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FlashForward

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This article is about the 2009 ABC TV series. For the 1996 Disney Channel TV series, see Flash Forward. For other uses, see Flashforward (disambiguation).
FlashForward
FlashForward title screen
GenreDrama
Science fiction
Created byBrannon Braga
David S. Goyer
StarringJoseph Fiennes
John Cho
Jack Davenport
Zachary Knighton
Peyton List
Dominic Monaghan
Brían F. O'Byrne
Courtney B. Vance
Sonya Walger
Christine Woods
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersBrannon Braga
David S. Goyer
Marc Guggenheim
Jessika Goyer
Vince Gerardis
Ralph Vicinanza
Production locationLos Angeles, California
Running time42 minutes
Production companyABC Studios
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 24, 2009 –
present

FlashForward is an American science-fiction television series, which premiered on ABC on September 24, 2009.[1] It is loosely based on the 1999 novel Flashforward by Canadian science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer. On December 3, 2009, ABC abruptly placed the show on hiatus until March 4, 2010, explaining the break would allow the show to run the remaining 14 episodes[2] uninterrupted, as well as avoid competition with the 2010 Winter Olympics.[3][4] FlashForward is now scheduled to return on March 18, 2010 with a two-hour opener, a two hour season finale on May 27, 2010, outside the traditional May sweeps period.[5][6]

Premise

A mysterious event causes nearly everyone on the planet to simultaneously lose consciousness for 137 seconds, during which people see what appear to be visions of their lives approximately six months in the future—a global “flashforward”. A team of Los Angeles FBI agents, led by Stanford Wedeck (Vance) and spearheaded by Mark Benford (Fiennes), begin the process of determining what happened, why, and whether it will happen again. Benford contributes a unique perspective on the investigation; in his flashforward, he saw the results of six months of investigation that he had done on the flashforward event, and he and his team use those clues to recreate the investigation.

The team investigates a number of events related to the flashforward, including "Suspect Zero", who did not lose consciousness during the event, the sinister "D. Gibbons", and a similar mass loss of consciousness in Somalia in 1991. Meanwhile, personal revelations contained within the flashforwards occupy the personal lives of the principal characters. Mark Benford sees his alcoholism relapsing, his wife sees herself with another man, and other characters grapple with similarly unexpected or surprising revelations in their flashforwards.

Characters

Main article: List of characters in FlashForward

Main characters

FlashForward began with nine star billed roles. From episode six on, Dominic Monaghan is billed as a regular cast member. In the tenth episode, Michael Ealy will join the cast in what is expected to be a regular role.[7]

  • FBI Special Agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) — Mark's flashforward guides the investigation of the events of October 6. The husband of Olivia Benford and father of Charlie Benford, he is a recovering alcoholic.
  • Special Agent Demetri Noh (John Cho) — Mark Benford’s partner at the FBI. He had no flashforward and fears that means he will die. He is engaged to Zoey, a lawyer.
  • Dr. Olivia Benford (Sonya Walger) — Mark's wife and a successful surgeon at a major hospital. She supervises Dr. Bryce Varley. In her flashforward, she is romantically involved with Dr. Lloyd Simcoe, although she had never met him before the blackout. They meet when she treats his son.
  • Dr. Lloyd Simcoe (Jack Davenport) — An academic at Stanford. Lloyd's estranged wife and mother of his son died during the blackout. He has a son with autism, Dylan, who knows Olivia and who Charlie mysteriously recognizes. His research partner is Simon Campos, and Lloyd believes themselves to be responsible for the blackout.
  • Dr. Bryce Varley (Zachary Knighton) — A surgical intern reporting to Dr. Olivia Benford. He was on the verge of committing suicide due to a diagnosis of stage 4 renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) when the blackout occurred. After the blackout he experiences a renewed will to live, and sees his vision as a gift.
  • FBI Assistant Director Stanford Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance) — Head of the FBI Los Angeles field office. He oversees Mark Benford's team and the October 6 investigation. His flashforward shows him on a toilet reading a newspaper.
  • Special Agent Janis Hawk (Christine Woods) — Works at the Los Angeles field office as part of Mark Benford's team. In her vision she was pregnant and having a sonogram, which she finds hard to believe because she is single and a lesbian.
  • Aaron Stark (Brían F. O'Byrne) — A recovering alcoholic, he is Mark Benford’s sponsor and close friend. His daughter, Tracy, was presumed killed in action in Afghanistan, but his flashforward showed his daughter alive.
  • Nicole Kirby (Peyton List) — A 19 year old student and Charlie Benford's babysitter. She was also a childhood friend of Aaron Stark's daughter Tracy Stark. Nicole's flashforward shows her being drowned by a stranger. She speaks Japanese.
  • Dr. Simon Campos (Dominic Monaghan) — A quantum physicist and research partner of Stanford academic Lloyd Simcoe, who doesn't believe he is responsible for the blackout. In his flashforward he sees himself fighting and later killing a man.

Recurring characters

  • Charlie Benford (Lennon Wynn) — Mark and Olivia's daughter. She had an unknown flashforward about Dylan and a mysterious figure known as D. Gibbons.
  • Dylan Simcoe (Ryan Wynott) — Lloyd's son, who is suffering from autism, and knows Olivia from his vision.
  • Special Agent Vreede (Barry Shabaka Henley) — A member of Mark's team.
  • Special Agent Al Gough (Lee Thompson Young) — A member of Mark's team who committed suicide to save the life of another, presumably changing the future of not only himself, but those affected by him.
  • Zoey Andata (Gabrielle Union) — Demetri's fiancée and a criminal defense attorney. In her flashforward she initially believed she was attending her wedding to Demitri, but now suspects it may be his funeral.
  • Nhadra Udaya (Shohreh Aghdashloo) — A Persian woman stationed in Hong Kong who is implied to be working with both the CIA and the suspected perpetrator of the blackout.
  • Tracy Stark (Genevieve Cortese) — Aaron Stark's daughter, a former soldier who was previously believed killed in Afghanistan. She is currently on the run from private military contractors whom she witnessed committing war crimes, and who tried to kill her. She is broken, bitter, and drinks to excess, which causes tension when she returns home.
  • Keiko Arahida (Yuko Takeuchi) — A Japanese woman whose family works at a local restaurant. Dr. Bryce Varley's FlashForward shows himself meeting Keiko in a Japanese restaurant. Keiko's FlashForward shows her running down the street and entering a Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles before meeting Bryce, so she travels from Japan to LA in order to make the visions come true.

Episodes

Main article: List of FlashForward episodes

Episodes 1 to 10 of the first season aired in the U.S. from September 24, 2009 to December 3, 2009. The remaining 14 episodes for this season are currently set to resume airing in the U.S. on March 18, 2010.[8][9]

Production

The pilot was written by David S. Goyer (who also directed) and Brannon Braga, from Robert J Sawyer's novel, with Goyer and Braga executive producing alongside Jessika Borsiczky Goyer, Vince Gerardis, and Ralph Vicinanza.[10]

FlashForward originally was developed at HBO, which sold its option because it thought the show would be a better fit for a broadcast network. After purchasing the series and ordering a pilot ABC picked up FlashForward for thirteen episodes[11] in May 2009. On October 12, 2009, ABC picked up the series for a 22 episode season. Later the same day, it was announced ABC had ordered a further three episodes for a 25 episode first season, which was later adjusted to 24.[2] [12][13][14]

On October 21, it was announced that executive producer Marc Guggenheim is leaving ABC's FlashForward. Co-creator and executive producer David S. Goyer will step in and replace him as show runner.[15]

Awards and nominations

In November 2009, FlashForward received a nomination in the category of Favorite New Television Drama at the Peoples Choice Awards.

International distribution

Country TV Network(s) Series Premiere Notes Source
Australia Australia Seven Network 2009 September 28 Mondays, 20:30 [16]
Belgium Belgium BeTV 2009 October 4 Sundays, 20:45 [17]
Belgium Belgium Prime 2010 January 14 Thursday, 22:30 [17]
Brazil Brazil AXN 2010 February [citation needed]
Bulgaria Bulgaria AXN 2009 November 18 Wednesday, 23:00 [18]
Canada Canada A. 2009 September 24 Thursdays, 20:00 [19]
Croatia Croatia AXN 2009 November 14 Saturdays, 21:40 [citation needed]
Czech Republic Czech Republic AXN 2009 November 16 Mondays, 21:00 [20]
Denmark Denmark Kanal 5 2010 January 24 Sundays 21:00 & 22:00 [21]
Estonia Estonia Fox Life 2009 October 16 Fridays, 21:00 [22]
Finland Finland Nelonen 2010 January 7 Thursdays, 21:00 [23]
France France TF1 [17]
Greece Greece FX (Greece) 2009 December 29 [citation needed]
Hong Kong Hong Kong TVB Pearl 2010 January 12 Tuesdays 22:35 [24]
Hungary Hungary AXN 2009 November 16 Mondays, 21:00 [25]
Iceland Iceland RÚV 2009 October 29 Thursdays 22:25 [citation needed]
Republic of Ireland Ireland RTÉ 2 2010 January 4 Mondays, 21:00 [26] [27]
Italy Italy Fox 2009 October 5 Mondays, 21:10 [17]
Japan Japan AXN 2010 spring [28]
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Fox Life 2009 October Fridays, 01:00 [17]
North Macedonia Macedonia AXN 2009 November 14 Saturdays, 21:40 [citation needed]
Netherlands The Netherlands RTL 5 2010 [17]
New Zealand New Zealand TV2 2010 February 10 Wednesdays, 20:30 [16]
Norway Norway TV 2 2009 October 8 Thursdays, 22:40 [17]
Poland Poland AXN 2009 November 14 Saturdays, 22:00 [17]
Portugal Portugal AXN & SIC 2009 October 7(AXN) and 2010 January 31 (SIC) Wednesdays, 22:25 [29]
Romania Romania AXN 2009 November 16 Mondays 23:00 (Saturdays 21:10) [30]
Russia Russia Channel One 2009 October 2 Saturdays, 23:00 [17]
Serbia Serbia AXN 2009 November 14 Saturdays 21:40 [31]
Singapore Singapore MediaCorp 2009 October 4 Sundays, 22:00 [16]
Slovakia Slovakia AXN 2009 November 16 Mondays, 21:00 [citation needed]
South Africa South Africa M-Net 2010 January 19 Tuesdays 20:30 [32]
Spain Spain AXN 2009 October 5 Mondays, 22:25 [33]
Spain Spain Cuatro 2009 October 6 Tuesdays, 22:15 [33]
Sweden Sweden TV4 2009 October 30 Fridays, 22:55 [34]
Turkey Turkey Dizimax 2009 November 4 Wednesdays 22:00 [35]
United Kingdom United Kingdom Five 2009 September 28 Mondays, 21:00 [36]

References

  1. ^ "ABC.com - FlashForward - Home". Abc.go.com. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
  2. ^ a b "ABC Confirms Episode Orders". The Futon Critic. 2009-12-08. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
  3. ^ TVguide.com
  4. ^ Zap2it.com
  5. ^ http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/01/american-idol-messes-with-flashforwards-return-suspect-zero-to-be-revealed.html
  6. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=8456
  7. ^ DigitalSpy.com
  8. ^ http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/01/american-idol-messes-with-flashforwards-return-suspect-zero-to-be-revealed.html
  9. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=8456
  10. ^ "Flash Forward New Companion for Lost". www.comingsoon.net. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  11. ^ "The Hollywood Reporter". The Hollywood Reporter. 2009-05-08. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
  12. ^ Levine, Stuart (2009-10-12). "ABC picks up more 'FlashForward'". Variety. Retrieved 2009-10-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ Michael Ausiello (2009-10-12). "This just in: 'FlashForward' gets full season". The Ausiello Files. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-10-12. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (2009-10-12). "ABC Orders Full Season of 'FlashForward'". ArtsBeat: The Culture at Large. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-12. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Joyce Eng. "FlashForward Changes Showrunners". TVGuide.com.
  16. ^ a b c Elizabeth Guider (September 21, 2009). "FlashForward inks Asia Pacific deals". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hopewell, John; Keslassy, Elsa (October 5, 2009). "Disney sells 'FlashForward' worldwide". Variety.com. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  18. ^ AXN-Bulgaria.com
  19. ^ "Canadian author Robert J. Sawyer to debut TV series with literary fans". The Canadian Press. 2009-09-23.
  20. ^ "Flash Forward". AXN.cz. Retrieved 2009-11-27..
  21. ^ [1]
  22. ^ Kersti Raud (October 5, 2009). "Flashforwardi tutvustus". elu24.ee. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  23. ^ Nelonen.fi
  24. ^ TVB.com
  25. ^ AXN.hu
  26. ^ "RTÉ.ie Entertainment: RTÉ Television unveils new season". Rte.ie. 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
  27. ^ http://www.rte.ie/tv/programmes/flash_forward.html
  28. ^ "AXN Japan: Coming soon". 2009-10-11. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  29. ^ "AXN.pt - FlashForward mini-site". axn.pt. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
  30. ^ AXN.ro
  31. ^ AXN.rs
  32. ^ "M-NET - Flash Forward". Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  33. ^ a b Cuatro.com
  34. ^ "Premiärdatum för FlashForward i TV4". TVplanetens tv-blogg. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
  35. ^ Digiturk.com
  36. ^ "FlashForward". Five. Retrieved 2009-10-08..
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