So, did you guys catch FlashForward this week? Even though I had already seen the pilot (OK, I saw it twice), I still tuned in to refresh my memory. No surprises here — I caught a few nuances that I had missed the first time around, and I can already tell that this may be the kind of show that requires a second viewing. (This should be a familiar routine for all you Lost fans out there). Speaking of Lost, did anyone else notice the billboard for Oceanic airlines?
Even if you paid attention, it can be a bit confusing to keep track of who's who in new pilots, so I've broken it all down for you. Check it out and then let's discuss what you thought of the episode! To see what I thought, just read more.
Mark Benford: Played by Joseph Fiennes, Mark is an FBI agent, loving husband and father, and alcoholic. He's immediately obsessed with getting to the bottom of what caused the flashforwards after viewing his own. He sees himself agonizing over the case and drinking from a flask. Mark knows that if he falls off the wagon, his wife Olivia will leave him, so it's not surprising that he's determined to do whatever he can to prevent his vision from becoming a reality. Biggest question for Mark: can he stop his flashforward from happening?
Olivia Benford: Played by Lost's Sonya Walger, Olivia is Mark's wife. She's a doctor with a cheeky sense of humor (which includes sending her husband faux insults via text and post-it). Olivia's flashforward is one of the more upsetting of the bunch: she sees herself with a man named Lloyd Simcoe. Later in the episode we learn that Lloyd is the father of one of Olivia's patients who is admitted to the hospital after the blackout. Biggest question for Olivia: does Mark drive her away, or does she become an unfaithful wife?
Bryce Varley: One of Olivia's fellow doctors, Bryce is contemplating suicide when the blackout occurs. After seeing his vision, he has a brand new outlook on life and heads back to the hospital rejuvenated. He considers his vision to be a gift from God. Biggest question for Bryce: is simply believing in happiness the only push he needed?
Nicole Kirby: First of all, I can't believe it took me three viewings to realize that Nicole is none other than Jane Sterling on Mad Men! (Seeing those actors out of their '60s garb can be really jarring.) Anyway, we don't know much about Nicole yet, just that she's a babysitter who was caught lying down on the job (get it?! Heh). Unlike Bryce, Nicole thinks the flashforwards aren't a gift from God, but a punishment. Biggest question for Nicole: what has she done that warrants a punishment?
Aaron Stark: Aaron's an electrician by trade, but he's also got a very important job as Mark's AA sponsor and friend. After two years, he's still grieving for his daughter Tracy, who died in the war in Afghanistan. Mark's flashforward is one of the most hopeful: he sees a reunion with his daughter, who is actually alive and well. Biggest question for Aaron: could his daughter really be alive?
Demetri Noh: Played by John Cho, Demetri is Mark's FBI partner. He's still relatively new to the job and seems more preoccupied with what song he'll be dancing to at his upcoming wedding. Demetri's vision is perhaps the most mysterious of all: he sees nothing. Biggest question for Demetri: is he going to be dead in six months?
Other general questions: How did Lloyd Simcoe's son know Olivia's name? What is up with that kangaroo? Was the blackout caused by a natural disaster, or is someone behind it all? What role will Dominic Monaghan play in all this? Who was that guy at the end and why is he walking around in Detroit? We've only scratched the surface, and now I'm dying to hear how you all felt about the series premiere!
Photos copyright 2009ABC, Inc.


















True Religion
Emilio Pucci
La Perla
It felt a lot like the Lost pilot. Or maybe I felt like I did after watching it. I really think this show has potential and am interested to see where it is going to go.
1I thought it was good and has much potential. I did notice the Oceanic sign; too cool!
2i'm so sad i missed the sign! i thought the episode was pretty great. i was really captured by everything and i just kept wanting more. can't wait to see where everything goes!
3I really liked. Good show!
And I hope she cheats on her husband. I don't think a healthy, happy family is good for a show right away. I want relationships on a show to be built with time.
4There is a song that is played towards the beginning where they are on the steak-out. Something like "don't stop the rock"......does anyone know what song that is?
5I really liked it. I was watching the first 15 minutes and my husband was in the other room. I made him come in and I rewound it to make him watch! Like others have said, it did feel a lot like the Lost pilot but in a good way, not a copying way.
6Nevermind...found it - MOS DEF - Quiet Dog. Good show, good song.
7I'm hooked already!
8Eh. I think the concept for the show is amazing - but the execution was boring and heavy handed. I love Sonya Walger and John Cho but, Joseph Fiennes was so wooden. I try to be patient with pilot episodes so I know I'll watch next week - but seriously Joseph Fiennes is not selling me on this --- I can't take him seriously in the role at all - his dialogue, his far-off stares --- did anyone else get really distracted when we would put his hand on his wife's or his daughter's heads??? - it felt so strange to me.
9Interesting pilot, definitely has potential. One problem for me is that halfway through it I started getting a headache lol, maybe I was just trying too hard to get into it and notice everything.
10Never had this problem with Fringe, which some say is confusing.
Awesome show, cannot wait for the next episode!
11I liked it A LOT - it did remind me of Lost in a good way, not the copycat way, and I love the mystery and the video and the masks and danger...it gave me that same eerie feeling I got watching Lost sometimes (like the whole "we have to take the boy" scene) people in masks freak me out! I am really excited, I am sad Lost is on its way out and I fell for this show a bit, I can see it becoming a favorite, I just got the characters...except Demetri, who over-acts and bugs me.
And Sonya must be good, I totally forgot she was Penny after the first 5min.
12I can't believe no one mentioned this yet, but I couldn't help but laugh every time Seth MacFarlane spoke. I hope he is in future episodes bc I think he is cute and would like to see him as an actor, but I couldn't help but picture every word he said in that FBI meeting as being spoken by a cartoon dog.
13The one thing I didn't understand was the fact that everyone had a flash forward of the same time except the FBI agent who was having her pregnancy exam. To everyone else it was 10pm at night, but to she was having a OB GYN appointment in what appeared to be a doctors office not an ER. So did she have her flash at another time as everyone else or does she have a doctor that works nights?
14Also it didn't appear that she was in India or Japan or somewhere in between where that time would have made sense, but that could be the case. Maybe she was in Australia
KKEsquire - Seth McFarlane took me completely out of the scene as well! Joseph was a little wooden, but his American accent is way better than his brother's. I'm so psyched to see Jack Davenport (and of course Lloyd's son knows Olivia by name if in her flash forward she knows Lloyd). I liked the first ep but I worry that I will tire of the premise fairly quickly.
15i'm convinced that the show is tied to lost (parallel lines between the island and la... the explosion of the hatch that caused the oceanic plane crash is the reason why there was a "flash" in la) but maybe it's just wishful thinking?!
16I thought it was a great cast and a great concept but I thought it was horribly executed and was rushed.
They could have deicated the entire first episode to just the mahem of the incident and Fiennes attempting to make it back to the FBI office and then end with it finding out his wife and child were ok..
They answered way too many big questions int he very first episode.. like they are flash forwarding through the series.. or assuming they are canceled and this is a one season movie..
They needed to concentrate on the mahem and confusion.. and leave all of the following for future episodes:
connecting that they all had a vision of the same day
save the main characters visions for one per epidose..leave them a mystery longer..
save that John Choo didn't have one at all leaving him to believe he dies before the day of the vision
save the identity of the person the wife has the affair with
save the sponsors side story about his daughter
save that someone or a group of someone's were awake while all others were knocked out..
And then even though I suspend disbelief for Lost.. and Heroes.. it was far far far too far fetched for me to accept that after the biggest modern catastrophe the world has ever seen..with thousands and thousands of car accidents clogging every freeway and street and thousands pouring into the hospitals.. a surgeon and an FBI agent would make it home that same night to their mountainous LA suburb home... she would be at the hospital for at least 24 hours and he would be helping with the emergency response.. rushed..rushed..rushed. Like a three part movie series instead of a weekly series.
I am really disappointed.
17Pumachik, you may be right about the Lost connection. The billboard for Oceanic airlines says that they have a perfect safety record.Maybe Flashforward is in a world where 815 didn't crash?!
Or maybe the flashforward was caused by the losties setting of the bomb? Haha okay prob not that one.
18There is a song playing (acoustic guitar, solo male) in Episode 1 when Olivia is telling her husband about her vision of another man. Anyone know what it is?
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