I am typing this on a public computer in an airport terminal, so I don't have access to checking IMDB or anything else, so it won't be nearly as accurate as my other posts (accuracy?! what's THAT?!) Even my title is going by memory; I'm sure I've got a number off or a letter missing, but you get the picture.
But I HAD to post something on last night's Flashforward. I think the show has consistently been getting better week after week since about 3 or 4 weeks ago, and last night's was the best one since the second episode, as far as I was concerned. The story was pushed forward with great speed, there were several new revelations, the acting was terrific, and I actually laughed at parts. What? Flashforward found a sense of humour? Thank you, writers!!
Interestingly, when Dominic Monaghan was first announced as being cast on this show, we were told he was a math genius who would be working closely with the FBI. Who'd have thunk it would have taken HALF the season to actually get him into that position? He's far more compelling already as a rat in their midst, yet a rat that is necessary to move things forward. His reaction to discovering that photo was taken in 1991 was classic.
Simcoe's international confession was a daring one, and rather stupid, to be honest (I have to admit I sided with Simon on that one, especially since both of them will be the most despised people on the planet... does he honestly think he and his son will ever be safe again?) And honestly, who among us didn't immediately figure out that those paramedics were NOT paramedics the moment they showed up? I'm thinking this pushes Olivia's storyline closer to the flashforward she saw: she's going to bring Dylan to her house to keep him safe, he'll become friends with Charlie, and Lloyd will eventually be brought into the fold.
The revelation that Mark will be the one to kill Demetri was one I didn't see coming. What do you think will be the circumstances? Will Mark become an alcoholic because of the guilt he now holds over this murder he can't even fathom he would commit? Is it an accident, and he'll become an alcoholic AFTER? Why not melt down the gun? (I know, I know... we should stop asking these questions, but they're too easy not to ask.)
The throaty-voiced woman (I can't remember her name) is intriguing, mostly because of her wall of clues that resembles the one Mark is keeping in his office. She's in some alliance with D. Gibbons (who Charlie's told us is a bad man) and somehow Mark is going to know who he is if his children will also know.
And what about Demetri's fiancee figuring out that she's actually attending his memorial? That even got me choked up. But then I wondered, aren't there any emotions attached to the flashforwards? Wouldn't she have remembered an overriding feeling of sadness rather than happiness? What if the flower she drops is out of shock, because despite thinking his coffin is bring carried to her, she suddenly realizes it's him? Is there any chance that Demetri can escape his own death somehow?
The new revelations last night made me more intrigued about what the future of this show holds more than almost every episode beyond the very beginning, and I'm so thrilled. What did you think?
Don't forget that Dollhouse has 2 episodes tonight, starting at 8 on Fox! I'm meeting a friend in NYC and we're watching it in my hotel room. I'm so excited to actually watch it with someone else again!!
21 comments:
Much more intriguing! I agree - simcoe is kind of stupid for a genius. And anyone who has watched television and has just confessed to killing 20 million people could predict he would be in danger and not refuse FBI protection.
I didn't see the "hiding of the evil genius by the woman with the voice" coming - that was a good twist.
I agree Mark starts drinking because he kills Dimitri - it would take something like that.
This show is getting better weekly.
Hi Nik
I completely agree with you, there were a few episodes that were so slow that I almost gave up on the show.
They have ramped up the action and intrigue immensely in the past two weeks.
I find all the stories quite fascinating right now. I can't for the life of me figure out why Benford would want to kill Noh unless he was in a drunken stupor maybe?
Didn't the scene at the end with Simcoe being abducted by the faux ambulance drivers driving away remind you totally of the Lost scene with Walt on the other's boat? I almost wanted to yell "WAAAAAAALT"! I guess I'm missing me some Lost big time...LOL
The Demetri/Zoe thing is sad but I kind of figured out that it wasn't a wedding, why did she claim she "saw" Demetri when it was only a shadowy figure standing there?
What I am most pissed off about it that I just heard this show has dipped to the lowest ratings of the season and they are taking it off until March. I have an awful feeling about this. I have this habit of falling in love with shows that get cancelled. I really don't understand why so many people are leaving in droves now that its getting good. They love the mindless reality show and procedurals. Its beyond frustrating!
When it comes to humour, Courtney B. Vance definately carries the show. That guys been hilarious since day one.
I knew as soon as those paramedics arrived what was going to happen, although I thought they'd kidnap Dylan instead of Lloyd. If an extra talks, bad stuff is gonna go down.
Does anyone else really want Bryce and Nicole to get together? I know that men and women can be friends without having to be a couple aswell but if Bryce wasn't so obsessed with his vision girl then I think they'd be perfect together.
There was also a moment in this episode where Janis was talking about her flash and I crossed my fingers and prayed to God they wouldn't show the footage again because we've seen it sooooooo many times and then... they didn't show it. This show is evolving!! Yey!!!
Can't wait for the next episode, I really hope this show is given more of a chance unlike Dollhouse and others.
PS Can someone tell me if D. Gibbons was the person who was awake at the football stadium during the flash. I feel like we've been told he was but I missed it.
First off, knowing how one will die, like Dimitri, why doesn't he just don a bullet proof jacket on the day? (Oh, but that is too much Back to the Future). But it does seem the sensible thing to do, especially if you know where the bullets are going. Second, Janice's flash forward seems more like a dream. I mean, if she is attending a funeral, why would she be dressed as she is, all lacey, and like ready for a beach side romantic stroll? Don't you think knwoing Dimitri was dead would have been uppermost in her mind in the future? Third, if I were Mark, I'd replace all my bullets with blanks.
Now to the ridiculous. Of course it looks good that Mark grabs Nadia (where did I hear that name before?) in the Chinese restaurant, but what was he thinking--he'd board an airplane and fly her back to the U.S.? And how ridiculously fast did those police arrive? Then there is our good friend Charlie, uh, Simcoe. Love Monaghan in this role! When he figures out the towers were real, and his work hadn't even begun till the year later, I immediately thought, D. Gibbins is from the future (or getting his information from the future). Now if this plays out, are we watching a war between the past (our time) and the future (Gibbin's time). Well, I'll live with this if this is the case. It could offer so many cool plot lines, more than just figuring out Dimitri's death, which has been pretty much resolved. All we need now is for Michael Emerson to appear. In a puff of smoke?
@asiancolossus: What I am most pissed off about it that I just heard this show has dipped to the lowest ratings of the season and they are taking it off until March. I have an awful feeling about this.
I second your feelings. The show is finally on the right track. Why don't American audiences love it, or at least like it. I can think of 2 reasons. (1) Some may feel it is a derivative of LOST. That should encourage a fair number of fans from LOST to migrate to Flashforward and provide for a solid core of viewers. But why hasn't that happened? It could be the first sucky shows drove that core away, and it will or would take some time to entice them back for a considered second viewing. Or, Flashforward may be too derivative in its parallels with LOST that many fans find this detracts from its originality. (2) For most American audiences science fiction is just too much out there for general audience consumption. True, programs like Star Trek, X-Files and Battlestar managed to attract and retain large audiences, but there was always a nuiche factor to these shows. Had Flashforward premiered on the Space channel, it might have had a better following and less chance of cancellation, as you fear might happen. I'm not a big fan of reality television, but I can see its attraction--it levels the field in terms of wealth and power (the Donald doesn't seem so far off from Joe Plumber), and its one of the reasons Palin is well liked by many. In reality there really is a huge difference between me and the Donald, but while I watch himon his reality show I can dream there isn't. Somehow, a program like Flashforward doesn't bridge that gap between the everyday viewers experience and the content of the show. On the other hand, a program like Fringe does, with its sense of humour, Agent Dunham's family life with her sister and niece, the family dynamics between Peter and Walter. Flashforward may have to not take itself so seriously to attract a larger audience. Lighten up a little with Mark. He's just too serious and driven all the time.
But I agree, Ihave that same sinking feeling the show may be cancelled. I hope not.
I agree with the comments above!
I really love this show and I don't understand why it doesn't have a large audience. Why couldn't people give this show more than a couple of episodes to get into it? I feel invested now and want to know how this is all going to turn out!!
Hold up for a second. After watching this episode I thought they were telling us with Penny (still don't know her characters name) and Simcoe that what they saw wasn't actually a "flash forward" but instead a vision of a possible reality. I thought that's what the whole "we should've met at Harvard in 1998 except for one decision" conversation was saying. Am I the only one who thought this?
I agree the show has been good for the past month. The only character I don't like is the main guy - but that's just another similarity to Lost I guess.
-Tim Alan
Also - no way Simcoe and "Charlie" are free men after that press conference.
No. Way.
-Tim Alan
Yes, a nice episode before a loooong break! FF won't be back until march - and it won't be easy for the show to get our interest back, because our collective minds will probably be deeply wrapped around a certain other show by then...
@Anonymous:
Interesting theory about the flashfowards being a glimpse into another, concurrent reality. I like it!
It reminds me of the last episode or two of Season 1 of Fringe—where the people are being chopped in half by different dimensions that open and shut on them! As well as the revelation that Peter may not be of this time/reality/dimension!
I really like this show. Hopefull it will remain in the Thursday time slot, so as not to interfere with that 'other show' mgkoeln mentioned.
@Anonymous:
I'm with you all the way on the alternative future theory. This idea popped into my head a few weeks ago when Simon is talking to the woman on the train about Schrodinger's Cat- they are seeing a vision of something that could have happened in this universe and is happening in an alternative one. That's why some visions are coming true but others are not.
This week's episode was certainly one of the best but did anyone else think it was highly unlikely the FBI would give Simon, the prime suspect in causing the blackout, unlimited access to all their intel? He strolled into the office, unaccompanied and they dont even interview him ?
@ The Shout
I agree. And even more unlikely that they'd continue to share the information while he sits there and acts like a pompous ass, even at one point bluntly stating that he's smarter than their intel?
That did strike me as odd.
This episode of "Flashforward" was easily one of the top 3 of the season -- I also really liked "The Gift," when the agent throws himself off the building to prove he can change the future.
Lloyd Simcoe's decision to hold the press conference was strange; obviously, he is slightly clueless and believes most people will be able to forgive an "honest mistake." Apparently Olivia is, since she seems to lose all hesitation when she's with him, becoming his new BFF.
Mark's obsession has gone to Jack-level proportions, but understandable. If you saw the future and it was bleak, then learned you will probably kill your partner, you'd probably go off the deep end a little, too, and drag a woman needlessly into the street to hold at gunpoint in the face of a variety of International agents and CIA.
For me, though, the story really took off once Simon (Dominic Monaghan) got involved with the FBI. As Nikki said, his expression was priceless the moment he saw the pylons and learned they were real. He's going to be an intriguing wildcard, especially since his motives aren't 100% clear as of yet.
Lastly, I hope this show doesn't get canceled. I'm inclined to agree with mgkoeln in his assessment that we might not be able to reinvest ourselves in the show once "LOST" gets going. By March we're going to be full-steam in the final season, re-watching and researching and blogging and...
This show is done. Too many dumb people doing dumb things and getting dumb reactions from others (admittedly mixed in with nice touches). I felt the best episode by far was the one in Japan, which had real heart. As soon as we get back to guns and chases it seems to become extremely derivative again.
Nikki, so glad to see that you are posting about FF again. I was afraid you gave up on the show. I am really digging it, however, can't see what kind of future it really has. How can it exist beyond the April date when all the FF's become realized? I am guessing after seeing the promo's for March, that maybe there is going to be another FF? Maybe that's how they extend the story lines?
A quick question: Did the Persian woman have evidence that Mark killed Demetri, or does she just know that it's Mark's gun? I might have missed where she specifically states it.
Sue: As far as I can remember, she simply said it was Mark's gun. Which, of course, made me worried at the end of the ep that maybe Demetri will simply commit suicide, since he now has Mark's gun. But he's turned it over to him temporarily; I doubt Demetri gets to keep the gun. ;)
Hi;
Thank you so much Nikki for finally blogging about FF again, I absolutely love this show.
First, I absouletly love Joseph Fiennes portrayl of SA Mark Benford. I can't believe no one else appreciates his tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic humor.
No idea what will set Mark off to kill Demitri. Seems we now know why Mark is drinking though.
The whole scene with Olivia and Simcoe discussing Harvard was very interesting. I don't think they could be seeing an alternate life though because Charlie and Dylan wouldn't exist in another reality.
I haven't noticed anyone else posting anything about it so maybe no one has noticed but at during the title credits just after FlashForward zips across if you put it in slow-mo a hidden image appears. It changes with each weeks ep. This week's is a note that appears to be written in blood that says "help us". I went back and checked the only other ep. I have on tape. In the episode of the Gift (the one where Al commits suicide) the image is a bullet with the words "not today" imprinted on it. An image of the same bullet Al gets in the same ep. If anyone knows what the images are that are hidden in the episodes I'd love to know. This alone will keep me waiting until March.
P.S. Did everyone vote for the People's choice awards...FF is up for best new drama.
The Persian woman is Shoreh Agdashloo, a wonderful actress who was nominated for an Oscar for "House of Sand and Fog" and won an Emmy for portraying Saddam Husseain's wife on a recent HBO miniseries.
Anonymous: Oh yes, I definitely knew it was Agdashloo (I talked about her in a previous entry on FF); I just couldn't remember her character's name. She's an amazing actress, isn't she? I thought she was so gorgeous in her scenes on FF last week.
Just read your blog on FlashForward.
The 'throaty' woman played a terrorists wife on '24' a few seasons back. She is so good! Glad to see her back!
I love seeing Charlie & Pen. But, what is up with Dom's hair~er, lack there of! UCK! I'm getting used to it, tho.
CanNOT believe they are going on hiatus til March! ARGH!
Can't wait!
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