The future looks very promising
Tim Goodman
San Francisco Chronicle
Almost every series on television has an "opt-in" or "opt-out" moment, whether you know it or not. It's the element that hooks or repels you in the sampling process. Tonight, ABC will premiere one of the most anticipated dramas of the fall season in "FlashForward," a series where colossal ambition and big-picture premise collide.
"FlashForward" begins cinematically enough with Los Angeles essentially on fire - cars strewn across highways, buildings in flames, bodies everywhere. Two bloody FBI agents groggily assess the damage and quickly learn that it's not just L.A. - "a worldwide phenomenon" has just occurred, where everyone on the planet has blacked out for two minutes and 17 seconds. "How is that even possible?" someone asks.
Indeed. But the bigger question right then is: Based on the description, are you opting in, or out?
"FlashForward" is enormously entertaining and there's mystery galore here, with an expansive cast, an unexplained phenomenon and the tantalizing premise as constructed by series creators David S. Goyer ("The Dark Knight") and Brannon Braga ("Star Trek: Voyager," "24"), based on the Robert J. Sawyer novel (though the title has been smushed together by ABC).
If you're in, you probably already know that you need to commit to every episode. This is not a series that will be easy to jump into midway no matter how well ABC edits the "previously on" segments.
Essentially, this is "Lost" all over again, which will no doubt make some people jump with joy and others jump to another channel.
For those who stay, there's plenty to hook. Joseph Fiennes is FBI agent Mark Benford, who is central to the worldwide mystery at hand.
He's the one who realizes people aren't having flashbacks or visions or dreams, they're having flash-forward "memories" of events yet to come.
One of the intriguing elements in the series is that the writers have given a definitive day where everyone is pulling their future memories - April 29, 2010.
That also happens to be a night when the show airs, very near the end of Season 1, so the tease is that viewers should get some concrete answers to what caused the global phenomenon.
"FlashForward" has a strong cast, including Benford's partner at the FBI, Demetri Noh (John Cho), the first person who gives a little twist to the future-memory conceit: He's not having any.
Almost everyone he knows has these hazy future scenes. So naturally he thinks that in six months, he's not going to be alive.
"FlashForward" is creative along this avenue because by the end of the episode we meet a lot of characters who are conflicted about the future.
Some of them see events that make them happy. One of Benford's friends sees his daughter, supposedly killed in the Iraq war, alive.
Benford, a recovering alcoholic, sees himself drinking again while leading the investigation into what happened. And his future memories point to a very dangerous plot that he and the FBI and government agencies worldwide need to stop.
Benford's wife, Olivia (Sonya Walger), has visions of living with another person entirely. The show's ability to create different perceptions of what's to come undoubtedly will be one of its most challenging arcs.
That ambition is also what should keep people coming back. And there are plenty of small, mysterious elements. Running through downtown Los Angeles in total post-event chaos, Benford sees a kangaroo hopping down the street. And the pilot ends with a dramatic twist.
If you like big-screen-level thrills and complicated plot structures, you'll opt-in to "FlashForward." And you'll be rewarded. Here's hoping it stays strong and compelling as it heads to April 29.
