely needs work. I think that's its biggest weakness.
Yep–& almost every crime is either sex related and/or involving a child (or of course, there's some anti-religion bent). I stopped watching the first season it was too depressing.
I dunno, I'm starting to see shades of Jack Lord in David Caruso's overly-stylized Horatio Caine. If it wasn't for the presence of Emily Procter's enigmatic Callie Ducaine, I'd quit watching CSI Miami altogether.
I saw the anti-gun thing in the last one, but I have learned to look past the propaganda… maybe that makes me an enabler? after all, I kept watching The Unit (often praised show here on BH) even after they went all -conspiracy theory, top brass out to kill the operatives- on us. After all, liberal writers need to eat too <sarc>.
Anyway — I like The Forgotten. I had decided NO NEW SHOWS this season, and nealy managed it, but Forgotten got my attention (I like Christian Slater – prefered his character over Costner's in Robin Hood – but the surprise appearance of King Richard at the end was the best) and is now on my "record-if-not-at-home" list. (w/ NCIS and a few others). Hope the rumors about cancellation are wrong… I thought his acting when they realized that their John Doe search was really about saving a little girl was awesome! and the surprise about his ex-wife — way cool, and sad.
I don't have cable, so I depend on Netflix for my TV fix. As for crime dramas, I have to say I am hooked, HOOKED on the BBC production called Foyle's War. It takes place throughout WWII in a small town on the southern coast of England. The acting is superb, the settings are authentic. I'm not much for murder mysteries, but this has the added feature of seeing what day to day life was like for the British during this time.
I highly recommend it to anyone who is tired of the same formulaic crime dramas.
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