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FlashForward

metirish Sep 24 2009 07:10 AM

New show on ABC apparently getting a lot of talk , I only heard of it last night when the missus mentioned it to me. Looks good though and based on Hinckley's review I'll tune in tonight. FlashForward Four Stars 'FlashForward' a show with a future in the storytelling mold of 'Lost' and '24' FLASHFORWARD Thursday night at 8, ABC ABC's new "FlashForward" requires concentration and endurance. It's well worth the investment of both. Like "24," "Lost" and "Harper's Island" before it, "FlashForward" will unspool a story over an entire season, from tonight through April. It's a risk that in this case, there's a good shot at a payoff. "FlashForward" falls closer to "24" than "Lost" in the sense that once the plot is established, things don't spiral off into mystical loops, but a mystery-action drama the average viewer can follow. That's good. The triggering event happens up front in tonight's two-hour premiere, when everybody on the planet suddenly falls unconscious for two minutes and 17 seconds. That's a problem because, while 2:17 would be short for a top-40 song, it's plenty of time for planes to fall from the sky and people to die on hospital operating tables and lots and lots of cars to crash into foreign objects like each other. FBI agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) and his partner, Demitri Noh (John Cho), are cruising through L.A. as the blackout hits. When they come to, they try to start making sense of the staggering chaos around them - chaos filmed so lavishly that it required shutting down big chunks of L.A. for several days. Someone better win an Emmy for all this. Benford and Noh become part of an investigation team, headed by no-nonsense boss Stanford Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance), that soon realizes something strange. Almost everyone saw visions during the blackout - visions that all took place at a specific hour, 10 p.m. Pacific time, on April 29, 2010. Flash-forwards, as it were. So now, in addition to the question of how and why the blackout happened, the show has cleverly introduced a compelling psychological dilemma: What happens when you see a vision of what may be your future? Do you fear it? Embrace it? Try to alter it? Along the way, "FlashForward" also develops several strong relationship subplots. Benford is married to Dr. Olivia Benford (Sonya Walger from, yes, "Lost"), who loves him and has threatened to leave him if he doesn't quit drinking. Their perplexing flash-forwards further complicate that fragile situation. Tonight's episode sets all this up crisply. It also gets far enough into the investigation to smack us with the first of what will doubtless be multiple startling revelations. Unlike "Lost," "FlashForward" expects to explain much of its mystery by the end of the season - that is, before April 29. TV viewers with a fear of commitment might want to consider taking a shot on this one. dhinckley@nydailynews.com

Benjamin Grimm Sep 24 2009 07:46 AM Re: FlashForward

I plan to try it too. I thought of what I might see if I suddenly was able to watch myself for 2 minutes and 17 seconds on a Thursday in April. It would probably be a terrifying 2:17 of me sitting in front of a laptop drinking a caffeinated beverage.

metsmarathon Sep 24 2009 09:30 AM Re: FlashForward

i want to watch the show, too, but i'm cautious about how much staying power it'll have. basically, behind that premise of the flashforward, it'd better have some great foundation. if its another prison break, i'm gonna be so disappointed. or that show with the bank robbery.. the nine, or some such... but i'll definitely give it a shot. the one scene in the preview where they're looking at some security camera footage, and one person in a stadium doesn't drop has intrigued me more than the general premise. so we'll see how it goes.

metirish Sep 24 2009 09:33 AM Re: FlashForward

Yeah , I'm hoping not to get suckered like I did with Haper's Island.

metsmarathon Sep 24 2009 09:37 AM Re: FlashForward

FLASHFORWARD ...That's a problem because, while 2:17 would be short for a top-40 song, it's plenty of time for planes to fall from the sky and people to die on hospital operating tables and lots and lots of cars to crash into foreign objects like each other. yet another example of the decline of the american auto industry imperiling us all. that is a really awful line, there. it would read much better if he had just said "lots and lots of cars to crash into lots and lots of things." but foreign objects implies things that shouldn't be where the cars are. if you're driving along the highway and you hit a tire in the road, or a deer, or a banana cream pie, you've just struck a foreign object. if you hit another car, its not at all foreign to the road, is it?

metirish Sep 24 2009 09:39 AM Re: FlashForward

I'm no Shakespeare but when I read the article this morning that line struck me as odd.

Edgy DC Sep 24 2009 09:42 AM Re: FlashForward

Did people not on the planet conk out? Like astronauts? Did animals conk also?

Fman99 Sep 24 2009 09:47 AM Re: FlashForward

I generally won't invest myself in any show with a running story arc. I don't have the commitment skills for it and having two small kids makes it tough to follow anything with a real plot. The last show I watched of that format was before the kids were born ("West Wing," for those wondering). Besides, it's a rehash of "Village of the Damned." Hopefully all of the women this new show become impregnated with creepy evil albino kids. The Simpsons knocked this off, tremendously, by the way, in a feature called "The Bloodening."

Benjamin Grimm Sep 24 2009 09:58 AM Re: FlashForward

[quote="Edgy DC":2z2frpir]Did people not on the planet conk out? Like astronauts? Did animals conk also?[/quote:2z2frpir] I'm wondering what the people who will die some time between now and April will see.

metirish Sep 25 2009 06:27 AM Re: FlashForward

Certainly I found the show intriguing and the premise is fascinating , could have done without some of the cliched Mom and Dad moments , fixing the garage door on the stool as the missus comes home.....pulease ...

HahnSolo Sep 25 2009 07:03 AM Re: FlashForward

Missed this last night. For some reason I thought it was on at 10. They're replaying it tonight so I will at least DVR it. Since I watch Lost, 24, and Harper's Island, and they compared it to all three, I will at least give it a chance.

Frayed Knot Sep 25 2009 07:34 AM Re: FlashForward

[quote="Benjamin Grimm":sogaamci]I'm wondering what the people who will die some time between now and April will see.[/quote:sogaamci] That's part of the plot ... or is it? [quote="Edgy DC":sogaamci]Did animals conk also?[/quote:sogaamci] None cared to comment

metsmarathon Sep 25 2009 10:53 AM Re: FlashForward

[quote="metirish":11jiydea]Certainly I found the show intriguing and the premise is fascinating , could have done without some of the cliched Mom and Dad moments , fixing the garage door on the stool as the missus comes home.....pulease ...[/quote:11jiydea] yeah... i kindof felt like with everything going on during that day, the last thing on his mind when he came home from work would be "hmm... how the hell do i fix that garage door?"

metirish Oct 01 2009 06:34 PM Re: FlashForward

Oh no, not the British guy, and the dowdy one at that. Why are they always like this guy?

RealityChuck Oct 01 2009 06:56 PM Re: FlashForward

I'm not interested the show and won't watch, but I do hope it has a successful run. Rob Sawyer is a genuinely nice guy (well, most of the time).

Benjamin Grimm Oct 06 2009 08:17 AM Re: FlashForward

The show hasn't quite captivated me, but it has promise. I had thought that the people would have seen something extraordinary in their flash forwards, and we'd see multiple glimpses of a traumatic day in world history. But instead these people have flash-forwarded to visions of themselves reading the newspaper while pooping, and sitting in a meeting while a bird crashes into an office window.

metirish Oct 06 2009 09:14 AM Re: FlashForward

I agree Grim , for me it could be a bit darker or maybe sinister. Far too much fluff going on so far.I'd like to see them explore the lone man in the baseball stadium more.....which I guess they are building up towards.

metirish Oct 15 2009 06:23 PM Re: FlashForward

This show features some of the worst acting since Harpers Island.

HahnSolo Oct 20 2009 12:41 PM Re: FlashForward

This show better pick up soon...I am rapidly losing interest.

Benjamin Grimm Oct 20 2009 12:59 PM Re: FlashForward

[quote="metirish"]This show features some of the worst acting since Harpers Island.

It's not nearly that bad! (But I see your point.) The show, by the way, has been doing pretty well in the ratings, and has been picked up for a full season. (I think I read that it was the first show ever to get better ratings than Survivor in that time slot. I imagine that each season, Survivor gets fewer and fewer viewers as people tire of the repetitiveness.) Anyway, the show isn't nearly as intriguing as it aspires to be.

metirish Oct 20 2009 01:11 PM Re: FlashForward

Yeah it's not that intriguing at all. I am having a tough time getting past the Harold & Kumar guy , he's just and awful actor.The chase scene(on foot) from last weeks show was just comical to watch.

metirish Oct 22 2009 09:18 AM Re: FlashForward

Article http://www.slate.com/id/2232557/

Benjamin Grimm Oct 22 2009 09:36 AM Re: FlashForward

Yes, this show is quickly becoming a dud. I'll continue to stick with it, much like I do Heroes, because my kids are intrigued and it's something we can watch together. And who knows, maybe the show will find itself and yet live up to its promise. But I'm not optimistic. Instead, I find myself looking forward to the premiere of V next month.