WHAT DID YOU SEE?

Executive Producer David S. Goyer might get pissed at me for saying that his new ABC series, FlashForward, IS science fiction.

While the new series is only loosely based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer, and the explanation of what caused every living human being to blackout for exactly 2 minutes and 17 seconds may or may not be the same as the book. Ummm, having the entire planet passed out at exactly the same time, only to wake up with a vision of their own future 6 months in the future, or not (you see your future if you are dead in it) ... sure sounds like science fiction to me, regardless of the cause. So, forget any preconceptions of the science fiction label being a death sentence to a new tv series. And BTW, WTF were they doing at comic con promoting the new series, if it wasn't science fiction ... hmmm?

ABC's Lost is science fiction and very successful, despite what ever fears the show will end next year without a proper explanatory conclusion. BattleStar Galactica (new one) was a successful science fiction tv series. Alias - successful. X-Files - successful. I could go on with a list of very successful science fiction television series, just as I could with fantasy or horror shows.

So, I said it, and stand by it ... FlashForward is a science fiction tv series. Then again, it might end up being fantasy, with the cause of the global blackout the work of naughty little magical faeries! Or, maybe it's horror, as Lucifer and his minions give us all a glimpse into the upcoming apocalypse ... oh wait, CW is already knee deep into demons and armageddon with the show Supernatural.

Enough of my babble, let's check out the story ...

One ordinary day turns extraordinary, when every human being simultaneously passes out for exactly 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Obviously, the mysterious event wreaks havoc across the globe, as folks working, driving, flying ... you name it, everything comes to a crash on an epic scale. Those lucky enough to survive the global blackout, are left frightened, dazed and confused. Even more so, as they begin to wonder, individually at first, then shared with each other, what was the vision they saw during those 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Everyone has one, even if it's nothingness. But, each person has a vision of their own future in six months. Some are beautiful, others terrible. But, each person has to deal with this vision of the near future. Ultimately, this is what the new series, and novel, Flash Forward is really all about. How do we handle Fate, if we took a peek into our own future ... whatever that future might hold for us.

Beyond that core of endless story-lines, is what the hell happened? Who or what caused everyone to black out at the same time, for the same amount of time?? And what's with the fortune-telling visions? That's where FBI Agent Mark Benford comes in ... he sets out to find the answers to these questions, while others collaborate on collecting each individuals visions to a database called, The Mosaic Collective.

• Mark Benford, FBI Agent - Ralph Fiennes (The Escapist, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas)
• Demetri Noh, Mark's partner - John Cho (Sulu in the Star Trek prequel, Solaris, 2001 version of Earth vs. the Spider, Evolution, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, Charmed, and the upcoming film - Caller ID)
• Lloyd Simcoe - Jack Davenport (Norrington from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - Dead Man's Chest - At World's End, one of my fav Brit series - Ultraviolet, Russell Mulcahy's Tale of the Mummy)
• Dr. Bryce Varley - Zackary Knighton (2007 version of The Hitcher, Cherry Falls)
• Nicole Kirby, Benford's babysitter - Peyton List (Ghost Whisperer, Moonlight, Shuttle, Day Break tv series, Smallville)
• Aaron Stark, Mark's friend and AA sponsor - Brian F. O'Byrne (Bug)
• Stanford Wedeck, FBI Director for the L.A. Field Office - Courtney B. Vance (Eye See You, Space Cowboys, The Last Supper, The Adventures of Huck Finn
• Dr. Oliva Benford, Mark's wife - Sonya Walger (Penelope Widmore from ABC's Lost, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, Noah's Ark, and the upcoming film - The Factory)
• Janis Hawk, FBI - Christine Woods (The Haunting of Marsten Manor)
• Fiona Banks - Alex Kingston (Doctor Who, The Poseidon Adventure, Warrior Queen)
• Agent Vreede - Barry Shabaka Henley (Heroes: Villains, Fallen, Clive Barker's Lord of Illusions)
• Agent Gough - Lee Thompson Young (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, 2007 version of The Hills Have Eyes 2, Smallville, Jake 2.0)
• Alda Hertzog - Rachel Roberts (S1m0ne)
• Tracy Stark, Aaron's deceased daughter, Marine - Genevieve Cortese (Ruby from CW's Supernatural, Stephen King's The Dead Zone)
• Charlie Benford, Benford's daughter - Lennon Wynn
• Simon - Dominic Monaghan (Charlie from ABC's Lost, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Chuck, I Sell the Dead, The Purifiers, and the unforgettable Hobbit Meriadoc Brandybuck from The Lord of the Rings trilogy)
• Zoey, Demetri's fiance - Gabrielle Union (2005 version of the Night Stalker tv series, Abandon, The Others tv series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
• Vlad Petrov - Adam Tsekhman (The Spirit)

With such a global scale, there will be many flash forwards and backwards, examining many different individuals. So, this will be like LOST with cast members coming and going. And, as with the novel, this story doesn't end with the cause of this mysterious event. What happens when the characters reach six months down the road? What happens beyond six months?? In the novel by Robert J. Sawyer, the first component of the mystery is explained on the first page of the book. I won't say exactly what occured, and it's very real science ... although, even if I tried to explain it, I couldn't, as the actual science goes way over my head. And I tried to wrap my head around it! Creators of the series haven't given away, whether or not to follow the causes of the event in the book to the new TV show. So, readers of the award winning novel will have to wait and see what the future holds for this Flash Forward, just like the rest of us.

FlashForward airs Thursday nights on ABC. for more info, visit the Official website:

http://abc.go.com/shows/flash-forward

And a fun little companian project for the show, where you can submit what YOU saw in your own futuristic vision:

http://www.themosaiccollective.com/