I finally caught up on the first two episodes of Flashforward. And I am so glad I did.
Not since the pilot episode of LOST has a scripted drama gripped me so completely from the very first episode. It starts out innocuous enough, just a bunch of people going about their lives. Then the blackout happens and life as the world knows it changes.
Here are 10 reasons why I already love Flashforward. (spoilers ahead from first two episodes)
1. The concept: I love a high concept show – and this is definitely that. This is not a show for the casual observer. To be a part of this show is a commitment and it seems as though the producers are aiming for that. The first two episodes are full of so many clues and potential story lines that I can imagine at least two seasons worth of episodes that could form from all of the threads. Even more intriguing as much as I can foresee – I know I’m completely blind. And that makes for exciting TV.
2. The production: It looks like a feature film. Just like LOST when it premiered, three things immediately stood out, the acting, the writing and most of all the production value. In the beginning of the episode, a helicopter hits a building in LA presumably because the pilot blacked out with the rest of the world. The production value of this is impressive because you don’t just see an explosion of the building – you actually see the helicopter fall to the ground. This is a 5 second moment that could have been excluded – I’m sure it was costly – but it is so important because immediately that image makes your brain think about all of the other planes, trains, boats and cars that must have crashed– and right as you are imagining this the camera pans out to show the freeways just riddled with cars. The image was as powerful as the first images we got of a desolate New York in “I Am Legend”.
3. The writing: I love smart writing in TV. I love it when the writers don’t dumb down to the lowest common denominator. This show expects that if you are watching, you can keep up. Multiple characters, zig zagging story lines, clues, plots, subplots, lies, questions and that is all in the first 20 minutes. The dialogue between characters is believable and sets the stage for many curveballs to come. Not everyone likes the future they see. Aaron Stark (Brian F. O’Byrne) says to Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) “You’re worried your future is going to come true - I’m worried mine won’t.” Even throwaway lines are good, at the beginning of the first episode there is a casual conversation between Olivia (Sonya Walger) and another doctor discussing their kids and which is easier to raise, boys or girls. Olivia says to the other doctor who has a son “You only have to worry about one penis, I have to worry about all of them.” What does this have to do with the show? I don’t care – as the mother of a little girl – I can totally relate.
4. The characters: Already well developed, the characters play more like actual humans than untouchable heroes and heroines. Mark Benford is an FBI agent with a loving wife and daughter. He is also a recovering alcoholic. In his “vision” he sees himself in the future investigating the blackout referred to as “the mosaic” and also drinking from a flask. It is clear he has fallen off the wagon. His wife is Olivia Benford, a surgeon and the mother of their daughter. In her vision she sees herself in their home, but with another man and you immediately know this is very intimate. Is she cheating on Mark? Are they divorced? It’s only 6 months in the future – their marriage seems solid today. Already both characters are interesting and flawed and have depth. And I want to know more. I’m immediately involved and want to know what happens(ed) to their relationship. Mark says to Olivia after she has told him about her vision “it’s going to take a lot more than fate to keep me from you.” And I believe him.
5. The cast: The cast is comprised of many familiar faces including Joseph Fiennes (Elizabeth, Shakespeare In Love), John Cho (Star Trek, Harold & Kumar), Sonya Walger (LOST), and Courtney B. Vance (ER, Law & Order: Criminal Intent). The cast are all top notch and imbue the show with the sincerity and believability that this concept needs in order to survive. If they deliver a false note – it will immediately take you out of the moment. But even those in the smallest of supporting roles so far have delivered top notch performances.
6. There’s a kangaroo in downtown LA. Why? I have no idea. But I like it.
7. The details: The details create a deeper sense of reality and possibility to the events taking place. Mark is in a car crash during the blackout, and when he comes to as he pulls himself out of his overturned car he burns himself on the muffler of another vehicle. A simple, small detail that didn’t need to be there – but it adds a little bit of extra believability to the moment. Simultaneously Bryce Varley (Zachary Knighton) a surgical intern that works for Olivia is about to commit suicide on a Venice pier when the blackout happens. As he comes to, he sees a big bouquet of balloons floating in the sky above. A beautiful visual, it also immediately suggests the person selling them on the pier has blacked out and let them go. A necessary detail? I don’t know, but a great detail for sure. The question I have in a post LOST world is - are these details irrelevant like they seem– or do they contain a meaning I just don’t yet understand?
8. The mythology: Those of us that like these kinds of sweeping high concept dramas with a mythology have been burned in the past. Heroes Season 1 is still a fantastic example of cool, exciting, innovative and riveting television. All subsequent seasons – not so much. LOST Season 1 is brilliant and groundbreaking and I was so enthralled I was willing to go anywhere with them, “there’s a polar bear on the island – ok - tell me more…” Unfortunately, like Heroes, Season 2 & 3 of LOST stumble. Ironically it is in Season 3 of LOST that the producers/writers create their own “flashforwards” that turbo charge the show and propel the story to its eventual conclusion. I think these shows slump because the narrative starts to spin out of control. The producers of LOST have admitted that until they had an end date for the show it was challenging to continue to spin the stories without direction. I have high hopes, based on the first few episodes, that Flashforward has learned these lessons from their predecessors and are going to keep the mythology moving quickly. The “Mosaic” board is chock full of clues and we are trying to uncover them right alongside the characters and we already have two persons of interest Suspect Zero and "D. Gibbons".
The use of the “Mosaic” board reminds me of the brilliant film “Memento” (if you haven’t seen – you must netflix immediately!). It feels like the producers and writers already have the first season written and the next three outlined. It’s all on that mosaic board – if only we could understand it.
9. The Flashforwards: While the show has some deep and meaningful flashfowards (Mark and Olivia’s mentioned above), not all of them are so clear.
FBI Director, Stanford Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance) sees himself on the toilet having a bowel movement and reading the paper. Ironically – he is on the toilet when the blackout happens. Question: Are the stories in the newspaper significant? What are the chances of him being on the same toilet both times?
Agent Janis Hawk (Christine Woods) although single and unattached sees herself getting an ultrasound. She is told she is 17 weeks along and is having a girl. Questions: Is she now in a relationship? Is she happy about the baby? Who is the father? If she is still in Los Angeles, why is she having an ultrasound at 10pm?
Demetri Noh (John Cho) has no vision during the blackout. Question: Does this mean he is dead?
10. The super background: Ok – this could fall into the details – but these are the super background details that are so far back it is only thanks to HDTV and a 42” screen that I probably even catch them. Just after the blackout, Mark passes a bus with a billboard that reads “A Better Tomorrow.” Surely not a random element. A small wink to the concept maybe? It is details like this that make me want to watch each episode of Flashforward twice. Once for the upfront story, a second time for the details. And in a time when network TV is seeing ratings dip with the availability of so much other entertainment – hopefully that means “A Better Tomorrow” for us all.
Poppy cultura is watching
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