A specific, untold 2 minutes and 17 seconds has been taunting future audiences for months now. Tonight, we were finally served up not only a satisfyingly short back story but a ton of future knowledge to come in ABC’s new series FlashForward. The Screen Rant team is in the first row to offer you a review of what is arguably one of 2009’s most anticipated Fall television openings.
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The FlashForward series opener, penned by comic book movie writer David Goyer and Star Trek journeyman Brannon Braga, begins with a proverbial smorgasbord of perspective. There were familiar faces: Joseph Fiennes, John Cho (the new Sulu) and Sonya Walger (Penny from Lost).
A quiet, common suburb where a family is parting for the day.
A pier featuring a man that’s lost all hope and can only see one quick, decisive path out.
A church, where a father laments the loss of his fallen daughter at a gathering of those who know addiction all too well.
A living room where two young people share intimate knowledge and feelings, albeit guilt-filled.
Two detectives capturing images of those that would do us harm, sharing details of the evening’s previous commonplace details. Time seems to stand still.
An operating room scrub tub, where two women share gossip, small-talk and all-too-short prep time as they continue a new regular day.
A car chase ensues, time accelerates our sight goes white and blurry and suddenly – fevered dreamlike blackness – blistered visions of time, both past and future?
Screams begin fading into our consciousness, car alarms, frantic screams for help. We witness literal bedlam of a city ablaze, people unsure of what’s going on, a torrent of death and destruction and you are center stage.
All of these perspectives, characters and more will all be collected together and form a grand new program, and I hope that you’ll tune in to Screen Rant to follow along during FlashForward’s first season.
I’ll be reviewing this and future episodes of FlashForward in an ironic and incredibly-appropriate “stream of consciousness” format, giving you essentially what I’m thinking as the show airs. I encourage everyone to send feedback in regard to any of the points below and use this opportunity as a sounding-off point to tell we here at Screen Rant what YOU think about this season’s launch, of ABC’s FlashForward!
– Outstanding effects of one of many beleaguered cities: One of the hardest tasks presented to a production designer in television shows in general, is to create reality – especially in a city. The practical effects used here in this initial offering of FlashForward are some of the best production design I’ve seen in a long time. For those of you that have captured the launch episode, go back and look away from the center focus of the frame and look at the level of detail achieved not just in the city scenes, but each scene. The production designer “paints the picture” of what you see in frame in every minute of the episode and Aaron Osborne has has broken out the big brushes…
Click to continue ‘FlashForward’s Intriguing Launch on ABC’
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33 Comments
It’s a different type of story than I’m used to so it’s an interesting take on things. that alone attracts me so I will watch future episodes.
My thoughts on the whole “I didn’t see anything during the blackout” thing.
They were sleeping… Simple as that. They flashed forward, it was night time and what do people do at night? They die. Well, they also sleep. More people sleep than die.
There we go… I just saved you 20 episodes. New Sulu was sleeping. Unless the show starts to go down in the ratings. Then he will be dead to cut the budget.
My daughter thought Cho was lying early on when he looked uncomfortable, and that was the explanation I came up with.
One thing that bothered me were all the fires up high in the skyscrapers? How the heck did all those start? That’s a lot of helicopters crashing into buildings.
Of course the big questions are WHO is behind this and CAN you change the future if you know about it – classic time travel brain warping question.
Vic
I had the same question. Why were so many building on fire? Especially in office buildings. They are all built with sprinkler systems. Some buildings even have Halon systems, even though they are outlawed.
I think I figured out the show. But I wanna be sure & watch a couple of more episodes before I say anything.
my girlfriend thought he was lying as well.
what’s up with a kangaroo in the middle of the city? I am going to tune in every week and see what’s happening. my interest is peaked.
My interest is also piqued. With 24 ending this season, I’ve been looking for a show that can engage me and it looks to mbe like FlashForward might just be the one.
I missed the first half but I am interested enough to check out the replay tomorrow.
Missed the whole show – but is it a fact that it’ll replay tonight as per Gary’s reply above? Man I hope your right – because I really wanted to see this.
IU’ll check on the replay tonite, but remember that the first 18 or so minutes of the show are online at the FlashForward website here – Oh! While looking at the website, it appears the entire first episode is up and good to go after a small player install.
http://abc.go.com/shows/flash-forward
Enjoy!
I’ve been looking forward to FlashForward for almost a year since I heard they were making a movie or tv show of the novel. When I recently heard more details of the show and found out how much they changed from the novel I was skeptical, but after viewing the pilot I’m very pleased. They did a great job with the transition from print to screen. The book had so many interesting theories of causes and the inevitability of the future or whether they could change what they saw. I’m looking forward to how they deal with these issues on the show. Now if only they don’t cancel this show before it gets to build an audience like they do with so many shows that you actually have to think about ….
After watching the entire first episode and knowing the book, I think I figured out the deviations from the book. And IMO it should work for seasons to come without jilting the audience like Lost did.
I love this show!! DDefinately hooked
I had no idea this show was based on a book. Now I have to fight the urge to wiki the book and read what happens.
Ehhh… I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to fight it.
As of yet, I’m still undecided. I’ll watch a few more episodes, but I’m not committed. Really, the only thing that made me want to stick with this show for the time being was the very last scene (which did exactly what it was meant to).
Otherwise, certainly it was a very good pilot, I love the actors in it, the script (nothing amazing, but still very good) and it’s certainly an interesting concept.
@Anthony Oscasio
Being the strange person I am, I did look it up on Wikipedia and it seems you wouldn’t be spoiling anything by reading it (unless you planned on reading the book). From what I gather, the TV show has simply taken the concept and run with it, I get the feeling that the TV show is building towards it being a conspiracy of sorts, the whole thing orchestrated by some group or something, which, according to Wiki, doesn’t happen at all in the book, but is in fact all explained right at the beginning.
Even still, on the off chance they incorporate anything else of the book into the show, I’m gonna go ahead and not say much else.
still hard for me to see John Cho in serious acting roles since he was in the american pie movies and harold and kumar. I haven’t seen star trek yet, i probably just need to get used to it.
ANYBODY NOTICE the subtle hints at other shows on ABC? there was a bus behind the main charachter just before he sees the kangaroo that is a bilboard for desperate house wifes. at the begining of the show when they are watching the blond woman, there is a big sign that says oceanic welcomes you. at the end of the show as the title of the show plays out the random numbers that make up the title of the show are the same numbers from lost and the hatch. are they tied together????
Anthony, your sleep theory only works if everyone else also didn’t see anything since night time pretty much happens for everyone at the same time in the same city. I could have been taking a nap at that future moment I suppose, but that seems like a rather weak explanation. The kangaroo is running around because his feeder at the zoo had just opened his cage to feed him when he blacked out. It jumped out before it got closed. How do I know this…I’m the guy in black….
after watching the pilot to this im highly unimpressed. unless they start investing in effects and making more of the scifi oriented plot, this is going to tank after the 1st season. Its a lost clone that doesnt work, sorry me wondering if im going to be a drunk and loose my ex in the future isnt enough of a plotline to keep me hooked.
its going to take alot for them to improve on the plot. Its getting to the point i wont watch a series unless its into season 3.
I predict cancellation after 1st season.
A: I already know the ending and I just really hope the writing makes this a very engaging story. SO far, so good!
B: That would be a pickle, knowing something that will take place at some point in time. I’d only hope I would be reading the lottery results during my black out!
But more importantly,
C: How did the teens “on the couch” end up clothed when they woke up?????
it’s all the events that lead up to him drinking again, being hunted, his wife being in love with the english guy who seems to be involved; why does the bird fly into the window; why do the teenagers clothes get back on them when they awake from having sex?
those are the things that will keep me watching.
Mike,
You did a great job with your points. You MUST find yourself a headline writer. The headings were misleading, nonsensical, or grammatically inside out.
Okay this is Screen Rant, I had to rant about something.
The show absolutely engaged me. I set my timer for a two-hour premiere (too lazy to look in advance) and they packed more into this 44 minutes than most doubled offerings.
Bruce’s post makes me feel that my predictions or theories are irrelevant.
How great for a show with weird personal visions to *repeat* the vision rather than having people scan back and watch again. (We will anyway.)
How refreshing, after individuals on LOST could have put patterns and pieces together, and never did–is a show where they actually communicate and compile information. The speed in which this is all discovered stretches credulity–but only momentarily.
Questions include “can they change the future despite their visions?” What of this question–are they being manipulated create what they’ve seen?
The interrelationships of visions are an awesome idea!
I didn’t follow the hype, and at a few points, especially the sports stadium scene, I thought, “Hmm, this scene wasn’t leaked or previewed.”
I also liked the previews for the series, and felt that they didn’t spoil MUCH. What these scenes did, in addition to the fresh, smart, compact 42 minutes that preceded, is tell people, this ain’t your father’s LOST. Even those of us that are bigtime fans of the Oceanic 815 peeps, are probably NOT up for another series telescoping questions and obscenely Lucy-Yanks-the-Football answers.
Even with the April Date, I know that this series has points of culmination and Will Deliver Answers. Depending on the nature of the blackouts and visions, maybe some sort of Reset Button or new blackout will happen each season.
I’m liking how the implications of a worldwide blackout are depicted and explored. I’m glad there were people on screen throwing out questions about stats–such as mothers giving birth. I didn’t catch what happened to the patient in the operating room–but have the impression that the OR crew didn’t waste much time and attention on the patient.
Speaking of LOST, I remember scenes like the disintegrating airplane and the engine slowing and speeding. Those first minutes of the show are tatooed in my skull. Go ahead, pile on the special effects for those first key scenes. Do all you can to grab the attention, and spend VERY LITTLE backstory, warm & tender private moments time. Get on with the mystery solving, and the questions that arise.
I’m hooked, big time.
I’m worried that there are only 22 comments up to this point. Great shows seem to get a bigger buzz.
Greetings!
Thanks for your input “Sylar’s Hunger Continues”
I appreciate all of it and look forward to your input here weekly as well as from your friends and cohorts in television appreciated.
I’m even more elated that there is someone else that is “hooked” like I am on the program. While it’s “based on a book” I’m going to go check out the book(s) after it’s done with it’s run on the tube. Your backstory comment is particularly insightful.
Again, thanks for your input and it’s great to be “engaged” with others. Cheers!
I’m also on board with the worry about the number of comments. I don’t have a better solution for funneling it to other people especially because we’ve got a very exciting bunch of writers here at Screen Rant which means that posts tend to slide down the page quicker than most other outfits.
Again, my thanks for your input!
You guys shouldn’t worry about the number of comments. There are dozens of sites like this that people go to for their Flash Forward fix. Plus, there are sites dedicated to just the show alone.
I really liked the show I never got bored of it but I did see the solider daughter coming into play before they showed the dads FF. I will be back next thursday since that is my TV night.
FF, The Office, Always Sunny and Community
Mike Wilkerson
do you have a podcast about transformers or a movie podcast or something? i thought i saw something on iTunes about a transformers podcast with your name on it.
Hi M-Cat!
I am the host and creator of a podcast network on the web that specializes in the review of TV and Feature Films as well. We’re 5-year veterans of the podcast game and have a nice archive of both online at 2GuysTalking.Com.
I’ve also start converting my articles here at Screen Rant (and other writing endeavours I participate in) into podcasts as well.
Thanks for your question and your participating here in the Screen Rant Discussion area. It’s great to have you!
St. Pauly:
Always Sunny is something that one of our editors Kofi Outlaw turned me on to a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been trying to find time in my schedule to see more of it. Thankfully, the season 1 and 2 DVD sets are on sale at a local used DVD outfit and I plan on acquiring them to catch up.
Thanks for your input!
Always Sunny in Philadelphia is great! The first 2 seasons were hilarious and I recommend them to anyone who hasn’t seen them yet.
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