I would’ve prefered more of Civil War flashback. The biggest shocker was that his “soul-mate” is married :eek: ! I didn’t see that coming, but it makes sense. For this show to last they need to keep John’s and his soulmate’s “souls from joining” for as long as possible. And why does he have high quantities of lead in his blood? 
He’s clearly been shot many times, but I doubt he left those bullets in.
Lead paint? Lead pipes? I have no idea if it stays in the body after a couple of centuries.
I figured out what is bothering me about the actor. His Euro-American accent reminds me of Christopher Lambert’s Euro-American accent in Highlander. Given some of thematic similarities I find it distracting.
It’s that dead-ringer-for Aaron-Eckert thing that distracts me!
No kidding. I keep expecting Adrian Paul to leap out and challenge this guy to a duel.
Still, it is mildly diverting. Lord knows there’s nothing else on …
Apparently my family has decided to watch this show. I watched it last night after getting home from the library. Oh well - there’s always something good to read! 
Yup. I started watching it last night - ended up finishing one of the Sunny Randall series by Robert B. Parker. I just couldn’t follow the show - but I swear at one point, didn’t he say that the bartender was his kid or SOMETHING along those lines?
Yeah. The guy is supposed to be immortal, so he fathered the bartender sometime back.
Sort of surprised me that he seemed to care little about hiding who/what he was.
Missed it. Was not expecting it on Monday. Darn.
It probably is from being shot and still having the bullets in his body. Contrary to what TV would have you believe, bullets are frequently left in (at least in modern times) as it would usually be more harmful to have to undergo surgery to remove it.
However, having been shot and the bullet left in is a recognized risk factor for increased blood lead levels. This paper finds significant increases in blood lead levels in the year following a gunshot wound with a retained projectile.
In addition, Det. Amsterdam tells the boyfriend of the victim while on the subway platform about the last time he was shot and references it being a non-jacketed bullet–i.e. no copper covering. That would probably cause more lead to be released into the system than a modern, jacketed bullet.
I think it’s freaking hilarious that he busts out with totally truthful statements about his life and experiences ALL THE TIME, but people just put their “um, what, no way, disregard!” filters on and pass on by with a slightly glazed look in their eyes. It’s cool, this way nobody can ever accuse him of lying about his past–it’s Heinlein’s third method of lying done perfectly.
Dude is so cute, too, I’d watch just for that… 
Did anyone catch the name of the self published book that his Civil War medical assistant gave him? Trying to place it. The name seemed somewhat familiar but I didn’t write it down and now I can’t recall it.
Walt Whitman - Leaves of Grass.
I think that was the capper for me deciding not to watch this show, fearing it would turn into “Look who I met through the ages!”
That’s my favorite part, too. I also like Omar. I’m going to give the show another couple of episodes.
The format is very similar to that of the Canadian show Forever Knight, which featured an 800-yr-old vampire police detective who had been everywhere and done everything. Each case he worked reminded him of something that had happened earlier in his life, and there would be flashbacks.
Yes, the bartender, Omar, is his son, born during WW2. Amsterdam also said in an earlier episode that he lost another son when the boy was 6 years old. I liked learning in last night’s episode that he’d been in every armed service except the Air Force (“I don’t like heights”), and has been suffering from PTSD to one degree or another for 200-some years.
I didn’t buy that he wouldn’t realize that his True Love was married, though. Omar had done his homework, and then Amsterdam actually staked her out and followed her several times - but didn’t learn that she was married? Sloppy.
Since he heals so well, if I were him I’d insist that any bullets still in me be removed. Even if one were lodged in his heart it looks like he’d still recover, and at least that way he wouldn’t be setting off metal detectors all the time.
It didn’t bother me too much. Wasn’t central to the plot, just thrown in there. Someone must be a Whitman fan. I had no idea he was a volunteer nurse during the Civil War. I looked it up. He was. And *Leaves of Grass * was self-published right before the war in a limited number so that fits too. And the authors name wasn’t on the cover so that was another thing they got right.
On the other hand
The previews implied that he asked her out and she… I don’t recall exactly, considered it or something? This implies to me that she might still legally be married, but perhaps separated, or not living together for some other reason? This would also support her flirting behavior during the checkup, etc.
I was wondering if just maybe the lovely lady doctor isn’t the one, as there were other women near him when he went went down on the subway platform.
Also, this is what – the third episode? and this is the first time someone famous has showed up. I was actually wondering whether Walt might turn out to be one of John’s kids. Then, pow… Leaves of Grass – oh! It’s Walt Whitman!
Are the eps available online? I missed the second. Up against Lost, donchaknow.
I thought this was hilarious. I laughed and laughed when they revealed that Walt was that Walt. Of course, I thought they got Whitman’s character pretty well in the little glimpses they showed of him: Acting as nurse during the Civil War deeply impacted him and helped him develop his life philosophy following the war. The emotional struggles and the atrocities of war were an important concern of his, and he did what he could as a nurse to aid both their mental and physical states. It would be just like him to suggest that Amsterdam sit and talk to his patients, though I’m surprised they didn’t show Whitman doing it himself.
Did anyone else find the sexy physical kind of disturbing? If there were mutual attraction between me and my doctor, I’d find another toot sweet. I guess I’d rather have my doctor focused on my health, rather than gazing in my eyes as he palpated my abdomen. I suppose that wouldn’t advance the plot, though.
I do keep expecting someone to leap around a corner with a sword, screaming, “There can be only one!”