As described by ABC, FlashForward begins with just another normal day in Los Angeles. FBI agent Mark Benford and his partner, Demetri Noh, are in the midst of a car chase monitored by their boss, Stanford Wedeck and colleague Janis Hawk; Mark’s wife, Dr. Olivia Benford , is in the middle of surgery; Dr. Bryce Varley is weighing a potentially life-ending decision; Mark’s friend, Aaron Stark, is working high above the ground on power lines; and Nicole — baby-sitter to Mark and Olivia’s daughter, Charlie — is in the throes of passion with her boyfriend when suddenly and without warning, every person on Earth blacks out for two minutes and seventeen seconds and sees a series of events from their own future, taking place on April 29, 2010 at 10:00 p.m., Pacific Time. For some the future will be joyous and hopeful; for others, shockingly unexpected; and for a few, it simply doesn’t seem to exist. Knowing their fate will alter each person’s life in one way or another and poses the questions: Can destiny be changed? And by changing just one destiny, what effect would that have on those of others?
Based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer, the premiere of the series more than lives up to the hype prior to its airing. It sets up the central mystery of the show while deftly introducing us to all the main characters along with their relationships and sundry baggage. We get right to the investigation of the event without things feeling rushed, we see key flashforwards that prove the legitimacy that these things will happen while others are left a mystery and there is a one-two punch of two twists (one minor, one major) at the end to hook you into staying around. Unfortunately, the series loses that momentum as the episodes go on. Too much time is spent on the emotional turmoil and the running mystery elements seem to get middied along the way. Things pick up in the last few episodes of the initial run, including one whopper of a game-changer in episode seven, but I don’t know if it is enough to bring a sizable audience back for the second half of the season. I still find it compelling enough to stick it out and see what happens when the show catches up with the actual April 29th date.
The series stars stars Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Jack Davenport, Zachary Knighton, Peyton List, Dominic Monaghan, Brían F. O’Byrne, Courtney B. Vance, Sonya Walger and Christine Woods. The DVD presents the ten episodes that have already aired on ABC along with a new scene from the next episode (airing March 18th), a trailer for the remainder of the season and a featurette on how the catastrophe on a LA overpass was filmed. The new scene is a rather benign piece that really doesn’t give a whole lot of insight as to what is to come. Although, there is an odd name slip up by Olivia that seems to be a symptom of trauma until one watches the season 1.5 trailer where a similar-seeming slip up visually occurs very briefly. Is this a large clue? Time will tell. The trailer ends with an ominous statement by Mark Benford, even if it is rather necessary for the continued existence of the series beyond the first season. By far, the “Creating Catastrophe: The Effects of a Global Blackout” is the meatiest and most interesting of the Bonus Features. You get to see how the cast and crew managed to stage and shoot a key scene from the premiere on an overpass overlooking a very busy LA freeway. This is not only a great insight into how a TV show is shot, but really shows the dedication those behind the show have for making this realistic.
All in all, I recommend picking up this set as I ultimately feel the episodes flow better when watched in quick succession. Plus, with just ten episodes you will be ready for the rest of the season in time for the return.
