The Forgotten – Fall TV Preview

ABC‘s the forgotten Premieres Tuesday, September 22 at 10:00 p.m., ET, and marks a second television attempt for Christian Slater. While there’s almost nothing I need less than yet another crime show, there’s something rather unique about the forgotten, and it may just turn out to be clever enough to work.

ABC's "the forgotten" stars Bob Stephenson as Walter Bailey, Heather Stephens as Lindsey Drake, Christian Slater as Alex Donovan, Michelle Borth as Candace Butler, Anthony Carrigan as Tyler Davies and Rochelle Aytes as Detective Grace Russell. (ABC/FRANK OCKENFELS)

One more murder investigation show, yes, but there’s an interesting interplay among our volunteers, and the roads available to them necessitate things working out a little differently than we’re used to.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the forgotten is the way in which each episode seems to take on the life of its unknown victim as a “skin” through which we experience the play. The pilot episode involves a Jane Doe who is, to some extent apparently, involved in a goth “lifestyle,” and as the story progresses, the soundtrack and visual presentation become more and more immersed in a dark tone. When we leave the goth nightclub, we in fact don’t leave it in a sense, as we continue to hear those songs and see in that muted light.

ABC/FRANK OCKENFELS

the forgotten is a much more interesting effort for Slater, who does far better at playing a fairly normal person than he did with last year’s attempt at a seriously not normal person. His support may turn out to be one of the more interesting supporting casts of the year, especially considering the fairly unique spin of their “regular person” characters.

Each has their own reasons for being involved with the network, and these issues will hopefully come to the fore during the season in a way that connects with the further cases.

While clearly a very serious show, the pilot manages to put the drama on the back burner. The final result on this one will ultimately be question of the extent to which it keeps that up. The series has enough potential in concept to make a good run of it, and if it is confident enough in itself to just stick to form, it could take off. If successive episodes move to far into the realm of spilling out the drama, it could quickly take a dive.

ABC/FRANK OCKENFELS

It seems as though this one is a bit of a dark horse at this stage, seeing as we’re only days away from the premiere and I haven’t really been blasted by people talking it up, but it looks worth a try to me. It’s a little rough around the edges, but most of that can be written off to the necessary establishing writing, and there is a lot going on here that gives the impression of solid entertainment once it gets moving a bit.

I actually recommend this one pretty highly, not so much because the pilot blew me away, but because I can put together a sixth or seventh episode in my mind that will really be a great show. We’ll have to see if it gets there though.

Check out some press release info below, a trailer, and a pretty cool 5 Questions clip.

In the United States, the remains of 40,000 people have yet to be identified. When police investigations reach a dead end, civilian volunteers across the country work to name — the forgotten.

From executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer, “the forgotten” is a drama series in which a team of dedicated amateurs – The Forgotten Network-work on murder cases involving unidentified victims. After the police have given up, this group, led by Alex Donovan (Christian Slater), must first solve the puzzle of the victim’s identity in order to then help catch the killer. These are citizen volunteers solving extraordinary crimes. Their persistence and compassion for the cases put them on a personal and emotional journey that focuses on giving names back to the deceased.

The Forgotten Network gathers in coffee shops and living rooms to discuss leads, clues and tips, each bringing his or her own motivations and skills to the table, each driven by a deep sense of purpose. Donovan is a former detective who left the force after the disappearance of his own young daughter. Using his investigative skills, he can help piece together each victim’s story, retracing their footsteps and finding out why they died by learning how they lived. Working against the clock to give each victim a name before they’re buried as a John or Jane Doe, these amateur detectives are in it to bring closure… and win justice.

Also volunteering in The Forgotten Network are Candace Butler (Michelle Borth), a confident, headstrong young woman who avoids the crushing boredom of her mundane job by helping the Network identify victims; Lindsey Drake (Heather Stephens), a resilient high school science teacher who works with the Network as a form of penance for a crime committed by her husband; Walter Bailey (Bob Stephenson), a well-intentioned phone company employee and true-crime enthusiast whose zealousness can sometimes complicate investigations; Tyler Davies (Anthony Carrigan), a street-smart medical school dropout and aspiring artist who is court-ordered to join the Network to satisfy his community service; and Grace Russell (Rochelle Aytes), a resourceful homicide detective with the Chicago Police, who is Alex’s former protégé and now his main link to the department.

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