The TV Column

Drama Forever in danger of not lasting that long

FOREVER - "The Last Death of Henry Morgan" - Henry and Adam have been on a long, unrelenting collision course, which is about to come to a head - possibly bringing about one man's death - with only Jo standing in the way. Henry and Jo's murder investigation into a museum worker's death centers on a priceless missing ancient dagger, which not only ended the life of Julius Caesar, but also killed Adam the first time. Meanwhile, Adam knows that there is something that Henry fears more than death - that Jo might discover his mystery. The two men tangle in a tumultuous game-changing confrontation. But at long last, will Jo finally learn about Henry's secret? The Season Finale of "Forever" airs TUESDAY, MAY 5 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Patrick Harbron)
IOAN GRUFFUDD
FOREVER - "The Last Death of Henry Morgan" - Henry and Adam have been on a long, unrelenting collision course, which is about to come to a head - possibly bringing about one man's death - with only Jo standing in the way. Henry and Jo's murder investigation into a museum worker's death centers on a priceless missing ancient dagger, which not only ended the life of Julius Caesar, but also killed Adam the first time. Meanwhile, Adam knows that there is something that Henry fears more than death - that Jo might discover his mystery. The two men tangle in a tumultuous game-changing confrontation. But at long last, will Jo finally learn about Henry's secret? The Season Finale of "Forever" airs TUESDAY, MAY 5 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Patrick Harbron) IOAN GRUFFUDD

There are several season finales set for today and Wednesday. Here's the list so you won't panic when you can't find your favorite next week.

Today:

ABC: Forever, 9 p.m.

CBS: Person of Interest, 9 p.m.

Fox: New Girl, 8 p.m.; Weird Loners, 9 p.m.

Lifetime: Dance Moms, 8 p.m.

Wednesday:

CBS: Criminal Minds, 8 p.m.

POP: Schitt's Creek, 9 p.m. (POP is the rebranded former TV Guide Network).

According to TV insiders, Forever is on the bubble and in danger of being canceled. Meanwhile, Weird Loners is almost certainly a dead show walking.

Forever is one of those high-concept series that fans either love or not. The premiere on Sept. 22 earned an impressive 11.84 million curious viewers once live viewers were combined with DVR users. Unfortunately for the series, that number has trended downward ever since, to 7.38 million.

Still, the ratings have held relatively steady for a month or so. Maybe the network will assume that the show has reached its solid viewer core and give it a shot at a second season.

Forever stars Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) as Dr. Henry Morgan, New York's star medical examiner, who just happens to be immortal. (That's the high concept.) He was born on Sept. 19, 1779.

Although immortal, Morgan does die a lot. He just doesn't stay dead. He first died in 1814 and has died many times since. Every time Morgan kicks the bucket, he disappears almost immediately and returns to life naked in a nearby body of water.

Being a medical examiner allows Morgan to study the dead to try to solve his own 200-year mystery.

Ominously, tonight's episode is titled "The Last Death of Henry Morgan." In it, Morgan and fellow immortal Adam (Burn Gorman) are on "an unrelenting collision course" that could "possibly bring about one man's death."

Tune in to watch "the two men tangle in a tumultuous game-changing confrontation." It might be your last chance.

Ioan Gruffudd. Do you know how to pronounce the name of the 41-year-old Welsh actor? It's not EYE-own GRUFF-fud. He pronounces it YO-in Griffith.

"It's Welsh for John," Gruffudd explained about his first name in a chat with Conan O'Brien.

Gruffudd said he'd never thought about changing his name to a more Hollywood-friendly moniker.

"Ironically, my parents are Griffiths in the traditional English spelling. They just decided to make my life hell from the day I was born."

Some actors from Wales and Ireland have stuck with their given names, others not. Legendary Welsh actor Ray Milland was born Reginald Alfred John Truscott-Jones, and The Americans' Matthew Rhys simply chopped off his last name of Evans.

Rhys, as in Welsh actors Rhys Ifans (Harry Potter) and John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Dracula), is pronounced "Reese."

Rhys Meyers, by the way, was born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe. Meyers was his mother's maiden name.

Americans might have trouble with a few Irish names as well. For example, Irish actor Ciaran Hinds' (Game of Thrones) first name is pronounced KEER-awn. Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones) says she pronounces it SIR-sha. Cillian Murphy (The Dark Knight Rises) is KILL-ee-an.

Finally, the one Irish name I can never remember how to pronounce is Siobhan. It's sha-VAHN. The name is a variation of Joan, which is a feminine form of John.

Think of Siobhan Fallon Hogan in Fox's forthcoming Wayward Pines, and the late Irish stage actress Siobhan McKenna (the Virgin Mary in King of Kings).

McKenna had a good reason to change at least her last name for acting. She was born Siobhan Giollamhuire Nic Cionnaith. Try pronouncing that.

Full House. Lifetime is planning a Full House behind-the-scenes movie. The film has the working title The Unauthorized Full House Story and promises to show how the cast struggled to balance their real lives with the idyllic family life depicted on the ABC sitcom (1987-1995).

And in case you've missed the fuss, Netflix has announced plans for 13 episodes of Fuller House, a modern-day update featuring many of the original cast members.

Olsen twins. Speaking of Full House cast members, Nickelodeon has acquired some of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's video library. Spanning 1994 to 2003, the package includes four series, seven TV movies and two music video specials starring the actresses.

Their series So Little Time debuted at 6:30 p.m. April 27 and airs weekdays at that hour. The rest of the catalog will roll out later this year.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email: mstorey@arkansasonline.com

Style on 05/05/2015

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