Whew! While at first I wasn't sure I was loving this episode, by the end the creep factor was exponential. Mark and Demetri follow the D. Gibbons lead to a creepy warehouse in Utah, where Demetri meets another person who claims not to have seen anything during the flash. A few minutes later, she's dead. She dies inside a doll warehouse that just made me shudder for the entire scene. UGH. First, the doll heads, doll legs, doll parts (I feel like breaking into a Hole song here), but then those lead to full dolls hanging by nooses, and if THAT isn't creepy enough, when Mark trips the switch, they're activated into dolls that sing "Ring Around the Rosy." Good god. As I suggested last week, I think many of the Lost tie-ins were there in the beginning to pull in the Lost fans, but it's not something they'll be continuing. The sensibilities of the show are very similar -- clues along the way, a big mystery to be solved, free will vs. destiny, time travel -- but this week's episode didn't feel as "Lost 2.0" as last week's did, to use a phrase a few of you coined.
• So, at the AA meeting, was anyone else waiting for the guy standing to say, "When Cameron was in Egypt's land, let my Cameron goooo....."
• "We're all prophets." This line was particularly poignant to me, and, OK, Lost-like. It was the first time I thought, "Man, I wish they'd do a crossover ep."
• Did anyone else find moments in the episode that felt very "Minority Report"? It was very well done, the idea that Olivia is getting the cold shoulder from her husband for a crime she hasn't yet committed.
• I thought it was a little strange that Simcoe didn't know what "spectrum" meant. If he has an autistic kid and hasn't hear the word "spectrum," then it's not that he hasn't played a huge role in his life, it's more like he's been completely absent.
• So help my husband and I out -- does Simcoe remind you of A) a young Alan Rickman, B) Hugh Jackman, C) Colin Firth?
• Mark made the comment last week that maybe Demetri was dreaming. I can't stop thinking about that comment now -- would there be several time zones of people who largely had blackouts? Or is it possible you'd have a flashforward of a dream you had? "Oh my GOD, my life 6 months from now is going to be terrible! I'm going to be naked in front of a classroom of students, and it's the last day of class and time to write the final exam but I haven't actually been to any of the classes, and all of my teeth start falling out, and...."
• LOVED Nick Drake at the end of this episode. Loved it.
I enjoyed last week's episode a lot, but this week's was leagues above it. But just one question: Where's Chah-lie?!
34 comments:
wow- that was fantastic! I think I forgot to breathe a little during the doll house scene- CREEPY gah. This may need to be a show I wait and watch the next day- aka, not right before I go to bed.
I was worried that after last week this ep would fail, but I thought it was better than last week!
First time I have commented, although I have read for a long time (especially anything Lost or Joss Whedon oriented). I was like you--at first I wasn't liking the episode so much(oh no, the obligatory Washington D.C bigwig throwing cold water on their team) but I soon got sucked into the creepiness. I was more creeped out this week when they said "and then there were two..." than when I saw the first awake person last week.
i definitely enjoyed this episode more than last week's. and hahahaha, just like you, when they showed the warehouse of doll parts i a) was completely creeped out and b) heard courtney love singing in my head. hahaha!
i got all excited to see cameron--er, alan ruck--in the episode (and during his venting session, i was totally waiting for him to say, "i had this friend, in high school, and he got EVERY SINGLE THING he ever wanted, and he totally wrecked my dad's ferrari, and he made me lie to our principal to get him out of school for the day, and ..."), but was so disappointed he had such a bit part. for an actor of his stature, i felt he was brutally underused, and i hope he's coming back. otherwise, what a waste!
i was also creeped out with the "and then there were two" comment. curiouser and curiouser ... and i was further creeped out when charlie recognised dylan and flipped out after seeing him in his hospital bed .. and i was even further creeped out again when demetri got the call about his own murder. can you just imagine?!
that said, the minute the sheriff in utah said she saw nothing in her flashforward, i knew she wasn't going to be long for this world, just to ratchet up the tension for demetri.
i loved the scene with the FBI boss and benford, where the boss was detailing what exactly happened to him during his flash. hahahaha!
a definite improvement, though i'm still not feeling any chemistry btw sonya walger and joseph fiennes.
PS: lloyd simcoe/jack davenport, to me, looks like a cross between steve coogan and hugh jackman, although until i double-checked the actor's name, i didn't realise he was also commodore norrington from pirates of the caribbean. huh!
PS again ... what's the significance of the episode title? did i miss the part where they explained/referenced it?
^^
I think it had something to do with the chess piece they found in the warehouse where the creepy dolls were?
And Demetri is "murdered" on March 15th? For me, that date is Julius Caesar as crammed down my throat by my 10th grade English teacher. Shakespeare. The Ides of March, the day Caesar was stabbed in the back by all his friends in the Senate including his best friend Brutus.
Perhaps I am reading too much into the specific date, and yes, it was so creepy in that doll warehouse I expected Chucky to come out any moment.
Funny story. Since they had that Oceanic billboard in the pilot last week, I was keeping an eye out for most Lostiness. Remember in this ep, when Olivia and Charlie were walking along, and there was a wall covered in Missing Persons fliers? There was one with the words 'Huge Reward'. Well, I glanced away for just a nanosecond, and when I got back to my TV screen, I thought I had just seen the name Hugo Reyes! I was watching a recording, and you can bet I went back to look at that moment again. Wouldn't it have been an absolute scream if they'd casually included one of the 815ers' names! Alas, I found no chewy Lost goodness in this episode. Anyone else?
The first I word I think of when I think of the little girl is creepy. Almost as creepy as the doctor on the freighter or Abbadon from Lost. But nothing was as creepy as when all of the dolls started singing "Ring Around the Rosy" to quote you Nikki, good God.
Did Didi Gibbons remind anyone else of our favourite Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher from Harry Potter, Dolores Umbridge? The first thing I thought when they showed her was, "Wow, Umbridge much?"
So far, my favourite is Brent, the suicidal doctor with a change of heart. That is until Dominic comes. Which reminds me, where the HECK is he?! And so far, Demetri is my least favourite character.
When I saw Lynn Whitfield's name in the credits I thought "My aunt's in this?". I have an aunt named Lynn on my dad's side, whose last name used to be Whitfield, then she married my uncle. I'm not in any relation to the actress.
I find it amusing that Sonya Walger has a child named Charlie in both LOST and FlashForward. Haha!
And Jack Davenport, (Simcoe) was Norrington from PotC, so that's all I can think of whenever he's on screen. I keep waiting for him to start a three-way swordfight with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom...
Minna: I keep waiting for him to start a three-way swordfight with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom...
Wouldn't a LOT of people want to be involved in a three-way ANYTHING with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom?
Wait. Did I just say that out loud?
Great insights, y'all.
Minna: GREAT catch on the two Charlies!! I was just saying to my husband that I love that their daughter (who looks a LOT like my daughter, and therefore in many of the scenes I feel like my heart is being crushed when this little girl looks so upset) is named Charlie, and I never put that together!!
Gillian: I'm a big fan of Lynn Whitfield's, and I saw her name in the credits and was surprised to see her there, and she'll be a great addition.
Here's a question: The woman making the phone call to Demetri at the end is Shohreh Aglashdoo (OK, that last name is wrong but you know who I mean) who won the Oscar for The House of Sand and Fog a few years ago. She won an Emmy last week for a guest spot in something, I think, and Ken Tucker from EW made a comment that her wheezing as she was accepting the award was one of the low points of the evening.
But when I saw her accept the award, I thought maybe she has emphysema or something. Does anyone know what's up? Is she OK? I heard the wheezing again when she was talking to Demetri, even though they were timing her lines so it wouldn't be as obvious.
fb: I'm assuming Cameron will be used in the future, because he starred in Spin City for so many years and he's a pretty big actor, definitely too big than to just have one line. :) I was happy to see him here.
What a great cast, eh? I didn't say that in my write-up, but MAN they got some fantastic actors to be in this show.
Nikki, Shohreh Aghdashloo always sounds like that. It is her normal, everyday speaking voice. She was a series regular on S4 of "24". (That's where I first got to know her.) So when she gave her Emmy acceptance speech, and last night in her character's introduction on FlashForward, I didn't notice anything unusual. Ken Tucker at EW probably wasn't a "24" fan back in S4, and so didn't know about Shohreh's distinctive voice. Either that, or he just plain doesn't like how she sounds. I find her accent and her careful, measured speech charming.
How about the cupcake lady? She was on some sketch comedy show like SNL or MadTV I think.
Creepy - children laying on the ground reenacting the flash forward with the Ring Around the Rosy singing
Creepy - the doll Ring Around the Rosy scene
Creepy - Charlie screaming about Dylan getting hurt
Creepy - Demetri finding out that he was going to be murdered
Creeeeeeeeepy - When Charlie talked about her vision at the end.
Yep, pretty creepy episode.
Spot on as always, Nikki! LOL at "Cameron", etc. I am SO glad you have decided to continue with this show. This episode was much better than the first, as you said. I told my husband, "Let's give this show one more shot, then take it off the TiVo season pass if we don't like it. It's just not as good as LOST." To which he replied, "NOTHING is as good as LOST." Anyway, we kept the season pass. I think I have permanent goosebumps from all the dolls, chanting, and D. Gibbonses. Not to metion a severe case of dizziness from the flashforward/ bulletin board footage, which reminds me of what one would record if one strapped a camera to the head of a hyperactive seal. (with apologies to Dave Barry)
Dominic is Suspect Zero. Remember description 5 foot 8 inches 150 pounds.
Oh no! Chah-lie as the bad guy? You think? Not sure if I can handle that. I can handle the creepy dolls dangling from the ceiling singing "ring around the rosy" but Dominic Monaghan is just too lovely to be a creepy "I was awake while the rest of you were blacked out" bad guy!
Nikki, in terms of Simcoe...I love your options, but I immediately pegged him from Pirates of the Caribbean. I had to look up his name (Jack Davenport) but I KNEW it was him from his voice, and then his eyes. And what's up with all the British actors on the show? LOL!
I do think it's a little odd that he didn't recognize Olivia. (God I still can't see her as anyone else but Penny yet! And when did her eyes get THAT blue?)
I liked this episode too and YES OMG the dolls...I almost couldn't watch. I have a thing about dolls and clowns...especially the ones with the eyes that blink...this was a hard scene for me. LOL
Did anyone else think those cupcakes might be tainted? LOL
"D Gibbons is a bad man."
GOOSEBUMPS!
I am really liking this show so far. I found the chess pieces to be a bit of Lost tie-in. I thought I saw a computer with a chess game on the screen in the scene in the doll factory right before it gets blown up!? Also echoes of Lost.
I think Simcoe doesn't recognize Olivia because when flashforward time starts, she's alone in the bedroom and he's downstairs, then when she goes downstairs, like she explains to Mark, the flashforward ends as he's turning his head to her.
I know other people have said this already, but as soon as I heard that poor lady in Utah say she didn't have a flash, I knew she was history :(
I liked this episode and I like the way they're ramping up the mystery.
My biggest question is, what on earth did little Charlie see? Dylan knew Olivia's name and I guess I assumed it was from his flash-forward, but Charlie obviously knew him from HER flash-forward, but she also knows D.Gibbons. So I was thinking, well maybe D.Gibbons took Charlie and Dylan, but that wouldn't explain how Dylan knew Pen-um, I mean Olivia. And Olivia wouldn't have been so calm if her daughter was missing.
Very puzzling.
Doll pieces + old factories + nooses + little kid singing = nightmare!
The only thing that didn't surprise me was that there was more than one person awake. Maybe it's just me, but since last episode I was thinking, so who else was awake, because if they found one, then obviously there are more. There aren't cameras everywhere. So I actually kind of found it annoying that they were so shocked. But I see other people here found it creepy and stuff. ::shrugs:: Maybe I'm just jaded :P
I am really excited about this whole thing though. Got my whole family in on it, too. Yeah, we can all be obsessed together! (even my brother that hates Lost)
I watched the episode Thursday night and I loved it. Friday at work I watched the episode again with a coworker during our lunch hour, at ABC.com. On the full episode video they left out the whole AA meeting scene and Alan Ruck's name was missing from the credits. I watched the encore Friday night and they left out the AA meeting on there too.
I'm sure it doesn't mean anything, but I just thought it was odd. I mean they had to edit the credits to remove Alan's name, plus most of the credits were shown during the AA meeting on Thursdays episode.
I can't wait for Dom to be on the show, it doesn't really matter to me if he is a good guy or bad guy. And Lloyd Simcoe (Jack Davenport) kind of reminds me of Sam Rockwell sometimes.
Dominic M. is not supposed to be on until episode 6---which makes sense if he's Suspect Zero. Didn't they show Lloyd getting a phone call and then leaving the bedroom? So, he never saw Olivia? I DVR the eps on Friday nights and I never saw Alan Ruck (whom I met working in Barnes and Noble in Nanuet, NY, years ago. Really sweet man and I made an ass of myself trying not to make a scene.) Weird...
I watched this episode on demand, and it didn't include any AA meeting, so could someone who saw it sum it up for those of us who didn't? Thanks bunches!
If Alan Ruck becomes a series regular on FF, I will pee my pants with happiness.
@Susan and everyone else who missed the AA meeting: This comes at the beginning, right after the FlashForward title. The AA meeting is in progress, and Alan Ruck’s character has the floor. He’s very upset and says he’s been struggling ever since the visions. The AA program is all about taking life one day at a time, but how is he supposed to do that with the future breathing down his neck? Every day is bringing him closer to what he saw, and he can’t avoid it. Mark Benford is there at the meeting, distracted with the memory of his own disturbing visions (drinking again), and he’s looking pretty grumpy. He clearly wishes Alan would shut up. He whispers to his sponsor, who is sitting next to him, “This guy’s hammered.” The rant continues for a few seconds more. "...And there are no answers because this program’s a joke!” Right then, Mark speaks up, interrupting him. “I’ve got an answer for you. I’m gonna take a walk. Why don’t you cool down, and spare us the rest of your bender.” Then the scene cuts to Mark and his sponsor walking outside, which I hope you all got to see. The sponsor says, “I didn’t like seeing that either, but you never interrupt another person’s share.” And Mark says, “I’m sorry, but, LOADED and sharing, this guy was pushing my buttons.”
If you skimmed over the above comments, you should definitely scroll back up to the third one, posted by fb, who has a great idea for a Ferris Bueller crossover episode.
And Question Mark... I’m really sorry, man. ;)
I’m so disappointed that they’re chopping up episodes for people who want to watch them online someplace. I get so mad at the suits running the networks. I’m still not over them canceling “Invasion” and “The Nine".
Thanks Marebabe!
I also thought this week's episode was a big improvement over the pilot. Still nowhere close to LOST territory, but I like the direction they're heading.
I thought the height of creepy was the daughter using the name 'D.Gibbons' at the end after how many times they had repeated that name over and over during the episode. Sounds like she may end up being kidnapped before too long...
About Alan Ruck -- it's sooo funny that you said that, because I actually passed him on the street in downtown Atlanta while I was attending that convention several weeks ago, and the first thing I did was start singing, "When Cameron was in Egypt laaaand..." (out of earshot, of course:)
About Simcoe -- Am I to assume from your statement and the complete absence of anyone else having mentioned it in the comments that none of you guys have watched the brilliantly funny BBC series 'Coupling,' wherein Davenport plays centerpiece Steve? Because if this is so, Nik, then get thee to Amazon IMMEDIATELY and order Series 1-3, sight-unseen. You'll want to hoist me onto your shoulders and parade me around town, I promise.
PS -- Totally echoing your Nick Drake hurrahs; 'Pink Moon' holds a permanent spot in my Top Five.
About DOMINIC/“Chah-lie”:
In the preview of future episodes following the pilot “No More Good Days”, Dom was shown saying to other characters: “I know what caused the flash forwards.” In a clip on the ABC website he’s introduced, with his partner, as police officer Simon. Which doesn’t preclude his being Suspect 0...
PPS -- I totally forgot to mention the nutty cupcake lady D. Gibbons' line about "cockadoodie pigeons;" correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that a Stephen King reference? Wasn't "cockadoodie" one of Annie Wilkes' lunatic curses in 'Misery?' Not quite a LOST reference, I know, but certainly a LOSTian thing to do...
I also enjoyed the episode, but there were a few plot holes large enough to drive a truck through. When the Asst. for Home Land Security arrived in L.A. she didn't know about the unidentified man in Detroit. Wouldn't Washington be told of that first thing and if she didn't know why go through a briefing and only tell her about this most important find at the end. Before going in the dollhouse there were sharpshooters and support all over. Why didn't they help in the dollhouse? When a shadow was seen they would have been radio'd immediately for backup and assistance and the perimeter of the building would have been surrounded.
I think it had something to do with the chess piece they found in the warehouse where the creepy dolls were?137 Sekunden,which is third episode of flashforward is also very good.
I like to Watch Curb Your Enthusiasm Online.Today i am going to watch Funkhouser’s Crazy Sister from 7th.
I like to Watch Curb Your Enthusiasm Online.Today i am going to watch Funkhouser’s Crazy Sister from 7th.
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