This Week in FlashForward - Series Recap

And, for one last time, here is This Week in FlashForward. Though not as much time was invested into it as Lost, it's time we give this series its own recap. I will be writing in black, and JDW will be in red.

Favorite Episode(s)
Zach says: I think the second episode and finale were my favorites. The second episode, and perhaps some of the third, let on that this mysterious blackout wasn't just some act of nature, but was actually caused by some shadowy organization, so it opened up the series to lots of intrigue and mystery. I also liked the finale as it showed how people's lives actually ended up as, and it showed a bunch of images of the possible future, which could have led to some interesting stories.

JDW says: It's funny, I was looking at all of out past reviews for the show, and it's interesting to see how the show (and the scores) start of decent, and then just plummet, lift up once (after the hiatus) and then crash back down again until the finale. So for me, the best the show had to offer is the first two episodes, the return from hiatus episode, "Revelation Zero," and then the finale. Everything inbetween these episodes just needed a lot of organization and focus...

What We Liked
I liked almost the entire plot with the FBI and trying to solve the mystery behind the blackout and who caused it and why. I always found it interesting to see what they were investigating and learn about these different groups and how these people were reacting to their visions.

If you asked me after the third episode, I could probably tell you a lot here. But being that you're asking after the series has ended changes my mind completely. Because by the time 3/4 of the show was done I was already getting sick of it. So, if there's anything I liked about the series it was the concept; for a post-Lost TV series, it seemed really ambitious and super-intriguing. But in the end it really just was too ambitious and the execution wasn't really there.

What We Disliked
Unfortunately, the show didn't always focus on this main plot. Instead, it chose to look at the lives of other people going about their own business, the worst of which was Bryce, Nicole, and Keiko. I didn't care too much about their love triangle, nor was it in anyway important to the rest of the plot. Almost the same can be said with Aaron and his daughter Tracy, but it seemed at least that that plot, after the ENTIRE season, was finally going some place, as Jericho seemed to be working with this group that caused the blackout. Some of the other scenarios, acting, and things didn't really make sense at times, which made the show less believable, but if it could have cut some of those extraneous plot points, I think it could have survived.

Hah, where do I start? If Lost treated it's viewers like they were smart, and was willing to
gives you clues and hints to really detailed mysteries, then FlashForward is the ultimate foil to Lost. Instead of being a mystery, FF constantly spoon fed the audience every detail about what was happening and how everything works and come five episodes into the series, there was no longer any mystery. To the people that complained that Lost's finale didn't give them any answer, watch FlashForward, because surely you shouldn't be allowed to watch good TV. And seriously, Bryce, Nicole, Keiko, Aaron and Tracy were the most useless characters and got way too much screen time.

What's Next? If anything.
As for where the show is heading, probably no where. It was, sadly, not renewed, and thus, we may never see another season of FlashForward. It's a bit disappointing, as the writers obviously had plenty of stuff to talk about and arcs to explore, but due to poor ratings, we'll never see them. If we DO get another season, they will obviously discuss how the FBI will rebuild, in more ways than one, and what happened to Mark. They will continue to investigate that shadowy organization, as well as figure out how to stop the blackouts from happening again. Then there is everyone's NEW flash forward, which I'm sure will lead to many interesting revelations and scenarios.

Well, obviously when a series is canceled, especially after one season of poor ratings, it's safe t say there's not much left to hope for. However, that's not to say a continuation is impossible. Joss Whedon's Firefly was canceled by Fox after just one 14-episode season, and returned years later with the film, Serenity, produced by Universal. So, if there was a big enough fan push, and the actors/writers agreed to reprise their roles, I'm sure some sort of epilogue could be made for these characters and their stories, whether it was a made-for-TV, direct to DVD, or (doubtfully) theatrical thing. The other consideration is that FlashForward started as a book, and books always have multiple interpretations and adaptations, so who knows, maybe in a few years someone else will take a crack at this concept and hopefully do a much better job. Only the future will tell us.

Averaged Overall Score for Season One/The Series: 7.3/10

And there goes another This Week In feature. Seriously, any suggestions you have for us would be greatly appreciated!