Confirmed SciFi Pilot Pickups - 05/13/07
May 13th, 2007 by DanO
Over the weekend Fox network picked up "New Amsterdam" and the Terminator series "The Sarah Connor Chronicles." I haven’t seen "New Amsterdam" yet, but I have screened "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and it is an excellent pilot. Fast-paced, great acting, exciting storytelling. This one’s going on the TiVo Season Pass list. Here’s more info on both the shows:
NEW AMSTERDAM [via Fox Press Release]
Directed and executive-produced by visionary Lasse Hallstrm ("My Life As a Dog," "The Cider House Rules," "Chocolat," "The Hoax") and written by Allan Loeb ("Things We Lost in the Fire," "21") and Christian Taylor ("Showboy," "Six Feet Under"), NEW AMSTERDAM is the story of a New York homicide detective unlike any other. He is brilliant, mysterious, reckless, magnetic, unknowable. And he has a profound secret he is immortal.
In 1642, JOHN AMSTERDAM (Nikolaj Coster Waldau, "Kingdom of Heaven"), then a Dutch solider in the colony of New Amsterdam later to become New York City stepped in front of a sword intended for a Native Indian girl during a massacre of her indigenous tribe. The girl in turn rescued Amsterdam, weaving an ancient spell that conferred immortality upon him. Amsterdam will not age, she told him, until he finds his one true love. Only then will he become whole and ready for mortality. But Amsterdam has found this to be a mixed blessing. Over the course of three centuries, he’s experienced endless adventure and honed his many talents. But everyone Amsterdam meets must leave him in time; lovers and children die while he remains young.
His sole confidante and lifelong friend is the sage jazz club owner OMAR (Stephen Henderson, "Law & Order: SVU"), the keeper of Amsterdam’s secret, as well as a few of his own. As the exhilaration of eternal life has given way to emotional isolation and bitter loneliness, Amsterdam discovers the blessing has become a curse. Having witnessed its entire history, from colonial outpost to mega-metropolis, John Amsterdam is the living embodiment of New York City. He and the island of Manhattan are now part and parcel of each other. Bringing to bear the unorthodox techniques and unique knowledge gained from his vast life experience, Amsterdam today is one of the NYPD’s best homicide detectives, sparring with his vibrant, strong-willed partner EVA MARQUEZ (Zuleikha Robinson, "Rome," "The Lone Gunmen") as they solve difficult murder cases.
But when Amsterdam suffers and then recovers from what appears to be a massive heart attack while chasing a suspect, and Dr. SARA DILLANE (Alexie Gilmore, "Find Love") pronounces him dead in the ER, he realizes that the Indian girl’s prophesy may have come true he felt the pain in his heart that she had foretold so long ago. His soul mate must have been nearby. As he works to find a killer on the streets of New York, Amsterdam understands that his own life and possibly his death have changed forever.
From executive producers Allan Loeb, David Manson ("Saved," "Thief," "Nothing Sacred"), Steven Pearl ("Untraceable") and Leslie Holleran ("Chocolat," "The Cider House Rules," "The Hoax"), this intriguing series invites viewers to explore the enduring mysteries of life, death, and true love.
THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES [via Fox Press Release]
Executive producers Josh Friedman ("War of the Worlds"), David Nutter ("Supernatural," "Smallville") and C2 Pictures ("Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines") bring to television an intense new drama based on the celebrated heroine of the "Terminator" movies: Sarah Connor.
At the end of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," Sarah vanquished the liquid metal Terminator sent from the future to kill her teenage son, John. Sarah and John now find themselves alone in a very dangerous, complicated world. Fugitives from the law, they are confronted with the reality that still more enemies from the future, and the present, could attack at any moment.
SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES reveals what happens when SARAH CONNOR (Lena Headey, "The Brothers Grimm," "300") stops running and goes on the offensive against an ever-evolving technological enemy bent on destroying her life, and perhaps the world. Her son, 15-year-old JOHN CONNOR (Thomas Dekker, "Heroes"), knows that he may be the future savior of mankind, but is not yet ready to take on the mantle of leadership that he’s told is his destiny. John finds himself inextricably drawn to CAMERON (Summer Glau "Serenity," "The Unit"), an enigmatic and otherworldly student at his high school, who soon proves to be much more than his confidante she assumes the role of Sarah and John’s fearless protector. On their trail are not only threats from the future, but an intelligent and tough FBI agent, JAMES ELLISON (Richard T. Jones, "Judging Amy"), who soon becomes a powerful ally.
Directed by David Nutter and produced by Warner Bros. Television and C-2 Pictures, SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES represents an exciting reinvention of the "Terminator" franchise, in which the strong and intrepid Sarah discovers that protecting her son and stopping the rise of the machines is more difficult than she had ever imagined.