What I'm Watching: FlashForward
So when I first heard about FlashForward, it was a no-brainer that I'd plop down to watch. I mean, it's an SF show. Of course I'm going to watch. Even though I have personal reasons for not reading any of Robert J. Sawyer's work (don't ask), I decided not to let the fact that this show was an adaptation of his book bother me. In fact, even if I didn't have my reasons for not reading him (though that may change, he's got a title or two I'm interested in), I didn't even want to read the book: I don't want to have any clue where this show is going. I want to enjoy it for what it is, not what it's adapted from.
The premise is simple: at the same exact moment, all over the world, every person blacks out and has a 2 minute and 17 seconds glimpse into their future six months from now. The V-Day (Vision Day) is April 29, 2010, and when everyone recovers from their visions, the world's kind of gone to hell. Car wrecks, plane crashes, all kinds of disaster because the human operators blacked out.
Our protagonist, FBI agent Mark Benford--played by Joseph Fiennes of the Shakespeare in Love fame--has made it his mission to find out what happened and why. That's because his flash forward showed him working at the office, late at night, agonizing over a giant board full of photos and leads and clues. Of course, he was also drinking during his flash forward (something his wife has told him in their past that if he ever does again, they're done), and people are coming to kill him.
Other flash forwards: Benford's wife, Olivia (played by the AWESOME Sonya Walger from Lost (aka Penny)), saw herself with another man. Benford's AA sponsor, Aaron Stark, saw himself with his daughter in Afghanistan, but his daughter is currently dead. Agent Janis Hawk saw herself getting an ultra-sound, but the kicker is she doesn't currently have a boyfriend (she's actually a lesbian). The Benford's babysitter, Nicole, saw someone drowning her in a pool. Most interesting, FBI agent Demetri Noh saw nothing at all, leading him to believe that on April 29, 2010, he's going to be dead.
There's SO MUCH interesting stuff going on, and you'd think the show would have you at the edge of your seat. Well, it doesn't. Not really. I'm not saying it's not well done. Visually, it's great, and for the most part, the acting is solid (while he's pretty to look at and I like him as a romantic hero, I'm not sure I buy Joseph Fiennes in this lead role, which is worrisome). But I've got quite a few problems.
For starters, save for last night's episode, "Gimmie Some Truth," I'd get completely pissed off at a different character in EVERY episode. One episode, Mark was haggling his wife for sleeping with another man, even though it hasn't happened yet, and Olivia is clearly mortified by her flash forward. Oh, and Mark refuses to tell her that he was DRINKING in his flash forward, even though Olivia came completely clean with him. Another episode had Janis stubbornly refusing to believe in the validity of anyone's visions, making it difficult for Mark to work with her when he was following a lead. Then Olivia, because of her steadfast refusal to believe in HER visions, nearly gets a patient killed when she ignores the details of his vision and what that might mean for the man medically. Frustrating.
But also frustrating is the fact that so many characters are questioning the validity of the visions themselves. I mean, hey, I guess I can't blame anyone for thinking it was a whacked-out dream, but the circumstances surrounding the visions, the fact that everyone who saw something flashed forward to the same day and time, that's got to mean something. I'm ready for everyone in this show to stop questioning if these visions were dreams or not, and start accepting them as visions of the future, because that's where it's going to get interesting: how far will you go to make your future happen? How far will you go to PREVENT your future from happening? And what if, by trying to STOP your future, you end up making it happen?
That's what I think is the underlying, interesting core of this show, and once they let that shine, I think they'll have something nice on their hands. Because right now, save for "Gimmie Some Truth," we've been spinning our wheels. I don't mind the questions about fate versus free will and some people wondering what God has to do with this, but I want a sense of moving forward, even if it's for a single character taking steps to change what's going to happen (or make it happen).
Admittedly, it's the start of the series. It does take some time for shows to find their footing, and FlashForward has a lot of promise. I do wonder how it's going to last past a first season though: with the V-Day so close, they're either going to have to raise so many questions you'll WANT a second season, even though you've seen whether or not people's futures have come true (won't THAT be an interesting episode?), or there's going to have to be another flash forward, which I find probable, but I hope doesn't turn into a gimmick. If there's a flash forward every season, it's going to get a little lame, no? FlashForward seems to have a limited shelf-life in terms of how long it can stay on air, so I hope the writers are sensitive to that. Plus, you have to consider the fact that the show is adapted from a stand-alone book, not a series. And while I expect the show to take a different direction than the book (how disappointing would it be for people who've read the book to get the same exact cause in the show?), I'm having trouble visualizing the show's long-term prospects, even though it seems to be a hit.
I will say, too, that I'm worried about the show being a little too predictable. By seeing the future, viewers can start connecting the dots. I guessed that Simcoe might have something to do with what's going on before it was revealed, and I've got other theories too that could easily come to fruition. Maybe I'm spoiled by the complexity of Lost, but I don't want a show to be too easy to figure out.
One pet peeve: forgetting the book it's adapted from, I'm tired of seeing this show referred to as "time travel." SyFy keeps doing this, and it makes me bonkers. Based on the five episodes we've seen so far, I feel that Aaron Stark had the best description for it all: "We're all prophets now." Not time-travelers. Prophets. And until we do some physical moving forwards and backwards in time, I'm going to have a hard time swallowing that label.
Overview
Station: ABC
Time: Thursdays @ 8:00 pm est
Status: Season One
Where to Start? As of right now, they're doing a good job keeping newbies in the loop, but I can see this show becoming something that's hard to jump in the middle of. My advice is to jump aboard now and stay there, unless you hate it or are just bored. If "Gimmie Some Truth" was any indication, I think the show may be picking up some speed, and I'm looking "forward" (HA!) to seeing how it all plays out. Especially since Dominic Monaghan's (Lost, The Lord of the Rings) role is coming up, and he seems to be a villain!
Website: http://abc.go.com/shows/flash-forward
The premise is simple: at the same exact moment, all over the world, every person blacks out and has a 2 minute and 17 seconds glimpse into their future six months from now. The V-Day (Vision Day) is April 29, 2010, and when everyone recovers from their visions, the world's kind of gone to hell. Car wrecks, plane crashes, all kinds of disaster because the human operators blacked out.
Our protagonist, FBI agent Mark Benford--played by Joseph Fiennes of the Shakespeare in Love fame--has made it his mission to find out what happened and why. That's because his flash forward showed him working at the office, late at night, agonizing over a giant board full of photos and leads and clues. Of course, he was also drinking during his flash forward (something his wife has told him in their past that if he ever does again, they're done), and people are coming to kill him.
Other flash forwards: Benford's wife, Olivia (played by the AWESOME Sonya Walger from Lost (aka Penny)), saw herself with another man. Benford's AA sponsor, Aaron Stark, saw himself with his daughter in Afghanistan, but his daughter is currently dead. Agent Janis Hawk saw herself getting an ultra-sound, but the kicker is she doesn't currently have a boyfriend (she's actually a lesbian). The Benford's babysitter, Nicole, saw someone drowning her in a pool. Most interesting, FBI agent Demetri Noh saw nothing at all, leading him to believe that on April 29, 2010, he's going to be dead.
There's SO MUCH interesting stuff going on, and you'd think the show would have you at the edge of your seat. Well, it doesn't. Not really. I'm not saying it's not well done. Visually, it's great, and for the most part, the acting is solid (while he's pretty to look at and I like him as a romantic hero, I'm not sure I buy Joseph Fiennes in this lead role, which is worrisome). But I've got quite a few problems.
For starters, save for last night's episode, "Gimmie Some Truth," I'd get completely pissed off at a different character in EVERY episode. One episode, Mark was haggling his wife for sleeping with another man, even though it hasn't happened yet, and Olivia is clearly mortified by her flash forward. Oh, and Mark refuses to tell her that he was DRINKING in his flash forward, even though Olivia came completely clean with him. Another episode had Janis stubbornly refusing to believe in the validity of anyone's visions, making it difficult for Mark to work with her when he was following a lead. Then Olivia, because of her steadfast refusal to believe in HER visions, nearly gets a patient killed when she ignores the details of his vision and what that might mean for the man medically. Frustrating.
But also frustrating is the fact that so many characters are questioning the validity of the visions themselves. I mean, hey, I guess I can't blame anyone for thinking it was a whacked-out dream, but the circumstances surrounding the visions, the fact that everyone who saw something flashed forward to the same day and time, that's got to mean something. I'm ready for everyone in this show to stop questioning if these visions were dreams or not, and start accepting them as visions of the future, because that's where it's going to get interesting: how far will you go to make your future happen? How far will you go to PREVENT your future from happening? And what if, by trying to STOP your future, you end up making it happen?
That's what I think is the underlying, interesting core of this show, and once they let that shine, I think they'll have something nice on their hands. Because right now, save for "Gimmie Some Truth," we've been spinning our wheels. I don't mind the questions about fate versus free will and some people wondering what God has to do with this, but I want a sense of moving forward, even if it's for a single character taking steps to change what's going to happen (or make it happen).
Admittedly, it's the start of the series. It does take some time for shows to find their footing, and FlashForward has a lot of promise. I do wonder how it's going to last past a first season though: with the V-Day so close, they're either going to have to raise so many questions you'll WANT a second season, even though you've seen whether or not people's futures have come true (won't THAT be an interesting episode?), or there's going to have to be another flash forward, which I find probable, but I hope doesn't turn into a gimmick. If there's a flash forward every season, it's going to get a little lame, no? FlashForward seems to have a limited shelf-life in terms of how long it can stay on air, so I hope the writers are sensitive to that. Plus, you have to consider the fact that the show is adapted from a stand-alone book, not a series. And while I expect the show to take a different direction than the book (how disappointing would it be for people who've read the book to get the same exact cause in the show?), I'm having trouble visualizing the show's long-term prospects, even though it seems to be a hit.
I will say, too, that I'm worried about the show being a little too predictable. By seeing the future, viewers can start connecting the dots. I guessed that Simcoe might have something to do with what's going on before it was revealed, and I've got other theories too that could easily come to fruition. Maybe I'm spoiled by the complexity of Lost, but I don't want a show to be too easy to figure out.
One pet peeve: forgetting the book it's adapted from, I'm tired of seeing this show referred to as "time travel." SyFy keeps doing this, and it makes me bonkers. Based on the five episodes we've seen so far, I feel that Aaron Stark had the best description for it all: "We're all prophets now." Not time-travelers. Prophets. And until we do some physical moving forwards and backwards in time, I'm going to have a hard time swallowing that label.
Overview
Station: ABC
Time: Thursdays @ 8:00 pm est
Status: Season One
Where to Start? As of right now, they're doing a good job keeping newbies in the loop, but I can see this show becoming something that's hard to jump in the middle of. My advice is to jump aboard now and stay there, unless you hate it or are just bored. If "Gimmie Some Truth" was any indication, I think the show may be picking up some speed, and I'm looking "forward" (HA!) to seeing how it all plays out. Especially since Dominic Monaghan's (Lost, The Lord of the Rings) role is coming up, and he seems to be a villain!
Website: http://abc.go.com/shows/flash-forward