Disney/Buena Vista | 2009 | 430 mins. | Not Rated
Created by Brannon Braga (24) and David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight), adapted from Robert J. Sawyer’s novel, FlashFoward appears to be a series that hopes to win over Lost fans by the time that series leaves the air by the end of this season. Whether the show will be the next Lost is debatable—generally a show is asking for trouble when it tries to be the next anything. Remember all those bad Friends knockoffs that popped up everywhere in the mid nineties after that show became a juggernaut? Anyway, there’s been a lot of buzz about FlashForward becoming the next Lost, as the two shows may or may not share some similar themes.
While the creators insist their intent wasn’t to create another a carbon copy of Lost, and key into a ready-made fan base, it’s hard to ignore the similarities. FBI agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) wakes up in the overturned cab of a car, with broken glass and oranges all around him. Chaos abounds as he exits the vehicle. The camera pulls back to reveal a Los Angeles in ruins: smoke billowing from all directions, people walking around in a daze, and cars in a heap. Just moments before, each and every person was knocked unconscious for roughly two minutes and, in that span, was given a glimpse of their future in roughly six months.
Now, Mark just happens to be a recovering alcoholic; His wife, Olivia (Sonya Walger) is a surgeon at the local hospital, and his partner, Special Agent Demetri Noh (John Cho), experienced no flashforward and thus believes he’s going to be dead in six months. Other main characters include Assistant Director Stanford Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance), the head of the FBI L.A. unit called Mosaic that tries to assemble an international database for flashforwards and look for patterns; Aaron Stark (Brian F. O’Byrne), Mark’s AA sponsor and close friend whose daughter was killed during a tour in Afghanistan (or was she, since he saw her in his flashforward); Special Agent Janis Hawk (Christine Woods), a lesbian who sees herself pregnant into the future; and Lloyd Simcoe (Jack Davenport), a professor whose wife dies during the blackout, leaving him to care for his autistic son . . . and causing no small strain in Mark’s life because this guy is with his wife six months from now.
So, FlashFoward leaves us wondering how people will react when they already know their future. How will their personalities change, personal and professional relationships? What carries FlashForward as of now is the human impact—this is a series about individuals wrestling with their inner demons—and while all of the actors are solid, none of the characters are particularly memorable. Hopefully, the writers and producers give these characters more distinct personalities; some reason for viewers to really care about them.
One intriguing plot twist is the secret “blue hand” society of virtual others, those other people who have no vision of the future to share. So why not band together into a nice little hedonistic, bunch and play all sorts of games with life?
FlashForward presents an interesting concept. However, David S. Goyer and crew are going to have to flesh out the characters—and if I were them, I’d do more with the “blue hand” society”—to make the show stick. We’ve all seen worldwide blackouts before, so there’s got to be something to care about, to keep audiences interested.
Picture quality is pretty standard for an ABC-TV release, with only the slightest amount of grain in daytime and brightly lit scenes and a little more in dark shots. FlashForward is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio, enhanced for 16×9 TV monitors.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 comes to life during crashes and shootouts—which action fans will wish happened more often. It’s mostly a dialogue-driven soundtrack that delivers clear and distortion-free sound, with subtitles available in French or Spanish.
The following special features are included:
• Creating Catastrophe: The Effects Behind a Global Blackout (7:06) Interviews on-the-fly while on the set feature David S. Goyer and his crew, emphasizing all of the intricate pieces at play during the sequence. Practical CG effects mix with pyrotechnics and real crunched cars to create the effect, which are discussed.
• FlashForward: A Look Ahead (4:48) and Could (1:32) Both provide a look at what’s coming up in the second half of the season.
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