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FLASHFORWARD |
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Mark Benford - Joseph Fiennes Olivia Benford - Sonya Walger Demetri Noh – John Cho Stanford Wedek - Courtney B Vance Bryce Varley - Zachary Knighton Janis Hawk - Christine Woods Aaron stark - Bryan O'Byrne Nicole Kirby - Peyton List Lloyd Simcoe - Jack Davenport Simon - Dominic Monaghan 
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No More Good DaysAn FBI agent crawls out of his overturned car to find the world has gone to hell in a handbasket. There are people all over the place - injured, shocked, dead. For two minutes and seventeen seconds everyone on the planet blacked out. Or rather they didn't. Most everyone has a story to tell, a dream, a vision, a look at the future. Some are good, some are bad. There's no telling if they will come true. And what of those who saw no future at all? The makers of FLASHFORWARD have certainly studied their LOST. The opening sequence is a scene of destruction so reminiscent of the opening scene of that great mystery show that it's almost a case of flashback rather than FLASHFORWARD. Not that this is a bad thing since the opening scene of LOST was amazing and hooked us from minute one. It's fair to say that FLASHFORWARD does exactly the same thing. The central conceit is also mined from the success story of LOST in the provision of hints and clues that are slowly going to build up over time as links are made and the will it/won't it come true will no doubt fry our brains with suspense. That the show is clearly manufactured to hit all the buttons of the worldwide phenomenon of LOST, doesn't matter because the story takes off and runs with what it has stolen. The devastation is excellently realised on screen and creates a stunning backdrop to the more personal stories. The characters are, at first glance, fairly stock. There's a cop who's a recovering alcoholic, a suicide who finds new meaning to life, a wife coming to terms with her husband's problems and so on, but there are also nice wrinkles along the way such as the partner who apparently has no future to look forward to. There's also the mystery of the one person in all the world who didn't fall unconscious. FLASHFORWARD was clinically designed to grip its audience and it doesn't fail. In one week it's jumped to the top of our current unmissable list. Whether it can stay there is another matter. Written by Brannon Braga, David S Goyer, Nicole Prestwich and Dawn YorkinDirected by David S Goyer and Michael Rymer Top White To PlayPeople are trying to come to terms with the small snatches of future that they have glimpsed. The FBI officers investigating the blackout catch a break when one of the names that agent Benford saw on his future pin board walks in through the door to help with their enquiries, leading to an explosive confrontation. The plotting is a bit muddied here as a suspect buys a ticket but doesn’t use it, suddenly leading to the discovery of his lair. Why? How? Perhaps it will become clear, but it currently feels like the plot being manipulated to make sure that an action sequence can be crowbarred into the episode. The more personal drama, however, is the more intriguing as agent Noh learns a bit more about why he didn’t see his future, Olivia meets the man who may be a threat to her and Mark’s relationship and their daughter struggles to come to terms with whatever it was she saw. These personal stories continue to presage what is to come and are well played, giving the drama depth and providing a real backdrop to the more fantastical elements of the plot. Written by Marc Guggenheim & David S GoyerDirected by David S Goyer Top 137 SekundenMark heads to Germany where he is forced to deal with a particularly loathesome Nazi war criminal who claims to have information that will prove critical to the investigation. Is the end of finding out what happened worth the means of freeing a mass murderer? Meanwhile, there is evidence that the visions might not necessarily be real and more evidence that they are. Another excellent episode in what is fast becoming the most unmissable show of the moment. The dealing in Germany with the war criminal might smack of Hannibal Lecter lite, but he is such a nasty piece of work that this doesn't matter. The ethical battle that Mark has to go through is well played by Joseph Fiennes and, whilst they have virtually no screen time in which to show it, the rest of the cast are solid. This, though, is all about the mystery and the pieces are being laid out more and more, though we are still a very long way from being able to see the final picture. That doesn't matter because the skill with which the plot is being put together is such that it is utterly gripping. The questions are piling up. What is the significance of Aaron's vision being apparently disproved? How does Dimitri's wife see him, but he doesn't see her? And what is that tower in the African desert? Do we know what's going on? Not a clue. Do we need to find out? Damn right. Written by Marc Guggenheim & David S GoyerDirected by Michael Rymer Top Black SwanWith the Germany trip revealing only the death of crows in Somalia, there are cracks emerging within the FBI team as to how to investigate further. There are also divisions in the hospital as Olivia's resistance to believing in the visions puts a patient's life at risk. A bus gently eases into a lake when everyone blacks out on board. Only two people survive and those thanks to the absolute calm of a man who has seen his future. Itis a dramtic opening and the rest of the episode is playing catch up right up until the last shot that introduces a new character and plunges the plot into deeper waters. FLASHFORWARD is a game of smoke and mirrors, the good performances and slickly written drama obscuring the fact that for another week the plot hasn't actually advanced anywhere. The skill with which this trick id being pulled, however, is such that it keeps the audience on the hook and drops such a bombshell at the end that you absolutely know that you're going to have to be there for the next episode. Written by Scott M Gimple & Lisa ZwerlingDirected by Michael Rymer Top Gimme Some TruthAs the world gets back to its feet after the blackout, Washington finally starts to bring all of the disparate agency investigations into something a little more coherent. Since most of the team have enemies on Capitol Hill, the hearings are likely to see their funding cut. The investigation into Somalia, however, uncovers important information. Ignoring the information that was given last week about who might be responsible for the blackout, the focus returns to the investigation, but to a much more political aspect. The densely plotted episode manages to balance character against storyline well enough that the more unlikely aspects of the skeletons coming out of the closets are held in bay for the present and there is more than enough to re-establish the compelling nature of the show that drifted a bit in the last episode. Considering the low opinion that everyone has for politicians at present, it is no surprise to find everyone in government shown to be at the very least venal and the very worst evil to the core, but when the action explodes onto the screen in the final few minutes it is testament to the writing and acting that we actually do care about who is going to survive the shootout and who is going to be left in an ever-growing pool of blood. Written by Nicole Yorkin & Dawn PrestwichDirected by Michael Rymer Top Scary Monsters and Super CreepsIn the wake of the shootouts that were the climax of the last episode, one agent lies critically wounded whilst the others try to figure out their next move. Dimitri works out a clue involving blue hands that leads to a grisly fine. Mark, Olivia and Lloyd, the three sides of the foreseen love triangle finally come together in the same room under surprising circumstances. The dramatic attacks of last week give this episode a springboard into action as Janis's life hangs in the balance, but it then splits into two strands. The first is the investigation into a very unlikely clue that Dimitri just happens to have the knowledge to pick up on and the second is the much more interesting coming together of the Benfords and the man set up to destroy their marriage. This brings into focus the problems of knowing the future, or at least part of it, as the characters continue to fight against what they have seen, but find their convictions slipping as the apparently inevitable moves ever closer. This is the emotional heart of the show and allows the the actors to get some serious emoting into the plot. And what is it with the kangaroo that appears? It's far too random an image to not be important. Written by Quinton Peeples & Seth HoffmanDirected by Bobby Roth Top The GiftThe investigation into the man who nearly killed Janis takes Mark and his team into the world of the ghosts, people like Demetri who had no flasforward and therefore know the certainty of their own deaths. One of the team, though, had a flashforward that he can't live with and sets out to prove that this future can be changed. FLASHFORWARD goes racing down another blind alley that apparently goes nowhere, but reveals important developments all the same. The investigation into the suicide cult is straightforward, but does provide an insight into another effect of the blackout. When death is certain then none of the normal rules apply. It's an interesting aspect to the events of the show. Also important, not to mention dramtic, is the proof that the flashforward can be wrong and that the manner in which it is proved. suddenly, all the rules are changed for the characters all over again. It's a compelling moment. Written by Lisa Zwerling & Ian GoldbergDirected by Nick Gomez Top Playing Cards With CoyoteThe news that the future is not set in stone filters around the world and Mark and Olivia do their best to ensure that their future is definitely changed. Lloyd Simcoe, wants to go public with what he knows about the blackout, but his previous colleagues have a different opinion and a different way of choosing who is right. A woman who was witness to a murder proves to be central to Mark's investigations and he uses her as bait to draw out one of the men who he saw trying to kill him so that he can get in there first. It's a murky old world of moral greys with a postscript that makes it all a bit worthless. The story of Lloyd and Simon playing poker to decide whether or not they should go public with their 'experiment' is utterly ludicrous, despite the actors playing it completely straight. Written by Barbara Nance and Marc GuggenheimDirected by Nick Gomez Top BelieveOne time suicidal doctor Bryce saw an asian girl in his flashforward who gave him a reason to live. A chance meeting with a patient sends him to Tokyo in search of her. And so FLASHFORWARD grinds to a complete halt as it explores Bryce's story with all the irrelevance of the flashback sequences from LOST. What we really want to know about is the progress of the investigation into who caused the blackout and why, not a third tier character's abortive love life. That investigation has hit a dead end, although a lead on a phone call is looking likely to take Mark and Demtri to Hong Kong on the grounds that someone called from there. With no more information than that, it's as likely as the rest of the show is becoming. FLASHFORWARD is slipping and it needs to get back on message pretty quick. Written by Dawn Prestwich and Nicole YorkinDirected by Michael Nankin Top A561984Lloyd and Simon go public with their supposed responsibility for the blackout with their experiment, which leads to unexpected problems for them both. Mark and Demetri travel to Hong Kong to track down the owner of the voice that told Demetri of his death and learn some disquieting information. Dominic Monaghan's character in this show is so unlikeable and so against type that he is absolutely fascinating and completely away from his role in LOST. He is certainly making more of an impact that Jack Davenport's Lloyd Simcoe who seems to get wetter and more ineffectual with each passing episode. It is he, however, who supplies the cliffhanger ending. Mark and Demitri's trip to Hong Kong is a nonsense from start to finish. With only a voice on a tape they enter one of the most densely populated cities in the world and track down a woman they have never seen. They manage to enter sovereign Chinese territory with their weapons unconfiscated and think that it's an OK thing to do to try and kidnap the woman when her information proves to be not what they want to hear. It might advance the mythology, but makes no sense at all. The title, in case of interest, refers to the serial number of the gun that will be used in Demitri's murder. Written by David S Goyer and Scott GimpleDirected by Michael Nankin Top |
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