FlashForward - The Discussion Thread

[BaileyCatts]

Is the kangaroo to FlashForward as Vincent is to Lost?

[missflick]

I have watched it three times now...kangaroo? Dominic? Where?

[Bostonfan]

I have watched it three times now...kangaroo? Dominic? Where?

Dominic appeared in the "this season on Flash Forward" previews. Maybe you left the room (or if you recorded it maybe it cut off). He's shown in a car and you hear him say "I know how this happened"

The kangaroo is seen hopping down the street when the main guy is heading over to the hospital to check on his wife - before he stops to watch a TV in the window with a crowd gathered.

[Bostonfan]

I thought they all flashforwarded to the SAME time. There were two characters who corroborated the time of their meeting, complete with bird crashing into the window.

Well maybe the kid is there at the same time as Olvia and the guy is in her house. Perhaps it's meant to be that the kid had reason to be in the house? Watching it from a different angle? We know the kid's mother is dead. So he's only got his dad. I don't know.

[missflick]

I am beginning to wonder if the guy with the son that Olivia operated on (forget the names, sorry) was the guy walking around in the Detroit stadium. There is something creepy about him.

[rjblue]

I know this show is based on book that's been around long before LOST (I can't remember which one),

Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer (1999)

Yay for Sawyer! He's been a favourite of mine for a number of years, and I've often thought that his SF is comparable to Michael Crichton's and would translate to the screen well.

Unfortunately none of my TV stations are carrying the show.

Re the dead people have no flashforward. In the book, the flashforward was 20+ years, so it was a lot less connected to the present for people. Sawyer's books often have an element of religious faith/belief questioning. He isn't afraid to have his characters confront very difficult questions, like why no flashes of an afterlife.

[Carmen Ovsiannikov]

I'm trying to figure out how Lloyd's son knows Olivia as well unless he was hiding watching what was taking place in Olivia's flashforward. But that doesn't quite make sense either. I can't wait for that explanation since everyone flashedforward to the same moment in time so technically the only exposure to Oliva Lloyd's son would have had was the moment when Olivia was looking at Lloyd from the balcony.

That doesn't make any sense.

I also want to know if John Cho's character really didn't have a flashforward or lied for some reason as his fiance said in her flashforward they were at their wedding.

I need to get a copy of the book Flashforward since I really liked most of Michael Crichton's books.

[genevieve]

Like others have said, I liked this show but didn't love it. I DO love the premise, but thought the ep was a bit too...kitchen sink.

All along I was hoping we'd find someone who wasn't affected by the blackout (possibly a few people). I'm a little disappointed we've found that person already, and that it's someone presumed to be responsible.

This show is on during Survivor, I think, so i'll be watching on Hulu after the fact, but I'm looking forward to it - I hope the show can settle into its own groove. The cast is very likeable, and as I said I love the premise.

[genevieve]

I'm sure ABC would love to have someone flashforwarding themselves watching Private Practice.

And yet they chose to have a prominent bus advert reminding us to watch Desperate Housewives

I've been thinking more about Demitri (John Cho's character). I don't think there's anything sinister about him - I think he really didn't have any vision and is freaking.

It does seem unlikely that he'd be thrown so far from the vehicle and be as minorly injured as he was. But during the chase I noticed he wasn't wearing a seat belt. That's not that unusual in tv/movies during chases, but I really noticed it because Joseph Fiennes WAS wearing a seat belt.

[missflick]

If Lloyd's son saw her in the future, he might have heard the name Olivia. So not a biggie here.

[jayta]

The premiere seemed slow and as much as the actors seem really good. I'm not feeling this show. I've got a list of tv shows timer recorded and so far this has not looked good enough to make it a 'must see'.

[PeterG]

From epguides.com:

Joseph Fiennes as Mark Benford
John Cho as Demetri Noh
Jack Davenport as Lloyd Simcoe
Courtney B. Vance as Stan Wedeck
Sonya Walger as Olivia Benford (Penelope Woodward on Lost)
Brian O'Byrne as Aaron Stark
Christine Woods as Janis Hawk
Zachary Knighton as Bryce Varley
Peyton List as Nicole Kirby

[reckless]

If Lloyd's son saw her in the future, he might have heard the name Olivia. So not a biggie here.

I thought about that, but his FF would have had to be with someone other than Olivia and his father, since they never exchanged words during Olivia's FF. Her name was never mentioned.

My initial thought was that maybe the boy knew who she was because he had been treated by her, but that would have required that his FF included both a photo (so he would be able to recognize her) AND someone using her first name (since he knew to call her "Olivia" and not "Dr. Bedford."

The whole Olivia/Lloyd relationship is a bit of a paradox. Presumably, they only meet because of the Flash Forward, because it caused the accident that injured Dylan. So the fact that the Flash Forward occurred is incorporated into the future events that people see. (The same is true for Mark's Flash Forward, since he saw his investigation of the FF events.) For some reason, I find that a very intriguing element of the show.

[rfisher]

First: the doll factory was creepy!

Good episode. What we learned: The kids know each other. Dimitry is going to be murdered (that would be unsettling). D Gibbons may or may not be female. The girl kid says he's a bad man. D. Gibbons was on the phone with the guy in the stadium during the blackout.

FBI boss had to do CPR on the guy who was drowning in the urinal.

[BigB08822]

Very interesting to think about the fact that a lot of peoples future is dependent on the blackouts happening in the first place. Is this a way to control what happens in the future? Interesting to think about, kind of a mind feck if you ask me.

[Carmen Ovsiannikov]

Entire Post

Thanks Peter. I was meaning to look up character names later on imdb so you saved me a trip.

First: the doll factory was creepy!

Good episode. What we learned: The kids know each other. Dimitry is going to be murdered (that would be unsettling). D Gibbons may or may not be female. The girl kid says he's a bad man. D. Gibbons was on the phone with the guy in the stadium during the blackout.

FBI boss had to do CPR on the guy who was drowning in the urinal.

I thought this episode was even better than the debut. The story picked up and moved a bit faster this week. The one thing I can see that FlashForward does have in common with Lost are all the mysteries that keep you guessing. And the fact that each question is followed by another and another.

If the woman who called Demetri was correct in stating that he dies, it makes me wonder what's up with his girlfriend. She said that he was at their wedding. It's possible that their wedding takes place before next March.

Poor Wedek. He was on the toilet when he blacked out, six months from now he'll be on the toilet and then has to give mouth to mouth to someone who was drowning in the toilet. For his sake I hope that has no significance.

I'm not sure if this would be considered a spoiler....

Spoiler

On another message board it was discussed that Dominic Monaghan 's character and Lloyd might know something about or helped to cause the flashforward (probably because in the book I believe Lloyd caused it). At first I thought perhaps the person in the stadium was Llyod but the description of the height and weight of the person in the stadium makes me wonder if it was Dominic's character. 5'8" and 150 pounds.

From what I've read, Dominic's character shows up in the sixth episode.

The relationship between Olivia/Llyod and their children has me scratching my head. Olivia was with Llyod yet Llyod doesn't know her but his son knows Olivia and Olivia's daughter recognized Llyod's son. At the moment I agree with Olivia's guess that Llyod hadn't turned completely to face her during her flashforward so it makes sense why Lloyd didn't recognize her. Lloyd may only know that in his flashforward (if he had one) he was in a livingroom with a woman upstairs behind him. OTOH, he could be lying.

I also wonder how many people could be lying about what they saw if they saw anything.

[BigB08822]

If the woman who called Demetri was correct in stating that he dies, it makes me wonder what's up with his girlfriend. She said that he was at their wedding. It's possible that their wedding takes place before next March.

Poor Wedek. He was on the toilet when he blacked out, six months from now he'll be on the toilet and then has to give mouth to mouth to someone who was drowning in the toilet. For his sake I hope that has no significance.

Well the wedding shouldn't be before April 29th because everyone supposedly had a vision of the exact same day and time. So if she saw him at their wedding then the wedding would be taking place on that day and at that time. Maybe she saw herself mourning his death and she is trying to save him the pain of knowing he will die soon?

As for Wedek. Well he wont be giving mouth to mouth to that guy in the future. The way I understood it was that that happened after the blackout. The guy must have blacked out while urinating and fell face first into the urinal. In the future he was just on the toilet reading the paper, haha.

[Carmen Ovsiannikov]

Oh I realize that Wedek gave mouth to mouth in the present after he awakened from his flashforward. I just thought it was funny that the toilet seems to be a recurring theme with poor Wedek. Especially when mostly everyone else's flashforwards seem to be of some significant event in the future.

Good point about Demetri's wedding.

[smurfy]

Interesting episode, not sure how I feel about this show. A few things that are gnawing at me.

Cho's fiance saw their wedding, but are any of the the fbi folks at the wedding for him? or an elopement?
why was the fbi lady getting a sonogram @ 10pm, unless she is in an emergency room?
ditto to the little boy knowing the dr.

Also the stupidest comment at the doll factory - they seemed stunned that someone else is investigating the cause of the flash forward? wtf? There are over 6 billion folks on the this planet and I think many would be looking into it.

Courtney Vance's character - I think he will become my fav, sort of like Hurley, for comic relief. And refreshing as this actor is not the person I would think that role for, I see him L&O SVU.

[missflick]

Loved this episode! For a minute there, I thought Noh shot the female cop...weird angle.