This season saw two shows with rather serious marketing pushes lose a lot of steam after the initial air date, and they both had a sci-fi flare to them. FlashForward is one of those shows, and I'm not sure what happened to the interest the show seemed to have before air. I'm not talking about anything to do with ratings either, just the fact that the buzz seemed to drop off.
I don't know if the premise was just too much, or if the talk about the split season put people off, or what, but a couple of weeks in it didn't seem like there was a lot of interest in keeping up the conversation.
I find this especially strange (as a counter, I don't find it that strange when you look at V), because the show is pretty good, has some fine actors, and has a lot of interesting twists.
Chaos reigns in Los Angeles after a mysterious event causes everyone in the world to lose consciousness at exactly the same moment. Was it an act of nature? Something man-made gone wrong, or something even more sinister? Whatever it was, every person on Earth blacks out for two minutes and seventeen seconds and sees a series of events from their own future, taking place on April 29, 2010 at 10:00 p.m., Pacific Time.
For some the future will be joyous and hopeful; for others, shockingly unexpected; and for a few, it simply doesn’t seem to exist. Knowing their fate will alter each person’s life in one way or another and poses the questions: Can destiny be changed? And by changing just one destiny, what effect would that have on those of others?
The complexities of the scenario are delivered with a sure hand, and the variety holds your interest so well, that I'm stumped that the show didn't stir up as much talk as LOST. With the strange turns of events, and the theories of what happened, the show seems to have all the makings of the sort of thing people wouldn't dare miss. A wife sees herself with another man, and she doesn't even know him yet. Some people predict that they're going to die, because they don't have a vision. We get evidence that a select few escaped the blackout. We're getting closer and closer to that fateful day. What's not to love?
Questions obviously abound, and the most interesting part of the show is how the characters deal with them. There is as much variety in the reactions as there is in terms of mere strange events. Do you have to ride along toward whatever happened in your future, or do you fight it? What if your future vision was of something wonderful, but you have no idea how you got there?
Whether such psychological, sci-fi fodder is your cup of tea or not, I really recommend giving the show a chance to prove itself to you. You have that opportunity now, as the first ten episodes are available on DVD, and it's well worth getting your hands on. The show returns March 18th, so you have plenty of time to catch up.
The DVD includes a featurette on putting together the special effects necessary for all the destruction caused by 'the event,' and a special look at what's coming when the show returns. The special effects feature is pretty solid considering the kind of release this is, but I'm not sure it puts anything over the top. It's nice to have any bonus at all, but the sell here is just to get the show under your belt.
Own it on DVD today!
Leave a comment below, and you are automatically entered to win the DVD release. U.S. only. I want to make sure you can get caught up if there are entrants looking for that, so this is only going to run until March 8th. Hopefully, I can get it to you in time to cram it in.
RU?
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About Marc Eastman
Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.
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