Flashforward: Part One Season One

March 4, 2010

Director: David S. Goyer, Michael Rymer, Bobby Roth, Nick Gomez,
Starring: Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Jack Davenport, Dominic Monaghan, Zachary Knighton, Peyton List, Courtney B. Vance,

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DVD Review

J.D. Lafrance +

With the last season of Lost upon us, all of the major television networks have either canceled their science fiction/horror shows or are refusing to greenlight any new ones. Like any trend that goes through a cycle, this one has definitely played itself out in the eyes of network executives. The latest casualty may very well be Flashforward which debuted in September 2009 and was put on hiatus during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Whether it will return for a second season remains to be seen.

Based loosely on the 1999 novel by science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer, the show was originally developed at HBO. However, executives there felt that it was better suited for a broadcast network and sold it to ABC. David S. Goyer (the Blade trilogy) wrote the pilot, along with Brannon Braga (Star Trek: The Next Generation), and they both served as executive producers.

All good science fiction shows start off with a great premise and Flashforward’s is a doozy. FBI Special Agent Mark Benford (Fiennes) wakes up in a crash with his car turned upside down. He crawls out of the wreckage to find the world around him in utter chaos. We flashback a few hours and meet a wide variety of characters. Suddenly, in the middle of their respective lives, they all simultaneously blackout for 137 seconds during which time they experience visions of their lives six months in the future.

This phenomenon appears to have affected everyone in the world except, for some unknown reason, Benford’s partner, Demetri Noh (Cho), who experienced no flashforward. He interprets this to mean that he’s going to die. Flashforward explores how a diverse cast of characters interpret and react to their own flashforwards with the focus on Benford’s investigation of the blackout. In his flashforward, he saw the results of the investigation into the global blackout and uses it to recreate the investigation in the present. Over the course of the first ten episodes, many of the characters uncover all kinds of tantalizing clues.

The show takes this intriguing premise and runs with it in a compelling way with the FBI investigation being the most interesting storyline and the one that drives the narrative. It would be a shame if this show was canceled before it got a chance to offer some resolution for its loyal fans.

Special Features:

“Creating Catastrophe: The Effects of a Global Blackout” takes a look at how they shot the blackout sequence with all kinds of stunts and special effects. Obviously, a lot of planning went into it and this extra sheds light on what it took to pull it off.

“Flashforward: A Look Ahead” features a clip from an upcoming episode.

“Could” is a teaser for the remaining episodes for this season.

J.D. Lafrance

J.D. is a freelance writer who is currently doing research for a book on the films of Michael Mann. He likes reading anything written by Jack Kerouac, James Ellroy, J.D. Salinger, Harlan Ellison or Thomas Pynchon. J.D. is currently addicted to the T.V. series 24 and enjoys drinking a lot of Sprite. This is not a blatant plug for the beverage but if they ever decided to give him a lifetime supply he certainly wouldn’t turn them down.
view all DVD reviews by JD Lafrance