Before the appearance of V, FlashForward was the new scifi darling of the season. In October, its adults 18-49 ratings seemed to have stabilized in the renewal-worthy 3.0/3.1 range, but its last two airings have fallen to a 2.7 (against the World Series) and a 2.6 rating (with no World Series).
If it doesn’t recover from that 2.6 rating, its future on next season’s schedule is in doubt. And if the ratings go lower than that, its got no future at all.
Edit: I just realized that the X axis isn’t the episode airdates, but instead the final day of each week the episode aired. Sorry for the confusion.
Although I watch it, I wouldn’t be too bothered if it didn’t make it past it’s first season. I’m only interested to find out if everyone’s flash forwards come true. If that day and it’s aftermath ended up being the series finale, I’d be fine with that.
It will come back to at least a 2.9. Don’t know what’s going on but it’ll stabilize, I just have that feelng.
I DVR’d the 11/5 episode and haven’t yet felt compelled to watch it — and there in lies the problem.
At first, it was interesting. Now the characters are unappealing (except John Cho — I think that’s the actor’s name) and I don’t really care whether the flash forwards come true or not. So there doesn’t seem to be much point, you know?
Whether it gets renewed or not, I always thought that this is a “one-season-story”, could become cult with one season, could become boring and annoying with more (just as Heroes, Prison Break, Lost – these shows had extremely good freshman seasons and then downhill).
Mel, I’m more or less with you. I think that Thursday’s episodes was probably the best since the premiere, but perhaps a little too late. Our friend “Travis Yanan” is not optimistic (WARNING: SPOILERS):
http://travisyanan.blogspot.com/2009/11/does-gift-come-with-return-receipt.html
The show is getting boring…I’ve stopped watching.
HOORAY! Sorry to cheer a disaster, but it at least implies the audience has some brains. This show is such a celebration of the “You weren’t supposed to notice THAT!” meme that it might work as a comedy. (Example of the meme as it would be used — yeah right — on a great show.
Scene: Police get a description of a murderer as a 6′3″ oriental man. They immediately arrest Abby Sciuto. But she’s white, short, and female.
YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO NOTICE THAT!)
Forget the fact that 20 million people have died worldwide — supposedly, the number would have been ten times that — and others, unmentioned were injured seriously. (Think about it. Everybody who was climbing stairs or a ladder would probably need hospitalization. All those cars proceding out of control would have run over people, smashed buildings, etc. Probably every working construction worker in the countrry is either dead or in the hospital.) Yet everything is back to normal, even the hospitals, in two days. Government, tv, everything but the airlines.
Forget the fact that instead of a world-wide investigation of the incident, the whole thing is being conducted by one FBI branch office.
Forget how wonderful it would be for every scammer in the country to have access to the information posted on ‘Mosaic’ and that a large number of people would realize this and not post or post lies.
Forget the fact that nobody yet has realized “Hey, if I am going to be alive in six months, I can do everything i was afraid to do because I was afraid of getting killed. Hell, I can drive drunk, rape somebody, or just try bungee jumping — because i know I’ll get away with it.”
Just think about one scene. You have your vision, which is quiet, domestic, ordinary, and takes place in your living room, you know, with that original art work on the wall over the couch. Want to know if the future can be changed? Redecorate. Move furniture around. to be sure, destroy the art work.
But “You weren’t supposed to notice that!”
Other shows like UNIVERSE and THE FORGOTTEN are fighting for ‘worst show of the year.’ FLASH FORWARD is trying for a place in the Hall of Fame for bad tv…
…And may have already succeeded.
I wanted to like this show, but my friends and I could only make it a few episodes in before we got bored and gave up on it. The characters aren’t compelling, the mysteries are lackluster, and the show routinely insults the intelligence of the audience. There’s too much good TV on (especially on Thursdays) to waste time waiting for this “LOST For Dummies” to come together.
My biggest issue with Flashforward is the whole “can their flashforward be changed?” question. On the show, its been several weeks since since the flashforward event happened. Within a few days of the event this question would have been answered as every single person who died post-event would have not had a flashforward. If any one of these people did have a flashforward then the question of whether or not the flashforwards can be changed is answered. I understand the reason why the writers are not answering this as they need to ratchet up the tension but it doesn’t make much sense.
Airs on a Monday over here (UK) and honest to God, there’s nothing else on and because of that, I’ve pretty much enjoyed every episode.
abc put V+lost+ff on tuesday and bring back Betty on thursday
In the beginning it was boring me to tears and I only kept watching because of a few actors I wanted to see (Dominic Monaghan and Jack Davenport — who, incidentally, also proved to be the two most interesting characters), but I do think the last two or three episode were competent and entertaining. Too little too late, I guess. I do want them to get a full season so they can finish the storyline, though.
And honestly, V wasn’t that good. It had pacing problems just like FF, although V went much, much too fast, while FF was a snoozefest.
I still really want to like it, and I do really want to know what happens, but I’m at the point where I’m considering just waiting and saving up several episodes to watch in one go.
I just don’t care about these people. Even when Lost flounders in its storyline, I still care about Kate, Juliet and Jack. I have no attachment to any of these characters(I am a J Cho fan though). The problem with a show like this is that it will, most likely, never have more viewers than it did in the first episode. If it’s falling so soon and so drastically, I don’t see much hope for the spring.
I think it will stabilize to around a 3.0 but I still think it will be renewed just because the lack of success ABC is having with dramas. It will be interesting to see upcoming V ratings.
I think Flashforward will drop considerably but I really hope it doesnt.
I wont care much either if it goes away. Still watch it, but its getting too much into boring relationship nonsense. Not as bad as Defying Gravity was, but headed in that direction. Most of the characters are seriously dysfuntioal. Now that we know the FF was the result of some experiment, what will they do know? FF again?
I DVR’d the first five episodes and watched in one fell swoop. (I was mainly waiting for back nine.) Anyway, six was pretty boring and I’m debating about investing in epi seven. In addition to some of the leaps of logic mentioned previously, I have two other issues: the Hospital (Do we now have three hours of GA on Thursday?) and what happens after first season to keep story going? (That point may be moot anyway.)
Michael hit the nail exactly on the head with his post. I’ve said it from day one and I will say it again: these characters are not interesting or compelling in the least and I don’t give a crap what happens to any of them. They’re not likeable or rootable for in the least; if anything, the writers have done the opposite and made some of them (like the Fiennes character) completely unlikeable.
I’ve also said from day one that I don’t care how much ABC crammed this show down people’s throats, it wasn’t going to succeed and it won’t. Say whatever else you want about V, I am very interested in tuning in to find out what happens next. NO way can I say the same about Snoozeforward.
Great comment, Prup. The issues you mentioned definitely damped my interest in the show. I also feel that FF had, if not a fantastic premise, at least an interesting one, and it has been squandered with sloppy plotting and dull side-trails since the pilot. I stopped watching after the fourth episode, and at this point do not care whether or not it continues.
In looking objectly at the ratings for ABC show on thursday night all of their shows saw decreased numbers in viewers. I’m really not alarmed about the future of FF yet. I believe that the numbers will improve next week. But I’m wondering what happened with the Neilson households that they reported less viewers across the board foe ABC that night.
I think it’s fine, it’s got to grow; give it a chance to find it’s niche- everyone is way too ”it has to be an instant hit” mentality. Of course the ratings were going to drop during the world series..duh.
Last episode was definitely the best and the pacing was much better. I think it’ll pick up now. Some people just nitpick too much.
it’s just very good. nothing really happens until the last 5 minutes of the show.
Of course the ratings were going to drop during the world series..duh.
Fine, except they didn’t go back up after baseball was over, they dropped even lower.
Man, in my book Flash Forward is the good show and V is the dismal wreck. The ratings should be vice-versa.
I love this show, no it’s not LOST and I think that’s where people get things mixed up. If you read the book, things are happening at an even pace, this isn’t an action or thriller, for the most part it’s a story about the characters and the way they deal with their fate. I’m a huge fringe fan but this season has been horrible, and last year was more or less the same, 2 dull episodes followed by an awesome one. I wonder how many episodes were done with mark Gugenheim as executive producer before he got axed, I know David goyer and Bragga wanted to make this show darker and grittier.
The lead character in the novel (that I haven’t read) was, very logically, a scientist. ABC made him an FBI agent. Yawn. Do we really need another show about cops/FBI agents solving mysteries? FF has never been as original as its blurb makes it sound. There’s one SF element in the pilot, and from there it’s a cop drama. That and the fact that Fiennes seems to think harder about his American accent than he does about truly acting make it a big snore.
ABC has made the lead on (the far superior, so far) “V” an FBI agent, too. Fortunately, I tend to doubt that the whole Bureau will join the Resistance with her.
I keep watching it, so perhaps it’s not as bad as I keep saying it is, but . . .
Nah. It’s at least as bad as I say it is. There is just something wrong with me.
This is a ratings site, not a quality review seminar, but I do think quality and ratings occasionally go hand in hand. Shows such as this one, which require a massive buy in on the part of the audience, have to be fan-damn-tastic on pretty much a week-to-week basis in order to keep people watching. It’s difficult enough to get people to watch a great serialized drama. If you are a shitty serial, then you are pretty much still born from the word go.
Go.
So, while it has been marginally better as it has gone along, I seriously doubt it lasts beyond this season, or next season at the very outside. It’s been leaking viewers since the first week, and I don’t think it will stop until it reaches a bottom which consists of basically the same maniacal few who continue to watch Heroes because they hope that it will eventually become not boring.
Basically, the hardcore sci-fi fans (such as myself) who are just desperate for any type of decent sci-fi on television, and that is just not a big enough audience for any network not run by a mentally deficient elf.
So, I hope that won’t be enough people to get it renewed, because I am Schmoker, and I am a sci-fi-aholic. I cannot stop myself no matter how much damage it is doing to my brain, so please stop me before I kill again.
All of that is to say, it will bottom out to about a 2.0 eventually. Next month or next spring, I don’t know, but eventually. If that’s enough for ABC to keep it going, so be it. If not, thank goodness.
Of course, there is hope. I did actually stop watching Heroes midway through the second season. Perhaps I will be able to exert some self control here, too.
Oops. No go. I just blacked out and saw myself six months from now. I was on the phone giving a two minute and seventeen second lecture to someone on how bad Flash Forward is, all while watching the latest episode at the same time (and also downloading back episodes of Heroes in a feat of multi-tasking intellectual perfidy, because someone told me that Heroes had returned to being at least somewhat passably not boring).
So, when does The Prisoner start, anyway?
I’d love some of the backhanded compliments in this thread to be used by ABC to promote the series.
“FlashForward: Not quite as bad as Defying Gravity!”
“FlashForward: Not all fast-paced and full of action like V.”
“FlashForward: It’s pretty enjoyable as long as nothing else is on.”
It seems that even the people still watching the show can’t muster up much enthusiasm for it.
(i don’t even watch it but…) the problem is the audience. people are impatient. you guys whine about how shows go off the air too soon, how networks give up too quickly, then you go and whine when a show stays on the air… or the stories are too fast like V, stories are too slow… you’re all f-ing living in the three little bears house. it’s gotta be juuuuust right before you will grant a show the honor of your viewerage. and if you don’t watch it then no one else should. ridiculous. too much analysis. too much whining.
look at shows from when you were younger… not every episode is a gem… not every show takes off perfectly from the beginning… you guys and people like you are gonna whine your way to the destruction of the thing you apparently like… tv shows.
I wonder, if they are lucky enough to crawl into another season, will FF rip off its nemesis, Survivor, and just get a brand new cast to do the same thing all over again?
Tom, watch and then get back to me. The show isn’t too slow or too fast. It’s not just a tad off. It’s bloody awful.
And yet I am still watching, which says something about me, but in no way implies the show is anything but unwatchable.
So, take that circular logic.
I think nexted weeks ep is the real test. Were it goes to or drops to
Actually, I think you still watching only implies that it is anything but unwatchable. Obviously.
By the way, the flashforward pilot was better than the V pilot. Don’t bring V into the conversation, we’ll see the ratings next week.
Ofcourse they changed the lead for the show, who the hell wants to follow a scientist for a whole episode? Lloyd simcoe is still there, just in a slightly different role.
Do you think I am lying, Julia? What would be my motive? To make myself look dumber than watching the show already shows that I am?
The show is terrible (to me, that is), but I first watched it in weeks two and three in a “I can’t look away from that car crash” sort of manner. But the blood has all dried up by now, and the dead bodies have all been hauled away, leaving just some broken glass that has yet to be swept up, so I no longer have that excuse.
Like I said, I watched Heroes for a few months during season two just hoping that it would become something slightly not awful, because I am desperate for some good sci-fi to watch, and then I finally abandoned it when I lost all hope. Since it was serialized, I felt I pretty much had to keep watching it if I wanted to stay on board until it became not horrible. Ditto for Flash Forward.
With exception that so far FF has never been good, while Heroes started off solidly and didn’t begin to slide until late in season one.
That, and I have a TV in the bathroom, so taking a bath every night means there is a lot of television I watch because I am literally a captive audience. I know a show is finally good when I start watching it when I am not wet, or when I watch it all in one sitting (and get all wrinkly in the process). That hasn’t happened yet with FF, so I can pretty much assure you that watching something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s watchable.
It simply means that it’s on, and that I am fresh out of stored up Craig Ferguson shows to watch in its place.
To tom: I know that all shows take a while to get off the ground and find their sea legs. No one is saying FF has a problem who hasn’t sat through the season’s first few episodes so far, or at least tried to. I don’t expect a show to be perfect in its first few episodes but I do expect it to hold my interest enough and get better or at least more watchable and IMO, FF has done neither. Judging from the comments in this thread, clearly I’m not alone in that sentiment.
To those saying V was worse, you’re missing my point. I only brought up V to illustrate that unlike FF, I’m interested in continuing to watch V. That’s not a reflection of my opinion on how good V is or isn’t, it’s a reflection of how boring I’m finding FF to be. This is not a contest between V and Flashforward. Whether or not V holds up in the ratings doesn’t mean anything of FF so even if V drops next week (which it most certainly will), it has nothing to do with how good or bad FF is. V could be as good or as bad or worse or better than FF – doesn’t change the fact that FF itself is not good.
Schmoker, I don’t care if you like the show or not, but the fact that you watch it means that it is watchable to you. You said that you watching it only implies that it is unwatchable, but that’s not at all what it implies.
I pretty much agree with what a lot of you are saying. I’m trying to like it but it’s just not working out. Right now I’m really only watching to see what happens with all the flash forwards. I, like a lot of you, just have no emotional attachment to ANY of the characters and that just reeks of bad writing and poor acting. I know FF shouldn’t be compared to LOST but one of the things that makes LOST so compelling besides the crazy events is the fact that it’s so character driven, that’s what I love about it at least. One of the things I specifically remember about the first season of LOST is the episode where we learn how Jack’s father died, “White Rabbit” I think it was called. I felt so bad for Jack and by that time had emotional attachments to several characters. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for FF.
I don’t know what to do about Flash Forward. It started out that I thought it was ok but not up to the hype. I sorta didn’t care too much. Sometimes I have moments when I get into it. But I’m generally only interested in a few of the characters. And personally, I don’t give a shit if they find out “what caused the blackout”…move the show forward with the results of said blackout. Make the show about the people. All the FBI/investigation stuff makes it seem too much like any other cop show on the air.
Overall I think it’s doomed beyond this season.
While its inevitable that Flashforward will drop, Despite V’s strong premiere, V will likely suffer a heavy drop once its brought back after the winter olympics.
Schmoker, I hold out hope that you find the inner strength to break your FF addiction. It’s important to be a discerning genre fan and not just flock to whatever sci-fi shlock the networks and movie studios shovel out. I recommend renting DVDs of an excellent sci-fi show you’ve yet to see, and watching that Thursdays at 8 instead.
Also, you have a TV in the bathroom? Impressive!
FlashForward is pretty good but starting to get a little bored of it too but I’ll keep watching for now.
When this fails they’ll say that people just don’t like sci-fi, even though they’ve hardly bothered with the sci-fi aspect since the premiere. There hasn’t even been a decent discussion between any of the characters on HOW a thing like this might happen. They’ve gone with the way-less-interesting question of whodunnit. The global blackout is just another dead body and all their episodes have dealt with the forensics.
I guess that’s what happens when you exchange a scientist for an FBI agent as the lead character, but don’t blame the resulting bore-fest on sci-fi.
They have a very intriguing character in Monaghan’s Simon, and yet, they keep pushing him to the wayside to harp ON AND ON with utterly pointless characters whose names I can’t even bother remembering they’re so boring, like the guy who’s daughter is/isn’t in bits and pieces, the supermodel babysitter who randomly speaks Japanese, and worst of all, Fiennes’ Mark, who despite being the lead is even more immediately unlikable than LOST’s Jack, who at least gave us a few seasons of humility before he turned into a complete ass.
More Monaghan, and I’ll keep watching. This young man is one of the untapped talents in Hollywood and needs a chance to flex his acting muscles, and prove you don’t have to have GQ good looks to push people’s buttons.
Maybe if FOX still had Hole in the Wall/Kitchen Nightmares from last season at 8, Flashforward would do better. If it were like last year, Flashforward would only have Survivor as competition and still no dramas. I still think If the series stays at its current level until May, it could “Flashforward” into a second year.
How can any of you compare 1 episode of V to 7 of Flashforward?
Wait til around late November-early Dec, that’s when most shows usually get some steam in the ratings.
Cat says at November 7, 2009 at 1:14 pm:
“There hasn’t even been a decent discussion between any of the characters on HOW a thing like this might happen. I guess that’s what happens when you exchange a scientist for an FBI agent as the lead character, but don’t blame the resulting bore-fest on sci-fi.”
Oh, yeah. That’s the answer to relive the boredom of this show.
Add MORE exposition. Maybe just admit total defeat and model future episodes on “Defying Gravity.”
What is it with sci-fi fans and their love of talking head fictitious debates?
God forbid anyone actually do anything. Let’s just have them talk about doing something and then one day maybe actually do it.
The lead guy is a terrible actor.
And the whole “wife is screwing someone else in the future” drama is a complete bore.
But the show is still interesting.
First post here…found this to be a pretty interesting discussion, especially because I’m one of the seemingly many people watching FF despite not really liking it.
It really has become more a matter of curiosity…wondering how the rest of THIS season plays out. But that’s kinda the problem–this feels like a 20-episode show. Building a show around one event is problematic. They’re clearly struggling with stretching out the story long enough to last 22 episodes, and I wonder what they can possibly do after we reach the FF date. As others have mentioned, in this kind of situation you really need likable characters and good actors to carry the show when the story lags or outright breaks down. But the only good guy that’s interesting is the John Cho character. Joseph Fiennes and Sonya Walger? Terrible leads with yawn-inducing characters. I think one of the problems with sci-fi/fantasy shows is that the writers know how to create fascinating stories with intriguing starting points…but lack the skill in character and dialogue…and the producers struggle with the casting.
This show is getting by right now on its premise. I might be saying the same about V soon…not fond of the pilot but willing to give it a chance. That show also feels like it would be better off with only a couple of seasons. At least neither one of these shows is as hopelessly boring and/or poorly made as Stargate Universe.
In the past networks played out a show for the season or more even if ratings were poor. These days, with dollars doing all of the talking, shows are being cancelled after a couple of episodes.
With stories like Flash Forward continueing each week, the audience are making informed decisions on its success and their likelyhood of seeing a conclusion to the mystery in the future.
Many shows with a purpose have failed (and annoyed viewers that it has) in the past (The Fantastic Journey, Lost In Space, Reunion etc).
Unless Flash Forward runs for at least three seasons I do not see any conclusion being reached. Any finale will be carried out on fans forums under the ‘fanstory’ heading.
I want to know what happens and all that, but yeah, I can’t get myself all that excited for this show.
Dominic Monaghan’s character intrigues me and that’s about it.
Good to see that I haven’t missed much…I bailed halfway through episode 3, and have caught 10-15 minutes here or there a week to see if anything has changed…it hasn’t.
It’s just a big mess. I don’t even think the show knows what it wants to be. Sci-fi? Cop show? Medical drama? Hurry up and pick one and advance the plot already or give me something to care about.
too many characters, too many story lines. The flashforward date coming up in the Spring. It already has the feel of a too long mini series, but I’m still watching. John Cho is my favorite on the show.
You took my most recent post down? Anyway, I just wanted to
make the point that V has more potential than FlashForward to become the next Lost. Why? Several reasons. 1. The chemistry in V than in FlashForward. Elizabeth Mitchell has great chemistry with Joel Gretsch. Sorry, but in FlashForward, Joseph Fiennes has no chemistry with any of the cast. 2. The alien invasion story is more frightening than the FlashForwards. Sorry, but it would seem more realistic to be happy if your flashforward is having a baby. Wouldn’t you be happy not sad. 3. The mystery behind V is easier for a mass audience to understand than a bunch of Black outs which are convoluted and less interesting.
This show suffers from the same problem that many “mystery” shows do: the truth behind the mysteries never seem to live up to the hype. LOST is a perfect example–The Others, The Hatch, The Dharma Initiative, even The Monster…the theories on what these people/things could be turned out to be much more interesting than what they really were. Hell, in season 5, the official explanation for why the survivors were never found made me laugh(and not in a good way).
Flash Forward’s greatest strength is its mysterious premise. If the truth about the blackout isn’t mind-blowing, then the viewers on the fence will bolt and this show will be dead.
Rock, Lost is one of the greatest shows on the air right now. It was just nominated for best drama at the Emmy Awards.
I should add: so far, FF’s revelations regarding Agent Benford’s blackout board–all the clues regarding the mystery–have kinda sucked. Not a single thing on the board in Benford’s flash has had a worthy payoff. If the show continues like this, it’s really gonna need to blow people away with the BIG REVEAL.
Hey, I like LOST a lot. Love the cast, most of the characters(who really draw you in and make you care about what happens) and it is often bizarrely entertaining(and equally frustrating).
But since season 1, when we started to learn the truth behind everyting, the setups for their storylines have been much better than the payoffs. It’s still better than most of the crap on television.
I will, once I watch the last episode, probably get back to the utter, audience-insulting stupidity it has, but I disagree with some of you about the acting — and agree with everybody that John Cho is the real star of the show. But Courtney Vance is doing his usually solid work, I’d find Fiennes’ character, and the whole recovering alcoholic, in love with his wife, fighting against the inevitable, believable and fascinating in another context — see Jack Malone. (Though interestingly, when I checked tv.com for a background on the next comment, I saw character names listed, and realized I coouldn’t put a show name to a face, I needed to check the description to remember who they were talking about. I didn’t even remember Cho’s character is named Demitri.)
Anyway, I want to compliment Sonya Walger for at least one episode. “Black Swan”. Even though the writers wouldn’t let her near the actual idea, I think her performance at least hinted that one reason Olivia was so reluctant to do what was needed to save the patient was that if he died after having a ‘vision,’ then this meant that the future could be changed. This would have made a wonderful moral dilemma, so naturally it was avoided, but Walger seemed to feel it.
Again, her character would be worth exploring, if it were in a different framework. It’s hard to show love on tv. One reason why a lot of people hate Joe DuBois on MEDIUM — I think he makes the show go — is because showing a loving family without idealizing it or burying it in smartass cracks is something that we aren’t used to today. The trouble is not her character, or her portrayal of it, but that her marriage is shown as the important thing in a show about the greatest disaster to hit the human race. (Imagine a light romantic musical based on a couple who met on the stairs fleeing the WTC on 9/11, where the tragedy is used merely as a way of getting them together.)
That and, of course, the ‘coincidence’ that the man the wife of the principal investigator is naked with — any bets that they turn out to be being held hostage by Simon — with their clothes taken away to keep them inside — and are just relaxing and making the best of it, not having an affair — turns out to be one of the people behind this. And it is shown as a coincidence, his son being at the magnificently cleared out hospital she works at.
Pfui!
At least there wont be a big break for FlashForward, the series has 25 episodes so its bound to air less repeats.
I still think that V has better actors in Elizabeth Mitchell and Joel Gretsch, who plays the priest and who played the military officer in Taken.
Gavin said
“In the past networks played out a show for the season or more even if ratings were poor. These days, with dollars doing all of the talking, shows are being cancelled after a couple of episodes.”
Um, not NBC.
The show seemed to only have one season in it anyway, but even if the writers could muster up some other story, ABC should cancel it. I thought the pilot was decent, but I stopped after the next two. A show can’t thrive on 42 minutes of filler and a two minute surprise ending. And that’s not to mention the mind-boggling plot holes that Prup covered already. Flashforward is a shockingly horrific execution of what seemed to be an interesting premise.
I think Rock is confusing Lost with The X-Files. Now THERE was a show where the setup to the mysteries was always more interesting than the payoff. But that’s a different conversation for a different time.
i am new to this site and glad its here,i like ff its like lost and abc is not going to let this go down like jay leno.they need a good show after lost
@ Harold
“Oh, yeah. That’s the answer to relive the boredom of this show. Add MORE exposition. Maybe just admit total defeat and model future episodes on “Defying Gravity.”
Why do you assume that this requires “boring exposition”? Was the Lost episode “The Constant” boring exposition?
“What is it with sci-fi fans and their love of talking head fictitious debates?”
I think you’re confusing sci-fi fans and pseudo-sci-fi-show writers. We don’t write the stuff, we watch it. It’s not on our heads if the writers can’t make the science behind a global blackout interesting. Or hell, even mention it.
“God forbid anyone actually do anything. Let’s just have them talk about doing something and then one day maybe actually do it.”
Oh yes – let’s not muck things up with dialogue, we need more chase scenes where the guy is (SHOCKING TWIST) just a pot dealer. And lost of shootout scenes, because that’s so cutting-edge and original. God forbid they actually provide us with something to think about. That’s what destroyed Lost, isn’t it? Oh wait…
Arrghhh… “lots of shootout scenes,” not “lost of shootout scenes.” (Would it kill anyone to provide a Preview button on here?)
Defying Gravity was a great show but kind of slow, i love good tv all the cop show are boring i can guess the ending in 15 mins its show like ff and lost that keep me watching.i am a scifi fan and if they have car chases and action scene then so be it anything is better the dancing show.
Ummm, I too love LOST but alot of the complaints I’ve heard for FF can be said for LOST as well. Honestly, did you really want to know what caused the flash forward by episode three?? It’s been five seasons of lost and we are just barely getting into the meat of the mystery. Besides, once the season finale for FF comes around we’ll know if it’s worth to keep watching, until then, I will keep tuning in
I have to DVR it in the other room as I have Vampire Diaries and Bones going on the primary TV and as yet have not bothered to go watch it. Just really don’t care what happens.
Does anybody that switching the showrunners on V and FlashForward? FlashForward switched to David Goyer. V switched to Scott Rosenbaum (Chuck, The Shield)
How could you have ANY ‘exploration of how this thing happened’ when a moment for thought would show all the plotholes the show is plunging into. (Btw, the ’structure in Somalia’ would have shown up on any weather satellite, and even if the plotters are as dumb as the writers on the show, the would have known that.
Btw, Tin Ear Department: How can you have an episode called “Playing Cards With Coyote“ when the Pres of the US — in his second term, and with Kerry-like hair — who is, presumanly a recurring character or his episode was pointless even for FF — is played by …
Peter Coyote?
The connundrum with Flash Forward, is that it is vacilating between angsty soap (like Grays), and adventure mystery: why the flash forward happened and who was behind it? The relationship drama seems to be dominating, and that direction is loosing the action/genre crowd. Problem? The original premise didn’t draw the Gray’s-type crowd, thus the show is bleeding viewers.
I missed one episode of FF by accident, and originally planned to catch up, yet i never felt the urge.
I have not watched since the third episode, and dont think i will watch again to be honest.
Joseph Fiennes is horrible. He just can’t act! He only has one facial expression – confused and hurt. His wife says i love you – confused and hurt. They find a guy who may know how the flashforwards started – confused and hurt. His wife waits naked for him – confused and hurt. OK, i made the last one up but you get the point. He seriously drags the otherwise ok-ish show down, and really is the biggest reason i no longer watch.
I agree with Tom. People are way too impatient. It’s one thing to argue about the plot or the acting quality but I hate it when people want constant excitement. Not every episode needs to be jammed full of action scenes. We are not all small children who constantly need things shiny waved in front of us to keep our attentions. I actually like shows that focus on dialogue over special effects. Sometimes an episode just needs is about character development without something happening.
The same goes to all the people complaining about Fringe being “boring now”
I love FlashForward and find it to be very entertaining, but I don’t think it will be able to get near 3.0 territory again. Unfortunately, I think we have found this year’s Pushing Daisies. FF premiered strong (like PD in 2007), but the audience keeps declining.
This is how I think ABC should program their Wednesdays in mid-season:
8:00 – America’s Funniest Home Videos
9:00 – LOST
10:00 – FlashForward
These are my suggested replacements for ABC’s Thursday 8pm slot:
8:00 – Super Millionaire (Winter)
– Modern Family (Spring)
8:30 – The Middle (Spring)
The actors in V have better chemistry than in FlashForward.
Remember all the interviews with Goyer at comic-con trying to say that it’s not a sci-fi show, it’s more a human story about changing your fate, etc.
They have already told us the big mystery will be solved by season’s end. Sounds alot like Heroes season 1. Save the cheerleader, save the world.
I like the Peyton List, babysitter character, but she’s a secondary actor. The Father looking for his dead daughter, has been in every episode.
It’s not perfect but interesting enough to keep watching.
If you don’t like it, and stop watching fine.
Don’t complain that the only thing networks but on is procedurals, procedurals, procedurals.
The only interesting thing in the show’s premise– what a worldwide disaster it would have been if everyone blacked out for 2 minutes– was over basically 20 minutes into the pilot. A disaster like that would have been catastrophic, not “Ok, get these people into the ambulance and we’re done!” Cleaning up a disaster like that would have been the center of everyone’s lives for the next 6 months. _That_ might have been interesting. Following around boring characters and the bad acting of Joseph Feinnes while they chase random cockteases of plot every week– yeah, no thanks. I’ll be glad to watch this one sink and burn.
I love FlashForward and I’m not going to worry about the ratings and just enjoy the episodes. This show is by far way better than a lot of the crap that is on TV during prime time. I agree with some of these posters that all of these people keep whineing about wanting every episode epic and full of action – which is not like that in any show. This is a must see show for me every week and I’m watching till the end of the season. So worrying about the ratings now is mute.
chrisjozo – I don’t think its about people wanting all action all the time. And action/genre people like inter-personal relationships. (See BSG, ATS, BTVS, Lost, SN, SMVL, Heroes, and the list goes on…) But the Mark and Olivia Benford relationship has been a train wreck based on nothing substantial, and Demitri and Zoey’s is the same, fo example. We don’t know these people well enough to care about this much angst in their relationship at the expense of the central story, the premise of the whole series, being built on a solid foundation.
Are you serious. No kidding that its not realistic. Its a tv show. Its for entertainment purposes ONLY. If you are watching this type of show for educational purposes, you are the problem. Let me guess, Star Wars is far fetched too. I like this show. I will be very disappointed if it gets cancelled.
Overall, I like the show and I’m still watching. But, I have to admit there are glaring defects in the way it’s executed.
The biggest of which being that they don’t seem to be expanding character development beyond whatever they saw in their flashforward. Benford and his wife’s interactions are STILL focused solely on the whole cheating thing, Demetri doesn’t seem to think about anything but the fact he’ll be dead by then, etc. etc. after SEVEN episodes. Quite simply, we don’t know who they are. (as a matter of fact, I had to look at the Wikipedia page just to find out their names) We just barely know who they may or may not be 6 months from now, and nothing else. It’s slowly getting quite repetitive, despite some change on the mystery side…
Jim Benton/Prup, you’ve got problems. Just because you would feel the urge to rape someone, or drive drunk if you knew you could get away with it, doesn’t mean everyone is as ethically and morally bankrupt as you. I suggest getting some professional help.
As for the show, I lost interest after the pilot. Too much bad writing and acting for me to care.
FF haters should go DIAF. Whine, whine, whine. Complain, complain, complain. Then they sing the praises of ‘V’ and ‘Lost’ in the process. Same ole’ story all the time, it seems.
I think the writers of FlashForward take the viewers as idiots. I had a much simpler (and less bloody) solution for Al’s problem. All he had to do is check for all deaths and the cross reference with Mosaic or ask family and friends. If he still wasn’t sure, then he could look at murders and suicides.
The writers seem content to manufacture clearly illogical scenes just to get some emotion. I’ll admit that the last few minutes of the last episode was good aside from the fact that it was meaningless.
I still don’t understand why everyone thinks the flash forwards will be the future. Has their brain chemistry changed? Apparently science has no relevance in the FlashForward world.
From a numbers perspective it seems quite surprising that FlashForward is already in jeopardy so quickly.
But as many people have already pointed out, it’s not so surprising given the quality of the show. Or the drop in quality as the case might be. I’ve definitely been disappointed with the previous 2-3 weeks as well (though I have yet to watch the most recent episode).
What I have not seen mentioned (and my apologies if I missed a comment) is the firing of executive producer Marc Guggenheim. Perhaps he was responsible for some of the plots, or characterizations that were most off-putting to viewers? If so, then hopefully the show will begin to pick up soon, and therefore be able to stop the loss of it’s audience.
However, if he was instead fighting for the elements that the people leaving did want to see, then his loss will most likely only hasten the departure of the existing audience.
This is only speculation, but the dismissal of Guggenheim could be what saves FlashForward or seals it’s fate.
I hope FlashForward could bounce back
Yeah, I’m a little sick of hearing how great Lost is, when I totally agree with Rock way up there… the theories surrounding what was going on always tended to be better than what actually happened. Anyone remember the “the trees are having epileptic seizures” theory? Now THAT was entertaining. I’ve always kind of gotten the feeling that Lost tries too hard to come up with twists and “wham” moments. It’s as if M Knight Shyamalan started doing a TV series.
Fingers crossed FlashForward picks up.
John1: My comment was about humanity, not myself — though I might try the luge. But a lot of people don’ have a strong moral compass — see states where government has fallen apart.
Put me in the category of “I watch it but don’t like it”…… I surprisingly enjoyed the pilot of “V” although I was expecting to hate it.
As for LOST, it did have a few weak seasons but the last season I thought was incredible.. Can’t wait to see what happens next.
Didn’t FF just get a new show runner recently? I remember them announcing that about a month ago so episode 7 may have been the start for the new guy. Was well paced and I believe that it will only get better from here.
I am DVR’ing and watching the show. My other half will watch so at least both of us are interested in it and she is not a fan of sci-fi stuff at all.
The problem is that it is not a must watch and if it goes away neither one of us will care.
FlashForward is not Lost nor is it trying to be. It is a well crafted drama which which is propelled by the visions seen in the Pilot. Everything these characters do relates to what they did or did not see. It is a physcological drama and does not need the constant mind boggling twists and turns that Lost provides.
I loved Thursday’s episode and hope that the ratings at least stablise. I also do not care if the show gets a second season, I just hope it concludes the current one.
Can we get a bingo card just for FlashForward?
I don’t love it, am not really invested in most of the characters (except for Joseph Fiennes’ wife) and am bored with a lot of it, yet I keep thinking it might get better. I’m glad someone finally tried to change the future in this last episode so I’m optimistic that the show might pick up its pace and answer what happens when you try to change the future. Also, I’m annoyed that Joseph Fiennes’ daughter called D Gibbons a bad man and it seems he stopped investigating how she knows who that is.
It seems like everyone is saying they love the basic idea of the story but don’t care for the way it is being handled. I agree. The novel FF was taken from is very unique and fresh but turning that into a television show, with 20-some episodes just doesn’t work. It would’ve made a great mini-series or movie but trying to sustain the plot over several episodes just isn’t plausible.
I still say comparing FF to Lost during the media buildup for the premiere was a big mistake for the network. FF looked really fresh and different in all those commercials this past summer but then when you tell me it’s similar to Lost I lose interest. I don’t care anything about Lost. I know Lost gets good demo numbers but FF would’ve fared better if it had the look and smell of something totally new instead of just a copy of something old and tired.
LostAtSea: You have Joseph Fiennes pegged! He reminds me of George Clooney in the early days of ER, hanging his head and grinning through every single scene. One trick ponies with a nice complexion, not to mention good family ties.
Except that George Clooney was great on ER. Whereas Joseph Fiennes isn’t good.
I really like Flash Forward. It gives one something to think about.
It is so nice to have something besides the formula crime procedurals to watch.
John, your point about ABC (or the media) pimping FF as “the next Lost” is interesting. I’m a huge Lost fan, and I was immediately turned off by FF because it’s nowhere near as good as that show. Meanwhile, I’m sure many non-Lost fans didn’t tune into FF thinking it would be more of the same.
Either way, the comparison to Lost was a bad thing for FF. However, considering that the FF pilot played like a lame imitation of the Lost pilot, it was impossible not to make the comparison.
I really would not mind all that much if FF ends after this season, its light years behind LOST(arguably the best tv show in history) and its worse than V too. Just get rid of it, the execution failed
I’m with you guys. It’s boring and i lost interest since the pilot. It’s unreal same as “V” which bdw, i don’t think is going downhill in time. Too unreal! that’s one of the reasons why “Modern Family” is a huge success cause is what real people/family goes through.
I don’t care if some aliens stopped here cause they want to changed our lives/way of living and people being totally fine with that, like is totally normal.
F* that.
Talking about “V”, just in case.
I hate to see this series end before the plot is played out, but it does have flaws, which most of you have picked up on. The pacing was geriatric in the beginning, I think as though they were trying to avoid the “you’ll-never-get-it-if-you-don’t-watch-from-the-beginning” curse of Lost. Hence all the unnecessary exposition and re-exposition. And Joseph Fiennes, whom I totally love in period British stuff, is so quietly seething he could form diamonds in his … you know. But all of this seems as though it could be tightened up if the network would just give it some time to find its legs. V, on the other hand, doesn’t have a chance, unless it’s for humor’s sake. So I vote for at least one season of FF, and then it better be a hellacious ending if they want more.
the show should have been a 3 month 12 episode miniseries. good show but if you read the book you can see where this is going
John and DW, I guess you guys missed all the interviews where David goyer said “we have nothing in common with LOST”, that notion was fabricated by the fans, not the media.
@ Kay-
“Mark and Olivia Benford relationship has been a train wreck based on nothing substantial”
I totally agree. I liked the last episode ‘The Gift’ because it finally started to deal more with the real issue of the FlashForward. The character relationships aren’t enough for me to care about.
I am hoping ‘V’ sticks around. I am going to need something after LOST ends next year.
tvbythenumbers report “all the tv shows canceled, here some numbers to demonstrate it: 4 56 779 ( $$ %S 3456789, adagdh. as you can see, no more tv tomorrow, only tvbythenumbers survive!”
FF does have some things in common with LOST.
1) Flashforwards – Ok, LOST has flash forwards, flashbackward, flash sideways, physical as well as just visually.
2) Secretive group experiment responsible for screwing with peoples lives.
3) Casts consisting almost entirely of dysfunctional people.
I enjoy the show, but I’ve noticed that I don’t care about the characters or the mystery of what caused everyone to pass out for 137 seconds. I’m interested in people changing the future to prove the visions don’t have to come true.
They’ve only slightly touched on who caused the blackouts and no one seems to have asked why people saw the future during these blackouts.
It’s okay, but it needs to get better to keep viewers and ratings.
I felt that the problem of the show is that that event should happen now and not in the first episode. Because the bonding with viewers don’t exist, so the impact of the blackout on the caracters lifes don’t impress to much.
I’m keeping watching, but i also felt that this show is like Prison Break. No More than 2 seasons!
Paul, but what sort of show would we be watching for the first two months? Though the concept is interesting, if you can actually keep the real story under wraps. Sell the show as an FBI show or something, and then, six or seven episodes in, BOOM! Something huge happens to completely change the entire genre of the show. I don’t think it would actually work, but it would be a fun experiment!
I really, really want to like this show. I’ve watched 2 episodes so far, but the main character is probably one of the worst directed/acting characters ever. Why does he whisper in every single scene? It sounds like he is trying to be Batman…I don’t get it, and it’s really annoying. John Cho is awesome though, I love him.
Rich, I’ve decided it’s because he’s struggling with the American accent. Not everyone can be as wonderful at changing their accent as Hugh Laurie.
I find Dead Daughter Guy’s faux-American accent to be the worst of the bunch.
Yea, I agree it is getting boring. Three things that stand out for me. When the daughter said that one dude was a bad man the father just looked at her and no further questions. Also, when the daughter knew the autistic boy the father still never questioned her how she knew him. Maybe to increase the tension between the husband & wife. I thought it was strange when they have the big shoot out in Washington and back in Los Angles that night and acting as tho it was just another normal day at work.
This show is really interesting and i hope lasts a long time…lets not forget the ratings drop because a lot of people are downloading these episodes to watch them when they have time as the same with other shows…
My biggest problem with this show is the bad writing. Take for instance Al’s suicide last week. This guy is an FBI agent and carries a gun at his waist almost 24/7… but does he shoot himself in the privacy of his own home? Of course not! He goes to the top of the FBI building and throws himself off in the middle of a work day… thereby possibly horrifying a pedestrian that might be walking by… all in the name of dramatic effect. However… THAT wasn’t even “dramatic” enough… he also perfectly times the delivery of his suicide note to allow all his co- workers to witness the gory splat. What a nice guy. These writers seem to be on a mission to shock & awe the audience… but with no substance… or common sense…. behind any of it.
This show reminds me of Jericho. there is a big mystery and the viewer has no idea where it is going for a whole season. How do they expect viewers to stay in that state forever? Besides mysteries eventually get solved. For the show to go much past the solution it would have to go into a battle of good and evil. Jericho finally started to pull that out by the end of the second season, but that was too late. At least here we have a glimpse of the instigators, but that story line needs to develop more quickly or the whole thing comes to an end.
Finally, as a recovering alcoholic, the approach of Fiends character is unrealistic. He’s seven years sober and active in AA. It’s unlikely that the revelation would unhinge him the way it is. He has tools to deal with uncertainty. And his sponsor is more unstable than he is. This is not the way an active 7 year old would behave or his sponsor. They are more likely to be the most centered people in the whole show.
I thought the premiere was decent, and the show has a potentially interesting premise. The problem is that it is all “wah-wah-wah” and no “action.” There’s also the issue that if something is destined to happen, then we alreayd know the ending, so why bother watching? There’s some kind of trigger missing in this show that’s reflected in the ratings downfall. Not to mention, I don’t find a single character compelling. I got tired of LOST after awhile, but initially, I was compelled by the characters. Not so for Flashforward. I especially cringe every time I see Genevieve Cortese’s face flash on the screen as the lost Tracy Stark, because all my little brain can remember is how lousy she was on Supernatural and then I find myself pissed at how they ruined that storyline.
re FFwd, i’m on the fence. I can watch with my suspension of disbelief firmly in place and analytical brain switched off and not get too wound up about the plot holes (because otherwise i would watch no genre tv).
Fiennes bores me but i’m enjoying the rest of the cast.
Am curious to see how it all plays out and whether the production can pull off a decent resolution or waffles. Either the future is changeable or it isn’t. Events in the last ep suggest it is, but arguably that renders the entire flash meaningless.
Unless it doesn’t.
I suppose my curiousity is engaged in the sense of whether this TV show can pull off a fairly ambitious premise AND hold an audience.
what needs to happen is abc needs to put this on tuesday along with v at 8 this at 9 and move lost to tuesday at 10 and kill every thing on tv for the night
Luis – I thought of that Tuesday combo but remember ABC has Dancing returning in March at 9 on Tuesdays. V will likely air at 8, and after Forgotten finishes at 10 around March, The Deep End could air at 10.
I’m not sure what’s the issue here. You know for a fact that Flashforward is in risk of cancellation or simply you don’t like the show?
I keep reading bloggers bashing this show saying is no Lost, and that’s true. The two shows are very different and that’s why Flashforward shouldn’t be compared to Lost.
I love this show! The writing is brilliant, the actors very talented and the production design is top notch. What are you all bitching about?
The problem with so many American TV shows is that stations are SO concerned with viewers that they don’t dare take any chances or make a show that builds up – it has to deliver from the first second and please everybody. I mean it’s a battlefield of cancelled shows that never really got a chance. If you people out there in TV land find FlashForward to be bad or boring then you simply are impossible to please.
I enjoy FF and V. I think ABC finally grew a set of cajones and launched a couple of very ambitious shows. I think FF will start picking up the pace now that we have an established storyline. V started off like gangbusters and it is going to take a few episodes for the real action to start. They had to lay the foundation before making it an action show. Remember the old V had a couple of mini series that acted as the foundation for the tv series. I personally hope both of these shows make it because quite frankly…I’m sick of the crime / forensic dramas.
Wonder what the ratings for each show would be if their time slots were switched? IMHO, some consideration for FF should be given for its tough Thursday time slot………..
^What, because V is only up against CBS and NBC’s highest-rated shows?
November 13
Flashforward is my absolute favorite TV series. I love the
characters and care very much what happens to them. I loved
the original novel by Robert Sawyer, the plot of which has
been changed out of all recognition for the TV series, but
the premise is so compelling that I enjoy the TV series despite the changes.
I’d like to add that Flashforward is a thinking person’s
story, whereas V is a silly, 1930’s style show about reptiles taking over the earth. The only interesting character is Anna, but knowing she’s a reptile under all that glamour is pretty off-putting.
Who was it who coined the remark “a sphinx without a secret”? That’s FF. I gave up at episode 6. The last-minute hook got really old. It felt like lap-dancing. All tease, no delivery.
I’m still liking V. It’s kinda old-school but at least it makes sense and I almost give a rat’s for the characters. Almost.
But the truth is, they’re both lame.
When will “they” get it? We’ll stay with anything if we engage with the characters. But those good writers are hard to find, and probably too expensive for the bean-counters.
I had a FlashForward…The ratings will be significantly higher!