FlashForward Premieres
ABC debuted FlashForward last night, a series that the network seems to be pushing as a suitable replacement for when LOST goes off the air after this coming season. And while the show is enjoyable and full of promise as far as sci-fi series go these days, it really doesn’t compare to LOST… nor should it.
Mark (Joseph Fiennes) survives the catastrophe following a worldwide blackout.
The title and premise of the series are based on the 2000 novel by Robert J. Sawyer, with what appear to be severe changes. The entire world falls unconscious for two minutes seventeen seconds, creating a world-wide catastrophe. During the blackout, everyone experiences a vision. By comparing these visions, the characters slowly come to realize that what they saw was the future–the events of April 29th, 2010 to be exact. Since FlashForward’s first season will probably end around that time, we the viewers have obviously gotten a sneak-peak at what will be going on in the finale.
Unlike the book, the series follows the exploits of an ex-alcoholic FBI agent Mark (Joseph Fiennes) as he recovers from the blackout and tries to piece together what he saw. During his flash forward he saw himself in his office, drinking heavily, and staring at a mosaic of clues and leads thumbtacked to his wall. Towards the end of his vision, what appear to be two tactical officers with laser-guided assault rifles start moving in on his office, ready to fire. The men are wearing costume masks, and one has a tattoo with three stars on it. Thus, Mark immediately doesn’t want the future to happen because he doesn’t want to fall off the wagon.
The series also follows the struggles of Mark’s friends and loved ones. Mark’s wife, Olivia (LOST alumnus Sonya Walger), as she copes with her own flash forward, which showed her having an affair with another man. Mark’s partner Dimitri (John Cho) deals with the fact that he had no vision at all, which he interprets to mean that he will be dead before April.
Launching an investigation into what caused the flash forward and whether it will happen again, Mark and the FBI come across some footage late in the episode that shows a mystery man awake and walking around a baseball stadium while everyone else is comatose. Previews of the season show another LOST alum, Dominic Monaghan, teasing the FBI with bits and pieces of info.
Overall, FlashForward has a lot of potential as a series, if only for one season. Since the flash forward took place in April, we should experience all the twists that lead us to the events the characters’ saw in their visions by the finale. That is, of course, unless the show follows LOST time, in which the events of a mere 108 days were spread out over four seasons. If FlashForward is to survive beyond this first season, then we’ll certainly need to experience another flash forward, and we’ll need the mystery to deepen far beyond the plodding police procedural style utilized in the pilot. The network can also dispense with the LOST references as far as I’m concerned, such as the Oceanic Airlines billboard appearing in the background of one shot just before the flash forward. The sooner ABC tries to give this series legs of its own to stand on, the better.
September 27, 2009
We watched this during our traditional DVR replay Sunday, and were both pretty impressed. I agree that it has serious Lost-like overtones, from the explosion during the blackout incident to Joe Fiennes’s superfluous guyliner, but since we’ve been subject to innumerable cop and lawyer procedurals, I don’t so much mind another Lost-type twisty logic show. I like the cast, too, guyliner aside. A solid group of typically supporting actors doing a good job of not overacting too much. I wonder if Seth MacFarlane is going to be a regular. His voice is getting a bit over-exposed, but he’s pretty darn cute, so I’m not really complaining.
My intel says that ABC agreed to a 5-year plan for this show, like Lost. While they seem to have locked themselves into the April 2010 deadline, part of the hook of the show seems to be an exploration of whether seeing the future locks one into a predetermined fate or if knowing that future offers the opportunity to change it. Something has to happen next April– they can’t say “2010″ and then have it take 5 years to get to 2010 without annoying the fans. This throws me into total theory and speculation mode, but it’s a little early to get on with that type of talk. Once FlashForward survives the November sweeps, I figure its safe to start talking theory.
And yes, they need to ditch the Oceanic Airlines stuff and draw from a bigger pool of potential actors. We already have Penny and Charlie. Any more, and people are going to start talking shared universe, and we all know what happened with Aliens vs. Predator.