FlashForward

*FlashForward*
FlashForward
	FlashForward title screen
Genre	Drama ; Science fiction
Created by	Brannon Braga ; David S. Goyer
Starring	Joseph Fiennes ; John Cho ; Jack Davenport ; Zachary Knighton ; Peyton List ; Dominic Monaghan; Brían F. O'Byrne ; Courtney B. Vance ; Sonya Walger ; Christine Woods
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Brannon Braga ; David S. Goyer ; Marc Guggenheim ; Jessika Goyer ; Vince Gerardis ; Ralph Vicinanza
Production location	Los Angeles, California
Running time	42 minutes
Production company	ABC Studios
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 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 having to compete with the 2010 Winter Olympics.^[3]^[4]

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 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.^[5]

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 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 with autism, who 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 Angelas before meeting Bryce, so she travels from Japan to LA in order to make the visions come true.

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 4, 2010.^[2]

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.^[6]

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^[7] 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] ^[8]^[9]^[10]

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.^[11]

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
Canada	A.	2009 September 24	Thursdays, 20:00	^[12]
Brazil	AXN	2010 February		^{[citation needed]}
Australia	Seven Network	2009 September 28	Mondays, 20:30	^[13]
United Kingdom	Five	2009 September 28	Mondays, 21:00	^[14]
Russia	Channel One	2009 October 2	Saturdays, 23:00	^[15]
Kazakhstan	Fox Life	2009 October	Fridays, 01:00	^[15]
Belgium	BeTV	2009 October 4	Sundays, 20:45	^[15]
Singapore	MediaCorp	2009 October 4	Sundays, 22:00	^[13]
Italy	Fox	2009 October 5	Mondays, 21:10	^[15]
Spain	AXN	2009 October 5	Mondays, 22:25	^[16]
Spain	Cuatro	2009 October 6	Tuesdays, 22:15	^[16]
Portugal	AXN	2009 October 7	Wednesdays, 22:25	^[17]
Norway	TV 2	2009 October 8	Thursdays, 22:40	^[15]
Estonia	Fox Life	2009 October 16	Fridays, 21:00	^[18]
Finland	Nelonen	2010 January 7	Thursdays, 21:00	^[19]
Poland	AXN	2009 November 14	Saturdays, 22:00	^[15]
Macedonia	AXN	2009 November 14	Saturdays, 21:40	^{[citation needed]}
Croatia	AXN	2009 November 14	Saturdays, 21:40	^{[citation needed]}
Slovakia	AXN	2009 November 16	Mondays, 21:00	^{[citation needed]}
Czech Republic	AXN	2009 November 16	Mondays, 21:00	^[20]
Hungary	AXN	2009 November 16	Mondays, 21:00	^[21]
Bulgaria	AXN	2009 November 18	Wednesday, 23:00	^[22]
France	TF1			^[15]
Ireland	RTÉ Television	2010 January 4		^[23]
Germany	ProSieben	2010		^[15]
New Zealand	TV2	Early 2010		^[13]
Sweden	TV4	2009 October 30	Fridays, 22:55	^[24]
Japan	AXN	2010 spring		^[25]
The Netherlands	NET5	2010		^[15]
Serbia	AXN	2009 November 14	Saturdays 21:40	^[26]
Turkey	Dizimax	2009 November 4		^[27]
Romania	AXN	2009 November 16	Mondays 23:00 (Saturdays 21:10)	^[28]
Iceland	RÚV	2009 October 29	Thursdays 22:25	^{[citation needed]}
Hong Kong	TVB Pearl	2010 January		^[29]
Denmark	Kanal 5	2010		^{[citation needed]}