New TV with potential: FlashForward

New TV with potential: FlashForward

Alternatively titled: The British Invasion.

FlashForward's four main characters are all played by Brits (and one Irishman), only one of whom keeps his accent. Joseph Finnes, Sonya Walger, Jack Davenport, and Brian O'Byrne all hail from the other side of the Atlantic. As does guest star Alex Kingston, and according to IMDB, Dominic Monaghan is going to show up soon as well.

Normally I'd be a little leery of this many fake accents, but with one episode down, they're all doing a stellar job. Though I, for one, am happy they at least let Jack Davenport keep his accent. I love that man's voice, and I have ever since he played lovable idiot Steve in the British series Coupling. It is, to use one of my favorite 25 cent words, rather mellifluous.

The gist of the show, if you haven't heard, is that everyone on the planet blacks out at exactly the same time, for just over two minutes. Whilst blacked out, they each see a vision of their future, at a very specific time.

The date that they all flash forward to is April 29, 2010. Which amuses me personally because it's my mother's birthday. But I also find it interesting because that's a date that's within this television season, meaning that (unlike "Lost," the alma mater of two of our stars) we'll actually get the story through to a conclusion. Then again, since there is a definite end date, where do they go for a second season?

Of course it starts as one big mess. If everyone blacks out, no one is driving cars or flying airplanes and there's a lot of death and destruction. It reminds me in this way of Jericho, one of my favorite shows killed before its time. (See also: Sports Night, Firefly). It develops the potential for a lot of interesting stories on how people relate to each other in times of need and crisis, and the basest human nature.

The premiere episode laid a lot of really interesting groundwork. It's got a world of characters trying to figure out not only what happened but why, and how it will affect them from here on out. How will what they've seen impact the choices they make? They'll have to struggle with wondering if they're making decisions on free will or because they've been influenced by this flash.

This could go terribly, terribly wrong. It could get overly involved and confusing, like similar time shifting drama Journeyman, which I really enjoyed, but didn't last past the first series. Or they could decide to dumb it down, like a large amount of other cop shows on TV. But the first episode walked the line in the middle fairly well and I'm curious to see where they take it.

It is certainly shot very well, everything looks great. The acting is excellent. I see a lot of potential here, I hope they can keep it up.