Poppy Montgomery stars as Carrie Wells, a former cop from Syracuse, NY, with a rare medical condition that gives her a photographic memory.
She lives in Queens, volunteers with Alzheimer’s patients by day and counts cards at illegal gambling joints by night. Her life is one enormous irony, seeing how this ex-cop now makes money illegally, and, even though she can’t forget anything, she works with people who can’t remember anything.
Carrie has things — big things — in her past, too, which makes remembering everything too horrible to comprehend. That’s one reason she left the force — she couldn’t forget anything she saw.
Well, she left for that and because of a breakup with the love of her life, Al (Dylan Walsh).
As luck (or bad luck) and TV would have it, Carrie’s neighbor is murdered and, lo and behold, who shows up to investigate the crime? Why, it happens to be Al — who’s also moved to NYC. She certainly hasn’t forgotten him.
When Carrie’s phenomenal memory — and ace martial-arts skills — helps solve the murder through its many twists and turns, Al begs her to come back — to the force, that is. She should, because, by the looks of her apartment, the card-counting thing isn’t working out all that well for her.
Ironies aside, what we’ve got here are two solid TV actors with a built-in fan base, doing a credible job in a genre that is practically guaranteed on several fronts: gorgeous cops, a weekly mystery and a gimmick.
Since psychic, phobic, scientific, spiritualistic and superpowers have all been exhausted by TV cops, “Unforgettable’s” memory gimmick is so good it’s positively spiritually inspired — in a psychically, scientific and almost phobic way.
Lots of good, crime-solving fun.