FLASHFORWARD (TV SERIES) - DVD review

It's hard not to think of another ABC-TV series when you watch "FlashForward," because there's the same undercurrent of mystery involving phenomenological elements as there are in "Lost." Viewers are set up to wonder whether the causes behind the effects are natural or human, sinister or naturalistic . . . or some combination. And time and numbers factor prominently, along with a possible conspiracy. There's even the equivalent of "Others."

Loosely based on the sci-fi novel of the same name, "FlashForward" has an interesting enough premise. What would happen if everyone in the world blacked out at precisely the same time and for precisely the same amount of time--137 seconds. And what would happen if they all saw a flashforward of what their lives are like six months into the future? Would they embrace fate, or fight it, kicking and screaming? Would they misinterpret what they saw and act in such a way as to create a self-fulfilling prophecy that's a perversion of future reality? Would a brief glimpse into the future comfort or confuse? Relieve or add stress? And would they be honest with each other about what they saw, or use the flashforwards to advance their own agendas?

Well, for some of those poor suckers, whom we see in the very beginning, pure dumb luck based on the apparent randomness of the universe ensures that they don't see anything at all, because they black out while doing something routine but potentially dangerous--like riding the train to work or driving to work. What happens when the engineer passes out, or every driver everywhere loses consciousness for two minutes and 17 seconds? Chaos, of course, and spectacular crashes. And that's the dramatic scene that sets this series in motion--kind of like that plane crash in "Lost."

Unlike "Lost," though, "FlashForward" doesn't weave enough of the phenomenological elements or its conspiracy plot into the episodes, and the characters aren't as distinctive or interesting. We're six episodes into the show before we finally get some relationship development of any depth, and because the main character is a law enforcement officer and the mystery is being investigated by his unit, "FlashForward" takes on some of the familiar characteristics of the police procedural. And when the relationships get on-screen treatment, too often the dialogue and staging are more melodramatic than what viewers got in "Lost."

Still, "FlashForward" is more intelligent and demanding than most TV dramas, and the series should appeal to the same viewers who loved "Lost" because it requires them to juggle a lot of elements and possibilities in their heads and try to figure out a mystery one clue at a time. Just don't expect the same quality.

"FlashForward" stars Joseph Fiennes as FBI Special Agent Mark Benford, who, in the tradition of all TV cops, it seems, is a recovering alcoholic. His wife, Olivia (Sonya Walger) is a surgeon at the local hospital, and his partner is Special Agent Demetri Noh (John Cho), who experienced no flashforward and thus believes he's going to be dead in six months. So I guess he's not a believer in the Afterlife? Other main characters include Assistant Director Stanford Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance), the head of the FBI L.A. unit called Mosaic that tries to assemble an international database for flashforwards and look for patterns; Aaron Stark (Brian F. O'Byrne), Mark's AA sponsor and close friend whose daughter was killed in service in Afghanistan (or was she, since he saw her in his flashforward); Special Agent Janis Hawk (Christine Woods), a lesbian who sees herself pregnant into the future; and Lloyd Simcoe (Jack Davenport), a professor whose wife dies during the blackout, leaving him to care for his autistic son . . . and causing no small strain in Mark's life because this guy is with his wife six months from now. Why I oughta . . . .

The show succeeds when it follows the interesting plot convolutions--one of which involves a secret "blue hand" society of virtual others, those other people who have no vision of the future to share. So why not band together into a nice little hedonistic, nihilistic bunch and play all sorts of games with life? When we're on the trail of the mystery, "FlashForward" is better-than-average TV entertainment. It's when the show lapses into familiar cop-drama territory or bogs down in relationship sub-dramas that are a little too melodramatic that the series falls short. In fact, I find that the characters themselves just aren't as memorable or compelling as the cast from "Lost," an ensemble of virtual unknowns that quickly made stars of the whole bunch. The acting isn't bad in "FlashForward," but you get the feeling that everyone is just a little limited by the scripts and treatments.

"FlashForward" is on break now to avoid going head-to-head against the Winter Olympics, so home video collectors can rule out a conspiracy to squeeze more money out of them by releasing season one in two installments. Somebody just thought to keep the show in viewers' minds with this release, which isn't a bad idea. The first 10 episodes are included here, with no titles or descriptions anywhere. I won't give anything away, but these are the episodes:

"No More Good Days"
"While to Play"
"Sekunden"
"Black Swan"
"Gimme Some Truth"
"Scary Monsters and Super Creeps"
"The Gift"
"Playing Cards with Coyote"
"Believe"
"A561984"

Video:
Picture quality is pretty standard for an ABC-TV release, with only the slightest amount of grain in daytime and brightly lit scenes and a little more (and loss of detail) in dark shots. "FlashForward" is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio, enhanced for 16x9 TV monitors.

Audio:
The audio is solid for a TV DVD release, with the Dolby Digital 5.1 really coming to life during crashes and shootouts--which action fans will wish were in more supply. It's mostly a dialogue-driven soundtrack that delivers clear and distortion-free sound, with subtitles available in French or Spanish.

Extras:
Not much here. If you had a flashforward fifteen minutes into the future while these bonus features were playing you'd see a blank screen. "Creating Catstrophe: The Effects of a Global Blackout" is a pretty standard behind-the-scenes look at how they handled that first scene and who inspired them, along with a couple of teasers for the second half of the season.

Bottom Line:
"FlashForward" is to "Lost" what Fred Claus is to Santa: the sibling that's not as accomplished or celebrated . . . and for good reason. It's better than most TV action dramas, but nowhere near as consistently compelling as "Lost."