FlashForward moved its plot along pretty nicely in its second edition on Thursday night. We met Lloyd Simcoe, the man Olivia saw in her flash-forward and with whom she fears she’ll have an affair. We learned a teeny bit more about “Suspect Zero,” the mysterious figure in the Detroit stadium who moved around while everyone else in the world blacked out for two minutes, 17 seconds. (I guess we have to say “maybe everyone else,” since we were told a phone call was placed to this fellow during the black-out period.)
We started to get a feel for the tone of FastForward: mostly ominous and earnest, with moments of bleak humor. (When Mark’s boss revealed he was sitting on a toilet during his flash-forward, and rescued a co-worker who was drowning face-down in a urinal, did you laugh or wince?)
Still, I feel as though the show has to pull back and place this event in a larger context. Wouldn’t, for example, law enforcement worldwide be in contact with each other, and we’d see more than just the “Mosaic Collective” and bespectacled Janis Hawk plowing through hundreds of thousands of postings? The series is getting a tad bogged down in the mixed feelings Mark has of Olivia’s remembered scenario, even as he himself is keeping secret from her a memory that has the recovering alcoholic drinking again.
But such quibbles are minor for me, so far. The trip Mark and Demetri Noh took to Utah to follow a lead was crisply exciting. I like Joseph Fiennes’ understated performance, and the multi-faceted premise of the show remains intriguing: part-mystery, part-metaphor for a terrorist attack, part-adventure with guns blazing.
What was your reaction to this week’s FlashForward?
I got chills at the end with Mark and Olivia’s daughter!
Oh no, Tivo cut off the very end – what happened with their daughter???
I’m loving FlashForward so far. All the characters are likable but still have some flaws.
My only complaint has to be the 3-second title theme. I’m reminded of the Emmy skit each time I watch it.
Haha, completely agree about the title sequence. I mean, I’m not going to complain about it, but I do like me some proper length opening credits (y’know, more than ten seconds).
LOST has the same length opening sequence and it works perfect. Don’t hate.
I appreciate a good theme song too, and as a musician (to some extent), it’s a little sad to me that they’ve all but done away with theme songs. But at the same time, these short titles leave more time for plot, and it seems like any sort of theme would just disrupt the mood and momentum of the show. I’m ok with it.
Shows like this don’t really scream ‘Theme song!’ anymore. I think the sequence works fine.
Emmy skit?
Stop nitpicking please. This show is the best thing I have seen on network television since “Twin Peaks.”
Do you not watch “Lost?” Did you never see an episode of “Buffy?”
I gotta go with Adam here — I think Ned needs to watch Lost — but this show definitely has me hooked.
Don’t forget Fringe and Chuck.
What about Pushing Daisies? Or is that just me?
Or infinite other television shows that have come out since the early 1990s. Since Ned didn’t specify a genre (or even if he did), calling FlashForward the “best thing on network television since Twin Peaks” is overstating it a bit.
Yes the Mark and Olivia stuff is annoying with Mark almost like blaming her for stuff she hasn’t even done…yet! I also agree that with something like this happening, all law enforcement officals would be in contact with each other. I was bugging out when the little girl saw the boy and started freakin out about Dylan being hurt then at the end she said B. Gibbons is a bad man. That has me worried that he hurts kids especially with those dolls everywhere. But honestly I’m really more interested in Olivia and Lloyd. They have more chemistry and they look good together so I’m pulling for them. I also wonder if that one guy will find out who murders him before he actually gets murdered. Maybe that woman will help him. I laughed at the bowel movement thing.
D. Gibbons.
Mark is freaking out because of the following:
A) He knows that his alcoholism is the catalyst for Oliva to leave him.
B) The man she is destined to have the affair with is her patient’s father.
C) His daughter recognizes Lloyd Simcoe’s son.
D) The peace braclet.
E) He wasn’t home @ 10:00PM and another man was there in his place.
F) Everything Mark sees at work reinforces his notion that these Flash Forward vision may be immutable.
Wouldn’t you all be freaked out too if it seemed inventible that your marriage would fall apart? It makes perfect sense for him to conceal his vision of alcoholism since that will contribute to Olivia leaving him.
If Mark is the singular law enforcement agent to have a specific flash forward of the investigation it makes perfect sense for him to take the lead. All the other law enforcement in the world would just be shooting in the dark.
Mark is freaking out because of the following:
G) People are coming to kill him too in his flash forward.
All of this stuff is exactly why Mark needs to tell his wife about drinking in his vision. Being aware of the problem will help him overcome it. His not telling her about it is a sign of weakness, which makes him an interesting character, but it would be better for both of them if he did tell her, and then let her help him. Particularly if he’s going to continue blaming her for something she hasn’t even done yet, he needs to be honest with her too.
FlashForward is definitely the best of the new dramas. I actually found myself irritated that the hour was up. Thank goodness Fringe was next on my schedule.
awesome show. I wonder how close the show’s Simcoe will be compared to the novel’s Simcoe? I think so far he’s the only one from the book on the show.
There are some major differences between the Lloyd Simcoe in the book and the one in the show. For starters, the character in the book is a researcher. He’s engaged, but not married. In fact, his vision (which is 21 years in the future in the book) he sees himself with another woman other than his fiance. For a large part of the book he frets about whether to marry his fiance or not since their marriage won’t last.
As for other characters in the book that appear in the TV show, there is a Demitrius who is Simcoe’s research partner. He is Greek, not Korean like the FBI agent. Both Demitriuses (Dimitriae?) have no vision in the flashforward and both are obsessed about their “murder.”
This show is based on a book?
In the book Demitrius IS NOT Simcoe’s partner. Theodosius ‘Theo’ Procopides is. Dimitrios is Theo’s brother, who DOES have a vision and kills himself because of what he sees. Theo does not have a vision and spends most of the book investigating his future murder.
There are so many fundamental differences between the book and the show that I dont think reading the book will in any way ruin the show.
This show is amazing. Easily the best new show in this year’s crop. Courtney B. Vance played the humorous bathroom scene perfect. Who knew the L&O:CI DA could bring in the dark funny so well. The 2 episodes have remained crisp and thought provoking while also generating genuinely surprising/unexpected moments. It would be easy for a show like this to get bogged down in large scope so I like the smaller personal context the writers have chosen to view the aftermath.
I watched this alone in my room at midnight. TERRIFYING.
I was very impressed with this episode. By far the best new drama series of this season. My best drama since Lost.
I agree.
although not nearly as good, Im thinking this show will help me to get past LOST once its finished…
Def the best new network drama of the season.
Im officially hooked.
agree. my husband was just asking me the other day what I was going to do when LOST went off the air. now I know. (although I dearly love LOST and will be sad..)
I’m kinda thinking that the daughter has died in the next six months which has driven her dad back to drinking, split the marriage apart, and sent her mom into the arms of this other man who has also experienced loss.
Don’t think so, Leo. Considering the daughter had a flash forward and at least so far the show wants you to think that those that die before six months from now didn’t see anything.
Agreed. I was thinking she flashed forward to something involving Dylan myself.
I agree with briguyx, but very good thought Leo.
Still trying to figure out how at the end of the pilot the female character said Why are THEY awake. She only saw ONE person walking around. Is she hiding something?
Fred, many people (including me) use “they” in place of “he or she.” It’s come to be accepted by many grammarians.
It’s still bad grammar.
The reason she says “they” is because D. Gibbons was on the phone with Suspect Zero in Detroit at the time of the flash forward.
They didn’t know that at the end of the pilot, which is what Fred is talking about.
At the end of the pilot, she said “they” because she didn’t know if Suspect Zero was male or female. She knew nothing about D. Gibbons at that point.
I’m not sure why this show is failing to quite engage or connect with me. I usually lvoe shows like this, I recognize that it has good writing, great acting, etc, etc, but something is just lacking so far. I actually thoughtlast week it was that there was absolutely zero humour–but then I found this week’s humour so random and odd in tone I’m not sure I prefered it. It sounds like I’m in the minority here–and I definetly am sticking with it a bit longer, but…
I’m like you, Eric. I’ve watched both episodes now and just can’t connect yet. But I will stick around until Dominic (Charlie from Lost) shows up. I think “bleak” is the word I would use right now for the show. Just my opinion. And the attempt at humor actually made me cringe a little.
And I can’t believe I didn’t comment on this above, but the skit actress from MadTV? Come on.
I mean, it really could have been a character from a skit she played entitled “Cupcake Lady”. When I think about that, I may NOT stick around. Sorry, Charlie.
What, you can’t wait for — what? — the FIFTH English actor to show up on yet another American TV show? Are there no acting jobs in the British Isles these days? Too funny. The least they could do is let them keep their accents.
bye
I already have a question about a possible hole in the plot-
DiDi Gibbons, the lady in pink with the cupcakes, approaches FBI cos of her flashforward: someone using her credit card illegally in the future, pointing to the other D. Gibbons. The teams tracks down this lead, and D. Gibbons (presumably) explodes. So has cupcake lady’s future changed already?
Why do you think D. Gibbons exploded? I actually thought he seemed to escape out of what almost looked like a dumb waiter.
Yeah, D. Gibbons is obviously still around if Charlie (the daughter) knows about him from her flash forward. And I thought it was pretty clear that D. Gibbons escaped also.
I don’t think that her future has changed. There are many possible reasons she still gets that call. Courtney could be right, and D Gibbons is still alive using the card, someone else could be using her card, D Gibbons could have made a different purchase. I actually think this reinforces her flash forward. Now that she has met with the FBI agents she is more likely to refer someone directly to them if/when an issue arises since they already know her story.
I LOVE THIS SHOW. I haven’t felt this kind of anticipation for the next episode since Lost.