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!
Showing posts with label FlashForward. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FlashForward. Show all posts
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
This Week in FlashForward - 5/27/10
This week's episode was both the season finale, as well as the series finale, with FlashForward wrapping up its one-season run, due to poor ratings. This is slightly unfortunate, as the finale left open a ton of room for expansion, and with the help of some better writing, FlashForward could have become a decent show. Oh well.
Series Finale: Episode 22 - "Future Shock"
Zach says: This episode is all about April 29th, and going through everyone's flash forward. Most of them did end up happening as they were seen, however, a few were a bit different, namely, with Olivia and Lloyd and how they weren't being intimate, although Lloyd did sweet talk his way into Olivia's house. It turns out, little Dillon wrote the formula on the mirror, and now he wants cookies for his work, because you know, it's his house too. Simon, while working to crack the database mainframe crap over at NLAP, texts Lloyd like he's "supposed to" which causes Lloyd to solve the equation.
The equation is actually for a wave, which determines when the next optimal time is for another black out, which just so happens to be within the next two days. However, Mark happens to narrow that window down a bit with the help of Gabriel's notebook and sketch of the Mosaic board, with the red threads pointing to specific letters, which form the words 10:14 pm, April 29th, which is in like, FIFTEEN MINUTES!!!! Oh, and the FBI building is also rigged to blow, and those masked villains are running about. Fortunately, being the bad ass that he is, Mark dispatches all of them, blowing each away one by one with a shotgun.
Then, the black out occurs. We see lots of interesting images, from who knows what person, but the most important one features Charlie, who has grown up quite a bit, and utters the words "They found him!" Then, the FBI building blows up and the episode ends.
So, there's a lot going on here for real at the end, and if the series truly is dead, then we might never know what will happen, unless they release some super DVD set with bonus features, etc. Bryce and Keiko DO meet up, which is nice; Janis is actually having a boy, but during the black out, Lita wheels her off someplace; and we don't really know what happens to Mark. I would assume he is the person Charlie is talking about in her flash forward, but that can't be said. I don't know how they could lose him, unless an agent with one of those QEDs takes him away, however, I don't even see how it's plausible he survived. He was running out of the FBI building, set to jump out a window onto a helicopter. He was on like, the 4th floor I think, and that floor totally exploded. So, if he didn't get out, yeah, he burned up, but if he did, he landed in the helicopter, which would have went down during the black out, so basically, there ain't no way he LOGICALLY survived, although I'm sure he did.....Also, total BS about Tracy still being alive...pft.
Overall, I thought the finale was pretty decent, and it's obvious they planned to have a bigger series, with more seasons, which would have addressed later story arcs, such as Jericho and Tracy, etc. It's unfortunate we will probably never get to see these, but it is what it is.
Zach's Score: 8/10
JDW says: I'll be honest, and I'm sure my recent FlashForward reviews will reflect this, I really stopped caring for this show in the last month or so. When it returned from its much needed hiatus, I was actually hopeful that things would turn out better, but after a decent return, everything fell flat quite quickly. So, knowing this was the SERIES finale, and no longer the season finale, I felt distanced from these characters, knowing that whatever happens, really won't matter because it's not a show I've invested as much time in as say, Lost.
But, the finale surprised me. Not only was it actually decent, but not everything played out 'exactly' as perceived in the original flash-forwards, there was some variation to all the events, so thankfully it didn't fully feel like we've seen everything in the first episode and already knew where it would go. And Mark, one vs twenty, with just a shotgun, was pretty hilarious and awesome despite it surely trying to be a serious sequence. But the final moments, with the second blackout and what we could kind of see were really intriguing, although didn't make much sense. Like, it said New Years 2015, and showed Charlie looking out the window saying, "They found him!" but she clearly looked 20 and not five years older than her current age.
It seems, like ABC's version of Life On Mars before it, the most interesting part of the series is the all too soon first season/series finale. At least in Life On Mars' case, there was no where else to go with a finale like they had, despite it's odd take that completely drifted from the UK original. But in FlashForward's case, the super-intriguing ending hints that there was so much more to come, and I would've actually been interested to see how they handled all of that. However, if that meant sitting through more awful writing like I did in this first season, then I'm glad the show ended where it did, on a semi-high note.
JDW's Score: 8.5/10
Overall Score: 8.3/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Series Finale: Episode 22 - "Future Shock"
Zach says: This episode is all about April 29th, and going through everyone's flash forward. Most of them did end up happening as they were seen, however, a few were a bit different, namely, with Olivia and Lloyd and how they weren't being intimate, although Lloyd did sweet talk his way into Olivia's house. It turns out, little Dillon wrote the formula on the mirror, and now he wants cookies for his work, because you know, it's his house too. Simon, while working to crack the database mainframe crap over at NLAP, texts Lloyd like he's "supposed to" which causes Lloyd to solve the equation.
The equation is actually for a wave, which determines when the next optimal time is for another black out, which just so happens to be within the next two days. However, Mark happens to narrow that window down a bit with the help of Gabriel's notebook and sketch of the Mosaic board, with the red threads pointing to specific letters, which form the words 10:14 pm, April 29th, which is in like, FIFTEEN MINUTES!!!! Oh, and the FBI building is also rigged to blow, and those masked villains are running about. Fortunately, being the bad ass that he is, Mark dispatches all of them, blowing each away one by one with a shotgun.
Then, the black out occurs. We see lots of interesting images, from who knows what person, but the most important one features Charlie, who has grown up quite a bit, and utters the words "They found him!" Then, the FBI building blows up and the episode ends.
So, there's a lot going on here for real at the end, and if the series truly is dead, then we might never know what will happen, unless they release some super DVD set with bonus features, etc. Bryce and Keiko DO meet up, which is nice; Janis is actually having a boy, but during the black out, Lita wheels her off someplace; and we don't really know what happens to Mark. I would assume he is the person Charlie is talking about in her flash forward, but that can't be said. I don't know how they could lose him, unless an agent with one of those QEDs takes him away, however, I don't even see how it's plausible he survived. He was running out of the FBI building, set to jump out a window onto a helicopter. He was on like, the 4th floor I think, and that floor totally exploded. So, if he didn't get out, yeah, he burned up, but if he did, he landed in the helicopter, which would have went down during the black out, so basically, there ain't no way he LOGICALLY survived, although I'm sure he did.....Also, total BS about Tracy still being alive...pft.
Overall, I thought the finale was pretty decent, and it's obvious they planned to have a bigger series, with more seasons, which would have addressed later story arcs, such as Jericho and Tracy, etc. It's unfortunate we will probably never get to see these, but it is what it is.
Zach's Score: 8/10
JDW says: I'll be honest, and I'm sure my recent FlashForward reviews will reflect this, I really stopped caring for this show in the last month or so. When it returned from its much needed hiatus, I was actually hopeful that things would turn out better, but after a decent return, everything fell flat quite quickly. So, knowing this was the SERIES finale, and no longer the season finale, I felt distanced from these characters, knowing that whatever happens, really won't matter because it's not a show I've invested as much time in as say, Lost.
But, the finale surprised me. Not only was it actually decent, but not everything played out 'exactly' as perceived in the original flash-forwards, there was some variation to all the events, so thankfully it didn't fully feel like we've seen everything in the first episode and already knew where it would go. And Mark, one vs twenty, with just a shotgun, was pretty hilarious and awesome despite it surely trying to be a serious sequence. But the final moments, with the second blackout and what we could kind of see were really intriguing, although didn't make much sense. Like, it said New Years 2015, and showed Charlie looking out the window saying, "They found him!" but she clearly looked 20 and not five years older than her current age.
It seems, like ABC's version of Life On Mars before it, the most interesting part of the series is the all too soon first season/series finale. At least in Life On Mars' case, there was no where else to go with a finale like they had, despite it's odd take that completely drifted from the UK original. But in FlashForward's case, the super-intriguing ending hints that there was so much more to come, and I would've actually been interested to see how they handled all of that. However, if that meant sitting through more awful writing like I did in this first season, then I'm glad the show ended where it did, on a semi-high note.
JDW's Score: 8.5/10
Overall Score: 8.3/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Friday, May 21, 2010
This Week in FlashForward - 5/20/10
Another series is about to end, as this is FlashForward's last episode before the finale, and as it wasn't renewed, it shall be the last episode of not just the season, but the series as well.
Episode 21 - "Countdown"
Zach says: This week's episode is most definitely rounding up everyone's story. From least to most important, we see Bryce and Nicole in a decent relationship, with Bryce not wanting much to do with Keiko, thinking she will never really show up. However, Nicole has known about her, and is feeling very guilty, so she finally comes clean, to which Bryce gets pretty upset.
Demetri is still alive, however, before leaving with his fiance to Hawaii, he tells her about Janice and her pregnancy, to which she understandably gets upset, and tells him NOT to come to Hawaii with them. Demetri then heads to Janice's, where he finds Simon, and decides to go along and take him to the lab to do some investigating.
Aaron does have Tracy in a safe place, and we learn that Jericho didn't murder all those villagers, but instead, was doing one of those experiments on them, to test for the global black out, and were chasing Tracy because she didn't blackout for some reason. However, Aaron's flash forward isn't going according to plan, as it would seem Tracy dies after her heart stops beating.
After talking with Hellinger, the main bad boss man who got captured last episode, Mark gets extremely upset and beats the crap out of him, leading him to get tossed out of the FBI building. He then walks the streets, meets a random dude who hands him that flask, and then for some strange reason, decides to start drinking. I know Mark is feeling pretty lousy about himself, but I don't know why he would start drinking when he KNOWS it won't lead to anything good. I just don't think he would have started now of all times. Anyways, he gets into a drunken brawl and winds up in jail.
Lloyd gives Olivia a call, because he wants to "hang out", but she isn't having any of it, and instead, is driving away with her daughter to get away from everything. Lloyd is acting a little strange, and it seems that he is using Olivia at this point to try to solve his equation. If he can get her in the room, then he can write down that equation, etc. Kinda douchy.
So thus far, nobody's flash forward is really coming true, and it is THAT day. However, the day is not out, and it would seem, from the preview for the finale, that people start winding up where they "should" be.
It's a little upsetting to know that the major plot point of "when is there going to be the next blackout" probably won't get addressed, as the finale is the end of it all, but hopefully we'll get some answers as to WHY the people caused the blackout, and get some decent closure with the characters.
Zach's Score: 8/10
JDW says: I'm going to be honest, as soon as Bryce showed up on screen I stopped watching, because it just went to show that even in the face of canceled this show still fails to focus on the right things. As for what I saw Zach write about Mark drinking, despite knowing what's going to happen, reminded me a lot of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, in which despite being told that he will one day kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus still kills a man and marries. I mean, if you know something like that is going to happen, then why would you even consider killing or marrying? It's retarded. As for next week's series finale, I'll watch it, but with the knowledge that the show is coming to an end already, I can't say I'll be very attached to it.
JDW's Score: ?/10
Overall Score: 8/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episode 21 - "Countdown"
Zach says: This week's episode is most definitely rounding up everyone's story. From least to most important, we see Bryce and Nicole in a decent relationship, with Bryce not wanting much to do with Keiko, thinking she will never really show up. However, Nicole has known about her, and is feeling very guilty, so she finally comes clean, to which Bryce gets pretty upset.
Demetri is still alive, however, before leaving with his fiance to Hawaii, he tells her about Janice and her pregnancy, to which she understandably gets upset, and tells him NOT to come to Hawaii with them. Demetri then heads to Janice's, where he finds Simon, and decides to go along and take him to the lab to do some investigating.
Aaron does have Tracy in a safe place, and we learn that Jericho didn't murder all those villagers, but instead, was doing one of those experiments on them, to test for the global black out, and were chasing Tracy because she didn't blackout for some reason. However, Aaron's flash forward isn't going according to plan, as it would seem Tracy dies after her heart stops beating.
After talking with Hellinger, the main bad boss man who got captured last episode, Mark gets extremely upset and beats the crap out of him, leading him to get tossed out of the FBI building. He then walks the streets, meets a random dude who hands him that flask, and then for some strange reason, decides to start drinking. I know Mark is feeling pretty lousy about himself, but I don't know why he would start drinking when he KNOWS it won't lead to anything good. I just don't think he would have started now of all times. Anyways, he gets into a drunken brawl and winds up in jail.
Lloyd gives Olivia a call, because he wants to "hang out", but she isn't having any of it, and instead, is driving away with her daughter to get away from everything. Lloyd is acting a little strange, and it seems that he is using Olivia at this point to try to solve his equation. If he can get her in the room, then he can write down that equation, etc. Kinda douchy.
So thus far, nobody's flash forward is really coming true, and it is THAT day. However, the day is not out, and it would seem, from the preview for the finale, that people start winding up where they "should" be.
It's a little upsetting to know that the major plot point of "when is there going to be the next blackout" probably won't get addressed, as the finale is the end of it all, but hopefully we'll get some answers as to WHY the people caused the blackout, and get some decent closure with the characters.
Zach's Score: 8/10
JDW says: I'm going to be honest, as soon as Bryce showed up on screen I stopped watching, because it just went to show that even in the face of canceled this show still fails to focus on the right things. As for what I saw Zach write about Mark drinking, despite knowing what's going to happen, reminded me a lot of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, in which despite being told that he will one day kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus still kills a man and marries. I mean, if you know something like that is going to happen, then why would you even consider killing or marrying? It's retarded. As for next week's series finale, I'll watch it, but with the knowledge that the show is coming to an end already, I can't say I'll be very attached to it.
JDW's Score: ?/10
Overall Score: 8/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Saturday, May 15, 2010
FlashForward gets canned
So much for trying something new for This Week In, the show that everyone hoped and/or thought would be the new Lost, FlashForward, failed to live up to the hype and judging by our own reviews for the show, just got gradually worse. Turns out we weren't alone.
After numerous scheduling delays, writer changes, and an abridged first season, ABC has completely pulled the plug on the show, which will complete its first and only season in two weeks. Despite this, Zach and I will still review the remaining two episodes and possibly even do a series recap to see where things went wrong. But yeah, we tried at least.
As for what's next for This Week In, after Lost finishes, and FlashForward obviously, there's not much left. There's one more episode of Fringe's second season, but at least that is coming back in the fall. And there's still Doctor Who, but like Fringe, that's just me reviewing, not Zach and I, so we're going to look into something that we can both review come the fall. But as it stands right now, with all the TV cancellations and doubtful new series coming to network television, it's hard to say what's next for This Week In.
However, if you have suggestions, feel free to e-mail us or comment!
After numerous scheduling delays, writer changes, and an abridged first season, ABC has completely pulled the plug on the show, which will complete its first and only season in two weeks. Despite this, Zach and I will still review the remaining two episodes and possibly even do a series recap to see where things went wrong. But yeah, we tried at least.
As for what's next for This Week In, after Lost finishes, and FlashForward obviously, there's not much left. There's one more episode of Fringe's second season, but at least that is coming back in the fall. And there's still Doctor Who, but like Fringe, that's just me reviewing, not Zach and I, so we're going to look into something that we can both review come the fall. But as it stands right now, with all the TV cancellations and doubtful new series coming to network television, it's hard to say what's next for This Week In.
However, if you have suggestions, feel free to e-mail us or comment!
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Friday, May 14, 2010
This Week in FlashForward - 5/13/10
This week brings us one step closer to the fated April 29th, but it seems we won't actually see that day until the season finale. Will Mark and crew be able to bring down this shadowy organization or is it too late? Well, they are definitely getting to the bottom of it.
Episode 20 - "The Negotiation"
Zach says: Today's episode opens with another media blurb, this time, about that Suspect Zero footage. How did they know to refer to him as Suspect Zero? Who knows, but they do have some of the footage, from a different angle, and given to them from that shadowy organization for some reason.
We then catch up with Simon, who has a fancy new passport, and trying to go by the name of David Walker. However, before he can escape, or do whatever it is he planned to, he runs into Lita, that woman who turned Janis into a double agent. She lures Simon away, and gets him a meeting with the head honcho of the organization, referred to as "Big Guy", by Gabriel. You see, Gabriel apparently knows everything, having seen all of those visions, so he is the go-to guy for information. So naturally, this organization wants to kidnap/kill Gabriel, but we'll get to that later.
Anyway, in normal badassery, Simon talks shit to this main boss man, saying they NEED him, and can't do their work without him. Then he just walks away. So, it's apparent he doesn't really want to help these guys out, but it's hard to say what his REAL motive or plans are for anything. Lots of stuff be going down with the FBI, as they take care of Gabriel, Janis is cracking under the stress, but we know she is good, Demetri thinks he could die any second and wants to be the father of Janis' baby, and Assistant Director Stan blackmails the president.
We also see a little of Aaron is Afghanistan, which just seems pointless a bit. He does find his daughter and gets her to safety, which reinforces his flash forward, but it seems so distanced from everything else in the show, which makes it seem unnecessary, although it does give Wittick something to blackmail the president with, which may make him resign, but I would think they could have found a better way to put it together.
The FBI catch a pretty big break when pretending to move Gabriel to a safe house. Janis alerts her evil people of the move, and so Mark lays out a sting operation. They hijack the hijackers and make them take them to the Big Guy's HQ, where they apprehend both him and lots of other people. So, it seems that they have the major players in custody, so it'll be interesting to see where it goes from here. Perhaps THAT is the real reason those people attacked the FBI building in Mark's flash forward; to get the main guy out of prison...hmmm. Anyways, that's about it for this week's episode, aside from the ending, where Simon holds Janis at gun point and asks for her help. We'll see where that goes.
Zach's Score: 7.3/10
JDW says: This week's episode was definitely better than the last few weeks of visual crap we've been served. For once, a bulk of the episode focused on a core storyline, but there was still that completely useless story of Aaron in Afghanistan which just seems like wasted screen-time at this point. But hey, at least that bitchy Bryce and his life/love struggles wasn't around, and who can't be thankful for that?
Also, Mark as Gabriel made me laugh, am I a terrible person? Probably..
JDW's Score: 7/10
Overall Score: 7.2/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episode 20 - "The Negotiation"
Zach says: Today's episode opens with another media blurb, this time, about that Suspect Zero footage. How did they know to refer to him as Suspect Zero? Who knows, but they do have some of the footage, from a different angle, and given to them from that shadowy organization for some reason.
We then catch up with Simon, who has a fancy new passport, and trying to go by the name of David Walker. However, before he can escape, or do whatever it is he planned to, he runs into Lita, that woman who turned Janis into a double agent. She lures Simon away, and gets him a meeting with the head honcho of the organization, referred to as "Big Guy", by Gabriel. You see, Gabriel apparently knows everything, having seen all of those visions, so he is the go-to guy for information. So naturally, this organization wants to kidnap/kill Gabriel, but we'll get to that later.
Anyway, in normal badassery, Simon talks shit to this main boss man, saying they NEED him, and can't do their work without him. Then he just walks away. So, it's apparent he doesn't really want to help these guys out, but it's hard to say what his REAL motive or plans are for anything. Lots of stuff be going down with the FBI, as they take care of Gabriel, Janis is cracking under the stress, but we know she is good, Demetri thinks he could die any second and wants to be the father of Janis' baby, and Assistant Director Stan blackmails the president.
We also see a little of Aaron is Afghanistan, which just seems pointless a bit. He does find his daughter and gets her to safety, which reinforces his flash forward, but it seems so distanced from everything else in the show, which makes it seem unnecessary, although it does give Wittick something to blackmail the president with, which may make him resign, but I would think they could have found a better way to put it together.
The FBI catch a pretty big break when pretending to move Gabriel to a safe house. Janis alerts her evil people of the move, and so Mark lays out a sting operation. They hijack the hijackers and make them take them to the Big Guy's HQ, where they apprehend both him and lots of other people. So, it seems that they have the major players in custody, so it'll be interesting to see where it goes from here. Perhaps THAT is the real reason those people attacked the FBI building in Mark's flash forward; to get the main guy out of prison...hmmm. Anyways, that's about it for this week's episode, aside from the ending, where Simon holds Janis at gun point and asks for her help. We'll see where that goes.
Zach's Score: 7.3/10
JDW says: This week's episode was definitely better than the last few weeks of visual crap we've been served. For once, a bulk of the episode focused on a core storyline, but there was still that completely useless story of Aaron in Afghanistan which just seems like wasted screen-time at this point. But hey, at least that bitchy Bryce and his life/love struggles wasn't around, and who can't be thankful for that?
Also, Mark as Gabriel made me laugh, am I a terrible person? Probably..
JDW's Score: 7/10
Overall Score: 7.2/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Sunday, May 9, 2010
This Week in FlashForward - 5/6/10
This week's episode brings a lot of old issues back; stuff that I wasn't even aware happened, like how Simon's sister Anabel had been kidnapped. When did this happen exactly? I'm gonna go and blame that stupid hiatus.
Episode 19 - "Course Correction"
Zach says: Anyways, the main focus of this episode is on Anabel's kidnapping and that pesky Blue Hand group, with those people who didn't have a flash forward. Well, as it turns out, the main leader dude is out killing ex-members, saying how the universe has to balance itself out and course correct. This happens to come true, or seemingly will, for that woman who Al Gough was supposed to hit with a car, but instead, killed himself. Well, in an attempt to kill that crazy killer, that M16 chick hits the woman instead. Oops.
It would therefore seem that both Al died for absolutely nothing, and that perhaps, things that were meant to happen will, although perhaps in a slightly different way. The biggest concern of course that this brings up is that perhaps Demetri hasn't truly escaped his death. It could come about some other way, so I'm sure his panic and fear will manifest in some way.
The other main arc of this episode is with Anabel, who Simon randomly, very conveniently, sees on the street while driving, so he stops to talk to her. She lets him know that the people want the ring back, in 12 hours, or she dies. So, now Simon has to deal with all of this. By the end of the episode, Mark rescues Anabel, and Simon is gone, as is the ring. Oops. Luckily though, Mark is very suspicious of Simon, and believes him to be Suspect Zero, which he indeed is.
And, in case you were wondering, Bryce's cancer is in remission, and he kisses Nicole and is all, I can't waste the precious time I have, because life is short. Well, Nicole knows about the whereabouts of Keiko, and was GOING to tell Bryce, but now, who knows. I guess it might be interesting to see what happens with this?... And there's only one week left until the 29th; the day of the peoples' visions.
Zach's Score: 7/10
JDW says: This show is awful. Like, I can't stress it enough, the presentation and writing on this show has just dropped phenomenally from all the hype and the somewhat actually good, but information filled, first episode. Like, why are we going back to off-mentioned and seemingly unimportant characters like Anabel? Why does the character of Bryce and his whole missing love/I have cancer storyline even exist? And why are the Blue Hand guys back? I thought we got through all this!
There's just three episodes left of this series, and I say series because at this point I don't think I can sit through another season, and that seems to be the general consensus with everyone else.
JDW's Score: 6/10
Overall Score: 6.5/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episode 19 - "Course Correction"
Zach says: Anyways, the main focus of this episode is on Anabel's kidnapping and that pesky Blue Hand group, with those people who didn't have a flash forward. Well, as it turns out, the main leader dude is out killing ex-members, saying how the universe has to balance itself out and course correct. This happens to come true, or seemingly will, for that woman who Al Gough was supposed to hit with a car, but instead, killed himself. Well, in an attempt to kill that crazy killer, that M16 chick hits the woman instead. Oops.
It would therefore seem that both Al died for absolutely nothing, and that perhaps, things that were meant to happen will, although perhaps in a slightly different way. The biggest concern of course that this brings up is that perhaps Demetri hasn't truly escaped his death. It could come about some other way, so I'm sure his panic and fear will manifest in some way.
The other main arc of this episode is with Anabel, who Simon randomly, very conveniently, sees on the street while driving, so he stops to talk to her. She lets him know that the people want the ring back, in 12 hours, or she dies. So, now Simon has to deal with all of this. By the end of the episode, Mark rescues Anabel, and Simon is gone, as is the ring. Oops. Luckily though, Mark is very suspicious of Simon, and believes him to be Suspect Zero, which he indeed is.
And, in case you were wondering, Bryce's cancer is in remission, and he kisses Nicole and is all, I can't waste the precious time I have, because life is short. Well, Nicole knows about the whereabouts of Keiko, and was GOING to tell Bryce, but now, who knows. I guess it might be interesting to see what happens with this?... And there's only one week left until the 29th; the day of the peoples' visions.
Zach's Score: 7/10
JDW says: This show is awful. Like, I can't stress it enough, the presentation and writing on this show has just dropped phenomenally from all the hype and the somewhat actually good, but information filled, first episode. Like, why are we going back to off-mentioned and seemingly unimportant characters like Anabel? Why does the character of Bryce and his whole missing love/I have cancer storyline even exist? And why are the Blue Hand guys back? I thought we got through all this!
There's just three episodes left of this series, and I say series because at this point I don't think I can sit through another season, and that seems to be the general consensus with everyone else.
JDW's Score: 6/10
Overall Score: 6.5/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
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FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Saturday, May 1, 2010
This Week in FlashForward - 4/29/10
This week's episode gets back to just about everyone's story, minus those nurses.
Episode 18 - "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
Zach says: The main topic of focus, it would seem, is that of Janis, her baby, and if and how she became a mole. We see some flash backs, from two years previous, of when she became an agent and how her lesbionic tendencies made her vulnerable to succumbing to outside influences, i.e. moleing. She has indeed been giving information to some crazy red-head who owns a pet store, namely fish, herein referred to as "the fish lady". She didn't appear to feel much remorse for selling her country out, until the black out hit, but, it would seem, as it always does, that she can't just get out of this ploy and stop sharing information, as she would wind up dead. So, she must continue ratting everyone out.
She does continue to do this, as we see in the present, when Fish Lady tells her to get back the blueprints that were found off Frost's body. This blue prints apparently detail how to build some calculator, which calculates dates, the first of which was the day of the black out. She kinda fails, but tries real good, and Mark seems to be on to her, although she talked her way out of any immediate trouble. However, at the end of the episode, we see that Vogel, that CIA dude, approached as well two years ago, and told her that she was basically under investigation, and SHOULD become a double agent. So, everything she has been doing could have a reasonable explanation and she could still be on the good side.
I reckon Janis' true allegiances will be tested, when Fish Lady gave her an order to get the ring back and kill Mark. Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn. I'm sure this will tie in with why Vogel was talking to someone, saying "Mark Benford is dead," so we'll see. Aside from Janis' exploits, we also see that Aaron has safely arrived in Afghanistan, was attacked, but found the doctor from his vision, who will hopefully lead him to his daughter.
We don't see too much from Mark, but he figures out what Frost was saying, with "In the end, you'll be saved by the lady you see everyday." This could have multiple meanings, but in this instance, it meant that special ring, which was inside the white queen the FBI picked off of that exploded doll shop way back when. Ok.
And apparently, Dyson Frost has been everywhere and done everything. Those photos he had had some soil residue, from soil only found in Afghanistan, and he was a doctor at Raven River, some mental hospital where they did those flashforward experiments on patients. One of those patients, who we saw last episode, Gabriel McDowell, broke into Olivia's house, told her some crap, freaking her out. This led to her, for some reason, going with and FBI agent to the facility, where Gabriel shows up again. Apparently, Gabriel has seen all of these visions, and has followed Olivia for a very, very long time, and he says that marrying Mark was a mistake, and that she was supposed to be with Lloyd.
Anyways, Olivia is apparently very important and will help to solve the super puzzle that lays ahead. The whole Mark/Lloyd thing is a bit strange, and I guess could be important somehow, but I don't see how this romance thing is truly relevant. And that Gabriel guy? What a creeper. Dyson Frost, although dead, is still playing quite the role, so I'm sure we'll see all sorts of crazy stuff he was up to in the past, in the future.
Zach's Score: 7.5/10
JDW says: I'm late again, due to my computer issues, but not as late as last week! Anyways, this episode, as usual, was really a mess to me. At first you think it's actually going to focus on Janis, but then there's a pointless story of Aaron in Afghanistan, and then there's the Fringe-esque story with Olivia (no, not the Dunham one, it's not THAT Fringe-esque) whose stalker seems to have seen her in both the past and future thanks to Frost's lab testings.
The lab aspect is interesting, but the stalker character just seems way to off the wall for a show that already has terrible structure issues... at least this show's almost over.
JDW's Score: 6.5/10
Overall Score: 7/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episode 18 - "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
Zach says: The main topic of focus, it would seem, is that of Janis, her baby, and if and how she became a mole. We see some flash backs, from two years previous, of when she became an agent and how her lesbionic tendencies made her vulnerable to succumbing to outside influences, i.e. moleing. She has indeed been giving information to some crazy red-head who owns a pet store, namely fish, herein referred to as "the fish lady". She didn't appear to feel much remorse for selling her country out, until the black out hit, but, it would seem, as it always does, that she can't just get out of this ploy and stop sharing information, as she would wind up dead. So, she must continue ratting everyone out.
She does continue to do this, as we see in the present, when Fish Lady tells her to get back the blueprints that were found off Frost's body. This blue prints apparently detail how to build some calculator, which calculates dates, the first of which was the day of the black out. She kinda fails, but tries real good, and Mark seems to be on to her, although she talked her way out of any immediate trouble. However, at the end of the episode, we see that Vogel, that CIA dude, approached as well two years ago, and told her that she was basically under investigation, and SHOULD become a double agent. So, everything she has been doing could have a reasonable explanation and she could still be on the good side.
I reckon Janis' true allegiances will be tested, when Fish Lady gave her an order to get the ring back and kill Mark. Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn. I'm sure this will tie in with why Vogel was talking to someone, saying "Mark Benford is dead," so we'll see. Aside from Janis' exploits, we also see that Aaron has safely arrived in Afghanistan, was attacked, but found the doctor from his vision, who will hopefully lead him to his daughter.
We don't see too much from Mark, but he figures out what Frost was saying, with "In the end, you'll be saved by the lady you see everyday." This could have multiple meanings, but in this instance, it meant that special ring, which was inside the white queen the FBI picked off of that exploded doll shop way back when. Ok.
And apparently, Dyson Frost has been everywhere and done everything. Those photos he had had some soil residue, from soil only found in Afghanistan, and he was a doctor at Raven River, some mental hospital where they did those flashforward experiments on patients. One of those patients, who we saw last episode, Gabriel McDowell, broke into Olivia's house, told her some crap, freaking her out. This led to her, for some reason, going with and FBI agent to the facility, where Gabriel shows up again. Apparently, Gabriel has seen all of these visions, and has followed Olivia for a very, very long time, and he says that marrying Mark was a mistake, and that she was supposed to be with Lloyd.
Anyways, Olivia is apparently very important and will help to solve the super puzzle that lays ahead. The whole Mark/Lloyd thing is a bit strange, and I guess could be important somehow, but I don't see how this romance thing is truly relevant. And that Gabriel guy? What a creeper. Dyson Frost, although dead, is still playing quite the role, so I'm sure we'll see all sorts of crazy stuff he was up to in the past, in the future.
Zach's Score: 7.5/10
JDW says: I'm late again, due to my computer issues, but not as late as last week! Anyways, this episode, as usual, was really a mess to me. At first you think it's actually going to focus on Janis, but then there's a pointless story of Aaron in Afghanistan, and then there's the Fringe-esque story with Olivia (no, not the Dunham one, it's not THAT Fringe-esque) whose stalker seems to have seen her in both the past and future thanks to Frost's lab testings.
The lab aspect is interesting, but the stalker character just seems way to off the wall for a show that already has terrible structure issues... at least this show's almost over.
JDW's Score: 6.5/10
Overall Score: 7/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
This Week in FlashForward - 4/22/10
This week's episode takes place during March 15th, the day of Demetri's murder. Does it occur as foretold, or can Mark find a way to change fate?
Episode 17 - "The Garden of Forking Paths"
Zach says: Dyson Frost is all about playing games, and after kidnapping Demetri and talking with Charlie, he certainly set some events in motion. Seeing a dozen moves ahead of his opponents doesn't hurt, but things don't always go according to plan. After leaving clues and guiding Mark to a private meeting on a deserted hill, they talk a bit. Mark is only concerned with finding Demetri, but Frost tries to talk about saving the world, and is obviously worried about himself getting killed. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Alda happened to escape from prison, leaping out of a window after her hearing, and snipes Frost, killing him.
When Mark originally over powers Frost, he says it wasn't supposed to happen like that, so there are obvious variables and outcomes that he did not foresee, which could have many implications.
With the help of Frost's clues and GPS, as well as a tip from Alda, Mark happens to find Demetri moments before the mechanized gun is set to go off. Through some ingenuity, Mark moves the gun so Demetri can escape unharmed. This scene was a bit illogical, as he raises the gun to Demetri's head, and yet Demetri doesn't even attempt to move his head out of the path of the gun, just in case. I don't know, but it seems it could have been done a bit safer.
Anyways, after the gun is disarmed, Demetri gets off the chair, which triggers sprinklers to erase the "Garden of Forking Paths". This is a large road map of all of the possible paths and futures that could have occurred. This could have been very helpful to the FBI, and Frost obviously wanted to help Mark, so why would he erase it? I guess to stop it from getting in the wrong hands, but still...a little odd.
Luckily, Mark remembers one important event on the map, which is the last one, titled "The End", and occurs on December 12th, 2016. Frost was definitely trying to change the future in some way, so this end could be the end of the world, or civilization, or something else. Maybe this is when he was supposed to die, or something minor, like when Mark saves the world for the last time. Well, I don't think we'll find out this season, and if this is the last season for FlashForward, I don't think we'll ever know.
Zach's Score: 8/10
JDW says: This is two weeks late due to my shoddy computer issues, so, quite frankly I have nothing to say here and I'm sorry you all had to wait for this.
JDW's Score: ?/10
Overall Score: 8/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episode 17 - "The Garden of Forking Paths"
Zach says: Dyson Frost is all about playing games, and after kidnapping Demetri and talking with Charlie, he certainly set some events in motion. Seeing a dozen moves ahead of his opponents doesn't hurt, but things don't always go according to plan. After leaving clues and guiding Mark to a private meeting on a deserted hill, they talk a bit. Mark is only concerned with finding Demetri, but Frost tries to talk about saving the world, and is obviously worried about himself getting killed. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Alda happened to escape from prison, leaping out of a window after her hearing, and snipes Frost, killing him.
When Mark originally over powers Frost, he says it wasn't supposed to happen like that, so there are obvious variables and outcomes that he did not foresee, which could have many implications.
With the help of Frost's clues and GPS, as well as a tip from Alda, Mark happens to find Demetri moments before the mechanized gun is set to go off. Through some ingenuity, Mark moves the gun so Demetri can escape unharmed. This scene was a bit illogical, as he raises the gun to Demetri's head, and yet Demetri doesn't even attempt to move his head out of the path of the gun, just in case. I don't know, but it seems it could have been done a bit safer.
Anyways, after the gun is disarmed, Demetri gets off the chair, which triggers sprinklers to erase the "Garden of Forking Paths". This is a large road map of all of the possible paths and futures that could have occurred. This could have been very helpful to the FBI, and Frost obviously wanted to help Mark, so why would he erase it? I guess to stop it from getting in the wrong hands, but still...a little odd.
Luckily, Mark remembers one important event on the map, which is the last one, titled "The End", and occurs on December 12th, 2016. Frost was definitely trying to change the future in some way, so this end could be the end of the world, or civilization, or something else. Maybe this is when he was supposed to die, or something minor, like when Mark saves the world for the last time. Well, I don't think we'll find out this season, and if this is the last season for FlashForward, I don't think we'll ever know.
Zach's Score: 8/10
JDW says: This is two weeks late due to my shoddy computer issues, so, quite frankly I have nothing to say here and I'm sorry you all had to wait for this.
JDW's Score: ?/10
Overall Score: 8/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Thursday, April 15, 2010
This Week in FlashForward - 4/15/10
This week's episode is all over the place. A lot of events seem to be culminating, like Demetri's murder, in three days, and Olivia and Simco's relationship. SPOILERS
Episode 16 - ""Let No Man Put Asunder"
Zach says: Demetri is understandably obsessed with finding his murderer, which he is still unsuccessful at doing, so, after Mark gives him some advice, he decides to run away and get married. Unfortunately, right before that happens, Dyson Frost kidnaps him. WTF you might be asking? Well, yeah, pretty much.
And guess where Frost shows up next? At little Charlie's school carnival. WTF x2? You bet ya. Oh, and Olivia is pretty much a skank, who goes to Simco's house to make out with him. I was pretty upset about that personally. I know she threw out Mark and everything, but why is she so attracted to Simco? Not cool.
Aaron's story gets a little time too, as the new vice president of the US thinks Jericho has something to do with her becoming the next president, so she is very interested in them, and for some reason, gets FBI assistant director Stan to help out doing something. Stan then talks to Mark to learn about Aaron, and searches him out to help him get to Afghanistan to his daughter, for the supposed reason of getting the scoop on Jericho and bringing them down. Seems a bit odd, but ok. So, the episode was alright, and next week should be interesting, as we'll see more of Frost and what his deal is.
Zach's Score: 7/10
JDW says: With the reveal of the mole(s) the show is starting to get semi-interesting, but the character development feels really sudden, and the actors really don't look like they're playing the role the started with, with many of the lines just being announcements of emotion and/or sounding like words off a sheet. But that's a run-on sentance, and quite frankly I don't care.
Too put it short, watching this show bothers my brain, but this episode didn't bother it quite as bad as recently.
JDW's Score: 7/10
Overall Score: 7/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episode 16 - ""Let No Man Put Asunder"
Zach says: Demetri is understandably obsessed with finding his murderer, which he is still unsuccessful at doing, so, after Mark gives him some advice, he decides to run away and get married. Unfortunately, right before that happens, Dyson Frost kidnaps him. WTF you might be asking? Well, yeah, pretty much.
And guess where Frost shows up next? At little Charlie's school carnival. WTF x2? You bet ya. Oh, and Olivia is pretty much a skank, who goes to Simco's house to make out with him. I was pretty upset about that personally. I know she threw out Mark and everything, but why is she so attracted to Simco? Not cool.
Aaron's story gets a little time too, as the new vice president of the US thinks Jericho has something to do with her becoming the next president, so she is very interested in them, and for some reason, gets FBI assistant director Stan to help out doing something. Stan then talks to Mark to learn about Aaron, and searches him out to help him get to Afghanistan to his daughter, for the supposed reason of getting the scoop on Jericho and bringing them down. Seems a bit odd, but ok. So, the episode was alright, and next week should be interesting, as we'll see more of Frost and what his deal is.
Zach's Score: 7/10
JDW says: With the reveal of the mole(s) the show is starting to get semi-interesting, but the character development feels really sudden, and the actors really don't look like they're playing the role the started with, with many of the lines just being announcements of emotion and/or sounding like words off a sheet. But that's a run-on sentance, and quite frankly I don't care.
Too put it short, watching this show bothers my brain, but this episode didn't bother it quite as bad as recently.
JDW's Score: 7/10
Overall Score: 7/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Thursday, April 8, 2010
This Week in FlashForward - 4/8/10
This week deals with finding the mole in the FBI office, which turns out successful! Or does it? Dun dun dunnnnn!!!!!!!
Episode 15 - "Queen Sacrifice"
Zach says: Anyways, not a whole lot really happens this episode now that I think about it. Bryce and what's her name go out and kiss, who didn't see that coming, but she seemed a bit turned off. What does this mean for Keiko (he girl from Bryce's vision)? Well, she's all well and fine in America, and gets a job working hydrolics for cars, until the government shuts'em down for employing illegals. Yeah, I don't know...How exactly is this relevant?
As far as the investigation goes, Dyson Frost, aka D. Gibbons, has had hundreds of flash forwards and has seen all kinds of futures. He has even left clues for Mark in the past, which he somehow finds....ok. They finally find the mole, who shoots a bunch of people dead, but ultimately captured. But is there another mole?!?!?!! Zomga, we'll see. Overall, the episode was about on par with the rest of the season, but nothing special. I'm interested to see how Frost and Mark's meeting goes and what that will bring about.
Zach's Score: 6.5/10
JDW says: I honestly have nothing to say here. The show continues to disappoint because of its lack of focus and quite frankly I'm just getting tired of it. The finding of the mole in the FBI office was interesting, but it's resolved way to fast. But, hey, at least Seth Macfarlane got shot! You may remember him randomly appearing in the first episode of the show, and for whatever reason he returned, I just hope he's dead for good.
And seriously, the Keiko story, had no reason to even be included here. It was completely irrelevant not only to the episode, but Bryce and his entire story seems to be completely useless to this series. Can't say I think next week will be any better, but, we'll see.
JDW's Score: 6.5/10
Overall Score: 6.5/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episode 15 - "Queen Sacrifice"
Zach says: Anyways, not a whole lot really happens this episode now that I think about it. Bryce and what's her name go out and kiss, who didn't see that coming, but she seemed a bit turned off. What does this mean for Keiko (he girl from Bryce's vision)? Well, she's all well and fine in America, and gets a job working hydrolics for cars, until the government shuts'em down for employing illegals. Yeah, I don't know...How exactly is this relevant?
As far as the investigation goes, Dyson Frost, aka D. Gibbons, has had hundreds of flash forwards and has seen all kinds of futures. He has even left clues for Mark in the past, which he somehow finds....ok. They finally find the mole, who shoots a bunch of people dead, but ultimately captured. But is there another mole?!?!?!! Zomga, we'll see. Overall, the episode was about on par with the rest of the season, but nothing special. I'm interested to see how Frost and Mark's meeting goes and what that will bring about.
Zach's Score: 6.5/10
JDW says: I honestly have nothing to say here. The show continues to disappoint because of its lack of focus and quite frankly I'm just getting tired of it. The finding of the mole in the FBI office was interesting, but it's resolved way to fast. But, hey, at least Seth Macfarlane got shot! You may remember him randomly appearing in the first episode of the show, and for whatever reason he returned, I just hope he's dead for good.
And seriously, the Keiko story, had no reason to even be included here. It was completely irrelevant not only to the episode, but Bryce and his entire story seems to be completely useless to this series. Can't say I think next week will be any better, but, we'll see.
JDW's Score: 6.5/10
Overall Score: 6.5/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Thursday, April 1, 2010
This Week in FlashForward - 4/1/10
This week's episode was crazy, so I'm just gonna get right into it. Mark and Demetri shot each other because of their suspicions, and another black out occurred that caused a nuclear weapon to go off in the US. APRIL FOOOOLSSSS. Spoilers ahead:
Episode 14 - "Better Angels"
Zach says: So let's get into it for real. This week's episode focuses on three different stories, with Mark and his wife, Bryce and Nicole, and the agents who went to Somalia. In order of awesomeness, we have Somalia, then nothing, then nothing, then Mark, then Bryce and Nicole. The show is trying to give you some excitement, but then some drama, and the drama just seems a bit forced and completely divergent from that of the real story.
Mark is basically having the same issues as Demetri, where he knows he is going to die, basically, and his loved one wants to escape it all, but he is still reluctant to leave. It's getting a little old hearing this same story week after week, so I wish it didn't have such a focus, but here we are. We also finally see what Charlie's flash forward was, where an unseen person says "Mark Benford is dead." This would be a bit mysterious, except we see who says it later in the episode, which took me by surprise, as it sounded like the Jericho dude, but wasn't.
The Somalia action was much more interesting. Here, the FBI peeps, plus that CIA guy, head to Somalia to investigate the tower. They are quickly intercepted by natives who take them hostage. The main guy is all talking about purpose and prophesies, but his doesn't look like it will come true, as he is later shot in the back.
The end is the most interesting, as we find out that D. Gibbons, or Dyson Frost, was apparently the main scientist working at this tower back in the day, and he left a message for Demetri. So, it would seem that Gibbons has quite the understanding of what these black outs are, and how to use them to his advantage, to see the future. This could easily be how he stole Simon's design for the tower in the first place, which he hadn't created until after the tower was built.
So, all in all, the drama is old, and has been for some time, but the action is still good and the REAL story points are interesting. I'm am more and more interested in this D. Gibbons fellow each episode, so I want to see what he is really up to.
Zach's Score: 8/10
JDW says: This week's episode suffers from the same thing I mentioned last week, lack of focus. The parts in Somalia were great, they answered questions like, "What the @&%!? was going on in that first black out?, Why did that one kid survive? Who is he? etc etc" all good, interesting stuff and led to even more mysteries.
But then when he to see Bryce, and his constant complaining about life and being doctor etc etc. And then we're in Somalia for two seconds, and now Mark is screwing up his life and upsetting his daughter and wife, and then its back to Somalia. It's like, I understand that this show is probabbly going to be canceled so you want to get through stuff before you leave an angry unsatisfied audience, or what's left of it. But seriously, if the people not in Somalia have nothing to do with what's going on there, don't show them. The seemingly time-traveling D. Gibbons, now that's an interesting plot, next time, please just show this an nothing else. Thanks!
JDW's Score: 7.5/10
Overall Score: 7.7/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episode 14 - "Better Angels"
Zach says: So let's get into it for real. This week's episode focuses on three different stories, with Mark and his wife, Bryce and Nicole, and the agents who went to Somalia. In order of awesomeness, we have Somalia, then nothing, then nothing, then Mark, then Bryce and Nicole. The show is trying to give you some excitement, but then some drama, and the drama just seems a bit forced and completely divergent from that of the real story.
Mark is basically having the same issues as Demetri, where he knows he is going to die, basically, and his loved one wants to escape it all, but he is still reluctant to leave. It's getting a little old hearing this same story week after week, so I wish it didn't have such a focus, but here we are. We also finally see what Charlie's flash forward was, where an unseen person says "Mark Benford is dead." This would be a bit mysterious, except we see who says it later in the episode, which took me by surprise, as it sounded like the Jericho dude, but wasn't.
The Somalia action was much more interesting. Here, the FBI peeps, plus that CIA guy, head to Somalia to investigate the tower. They are quickly intercepted by natives who take them hostage. The main guy is all talking about purpose and prophesies, but his doesn't look like it will come true, as he is later shot in the back.
The end is the most interesting, as we find out that D. Gibbons, or Dyson Frost, was apparently the main scientist working at this tower back in the day, and he left a message for Demetri. So, it would seem that Gibbons has quite the understanding of what these black outs are, and how to use them to his advantage, to see the future. This could easily be how he stole Simon's design for the tower in the first place, which he hadn't created until after the tower was built.
So, all in all, the drama is old, and has been for some time, but the action is still good and the REAL story points are interesting. I'm am more and more interested in this D. Gibbons fellow each episode, so I want to see what he is really up to.
Zach's Score: 8/10
JDW says: This week's episode suffers from the same thing I mentioned last week, lack of focus. The parts in Somalia were great, they answered questions like, "What the @&%!? was going on in that first black out?, Why did that one kid survive? Who is he? etc etc" all good, interesting stuff and led to even more mysteries.
But then when he to see Bryce, and his constant complaining about life and being doctor etc etc. And then we're in Somalia for two seconds, and now Mark is screwing up his life and upsetting his daughter and wife, and then its back to Somalia. It's like, I understand that this show is probabbly going to be canceled so you want to get through stuff before you leave an angry unsatisfied audience, or what's left of it. But seriously, if the people not in Somalia have nothing to do with what's going on there, don't show them. The seemingly time-traveling D. Gibbons, now that's an interesting plot, next time, please just show this an nothing else. Thanks!
JDW's Score: 7.5/10
Overall Score: 7.7/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Thursday, March 25, 2010
This Week in FlashForward - 3/25/10
Last week's premiere? Pretty epic and telling. This week's episode? Back to the drama that we've seen in the first half of the series, granted it wasn't quite as annoying as that between Mark and his wife. Spoilers Ahead.
Episode 13 - "Blowback"
Zach says: This week's episode mainly focuses on Aaron and his daughter, Tracy, although we see other stuff with Demitri and his wife, as well as some FBI goings-ons. The show starts with a flash back of Aaron, which doesn't do much for the episode, although it helps to show how important his daughter is to him, which is concretely displayed when Tracy turns up missing, and he starts on a quest to F-up anybody who was responsible. He turned into a real badass, and it might be interesting to see just what he is capable of in future episodes.
Aside from that, Demitri's wife is super controlling, and understandably trying to do whatever it takes to make sure he doesn't get murdered. As far as understanding more about the black out and its investigation, Mark talks with Lloyd Simco about their flash forwards, and trying to understand them, while the FBI decides to go to Somalia, where some shiz is bound to go down.
The series is trucking on as it always had, but it's just so splintered with everyone's own quests and drama, as they try to either fulfill or free themselves from their flash forwards, as well as investing the cause and stopping it from happening again. Because of this, there isn't a main focus, so each episode is slow and diverges greatly from the last. We'll see if it can keep viewer interest.
Zach's Score: 7/10
JDW says: If there's one the FlashForward needs to do to even compare to the series it wants to be (cough Lost cough), it needs to know what focus is. I could tell from the jumbled 2 minute long recap before the episode started that this was going to try and cram way too many storylines and plot devices into one hour.
This show needs to learn how to focus on one or two (and only if their stories relate that much) characters, and only follow them throughout the episode. I'm tired of this going back and forth between 6 characters every week and then never getting anywhere, and quite frankly I'm getting tired of this show. Only good part was Aaron essentially being Batman, more of that please.
JDW's Score: 6/10
Overall Score: 6.5/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episode 13 - "Blowback"
Zach says: This week's episode mainly focuses on Aaron and his daughter, Tracy, although we see other stuff with Demitri and his wife, as well as some FBI goings-ons. The show starts with a flash back of Aaron, which doesn't do much for the episode, although it helps to show how important his daughter is to him, which is concretely displayed when Tracy turns up missing, and he starts on a quest to F-up anybody who was responsible. He turned into a real badass, and it might be interesting to see just what he is capable of in future episodes.
Aside from that, Demitri's wife is super controlling, and understandably trying to do whatever it takes to make sure he doesn't get murdered. As far as understanding more about the black out and its investigation, Mark talks with Lloyd Simco about their flash forwards, and trying to understand them, while the FBI decides to go to Somalia, where some shiz is bound to go down.
The series is trucking on as it always had, but it's just so splintered with everyone's own quests and drama, as they try to either fulfill or free themselves from their flash forwards, as well as investing the cause and stopping it from happening again. Because of this, there isn't a main focus, so each episode is slow and diverges greatly from the last. We'll see if it can keep viewer interest.
Zach's Score: 7/10
JDW says: If there's one the FlashForward needs to do to even compare to the series it wants to be (cough Lost cough), it needs to know what focus is. I could tell from the jumbled 2 minute long recap before the episode started that this was going to try and cram way too many storylines and plot devices into one hour.
This show needs to learn how to focus on one or two (and only if their stories relate that much) characters, and only follow them throughout the episode. I'm tired of this going back and forth between 6 characters every week and then never getting anywhere, and quite frankly I'm getting tired of this show. Only good part was Aaron essentially being Batman, more of that please.
JDW's Score: 6/10
Overall Score: 6.5/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Thursday, March 18, 2010
This Week in FlashForward - 3/18/10
FlashForward is back, and with it, an event-packed 2-hour premiere. A lot of mysteries from the first set of episodes are answered, as well as thrown away. This seems to be a bit of a restart for the series, and it's not a bad thing. Spoilers follow.
Episodes 11/12 - "Revelation Zero (Parts 1 and 2)"
Zach says: The premiere starts with recapping a few major plot points, like how Mark's marriage is strained by the possible future affair his wife will be having, and the fact that he was drinking, so his recollection of his flash forward was fuzzy. This whole drama leads Mark to get therapeutic help, including getting drugged to help him remember more of his flash forward, which actually works, and gives him many more clues about the Mosaic and phone call he had received. These clues lead to a few revelations, as well as saving a few people, with more importance later in the series in all likelihood.
The main focus of the latter half of the episode was of Simon Campos and that shadowy organization that seems to be doing a lot of plotting and shadowy things. Turns out, they are very much so involved in the black out and proceeding events of the series.
Simon's character wasn't very developed in the first half of the series, but this episode is making up for it in droves. We see many different sides of Simon, and I think he'll be a very important character in the series as it progresses. He definitely shouldn't be underestimated, and while he has a problem with authority, he seems to have a good heart.
So, the black out happened, we know who is behind it, and we have more clues as to how to find them. The questions we have now are why did they want the black out to happen, and will it occur again? There are still plenty of questions pertaining to characters and their stories and drama, so I'm sure future episodes will be split between these dramas and that of the FBI, solving the main mystery. I have hope.
Zach's Score: 8.5
JDW says: Obviously it's been a while since the last episode of FlashForward aired, and quite frankly, with the anticipation of Lost's final season and new Doctor Who, I pretty much lost care and hope for the series. But after tonight I'm a bit more hopeful. Not only did the presentation of the show change in the first half, but the storytelling, character focus, and plot revelations were also quite fresh.
But while I appreciated getting answers for once, there was A LOT that happened in these two hours, like I honestly felt like five months passed in the course of this episode. For instance, mysteries like "Who is Subject Zero?" "Why/how was he awake?" "Who are those guys with the rings?" are all answered, and quite abruptly really, no build up whatsoever. In a way, it kind of felt like the writers wanted to get all the secret of the first half of this season out of the way, just in case the show does get canned, we the audience at least have some sort of closure.
Regardless, I don't know exactly what happened during FlashForward's three month break, but it seemed to work, let's hope the rest of the season follows suit, or else this may be it for television's "new Lost".
JDW's Score: 8/10
Overall Score: 8.3/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episodes 11/12 - "Revelation Zero (Parts 1 and 2)"
Zach says: The premiere starts with recapping a few major plot points, like how Mark's marriage is strained by the possible future affair his wife will be having, and the fact that he was drinking, so his recollection of his flash forward was fuzzy. This whole drama leads Mark to get therapeutic help, including getting drugged to help him remember more of his flash forward, which actually works, and gives him many more clues about the Mosaic and phone call he had received. These clues lead to a few revelations, as well as saving a few people, with more importance later in the series in all likelihood.
The main focus of the latter half of the episode was of Simon Campos and that shadowy organization that seems to be doing a lot of plotting and shadowy things. Turns out, they are very much so involved in the black out and proceeding events of the series.
Simon's character wasn't very developed in the first half of the series, but this episode is making up for it in droves. We see many different sides of Simon, and I think he'll be a very important character in the series as it progresses. He definitely shouldn't be underestimated, and while he has a problem with authority, he seems to have a good heart.
So, the black out happened, we know who is behind it, and we have more clues as to how to find them. The questions we have now are why did they want the black out to happen, and will it occur again? There are still plenty of questions pertaining to characters and their stories and drama, so I'm sure future episodes will be split between these dramas and that of the FBI, solving the main mystery. I have hope.
Zach's Score: 8.5
JDW says: Obviously it's been a while since the last episode of FlashForward aired, and quite frankly, with the anticipation of Lost's final season and new Doctor Who, I pretty much lost care and hope for the series. But after tonight I'm a bit more hopeful. Not only did the presentation of the show change in the first half, but the storytelling, character focus, and plot revelations were also quite fresh.
But while I appreciated getting answers for once, there was A LOT that happened in these two hours, like I honestly felt like five months passed in the course of this episode. For instance, mysteries like "Who is Subject Zero?" "Why/how was he awake?" "Who are those guys with the rings?" are all answered, and quite abruptly really, no build up whatsoever. In a way, it kind of felt like the writers wanted to get all the secret of the first half of this season out of the way, just in case the show does get canned, we the audience at least have some sort of closure.
Regardless, I don't know exactly what happened during FlashForward's three month break, but it seemed to work, let's hope the rest of the season follows suit, or else this may be it for television's "new Lost".
JDW's Score: 8/10
Overall Score: 8.3/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
This Week in FlashForward Returns Tonight
It's been a while, but FlashForward finally returns with new episodes tonight at 8 PM EST on ABC. And to kick of the new episodes, ABC is airing a 2 hour episode, so make sure you're ready for that. Sooner after, come back here for review.
With FlashForward returning this week, Lost currently in its final season, and both Fringe and Doctor Who returning in just a month, it's going to be a busy season, not just on television, but here at VFH as well. See you tonight!
With FlashForward returning this week, Lost currently in its final season, and both Fringe and Doctor Who returning in just a month, it's going to be a busy season, not just on television, but here at VFH as well. See you tonight!
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Thursday, December 3, 2009
This Week in FlashForward - 12/3/09
Yes, actually on time tonight!
Episode 10 - "A561984"
Zach says: After a week off, we are treated to another wonderful episode of FlashForward. Demetri and Mark head over to Hong Kong to find their mystery woman, which they successfully do. However, they went against the FBI's wishes and Mark is in a bit of trouble. We learn a few things from this woman, and a few more secrets are revealed throughout the episode.
In other news, Mr. Simcoe made good on his promise and held a press conference to claim responsibility for the black out. Was his experiment really the cause though? Well, we don't know yet, but pretty much everyone is pissed at him now and some of them are willing to kidnap and kill him. Surely this won't turn out well. At the end of the episode, we were treated to a season teaser, which looked pretty good, but seems to say that there won't be any more episodes until March of next year, which is pretty lame.
Zach's Score: 7/10
JDW says: Notably, this is the first episode of FlashForward after a week's break, but has that hurt the show in any way? It's hard to say, but the episode does a good job of focusing on core characters for once and tries to feed little bits of info that pertain to each character's storyline. At the same time, this episode also gives a lot of new information and plot twists... which of course happens when the show suddenly goes on a three month hiatus.
Overall the episode was enjoyable, and nice return to how the show started instead of these seemingly filler episodes we've gotten in the past few weeks. But on the other hand, the show has a lot of issues still. The sudden realizations, the way people just happen to know certain information without any allusions as to how/why they do, and the fact that 20 million people on the planet supposedly died, and no one really seems to think that much of it. The show is good at time, but I hope that when it returns in March that some of these kinks are worked out.
JDW's Score: 7.5/10
Overall Score: 7.3/10
Stay tuned, since the show has decided to take a seemingly random three month hiatus, we may do a mid-season recap this time next week.
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episode 10 - "A561984"
Zach says: After a week off, we are treated to another wonderful episode of FlashForward. Demetri and Mark head over to Hong Kong to find their mystery woman, which they successfully do. However, they went against the FBI's wishes and Mark is in a bit of trouble. We learn a few things from this woman, and a few more secrets are revealed throughout the episode.
In other news, Mr. Simcoe made good on his promise and held a press conference to claim responsibility for the black out. Was his experiment really the cause though? Well, we don't know yet, but pretty much everyone is pissed at him now and some of them are willing to kidnap and kill him. Surely this won't turn out well. At the end of the episode, we were treated to a season teaser, which looked pretty good, but seems to say that there won't be any more episodes until March of next year, which is pretty lame.
Zach's Score: 7/10
JDW says: Notably, this is the first episode of FlashForward after a week's break, but has that hurt the show in any way? It's hard to say, but the episode does a good job of focusing on core characters for once and tries to feed little bits of info that pertain to each character's storyline. At the same time, this episode also gives a lot of new information and plot twists... which of course happens when the show suddenly goes on a three month hiatus.
Overall the episode was enjoyable, and nice return to how the show started instead of these seemingly filler episodes we've gotten in the past few weeks. But on the other hand, the show has a lot of issues still. The sudden realizations, the way people just happen to know certain information without any allusions as to how/why they do, and the fact that 20 million people on the planet supposedly died, and no one really seems to think that much of it. The show is good at time, but I hope that when it returns in March that some of these kinks are worked out.
JDW's Score: 7.5/10
Overall Score: 7.3/10
Stay tuned, since the show has decided to take a seemingly random three month hiatus, we may do a mid-season recap this time next week.
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Friday, November 20, 2009
This Week In FlashForward - 11/19/09
Once again, sorry for the delay.
Episode 9 - "Believe"
Zach says: This week returns to the more dramatic side of things, and much less on the actual investigation. While they do find out that Suspect Zero's ring was one of those alpha rings from the end of last episode, that's about all there is. They couldn't enhance his face, but somehow his ring was easy. Aside from the main investigation, it appears that the NSA tapped the FBI's phones, and recorded Demetri's call with that woman who said he would be murdered. Through some pleaded, they got their hands on the tape and are looking for her.
The main part of the episode though, dealt with Bryce, the nurse, and why he was going to kill himself and why he decided not to. It makes for a somewhat almost possibly happy ending maybe, but nothing too important to the real story. There is also some drama going on with Aaron and his daughter. She is drinking a lot, and obviously as a recovering alcoholic, he is having problems with his daughter's excessive drinking.
Overall, not the most exciting episode, and once again, the series is jumping from important, interesting stuff, to filler drama. I'm not too happy about that.
Zach's Score : 6/10
JDW says: I must agree, I can't say that focusing on one of the series' most minor of characters was a good idea. Especially when this episode is the first to introduce the Lost-esque flashbacks, which may or may not be a sign of the direction the show is going. I mean, what I liked about the show to begin with with was that all you really needed to know was what was going on now in the present, because you already see the future; why take a step back and start showing us a time before the show started? It just seemed really irrelevant to me.
All in all, this episode was just unnecessary. There's no major revelations in the series, and the logic of how Bryce even finds the identity of the girl he saw in his vision is just absurd. Like, it just so happens that the one Asian patient in the hospitol recognizes the logo for a small restaurant in a tiny town in Japan? And that he somehow gets to the place in a day and the workers there know exactly who she is based off his crappy drawing? There's just too many coincidental happenings on this show and it's really starting to bother me.
JDW's Score: 5/10
Overall Score: 5.5/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episode 9 - "Believe"
Zach says: This week returns to the more dramatic side of things, and much less on the actual investigation. While they do find out that Suspect Zero's ring was one of those alpha rings from the end of last episode, that's about all there is. They couldn't enhance his face, but somehow his ring was easy. Aside from the main investigation, it appears that the NSA tapped the FBI's phones, and recorded Demetri's call with that woman who said he would be murdered. Through some pleaded, they got their hands on the tape and are looking for her.
The main part of the episode though, dealt with Bryce, the nurse, and why he was going to kill himself and why he decided not to. It makes for a somewhat almost possibly happy ending maybe, but nothing too important to the real story. There is also some drama going on with Aaron and his daughter. She is drinking a lot, and obviously as a recovering alcoholic, he is having problems with his daughter's excessive drinking.
Overall, not the most exciting episode, and once again, the series is jumping from important, interesting stuff, to filler drama. I'm not too happy about that.
Zach's Score : 6/10
JDW says: I must agree, I can't say that focusing on one of the series' most minor of characters was a good idea. Especially when this episode is the first to introduce the Lost-esque flashbacks, which may or may not be a sign of the direction the show is going. I mean, what I liked about the show to begin with with was that all you really needed to know was what was going on now in the present, because you already see the future; why take a step back and start showing us a time before the show started? It just seemed really irrelevant to me.
All in all, this episode was just unnecessary. There's no major revelations in the series, and the logic of how Bryce even finds the identity of the girl he saw in his vision is just absurd. Like, it just so happens that the one Asian patient in the hospitol recognizes the logo for a small restaurant in a tiny town in Japan? And that he somehow gets to the place in a day and the workers there know exactly who she is based off his crappy drawing? There's just too many coincidental happenings on this show and it's really starting to bother me.
JDW's Score: 5/10
Overall Score: 5.5/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Friday, November 13, 2009
This Week in FlashForward - 11/12/09
Sorry for the delay, scheduling conflicts again.
Episode 8 - "Playing Cards With Coyote"
Zach says: I think this week's episode was a bit more interesting, especially during the end where some seemingly off-topic stuff comes to play, but will hopefully become much more clear in the coming weeks. While the path does seem to possibly be going in a more fanciful route, it will hopefully still be grounded in the reality that has been presented thusfar.
Aside from the ending though, things are progressing as they have been. Al's suicide lets the entire planet to believe that the future isn't set in stone, but some people are still very worried about what they saw and are convinced it will happen, like Mark, who is still very paranoid. His wife and him made up, in a very secluded hotel, mmhmm, but there are definitely still some issues. While Lloyd still thinks his experiment, whatever that was, caused the black out, there is still a seedy gang of thugs up to something, that we hopefully wont have to wait 5 episodes until we find out what.
There is also some talk from Tracy, the supposedly dead daughter of Aaron, who finally made her way home. She experienced an incident that led her to believe that the Jericho group of PMCs were really up to no good, and that the military may be corrupt and out to kill her for seeing what she shouldn't have seen. Are these two groups connected? Will Lloyd go public about his experiment? WTF were those rings? Hopefully we'll find out soon.
Zach's Score: 8/10
JDW says: Agreed, last night's episode of FlashForward was certainly interesting, what with the realization that it really was Lloyd and (Dominic Monaghan's character) that were responsible for the blackouts... which seems to have been revealed very modestly, despite being a pretty big question in the first few episodes of the show.
Also, what was with the whole Casino Royale plot? I found that idea to be really strange, but I will say, the "evil character" approach certainly seems to be working for Dominic Monaghan as an actor, as opposed to his somewhat unsure characters in both Lord of the Rings and Lost. As for the rest of this show, sometimes I'm just not sure if it knows where it's going, but hopefully we can get some definitive answers soon.
JDW's Score: 7/10
Overall Score: 7.5/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episode 8 - "Playing Cards With Coyote"
Zach says: I think this week's episode was a bit more interesting, especially during the end where some seemingly off-topic stuff comes to play, but will hopefully become much more clear in the coming weeks. While the path does seem to possibly be going in a more fanciful route, it will hopefully still be grounded in the reality that has been presented thusfar.
Aside from the ending though, things are progressing as they have been. Al's suicide lets the entire planet to believe that the future isn't set in stone, but some people are still very worried about what they saw and are convinced it will happen, like Mark, who is still very paranoid. His wife and him made up, in a very secluded hotel, mmhmm, but there are definitely still some issues. While Lloyd still thinks his experiment, whatever that was, caused the black out, there is still a seedy gang of thugs up to something, that we hopefully wont have to wait 5 episodes until we find out what.
There is also some talk from Tracy, the supposedly dead daughter of Aaron, who finally made her way home. She experienced an incident that led her to believe that the Jericho group of PMCs were really up to no good, and that the military may be corrupt and out to kill her for seeing what she shouldn't have seen. Are these two groups connected? Will Lloyd go public about his experiment? WTF were those rings? Hopefully we'll find out soon.
Zach's Score: 8/10
JDW says: Agreed, last night's episode of FlashForward was certainly interesting, what with the realization that it really was Lloyd and (Dominic Monaghan's character) that were responsible for the blackouts... which seems to have been revealed very modestly, despite being a pretty big question in the first few episodes of the show.
Also, what was with the whole Casino Royale plot? I found that idea to be really strange, but I will say, the "evil character" approach certainly seems to be working for Dominic Monaghan as an actor, as opposed to his somewhat unsure characters in both Lord of the Rings and Lost. As for the rest of this show, sometimes I'm just not sure if it knows where it's going, but hopefully we can get some definitive answers soon.
JDW's Score: 7/10
Overall Score: 7.5/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Thursday, November 5, 2009
This Week in FlashForward - 11/5/09
Episode 7 - "The Gift"
Zach says: This week is a little more interesting and involves a few more peoples' stories and brings to light the possibility of the flash forwards not actually predicting the future. The episode starts with the investigation of the Blue Hands, who are actually a group of people who didn't have a flash forward. The troupe of FBI agents infiltrates a party and captures one of the main leaders of the group.
The rest of the episode mostly deals with whether or not Aaron Stark's daughter is still alive, which we learn about at the end of the episode, or so it would seem, but this fact doesn't negate his flash forward. However, there is an event that pretty positively confirms that not everyone's flash forward is the future. It's a bit upsetting, but it proves that things can change, unless the guy has a twin or something. I think this week's episode was a bit better than previous one's, but it's still slow going figuring out what caused the black out.
Zach's Score: 7.5/10
JDW says: Agreed with Zach, this week's FlashForward was definitly way more interesting than the last couple of episodes. And it was really nice to get insight on characters we didn't really know much about. But also, considering how quickly the first few episodes got in on finding how who or what caused the black-outs, it's a shame that the last few episodes, including this one, has avoided that.
Also, the character played by Dominic Monaghan who was a mysterious inclusion last week, shows up in this episode, in a two second, non-speaking role. A note to FlashForward writers, that is not how you introduce a new, and possibly very important character. Otherwise, the sudden, unpredictable loss of one of the series' characters was kind of sad, and will certainly change how the world of FlashForward thinks.
JDW's Score: 8/10
Overall Score: 7.8/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Zach says: This week is a little more interesting and involves a few more peoples' stories and brings to light the possibility of the flash forwards not actually predicting the future. The episode starts with the investigation of the Blue Hands, who are actually a group of people who didn't have a flash forward. The troupe of FBI agents infiltrates a party and captures one of the main leaders of the group.
The rest of the episode mostly deals with whether or not Aaron Stark's daughter is still alive, which we learn about at the end of the episode, or so it would seem, but this fact doesn't negate his flash forward. However, there is an event that pretty positively confirms that not everyone's flash forward is the future. It's a bit upsetting, but it proves that things can change, unless the guy has a twin or something. I think this week's episode was a bit better than previous one's, but it's still slow going figuring out what caused the black out.
Zach's Score: 7.5/10
JDW says: Agreed with Zach, this week's FlashForward was definitly way more interesting than the last couple of episodes. And it was really nice to get insight on characters we didn't really know much about. But also, considering how quickly the first few episodes got in on finding how who or what caused the black-outs, it's a shame that the last few episodes, including this one, has avoided that.
Also, the character played by Dominic Monaghan who was a mysterious inclusion last week, shows up in this episode, in a two second, non-speaking role. A note to FlashForward writers, that is not how you introduce a new, and possibly very important character. Otherwise, the sudden, unpredictable loss of one of the series' characters was kind of sad, and will certainly change how the world of FlashForward thinks.
JDW's Score: 8/10
Overall Score: 7.8/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Friday, October 30, 2009
This Week in FlashForward - 10/29/09
Sorry for the delay again, scheduling conflicts and what not.
Episode 6 - "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps"
Zach says: This week's episode seems to be staying true to the current formula that FlashForward is employing. There is a section for drama, one for some investigating into what or who may have caused the black out, and then an intriguing end. The drama pertained to the autistic kid, Dylan Simcoe, escaping the hospital and winding up at the Mark and Olivia's home. But when Olivia comes home to see, Lloyd Simcoe and Mark in her living room, things get a bit crazy, with the couple getting into a bit of an argument.
The investigating had to do with the people that attacked the FBI troupe on last week's episode. Demetri found a blue hand tattoo on one of the assassins, and so they went looking to Baltimore Street, which was mentioned in Mark's flash forward. Their search actually leads to some findings, but are they relevant? And then the ending of course is the best part, and will keep you guessing until next week, where hopefully something interesting will turn up.
Zach's Score: 6.5/10
JDW says: As Zach said, FlashForward has seemed to finally get comfortable with its plot, no longer choosing to drown its viewers with new information upon more information... but has this actually been a good thing? In my opinion... no, after a few week of not really getting any new info, I have to say I much liked it better when I was given too much.
Also, there was a lot of things that didn't seem to make much sense. For instance, everyone's flash-forward takes place at the same time, right? Then why is it that in the first episode, Mark's daughter said she saw that, "There will be no more good days," and yet in this episode it seemed like her flash-forward was just her and Dylan eating cookies in the kitchen. Which would also mean that they were alone in the kitchen when they were supposedly asleep in Oliva and Lloyd's vision.
Not to mention, throughout the episode they made it seem like Demitri and the other FBI agent could see Mark's flash-forward, and to me that was just poor directing. And what was the deal with Dominic Monaghan's character? Hopefully next week gets better.
JDW's Score: 6/10
Overall Score: 6.3/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Episode 6 - "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps"
Zach says: This week's episode seems to be staying true to the current formula that FlashForward is employing. There is a section for drama, one for some investigating into what or who may have caused the black out, and then an intriguing end. The drama pertained to the autistic kid, Dylan Simcoe, escaping the hospital and winding up at the Mark and Olivia's home. But when Olivia comes home to see, Lloyd Simcoe and Mark in her living room, things get a bit crazy, with the couple getting into a bit of an argument.
The investigating had to do with the people that attacked the FBI troupe on last week's episode. Demetri found a blue hand tattoo on one of the assassins, and so they went looking to Baltimore Street, which was mentioned in Mark's flash forward. Their search actually leads to some findings, but are they relevant? And then the ending of course is the best part, and will keep you guessing until next week, where hopefully something interesting will turn up.
Zach's Score: 6.5/10
JDW says: As Zach said, FlashForward has seemed to finally get comfortable with its plot, no longer choosing to drown its viewers with new information upon more information... but has this actually been a good thing? In my opinion... no, after a few week of not really getting any new info, I have to say I much liked it better when I was given too much.
Also, there was a lot of things that didn't seem to make much sense. For instance, everyone's flash-forward takes place at the same time, right? Then why is it that in the first episode, Mark's daughter said she saw that, "There will be no more good days," and yet in this episode it seemed like her flash-forward was just her and Dylan eating cookies in the kitchen. Which would also mean that they were alone in the kitchen when they were supposedly asleep in Oliva and Lloyd's vision.
Not to mention, throughout the episode they made it seem like Demitri and the other FBI agent could see Mark's flash-forward, and to me that was just poor directing. And what was the deal with Dominic Monaghan's character? Hopefully next week gets better.
JDW's Score: 6/10
Overall Score: 6.3/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
Thursday, October 22, 2009
This Week in FlashForward - 10/22/09
Episode 5 - "Gimme Some Truth"
Zach says: This week, the plot progresses quite slowly again, like last episode. There are minor plot points here and there, but the main focus seems to be on developing the characters a bit and the drama. However, the episode gets you psyched at the beginning, as you see an interesting action scene, but then quickly showing a "39 hours earlier" dialogue to make you wait till the end of the episode to see what went down, which was quite interesting actually.
The main plot though, was to show a bit of Janis's life, and how she happens to be a lesbian, making her getting pregnant in the six month away flash-forward that much more interesting. There are also government hearings going on to see what different agencies believe should be done to solve this mystery, as well as root out any doubtful leads, like the FBI's. One specific lady has great doubts about the work the FBI team is doing and thinks funds should be cut, however, with a few cards up his sleeves, Standford gets some strings pulled.
Overall, the episode wasn't bad, but it wasn't quite as exciting as the first couple. There is more development going on now, both with characters and situations, but not so much with solving the mystery behind the flash forward. However, it would appear that next week's episode will have some more awesomeness, so stay tuned.
Zach's Score: 7/10
JDW Says: Like last week, I'm going to cut to the chase and not offer up another summary, because quite frankly, you don't need to read the same thing twice, and Zach's summary is more than enough. But I have to agree, the pace of this episode is much slower than say they information pack first and second episodes, as it seems that the show is starting to get a bit more comfortable with its characters. But that's not a terrible thing, as there's much more focus now, even if that focus isn't mystery solving.
In comparison, the episode is also a return to form after last week's awkwardly comedic tone. However, there was one, relatively violent scene, and yet it had the most unfitting song playing over it and I wasn't sure whether or not it was supposed to be funny or if it was so unfitting that it just was rediculous. But yeah, the trailer for next week's episode, looks quite promising.
JDW's Score: 7/10
Overall Score: 7/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Zach says: This week, the plot progresses quite slowly again, like last episode. There are minor plot points here and there, but the main focus seems to be on developing the characters a bit and the drama. However, the episode gets you psyched at the beginning, as you see an interesting action scene, but then quickly showing a "39 hours earlier" dialogue to make you wait till the end of the episode to see what went down, which was quite interesting actually.
The main plot though, was to show a bit of Janis's life, and how she happens to be a lesbian, making her getting pregnant in the six month away flash-forward that much more interesting. There are also government hearings going on to see what different agencies believe should be done to solve this mystery, as well as root out any doubtful leads, like the FBI's. One specific lady has great doubts about the work the FBI team is doing and thinks funds should be cut, however, with a few cards up his sleeves, Standford gets some strings pulled.
Overall, the episode wasn't bad, but it wasn't quite as exciting as the first couple. There is more development going on now, both with characters and situations, but not so much with solving the mystery behind the flash forward. However, it would appear that next week's episode will have some more awesomeness, so stay tuned.
Zach's Score: 7/10
JDW Says: Like last week, I'm going to cut to the chase and not offer up another summary, because quite frankly, you don't need to read the same thing twice, and Zach's summary is more than enough. But I have to agree, the pace of this episode is much slower than say they information pack first and second episodes, as it seems that the show is starting to get a bit more comfortable with its characters. But that's not a terrible thing, as there's much more focus now, even if that focus isn't mystery solving.
In comparison, the episode is also a return to form after last week's awkwardly comedic tone. However, there was one, relatively violent scene, and yet it had the most unfitting song playing over it and I wasn't sure whether or not it was supposed to be funny or if it was so unfitting that it just was rediculous. But yeah, the trailer for next week's episode, looks quite promising.
JDW's Score: 7/10
Overall Score: 7/10
Missed the episode? Catch it on Hulu
Tags:
ABC,
FlashForward,
Review,
Science Fiction,
Television,
This Week In
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