Flash Forward - season 1

The world blacks out for over 2 minutes, and gets glimpses of their future, much to people's confusion and consternation. It airs on ABC at 8 p.m. EDT.

I'll be watching, no doubt.  The fact that it's based off a book (Flashforward) by a fellow countryman is enough to get me to the pilot.  From the extended trailer, it looks quite interesting, and is poised to be ABC's LOST (which is entering its final season) replacement, in what I dub the "what the hell is going on?!" genre.

Haha that's the same thing I consider it to be.

I really liked the pilot tonight, and definitely will continue watching.  I was a little surprised to see Seth MacFarlane in a live role, though it seems he'll probably only be in that one episode.  My only big issue is that by saying the exact date that they flash forward to and having it be so close to now, you'd think they're sort of limiting themselves in how many seasons they can do without a second flash forward (though similar things never affected Lost, so I guess it's not too big of a deal).

Liked it.
But....
the little boy who knew the name of Dr. Penny(Lost) how would he know her, He couldn't have been at her house during the 2:17, could he.
that would be the only way for him  to know her?


Edited by TonyD - 9/24/09 at 6:33pm

Well seeing as how it was the boy's father that was in her living room in her flash forward, I assume the boy would know the name of the woman who a) saved him, and b) is dating his father (in the future).

I had that same thought too, except they don't remember everything that happens up to that 2 minutes, they just remember that 2 minutes, so unless he actually heard her name during that 2 minutes he wouldn't remember that she had previously saved his life.  I have a feeling that's something that'll be explained though.

There's a tendency in this genre ("what the hell is going on?!") to have children react/work differently under whatever phenomenon is occuring.  My assumption was along these lines.

yes exactly my thinking.


very good point.
something odd might be going on with the daughter's flashforward too.

 I thought the pilot was quite well done and is a nice set-up for some kind of conspiracy.

But I can't see this kind of show sustaining itself very long. I imagine they learned something from Lost and have a plan. But it seems like it might be a better show if it's designed to only go 2 or 3 years at most.

By the way, did anyone notice the Oceanic billboard in the background early on when they were at the stake out?

Also, I thought the promo for "V: looked pretty amazing, visual effects wise.

I saw the Oceanic billboard immediately--I was actually actively looking for a LOST homage, given how much the opening disaster scenes mirrored the opening minutes in LOST.

This isn't directed at you Nelson, I merely quoted you for context (I know you are clear-headed member, who doesn't jump to conclusions on anything).

It's no secret I'm a huge LOST supporter, maintaining that the showrunners have "had a plan" (at least in some form or another).  I remember the same thing (it can't be sustained!) being said about LOST, and to be quite blunt, such statements look quite foolish now.  Though I've been doing my best to avoid spoilers for Flash Forward, I have read a few interviews (I'll see if I can drum a few of them up) where the powers that be claim to have the entire first season sketched out, including the bridge to the second season, and also the entire "big picture," should the show catch on and clearly be destined for multiple seasons.

In the end, there will *always* be people who say "they are making it up as they go," and my prediction is that this show will be no different.  I fully expect a few members (I can guess a few names, already) to make such claims, dismissing any and all justification that there is a planned story.  People will acuse the show of having filler episodes, clearly designed to string viewers along, posing new questions, while answering few if any.

For a show like this (and LOST, Fringe, and Moore's Battlestar Galactica), you either trust the showrunners, or you don't.  If you don't, well, I don't really know why you would tune in to a show that clearly is meant to stretch out over a season, if not seasons.  It's like the Fringe season 1 thread--almost immediately people were demanding answers, ragging on the show for bringing up mystery after mystery.  Well, what did you expect from a JJ Abrams show about the supernatural?

The same thing goes for this show.  While it's not the "Flash Forward appreciation thread" (something a few members like to drop in as soon as people start complaining about complainers), and people are certainly welcome to voice their opinions on the show, I wonder just how many people honestly *honestly* think a show like this is going to be forthcoming with answers.

Flash Forward is almost certainly going to be like LOST--heavy on the mystery, light on the answers.  I personally don't think it is passing itself off as anything less.

Like Terminator 2, I wish I could have watched this without knowing what the basic plot line was. But the reviews gave it all away, so a lot of the show was "wasting time catching up". Of course, the title itself is a big clue.

And what's with the Laker-hating -- Kobe being injured and out for the season, hurting the chances for a repeat?

Easily the best pilot episode since "Lost"!  And when I saw the Oceanic billboard, I tried to spot other clues.  Very strong set up...

While I was enthused to find out Goyer was the main driving force behind this show, my enthusiasm was dampened when I saw Brannon Braga's name on the writing credits.  Hopefully it will overcome his participation.

I was sort of tickled by seeing actors from the US and UK versions of "Coupling" showing up in the cast for this show.

I liked the premiere. Don't know how great the show will be in the long run, but for now I plan on watching.

I enjoyed the pilot and look forward to seeing how the main story rolls out. Flash Forward had a boffo debut for ABC last night, easily winning its time period in all three adult measurements A18-34, A18-49 & A25-54. In fact, powered by FF and GA, ABC won all six six half-hours of the night in total viewers and adults 18-49. ABC must be thrilled by these results!

Please tell me that the Kangaroo escaped from a zoo.  Otherwise it might be as bizarre as ... seeing a polar bear on a tropical island!  This show is bizarre enough as it is.

Quote:
In the feature article about the show in the recent EW, the producers said they plan to compress the 6-month flash forward window into just the first season. So by next May, the timeline of the show will have reached/passed the April 29, 2010, date (so the show is basically taking place in real time).

How they sustain the story/interest beyond that is unclear (probably some big government conspiracy thing, which is how these types of shows usually go).

I enjoyed the pilot, though I'm leery of getting wrapped up in another show of this type after suffering through three seasons of "Lost" spinning its wheels before I finally bailed out.

The whole issue of Dimitri Noh (John Cho) not having a vision because he may be dead within the next six months also doesn't seem likely.  Hundreds of thousands of people around the world will die within that same period, but there don't seem to be many (any?) others reporting they had no vision. So that particular explanation, and the false drama they tried to create about it in the pilot, seems to be a non-starter.

If you consider Lost as having spun its wheels, I can all but guarantee that this show will make you much more angry. Not to knock Flashforward but I think it's nearly impossible to imagine that it's a more planned out show than Lost is.

Quote:
The only reason I'm hopeful is that they are supposed to reach the flash-forward date by the end of this season, so that seems like the promise of at least a little bit of closure before launching some new mystery for the next season(s).

The same article I referenced above also quotes the creators as having developed a full five-year outline of the series which made it much easier for them to sell the show. Seems like I recall the LOST producers recently admitting that they've just been making it up as they go (which they kind of had to since they did not know how many seasons they had to fill until they agreed upon a series end date with ABC part way through the third season).

They've definitely never said that they were making it up as they went along. They had to guess how much to reveal and not reveal in the first three seasons (before they knew how many years the show would last) but there's a big difference between that and having made it up as they go.

All that being said, I do think that the people behind Flashforward know where they're going with the season of their show. If only because there's no reason not to know that.

... Considering that's the same reason that the polar bear was on a tropical island, that's a weird statement.

I have a feeling I'm going to be referencing post #10 quite a bit in this thread :)

Well, this show is not about all those other people so their flash isn't relevant in this story.
I'm sure there were millions who didn't see anything during their blackout.

Also Lost and making it up as they go along, really , that's still coming up?
Were did you read that?
On a web discussion forum.

Besides so what if they were making it up as they went, they are making up a pretty darn good story so far.

Nevermind the whole entire-planet-passes-out-for-2-min-17-sec-and-everyone-sees-their-own-future thing...what the hell was Seth McFarlane doing there??

He's an actor just like everyone else on the show.
As for the passing out part, science fiction, nor sure what you're questioning it for it's the premise of the show i think.

Intriguing pilot. I'm excited too by the show's creators. It reminds me of "The Nine", which I also enjoyed. But that worries me since that show died without resolution.

 I thought is was merely "ok" for a premiere.  Good setup.  Interesting story.  But the characters...I just did not get "hooked" into any of them.  There was, for me, no standout characters that interested me.  "Lost" had me interested in 2 or 3 people right away.  Not so here.  I will certainly keep watching, but it is just my observation.

Seth McFarlane...get off the set!  The guy makes millions and MILLIONS of dollars and he has to hog a decent role that some other starving actor could have had?  (Sorry...this is coming from the point of view of a struggling actor).

I'm not an actor but I can surely understand your point there.
This is the problem I have with Leno, plus he isn't funny.

 I'm no fan of MacFarlane, not do I hate him. I didn't even notice him. I looked this up out of curiosity, He's a buddy of Brannon Braga or the other creator of the show and is a fan of Family Guy. They invited him for the pilot as a lark and they hope he comes back for more.

So like in the real work world, it's who you know and the relationships you make that get you opportunities. I wish I knew that at my last job!