DVD Reviews

FlashForward: The Complete Series – DVD Review - CLIPS ADDED!

By Patrick Luce Sep 1, 2010, 12:34 GMT

Hold onto your seat as you experience a show like no other. “The ride you are about to take will be worth every minute,” raves Newsday.Out of nowhere, a mysterious flash causes nearly everyone in the world to lose consciousness and gain a glimpse of his or her life six months into the future. As one elite FBI unit attempts to solve the mystery, the rest of the world’s population ...more

Canceled before it had a chance to really get good, FlashForward comes to DVD in a “Complete Series” collection that includes all 22 episodes of the series that was pushed as the next Lost.

The drama featured the “Lost formula” of a large ensemble cast of great actors, lots of questions, few answers, and great cliffhangers. Sadly, it couldn’t find the audience to keep it alive on ABC.

Based on the 1999 novel by science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer, Flashforward featured the writing talents of Brannon Braga and David S. Goyer (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight). It also benefited from the strong performances of Joseph Fiennes, Courtney B. Vance, John Cho, Zachary Knighton, Peyton List, Brian F. O'Byrne, Sonya Walger, and Dominic Monaghan.

The series premise followed the aftermath of a global blackout that lasted for 2 minutes and 17 seconds. During that time, many people on the planet got a quick glimpse of their future.

It also caused massive deaths, damage and worldwide panic. The premise does a great job of hooking you on the series with the concept of what would you change in your life if you got a glimpse of your future, and if it is possible to change that future.

With that in mind, a squad of Los Angeles FBI agents take on the job of trying to discover what caused the FlashForward, who was behind it, and if it might happen again. The group is led by Stanford Wedeck (Vance) who often clashes with his head agent Mark Benford (Fiennes).

Benford (a recovering alcoholic) and his partner Demetri Noh (Cho) approach the investigation as something that has to be solved now, and don’t really like to wait for things like warrants and other red tape matters.

Benford needs to solve the case due to his FlashForward showing him being attacked in the FBI offices and also drunk. Noh wants the FlashForward solved because he didn’t have one – which means he could be dead by the time of the event.

Benford has to deal with the fact his wife, Dr. Olivia Benford (Walger), saw herself in a relationship with someone else - Jack Davenport's Lloyd Simcoe. She also discovers Simcoe could have had something to do with the FlashForwards along with Simon Campos (Monaghan).

As the team continues its investigation they discover someone who was awake during the blackouts, who they dub "Suspect Zero", and that this wasn’t the first time an event like this happened. There are also more personal revelations seen - such as a surprise pregnancy, and a daughter thought dead turns out to be alive.

The series builds on its mystery giving some answers, more questions and great cliffhangers at the end of most episodes. Sadly, there are more questions than answers since the show was cut before it had a chance to really find its footing. While most episodes are a good mix of thrills and drama, some drag and just kill the show’s momentum.

Fiennes isn’t the first name I think of in an action role, but he does an excellent job with the character. He is haunted by his own past and a future he is scared he can’t change.

The actor brings a quiet intensity to Benford, and it is clear he will cross any line to save his troubled marriage (his wife threatens to leave him if he started drinking again and he was wasted in his FlashForward). He is also determined to make sure Noh will not die – despite revelations on how Noh meets his end.

I also enjoyed the dark turn of Monaghan in the series. The actor was a “good guy” on Lost and seems to have a natural likeable charisma as an actor. On FlashForward, he comes across as a complete jerk, and someone who naturally thinks he is better than everyone else.

Monaghan seems to be having a blast playing the character and makes the character seem much more of a villain than he might be.

Along with the 22 episodes, the set comes with some decent special features to help it be worth the purchasing price. A couple of the features were included on the first FlashForward DVD release (which collected the first 10 episodes), and are a good treat for fans of the series. They take fans into the making of the series and show what the creators were trying to do with FlashForward.

FlashForward was cancelled before it had a chance to really get going. The show was promised as the next Lost, and on some levels it met that expectation. It features a great cast and an interesting mystery.

The show’s creators do a good job of answering questions while keeping you hooked from cliffhanger to cliffhanger. If you failed to catch it on television, I recommend giving the show a chance now that all the episodes are collected on DVD.

Visit the DVD database for more information.

Clips from the show: