FlashForward

Rating the pilot episode. A really decent start that made me very interested in the following episodes. I just hope that they won’t focus too much on the family crisis they outlined (and on relationships in general) and that they will follow on that final scene that links to a (possibly) very interesting mythology… Either way, I’m satisfied so far. Second episode: a better experience than before. The story is well balanced and in those 45 minutes it surprised me several times with an unexpected twist, and they also manage to achieve the most important thing for a mystery series: I am very interested in the answers to those mysteries. A full rating is only a question of the quality holding throughout the season. The third and fourth episodes have a significantly slower pace, and though it’s still not clear now which things will be important later, I felt they were mostly filler, rather weird for the beginning of a series. The next two episodes move between the meanings of “annoying” and “decent”, but the last episode before the winter break is finally back to great. After half the first season, it holds at four stars. The double episode 11-12 is very good. There’s less relationship ballast and they’re starting to reveal the underlying conspiracy with one twist after another… if the showrunners don’t overdo it (there are already so many characters and motifs that it’s not that easy to follow them), I will be satisfied. Episode 13 is filler, the Somalian E14 is good with an interesting cliffhanger, likewise E15. Episode 16 is alright and 17 is brilliant. The low viewership is a pity and I wouldn’t be surprised if it leads to the series ending after the first season, which would be a great shame, the events of the 17th episode leave room for a couple more seasons… The series ended pretty well and I would surely like to keep on watching, but unfortunately, my fears were confirmed and it wasn’t renewed for another season. 80 % (18/09/2009)

The strange thing about FlashForward is its “searching for itself". Several times over at the start, the creators fundamentally change the style, concept, genre, approach to characters, tempo of storytelling etc... Simply everything, which results in the whole being a little wobbly, which means that if you like the beginning, you won’t like the rest, and vice-versa. And this is my case, because for me this doesn’t start to be really excellent and riveting until episode twelve, when it turns into an adrenaline-full game of cat (aka fate) and mouse (aka people and human kind as such). Despite the ingenious premise, this doesn’t at all address the actual impact of those 137 seconds on mankind, faith, science, and everything as we know it. But this really is just a premise, don’t expect any polished and well-thought out timeless games with time; this is no 12 Monkeys, but “merely" popcorn for the masses filling the “big-budget spin-off of Lost" gap. Premature cancellation on the part of the studio actually did a service to the creators, because thanks to it this there is no chance of getting fed up or bored with it, on the other hand, the ending, despite being not bad, is definitely guaranteed to piss the viewer off. (24/01/2011)

What did you see? Time and fate games are here. In an attractive package, with a group of excellent actors and a strong budget behind them. The initial global euphoria from the new mysterious spectacle, however, quickly faded. For me, the opposite progression occurred. The solid thriller mood with occasional inconsistency is replaced by a breathtaking spectacle with almost no weak points. The mysteries surrounding the blackout are steadily growing, unexpected faces appear in supporting roles (James Callis is doing great just like he did on Galactica), and the anticipation of what will (not) be fulfilled is occasionally on the verge of a heart attack. And that is why it is so disappointing that we will not see any more episodes. After the amazing finale touched me, scared me, stretched me to the breaking point, and gave me a perfect final five-minute piece, it is not pleasant to think that I will not learn the answer to so many new questions. (21/06/2010)

A suspenseful plot, a great cast, and a brilliant idea. I guess that's how I would describe FlashForward. The pilot episode opened the door to something great that maintained its quality throughout. It never overplays anything unnecessarily and everything fits together. I'm glad the creators settled for just one season that managed to bring the idea to a spectacular conclusion. That was just about enough. Well done, 4.5 stars. (23/01/2012)

Pilot: A very promising start for one of the most anticipated series of this season. The characters are only barely sketched so far, but some already show great potential. John Cho's Demetri has impressed me the most so far, and Joseph Fiennes isn't bad either. Let’s see how it pans out from here. FlashForward definitely deserves attention. The first and probably the last season: The bastards. Canceling a series that was supposed to be a replacement for 'Lost' before it could actually replace it seems pretty weird. FF was slowly moving in a logical way because the future was quite distant and a lot had to be said before the plot could begin to escalate - the last episodes are clear examples of this. I secretly hope that fans will somehow, someday get a second season because this show had great potential and just when it started to take off and become popular, it was canceled. (17/09/2009)

This series definitely had potential, but it failed to turn it into that imaginary gold with the one season it was eventually given. Even in the first season, the plot starts to get a bit too overbearing and it wants to be too mysterious, and at times it's almost reminiscent of the mysterious game from Lost, which is honestly a bit tiresome. (21/12/2017)