The Bloated Penguin

First up, I agree with ABC when they allude to the fact that once LOST is over, their stronghold on the niche market of sci-fi and dramatic mystery fans will be all but gone. I agree with the fact that something on the network should be able to absorb some fans into a new show, but right now, I really don’t think that show is Flash Forward. With an amazing cast up front, I really had high hopes for this, but after watching the pilot last week and letting it all settle in, I’ve got more gripes than praise for the Lost replacement.

First up, Joseph Fiennes. I’m not a huge fan and never was. In fact, I really think this is the only thing I’ve seen him in since Shakespeare in Love and that was one of the most pretentiously over-rated flicks of all time. Sorry Joe, not a good start. For one of the first times ever, I can really tell that there is a British accent behind the American slang. Call it bad acting, call it bad direction or call it Joe Fiennes not quite interpreting the character properly, but I really feel as though he’s not up to par with this show. Other casting follies I see are the FBI director played by Courtney B. Vance. I remember him from a few episodes of ER and Boston Public back in the day and nothing about him ever spoke with authority. Finally, and this is probably the worst casting decision that could ever be made for a pilot, Seth McFarlane made a short cameo appearance as an FBI agent. Now I’m all for imagination and stretching the belief of a viewer, but Seth McFarlane? Seriously? This guy lacks so much talent that he had to develop an acting career as a voice… Okay, maybe I’m a little hard on Seth, but I’m of the belief that Family Guy is one of the dumbest shows on earth (bring on the backlash, but you all know that he stole everything from South Park and put it on FOX).

I will say this though, the casting of John Cho as Demetri Noh was quite good. In fact, I really think he saved the pilot in a lot of ways. I know that whenever people see all they can imagine is him and Kumar getting stoned in a dorm room (or to a lesser extend bringing the Enterprise in and out of warp speed), but I think he really gets to show that he’s not just a character actor. He’s got some chops and in my mind could really carry Flash Forward.

My next gripe is about the story. I understand that Lost plays with time and flash backs all of the time in terms of memory and possible futures, but Flash Forward has all of this built into the story. What I find extremely annoying is the predictability with the way a lot of the flash forwards are being revealed. The audience meets a new character, then BAM, flash forward and you see their vision… Not really as exciting as you might think and there are probably numerous possibilities of how these visions could be shown.

The other gripe I have with the story is the “modernization,” of the whole script. I understand that the war in Afganistan is on the edge of people’s minds all of the time, but when we flick on the TV during prime time and our imaginations get going, we don’t need to be reminded by every show that people are dying out there. If we wanted to know more, we’d watch the news at 6. If Flash Forward is supposed to take place in a fictitious reality, then why does there have to be war? Maybe I’m looking too far into this, but I don’t particularly enjoy shows that “try to stay current,” they really end up just making themselves look stupid and eventually dated.

I’ll end this with some positives for the David Goyer directed pilot because even though this initial review is a bit harsh, I will probably be back this week to watch another episode. Flash Forward has potential. I can see it in the final scene (although that is a bit too long to wait to start caring about the plot) with Demetri and his FBI assistant finding security camera footage of someone who did not experience the flash. Like 24, they decided to wait until the very end of the episode to give you a reason to want to watch more. But at least it’s there and they’ve got me interested now. The other interesting technique they’ve used is connecting characters in their flashes and not revealing how they are connected in real time. Again, it adds to the mystery and gives audiences a reason to come back for more.

Anyways, I think everyone should check out at least one episode of Flash Forward to form their own opinion because it’s really difficult to judge a show purely on the pilot. Maybe this will grow on me, but we’ll have to wait and see.