FlashForward Flashes On Our Screens

Having had the unique opportunity to attend a sneak-peek screening of ABC’s new television series FlashForward, I can say without a doubt that it is utterly riveting. From the first moment it is an adrenaline rush of calamitous events that occur on a seemingly normal day when the entire planet comes to a stand-still. For 2 minutes and 17 seconds, every living human-being blacks-out and falls to the ground. This is disastrous for those driving cars, flying planes, operating machinery, surfing along the coast, or who are in the middle of a critical surgery. When they awake, the world has literally fallen apart. But it is not merely a disaster show. It is about what happened during those mysterious 2 minutes and 17 seconds. For everyone was not simply unconscious, they were given a glimpse of their future. They were able to see exactly where they would be in 6 months – what they were doing and who they were doing it with. The real story is about whether each will see their vision of the future come true. For some, that is horrifying and for others, it is everything they have prayed and hoped for.

Initially, the central characters are a FBI agent, Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes), his partner, Demetri Noh (John Cho), his boss, Stan Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance), and his wife, Olivia Benford (Sonya Walger, better known as Penny from Lost). They are the characters that we are first introduced to and whose flashbacks we experience. It is also Benford who first clues in that there may be a conspiracy afoot as his flashback revealed to him that he was investigating the flashforward event in relation to something called the Mosaic Collective. For his partner, Demetri, he has a more alarming realization, he did not experience a flashforward vision which leads him to believe that he may not be alive in six months. Then for Benford’s wife, Olivia, her vision was perhaps the most disturbing of all as she saw herself having a romantic liaison with another man – a man she has not even met yet. For all of these individuals, their visions have not
brought them peace and comfort in what lies ahead. To the contrary, they will do everything they can to prevent their visions from coming true.

However, for a small handful of supporting characters, their visions brought them hope and peace. Benford’s AA sponsor saw a vision of his daughter alive, who he thought he had buried after a war-related tragedy. One of Beford and Demetri’s unit saw a vision of herself pregnant and she does not yet even have a boyfriend. And for Olivia’s co-worker, he had nearly committed suicide right before the flashforward event, and he saw a vision of his life where he was happy and alive. For these individuals, they are very much looking forward to the futures they beheld. So whether the visions are a blessing or a curse remains to be seen.

Rounding out the cast are: Lloyd Simcoe (Jack Davenport), Bryce Varley (Zachary Knighton), Nicole (Peyton List), Simon (Dominic Monaghan, also from Lost), Aaron Stark (Brían F. O’Byrne), Zoey (Gabrielle Union), Janis Hawk (Christine Woods), Vlad Petrov (Adam Tsekhman); and making special appearances as recurring characters are Seth MacFarlane (creator/writer of The Family Guy) and Alex Kingston (best known for her role on ER and recently seen as River Song in Doctor Who).

Finally, for those looking to expand on the Easter-egg laden experience of FlashForward, David S. Goyer announced the debut of Red Panda Resources, an internet fan-driven forum he has sponsored for the series.

Watch for FlashForward which debuts on Thursday, September 24, 2009, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on ABC. (The pilot was written and directed by David S. Goyer – known as the man who relaunched the successful Batman franchise. Also executive producing are Brannon Braga, Jessika Borsiczky Goyer, Vince Gerardis, and Ralph Vicinanza. FlashForward is based on the 1999 Prix Aurora Award-winning book FlashForward by Canadian science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer.)