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FlashForward: The Complete Series

By Lance Risseeuw
September 1, 2010 - 09:44

“On October 6 the planet blacked out for two minutes and seventeen seconds. The whole world saw the future”. I mean honestly, who could not be intrigued by a premise this rousing, offered from the latest release of ABC’s ground breaking series “FlashForward”? When the whole world simultaneously loses consciousness, everyone is offered a vision of life 6 months into the future.  As unexplainable as the endless possibilities of how each character arrives at their predetermined and seemingly unimaginable future April 29th destinations (the flash forward date), is the question of why. Why did the whole world blackout and who is behind this global catastrophe? Full of imagination, conspiracy, and suspense, “FlashForward” takes you on a psychological rollercoaster that will leave your stomach fluttering and the edge of your seat warm. A series laced with intimate secrecy, hidden messages and absolutely stunning attention to detail, fails to disappoint.

The plot is action packed, incorporating elements of sci-fi, mystery, comedy, and enough melodrama to draw parallels to day-time soap.  At the forefront of piecing together the blackout, is special agent Mark Benford (Fiennes) who in his flash-forward appears to be on the brink of solving the unexplainable phenomena.  A board littered with vital leads and information in Benford’s office appears to reveal answers. However, Benford’s task to reassemble this board back to its futuristic state seems daunting, as masked gunmen look to permanently silence him in a vision which is already clouded from relapsed drinking. To make matters worse for Benford (and more intriguing for viewers), his wife Olivia (Walger) is in bed with another man (Davenport) in her own personal rendition of the flash-forward.

Demetri Noh (played by Cho), serves as Benford’s partner and a “ghost” or someone who does not have a flash-forward. He sees nothing in his blackout, which leads him to believe he has no future; that he will die. This adds a whole new element of intricacy to the plot with survival essentially becoming a chore for Demetri, as the series even goes as far as to presuppose an exact death date. The remaining cast is solid, rounded out with extraordinary performances from Courtney B. Vance, Christine Woods and Dominic Monaghan. Each character is unique and likeable enough that their individual flash forward installments keep you engaged and guessing right up until the clock finally strikes 10PM on the highly awaited Flash-forward day.

While some characters embrace their flash-forwards, others attempt to resist the forces of the universe and evade the sneak peak of their unsolicited destinies. The pressing question of can you change your future becomes a reoccurring theme. It is enjoyable every time another causal connection emerges reaffirming what seems to be an unavoidable path destined towards the flash-forwards despite the characters best preventative measures to maintain free will and control. Destiny, essentially dictating each characters next move, is what makes the series rewarding. The interconnectedness of everything managing to tie together so remarkably well, makes the series actually feel like it was wrote backwards. However, every time you seem to get too comfortable with the sequential development, another mind-bending twist emerges.

Truthfully, mind-bending may actually be an understatement, as at times the series hinges on the borders of mind-breaking, investigating and revisiting concepts and terminology such as “Quantum entanglement devices”. However, as the future begins to unfold, you can’t help but applaud how clever and adhesive the pieces of the time puzzle begin to come together. You actually begin to appreciate the migraine headache associated with the aforementioned mental aerobics. The originality is like none another and “Flashforward” perfectly leverages a mishmash of place and time in such a way that leaves the audience yearning for more as the explosive 22 episodes seems to defy the parameters of modern television. Sadly enough we will never really know what could have been, as it was announced the series would not be picked up for another season. This is especially disappointing, considering how the season finale leaves us hanging with seriously unfinished business of epic proportions.

The bonus features are nothing to write home about, although I did thoroughly enjoy seeing a couple different on-set camera angles of the man who is leisurely riding his bicycle at the exact moment the blackout hits. The commentary from cast members in the "architects of destiny" segment is interesting as well.

FlashForward: The Complete Series – DVD Bonus Features:
• Architects Of Destiny
• Meet Yuko
• FlashForward On Set
• Kangaroo?
• Interviews From The Mosaic Collective
• Creating Catastrophe: The Effects Of A Global Blackout
• Bloopers
• Deleted Scenes
• Audio Commentary

Aspect Ratio:    Widescreen (1.78:1)
Languages:     English
Subtitles:      Spanish, French

Rating: 8.5 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12