Forever

Overstuffed with plot and resoundingly silly, Forever is nonetheless a lot of fun in the mold of Sleepy Hollow or a show those under 40 may not remember at all: Beauty and the Beast (the 1980s version, not the recent remake). In fact, with its gothic settings in Olde (and also modern) New York and its tragically flawed hero, Forever recalls Beauty quite strongly, though it boasts an exceptionally handsome, instead of hairy, main character. Gruffudd, all square jaw and sardonic eyebrow, has a great way of putting across sublimely ridiculous sequences, like the ones in which he has a Sherlock-like ability to suss out things about characters: He figures out one young cellist's profession by noting string impressions on her fingers and decides another character's bereaved because she's squinting. Dopey! But OK, it moves the plot along.

The crime-of-the-week setup isn't exactly fresh, but that familiarity makes the show easy to watch, as does the charming interplay between Gruffudd and the other characters. Clearly the main story arc is about Gruffudd/Morgan's immortality and how he got that way, and it's an interesting one. Parents may not appreciate that the case-of-the-week structure tends to trivialize violence and crime and lessen its impact. Still, for older viewers, or for families who enjoy cop shows with a fantastic twist, Forever is a pretty pleasant way to spend an hour.