FlashForward

Starring: John Cho (23 episodes), Joseph Fiennes (23 episodes), Jack Davenport (23 episodes), Courtney B. Vance (23 episodes), Zachary Knighton (23 episodes), Sonya Walger (23 episodes), Peyton List (23 episodes), Christine Woods (23 episodes), Brian F. O'Byrne (23 episodes), Dominic Monaghan (19 episodes), Ryan Wynott (15 episodes), Barry Shabaka Henley (14 episodes), Lennon Wynn (14 episodes), Michael Ealy (11 episodes), Genevieve Padalecki (11 episodes), Gabrielle Union (10 episodes), Lee Thompson Young (10 episodes), Michael Massee (9 episodes), Annabeth Gish (3 episodes), Alex Kingston (3 episodes), Jake Johnson (1 episode), Michael O'Neill (1 episode), Seth MacFarlane (uncredited, 2 episodes)
Directed by: Nick Gomez (4 episodes), Bobby Roth (4 episodes), John Polson (4 episodes), David S. Goyer (2 episodes)
Rating: TV
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction
2009-2010

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Every human on the planet blacks out at the same time and each person has a short glimpse into their future.

Review:
Tim: It's pretty rare for me to watch a television series that gets canceled after one season. Some of that is me joining series late, after they've been established. Even more of it can be contributed to the fact that I don't watch a lot of television, so I don't normally waste my time on crap. "FlashForward" is a bit of an oddity, because it was a show I liked and had faith in, but it succumbed to cancellation and never got a second season. More than anything, this is a show that never got to realize its potential.

Now, to be fair, I never loved "FlashForward". I loved the premise behind it- how fascinating would it be if mysteriously, every person on the planet blacked out at the same time, and those who didn't die (driving a car when the blackout hit would not be good) got a short glimpse of their future. Wow. The possibilities to mine here are endless. How crazy would this be? How would it impact your life, to see where you'd be in the future? What if you saw nothing? Would that mean you were going to die? So much of the human experience centers around the fact that we have no clue what will happen in the future. If we were given a tantalizingly small glimpse, how would that impact every decision from that point on? I loved the mystery elements of this show, especially- why did this happen, did someone cause it, and will it happen again? We never get all the answers I hoped for, sadly.

The cast was really good. I liked the pairing of Joseph Fiennes and John Cho. They both give convincing performances and are a big reason why I was disappointed the show was canceled. I liked seeing Sonya Walger and Dominic Monaghan here, too. Courtney B. Vance added some nice supporting work as well (I still remember his bathroom flashforward). There's a bunch of other solid supporting cast members as well.

While the show was interesting, I don't believe it ever lived up to its potential. I was intrigued by the film's mysteries, but I never felt that overwhelming obsession to find answers that a show like "Lost" inspired. This was more lukewarm. I liked the characters, but I didn't love any of them. "FlashForward" is a classic case of a great idea that suffers from okay execution.

So yes, I enjoyed "FlashForward". I really wish the series got a second season, because there was a lot of unrealized potential here. I don't know if the show would have ever realized that potential (it dropping in quality is more likely), but I would have liked it to at least have the chance. Sadly, this was a one and done, so I'm left with the question of "What if?"

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: Lost, V., Fringe