Thursday September 24 ABC premiered one of its most anticipated shows since “Lost.” “FlashForward” is an adaptation of a science-fiction novel of the same name. The innovative concept is that during a normal day everyone in the entire human race loses consciousness for roughly two minutes. During their unconsciousness they see a glimpse of a time about six months into the future. The characters must cope with the damage done during their spell as well as the implications of the future they viewed.
The gritty premier showed in amazing scope what the effects of such a phenomenon would be. Cars run off the road surgeons black out in surgery and helicopters crash into landmarks with graphic and realistic effects usually absent outside the big screen. This clearly grabbed a lot of attention as “FlashForward” snagged the no. 1 spot on Thursday beating out classics like “Survivor.”
It is clear with such an expansive effects budget and sweeping sets that ABC is counting on this show to be a big ratings boost. Their similarly lauded hit “Lost” has been slowly bleeding ratings since its premier and took a big dip this year. Complex serials like “Lost NBC’s Heroes” and now “FlashForward” are hard to follow if you miss a few episodes and this factor is beginning to weigh in on detailed shows that have scared away new viewers.
If you are looking for a chance to jump on to one of these shows before you get behind “FlashForward” is a good bet. Those flawless special effects are backed up by a surprisingly solid cast of characters for such a large ensemble. The cast is lead by Joseph Fiennes most famously of “Shakespeare in Love who seems to be kicking off a new chapter in his career by leading this star-making drama. The supporting cast is filled with up-and-comers including Mad Men’s” Peyton List and “Harold and Kumar’s” John Cho whose career is taking an obviously dramatic turn with roles in “Star Trek” and this suspense series.
The writing does a very good job of humanizing characters put into an extraordinary situation and it is easy to pick one of the many well-illustrated characters to identify with. This is to be expected from David S. Goyer the show’s creator still well-known from writing one of the most successful movies of all time 2008’s “The Dark Knight.”
It is nice to see talented writers give television some attention and attempt to clean up a medium full of cut-rate reality shows and endless spin-offs. In the land of repetition and pattern “FlashForward” is a breath of fresh air. It has the potential that both “Heroes” and “Lost” capitalized on and with a producer like Goyer the chance to blow them both out of the water. We can only hope that the innovative storyline will continue to entertain and the characters will be skillfully fleshed out. At any rate this is a show you will want to start with from the beginning. You can watch the premier online at abc.go.com to catch up before the second episode Thursday at 8 p.m. on ABC.
