These two new shows both feature strong female police detective leads so it's natural to compare them. For me though, it's no contest. "Unforgettable" is exactly the opposite; utterly forgettable. Carrie's memory gimmick is so overused in the show that it goes beyond a crutch. They use it for EVEYRTHING, to the point where she's the only character in the show who has any real face time or meaning. It's literally a universe that revolves around her. All of the other characters are massively underdeveloped and frankly, here character isn't really that interesting; certainly not enough to carry the show. In addition, the stories being told are just not that great.
Prime Suspect, on the other hand, is fantastic. You can pretty much take every criticism I made about unforgettable and the exact opposite is true for Prime Suspect. Jane is a great central character. She's a real, wholly defined person. In the first episode alone you get a wonderfully diverse picture of her strength, doubts, and vulnerability. The other characters in the show all have well defined personalities and roles and the stories are actually interesting beyond the characters themselves.
I know gimmick shows like Unforgettable sometimes find an loyal audience (Medium comes to mind), but those shows usually have something going for them other than the gimmick. I just don’t see it in Unforgettable. Prime Suspect, on the other hand, is a show I hope pulls in the ratings for a decent run.
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