# Flashforward 09/24 -- Opinions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2009, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452 "2009-09-25T01:52:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/41 "2009-09-26T06:53:03Z")
I think I’m going to wait until a few more episodes have aired, and ask other people if the time travel/flash forward stuff is internally consistent or not, before I decide whether to watch this. Because I seriously cannot deal with another TV series that has time travel or flashbacks/flashforwards in time, and does not have some kind of internally consistent logic about how to handle the potential paradoxes. The premise does sound really cool, though. Maybe I should just read the book. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/42 "2009-09-26T06:58:13Z")
I liked it. I just hope that they don’t go down the \*Lost \*route and get way out there. I liked the kangaroo. A nice red herring. Or not. Was the Chief of the FBI the guy who played the medic in _Hamburger Hill_? I can go for this. I would like to see this come out: The timeline is six months ahead of real time. They figure something out during the first season, leave the cliffhanger and the real / TV show date comes up in 2010, and then they go from there, like to prevent 2012 or something. (Of course, when the world really does end in 2012, they won’t have a show to stand on, so party on, eh?) …And then they go on from there. Let’s see how art imitates life when life pre-dates art. Yeah, I caught the Seth McFarlane cameo as well. Maybe he’s just plowing for a future career… ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/43 "2009-09-26T09:03:21Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Love this show already. Here’s my take on the flashes everyone saw: > > **They must be glimpses of the future as if the event _hadn’t_ happened.** > > \ > > So, how come we saw our protagonist, FBI agent Mark Benford, piecing together the the puzzle of the event? Perhaps looks are deceiving, and he happened to stumble upon the conspiracy, despite the event not taking place in this vision of his future. Perhaps, either way, he was bound to investigate it, and the shadowy people behind it. I was going to say the future they saw hadn’t happened _except_ for Mark seeing himself studying the board that was the effort to track the event. Throws a wrench into that theory unless the board was about something else. But he “remembers” the future and thinks it is about the event. Time travel…melts the mind. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/44 "2009-09-26T10:46:32Z")
> [@Roadfood](#): > > …it indicates that the writers throw reality out the window for the expedient plot movement. That’s how television works. Suspension of disbelief is paramount to enjoying TV and movies. You have to get used to that, because it’s not going to change any time soon. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/45 "2009-09-26T17:14:55Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Hrmm… one tiny glitch in my theory is the fact that the wife wouldn’t have met the man she’s going to cheat on Mark with if the event didn’t happen. Also the guy who thought his daughter was dead sees her alive and presumably goes looking for her. > [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I think I’m going to wait until a few more episodes have aired, and ask other people if the time travel/flash forward stuff is internally consistent or not Episode 8 is titled “Rules of the Game” - hopefully they’ll address all the pragmatic time travel stuff then. [QUOTE=MsWhatsit;11599157The premise does sound really cool, though. Maybe I should just read the book.[/QUOTE] Other than the basic premise the book is pretty much completely different. It is a good read though. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/46 "2009-09-26T17:21:43Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I was going to say the future they saw hadn’t happened _except_ for Mark seeing himself studying the board that was the effort to track the event. Throws a wrench into that theory unless the board was about something else. But he “remembers” the future and thinks it is about the event. > > Time travel…melts the mind. You needed to keep reading the rest of my post there, I addressed that. 😉 But yeh, now I’m not so sure after watching it again. _Something_ has to explain why everyone’s flashforward didn’t show them self-aware of the current, foreshadowed moment. I can’t believe the writers would just expect us to ignore that, as it’s a painfully obvious consequence. ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/47 "2009-09-26T17:40:19Z")
> [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](#): > > I liked the kangaroo. “Look Father, a giant mouse!” 😃 For anyone who missed the premiere it’s available on the ABC website. It looks interesting but add me to the list of people who have been burned by these mystery/conspiracy shows before (I’m lookin’ at you X-Files!). ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/48 "2009-09-26T18:08:28Z")
My understanding is that the show was pitched with a hard plan for ending in five years and what to do in that time. Knowing that things actually have been planned out in advance sets me more at ease. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/49 "2009-09-26T19:39:40Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > My understanding is that the show was pitched with a hard plan for ending in five years and what to do in that time. Knowing that things actually have been planned out in advance sets me more at ease. The fact that the creators of the show have a hard plan for a five-year series doesn’t mean that the show will air for five seasons and we’ll get to see all of it, unless the network has a hard commitment to run the show for five years (which is about as likely as my being able to flap my arms and fly to the moon). One example of this is [Threshold](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_%28TV_series%29): > [@](#): > > The series had a three-year arc that would have seen the series change its title each year, from Threshold to Foothold (which refers to the next level of Molly Caffrey’s planning, dealing with a mass alien invasion) and Stranglehold (the response to a well-established alien presence on earth). Only 13 episodes were filmed, not all of which were aired in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/50 "2009-09-26T19:48:42Z")
True, true. ---
**Author:** ![Mirasol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Mirasol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirasol)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/51 "2009-09-26T21:06:56Z")
Here are two official alternate-reality-type related websites for the show. The first is supposed to be like the Mosaic website the characters on the show propose creating, you can log in and either read/watch other folks’ own (made-up) flash forwards or post your own. The second is a blog written as if by an in-the-FlashForward-universe journalist. > **[JointHeMosaic.com is for sale | HugeDomains](https://www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=jointhemosaic.com)** > > Customer service is our #1 priority. Get a premium domain for your website today. Financing available. [http://truthhack.com/](http://truthhack.com/) In case you are wondering, GBO= Global Blackout) I have no idea if these sites are/will be important in any way or contain hidden clues, etc., or if they are just to generate interest. I poked around for a few minutes, nothing seemed terribly interesting offhand but I thought I would share. I’m interested enough in the show for now, as long as they don’t turn these sites into “homework” needed to follow or understand the plot. I hate it when shows do that – like with Heroes where some things were never explained except in the online comics…I eventually just gave up. But I’m ok with a little supplemental content, and I’ll be watching next week. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/52 "2009-09-26T21:35:16Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > My understanding is that the show was pitched with a hard plan for ending in five years and what to do in that time. Knowing that things actually have been planned out in advance sets me more at ease. Info from [here](http://io9.com/5368216/producers-flashforward-has-to-last-three-seasons-at-least) via [here](http://www.digitalspy.com/cult/a178992/flashforward-execs-have-ending-planned.html): > [@](#): > > The producers of FlashForward have claimed that they already know how the series will end. > > Speaking to SFX, David S. Goyer, who has also worked on Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, said that he has meticulously planned the end of the show. > > “We pitched [ABC] a fairly excessive plan,” he said. "I mean, we know exactly the shot that season one ends on! They obviously said this resembles Lost, in that it’s a really cool script, but [they asked], ‘Do you have any idea where it goes?’ > > “We said, ‘Yeah we know how the whole season ends and how the whole series ends’, and they went, ‘Holy s\*\*t!’” > > Producer Marc Guggenheim added: "We know what the ultimate season is and the penultimate season is. For in between, we know the various seasons but we are treating it like an accordion. > > “In success, [the show] can go seven years. In less success, it would need to go three years to work. The end game of the show, to be properly done, really requires two full seasons focusing on the end game.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/53 "2009-09-26T22:01:29Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Info from [here](http://io9.com/5368216/producers-flashforward-has-to-last-three-seasons-at-least) via [here](http://www.digitalspy.com/cult/a178992/flashforward-execs-have-ending-planned.html): Yes, _they_ may know, but will they _tell us_ if the show gets canceled?:mad: ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/54 "2009-09-26T23:12:43Z")
I stopped reading the thread after post #17 (which contains what seems like a big spoiler) so someone may have already made this point: But can we not reveal big spoilers so casually based on knowledge of the books this series is based on? A tiny minority of people who are watching this now have read the books, so ffs please use spoiler boxes. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/55 "2009-09-27T00:22:59Z")
The simple way to discover whether or not it’s a _possible_ future is for the Chinese to find a remote village, interview the population to make sure they all saw a peaceful, normal day in the village during the fast-forward, and then machine-gun the villagers and raze the village. Bingo, the flash goes from “the future” to “a future.” ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/56 "2009-09-27T04:18:53Z")
Damn, man, why so violent? So much easier and less evil to get a tattoo on a part of your body you remember not having a tattoo in your flashforward, as suggested upthread. And yeah, that was a dick move to post the cause of the event in the book without a spoiler box. Kind of a major spoiler. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/57 "2009-09-27T05:31:29Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > And yeah, that was a dick move to post the cause of the event in the book without a spoiler box. Kind of a major spoiler. The creators have pretty much said they just took the premise and nothing else from the book, so it could be different on the show. Especially since we saw one guy get up during the blackout. It seems like this was intentional. And I’m wondering about the whole “people acting normally in the future except for main guy” thing. He was looking at a note that said “Who else knows?” Maybe there’s another sort of event where everybody forgets about the event, or something like that. And the main guy (I still don’t know anyone’s names) is one of the few who do know about. It seems fairly obvious that something really bad is going to happen in six months. Birds flying into windows and little girls saying “No more good days” are pretty ominous signs. Two last thoughts: John Cho’s little thought about “if I was asleep why wasn’t I dreaming” annoyed me. You don’t dream the entire time you are asleep. Although the writers made a good call having it be 10 pm in New York and 6 am in London. It means that a majority of the world would be awake. Also, didn’t anyone else think that the main guy looks a lot like Richard Alpert from LOST? ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/58 "2009-09-27T06:04:43Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I stopped reading the thread after post #17 (which contains what seems like a big spoiler) so someone may have already made this point: But can we not reveal big spoilers so casually based on knowledge of the books this series is based on? A tiny minority of people who are watching this now have read the books, so ffs please use spoiler boxes. Mea Culpa for not using spoiler boxes - I felt the spoilers were too minor and too integrated into my post to use spoiler boxes. And I gave a very clear warning at the beginning of my post, I’m not sure why you’d continue to read the rest of the post…? In any case I can’t be 100% sure but the series so far definitely seems like knowing anything from the book is not going to spoil anything in the series. It’s not like True Blood. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/59 "2009-09-27T07:41:32Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Mea Culpa for not using spoiler boxes - I felt the spoilers were too minor and too integrated into my post to use spoiler boxes. And I gave a very clear warning at the beginning of my post, I’m not sure why you’d continue to read the rest of the post…? In any case I can’t be 100% sure but the series so far definitely seems like knowing anything from the book is not going to spoil anything in the series. It’s not like True Blood. 😃 You’re right, you did give a warning, so my admoninishment is too severe. I think I have a mental habit of skipping automatically until after the first reply when reading posts, so I can easily miss one line on the top. Because if I’d seen that and it registered in my mind, I’d have skipped to the next post. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452/60 "2009-09-27T21:21:09Z")
More shows need random kangaroos. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashforward-09-24-opinions/511452.md?page=4)