FlashForward
Recaps

ABC must have been playing a joke on FlashForward viewers this week. Follow along...

The show has often been compared to Lost. That drama aired an infamous episode ("Stranger in a Strange Land," season three) in which Jack traveled abroad, met an Asian woman and got a tattoo.

Many critics consider it the worst episode in Lost history; and producers have cited it as a reason why they demanded a series end date from ABC: so they would no longer be forced to write filler episodes in which nothing happens.

Enter "Believe," last night's horribly uneventual hour of FlashForward. It also involved a man traveling, an Asian woman, and a tattoo. It was also an incredibly boring hour of television.

Similarities to Lost aside, we'll review the episode and ask questions that depict our frustration in a series of bullet points below:

• Why should we care about Bryce and Keiko? The show has barely featured Bryce at all. Then, he and his flash forward are suddenly the main focus of an installment that centers around two people's visions of love, one of whom we've never met before. It's worth repeating: 20 million people died in the blackout. We're expected to muster any interest in the imagined love lives of two strangers after that?
• For the record, FlashForward has now aired nine episode. SEVEN of those concluded with scenes involving characters viewers had never met before that week, and five of those new characters have never returned. (The exceptions are Simon and Suspect Zero.) It's one thing to surprise viewers with a suspenseful ending, but it's another to have those endings continually pile up with no pay-off in the weeks that follow.
• Did Al really kill himself?
• Did Mark really shoot that guy with the tattoo last week?
• We ask these questions because nothing has changed at the FBI, despite the supposed impact of those events when they took place. Mark cried into Olivia's arms last week because they now have a "second chance." So why are they still following leads from his future board? Why does Demetri think he's still gonna die? Al must be chilling in heaven, looking down at his former co-workers and muttering: I died for this?!?!

Nothing harms a show more than inconsistent character behavior and storytelling. But that's the problem FlashForward encounters each week. It can't make up its mind about the future.

Should we be rooting for it to happen? Is the FBI trying to prevent it from happening? Are they trying to determine the cause of the blackouts? Most importantly: why does everyone act as though the future is set in stone?

The series has never done an adequate job of proving these visions will come true. It's simply made the characters talk and act as though it will. That's frustrating enough. But we could forgive FlashForward if these actions were at least interesting and/or tied to major world events.

Last night, however, was nothing but the personal tales of two characters we hardly know. Did anyone out there feel invested in the fortunes of Bryce and Keiko?

After watching this week's episode of FlashForward, many questions come to mind. None of them speak very favorably about the show.

First, catch up on events from it by reading through our recap of "Playing Cards with Coyote." Then, see if you can answer the questions below and let us know if you have a different take on what went down...

Why were Lloyd and Simon playing poker?!? There might as well have been a neon sign flashing that read "EPISODE FILLER!" through the poker scenes. Aside from not making any sense - Lloyd was so convinced he needed to tell the world about the blackouts, yet was willing to play cards (with total strangers, no less ) over the decision - this was nothing but a waste of time.

Why does Janis want to get pregnant?!? It's one thing for Mark to follow the clues on his board because he thinks these will provide crucial clues to the blackout. But now Janis is taking the initiative to make her vision come true? Where did that come from? The show asks viewers to be concerned about the future, yet makes its characters act in ways that guarantee its validity. Can anyone explain to us what the FBI is even trying to accomplish right now?

How stupid does FlashForward think we are? Mark see photos of a three-star tattoo on his computer. The episode flashes back to his vision of a guy with that same tattoo infiltrating the FBI offices. Seconds later, he shows up at work, sees another photo of the three-star tattoo AND THE EPISODE FLASHES BACK AGAIN TO HIS VISION OF THE SAME GUY! Were producers afraid we'd have forgotten the connection in that time?

How many episodes will end with new, mysterious bad guys? So far, FlashForward has concluded episodes with Suspect Zero, D. Gibbons, Simon, a kid in Africa, gun-toting Asians and this week's shady ring dude. These all might come together at some point, but for now it seems like the show focuses entirely on cliff-hanger endings, throwing far too many new faces at viewers and assuming these mysteries will make up for the fact that the rest of the hour is lackluster and slow-moving.

Did Jericho play a role in the blackouts? This is an actual question, the only positive development from the hour. Unfortunately, we fear the series will go weeks without mentioning this special, seemingly evil unit of soldiers again.

Okay. Having gotten those complaints out of our system, we feel better. But we're still very much concerned over the future of this show.

Are you? Or do you see hope and intrigue where we see boredom and non-sensical storylines?

Alright! Finally, some action took place on this week's episode of FlashForward.

We had been growing a bit frustrated over the pace of the show. Each hour would end on a mysterious, suspenseful note - but when you'd step back and think about what had actually happened, the answer was always: not much.

The conclusion of "The Gift" changed that, however. Follow our link for a full recap and see if you agree with our following review of the episode...

RIP, Al: We had been pushing for Janis to literally bite the bullet a couple weeks ago, excited by the question of how the death of a character that had seen themselves alive in six months would throw the show for an intriguing loop. Looks like she'll make it, but Al isn't coming back from that roof dive. How will the development impact everyone's set belief in the future? We can't wait to find out.

Really, Al? That said, did Al really need to kill himself in order to "change the game," as he put it? Maybe instead of entering the Blue Hand club, he could have suggested a movie to Mark and Demetri instead. Ignore a clue on Mark's board and that also "changes the game," doesn't it? Killing oneself seemed like an unnecessary, drastic way to not give in to the future.

Hello, Tracy: It was nice to see Aaron given more of a focus. His vision of his daughter alive was the most fascinating of anyone's on the show. As he told Mark in the premiere, unlike many other characters, Aaron wants his future to come true. The series has since ignored the opposing views of these friends in regard to their flash forwards. But now we have Al's death changing the game; yet Tracy's life possibly proving its validity. A nice contrast.

Goodbye, rest of the world: This is a problem we've had since the premiere. The show has done a poor job depicting the utter panic that would be ensuing around the globe. 20 million people died in the blackouts. 20 million!!!

The series is obsessed with its core characters and their immediate problems, which pale in comparison to the global catastrophe that just took place. The world should be in chaos and in mourning, making it difficult to care very much if Mark and Olivia stay together. As a side storyline that keeps us invested in these individuals? Sure. But their marital problems are focused on more than any other issue.

Did anyone watch the pilot episode of V? It masterfully introduced its main characters, while setting up a society in general that is clearly reeling from the developments surrounding it. We need more of that on FlashForward.

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment. Let us know!

This was our favorite episode of FlashForward since the series premiere.

We encourage readers to catch up on events from it, via our recap of "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps," and then check out our full review below. Here's a recap of what we liked so much about the installment:

Charlie, who?!? You often hear actors claim they wish to vary their roles, but few actually. Dominic Monaghan, however, said he was seeking a post-Lost role that was different from his character of Charlie on that ABC hit. It's safe to say he's found it.

Monaghan's Simon is a mysterious, devious character that enjoyed his most screen time yet this season. We have no idea what he's up to, but we're intrigued.

More than mere talk: One complaint we've had about the show is how the characters talk... a lot. They're constantly reciting their visions and wondering if the future will come true or not. But that chit-chat turned into actual tension between Mark and Olivia this week, as secrets were exposted and the couple ended the episode on bad terms. Will this catapult Olivia into the arms of Lloyd? We'll see.

Kangaroo sighting! Why is there a kangaroo hopping around? Is it the same creature Mark saw on the series premiere? Are there other animals roaming the streets of Los Angeles? Fun questions to ponder.

We still wish Janis had actually died. This development would have thrown the show for a loop and it would have been interesting to see how the FBI investigation proceeds, considering there would be proof that not all visions come true.

What did you like or dislike about the episode? Any theories on Simon and Lloyd's connection?

The first major death on FlashForward likely took place this week.

Before we get into a review below, which includes our take on this individual's probable passing, readers can catch up on the episode "Gimme Some Truth" by following our link. All set? Here we go...

This Worked: RIP, Janis, you seemed very nice. But this is the exact development the show needs. It couldn't have gone on for too long blindly assuming everyone's flash forwards were going to come true. Now, assuming Janis doesn't recover, Mark and company will be forced to figure out how to proceed.

This Needs Work: Courtney B. Vance and Joseph Fiennes are clearly solid actors, but each is struggling with his FlashForward role. Vance overplays every scene - did he really need to overtly sigh and shake his head during the Senate hearing? - and Fiennes looks either constipated or confused. His character is stale and boring, simply put.

This Worked: Kudos to the series for stepping back and giving viewers some idea that this is a national crisis. We need to get out of the Los Angeles FBI office more often, considering the depth of destruction caused by the blackouts. It was especially intriguing to meet Senator Clemente, someone who might actually use the blackout to her personal advantage.

This Needs Work: We understand one can't question a show such as this too much, but when a character (Demetri) continues to lament his eventual murder, it's difficult not to yell at the screen: just stay inside on March 15, 2010 in that case!

Overall, the characters harp too much on their visions. It's absolutely all anyone talks about. Aside from making each person seem less human as a result, it also forces viewers to consider why they don't take action to prevent unwanted futures from taking place.

Now, with Janis hopefully dead, it will be intriguing to see how this changes the dynamic of the series. Do you agree? Disagree? Write in now and share your thoughts!

Dominic Monaghan debuted on FlashForward this week, in perhaps the coolest character introduction in TV history.

Before we saw him, though, viewers were treated to an episode that included Olivia's forced acceptance of the blackouts as valid; and Demetri's admission to Mark that he was scheduled to be murdered in March.

How did the events in "Black Swan" move things forward? Read our complete episode recap to find out!

On last night's episode of FlashForward, Mark and Janis flew out to Germany to meet with a former Nazi in prison who claims to know why everyone blacked out for exactly 137 sekunden, or seconds in German.

Meanwhile, back in America, Aaron was trying to get the body of his daugher exhumed, while Demetri's fiancee, Zoe, finally was able to fly again to return to him. 

Find out what exactly the former Nazi told Mark and what happened to the rest of the cast in our "137 Sekunden" recap.

Now for some witty FlashForward quotes from the episode:

Aaron [to Mark]: If you're trying to prevent the future and save your marriage, the first step isn't keeping secrets from your wife and that's coming from a guy who's been divorced | permalink

Janis: There's no statue of limitations on evil | permalink

Zoe [after sleeping with Demetri]: That's the second time I blacked out this week | permalink

Who is D. Gibbons?

What is The Mosaic Collective?

How does Dylan know Olivia?

Many important questions were asked and a couple were sort of answered on this week's second-ever episode of FlashForward. Read through our detailed recap of "White to Play" and let us know the mystery most prominent on your mind.

A few FlashForward quotes from last night stand out in our minds:

Mark: If these flash forwards really are a window into the future, we've gotta do everything we can to use them to our advantage. | permalink

Olivia: I am never gonna be unfaithful to you, Mark.
Mark: We don't know what "never" means anymore. | permalink

Olivia: This man means nothing to me.
Mark: For now. | permalink

What did you see?

That's the question that was frequently asked on this week's series premiere of FlashForward, and it's one we're likely to hear often over the next few weeks.

Following the opening hour of this wildly anticipated new drama, though, we have a different question for readers: Was it worth the hype?

Did the first episode live up to ABC's billing? Will it be the next Lost? Will you tune in next week?

Our answer, across the board, is: yes, definitely. We were glued to our television screens during the hour. Browse through our detailed recap of "No More Good Days" and chime in with your thoughts on the show.

Below, we've listed a few of the most revealing FlashForward quotes from the episode:

Aaron: Even if this future stuff is real, maybe it's a blessing in disguise... Ghost of Christmas future crap. | permalink

Mark: I was drinking again. The anxiety, the shame, it was all back. | permalink

Demetri: What if I didn't see anything because six months from now I'm gonna be dead? | permalink

Bryce: I saw a glimpse of my future and everything's changed for me now. | permalink