FlashForward – Part One, Season One (2009/ABC-Disney DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: B- Extras: C+ Episodes: B-
In an
attempt to have another hit show, ABC and HBO have greenlit an idea that has
some interesting potential, even if it seems like some shows we have seen
before or recently. When CBS’s Jericho
arrived, it gained a following, even if it was not an instant hit. A similar disaster seems to have befallen the
world in FlashForward, but
non-nuclear and the people within are not isolated form the rest of the
world. Instead, Part One, Season One has everyone not knowing how the disaster has
occurred, yet they can all see into some part of the future.
The idea of
a whole group of people not remembering a period of time has been done
before. Just see episodes of Department S or The Avengers, but those are British series too few have
rediscovered (the former is not even available in the U.S., but we
did review an import), so it seems like a fresher idea than it might actually
be. The clairvoyance angel is a nice
twist courtesy of genre expert David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight, Blade).
This set
contains the first 10 hour-long shows and to be honest, I was surprised how
good this was. Whether it can remain so
will be the challenge for Goyer and his group of writers can make this
work. What also worked is the cast,
several of whom have done some of their best work to date here, including
Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Jack Davenport, Courtney B. Vance, Dominic Monaghan,
Gabrielle Union and Rachel Roberts among others. There is some real chemistry here we rarely
see on any TV show made today, but can it hold the show together as well? We’ll see, but you should see the show in the
meantime.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is weak and soft, partly from the way it
is stylized and partly because of the format, but the result is a look that
does not always work. The Dolby Digital
5.1 mix is better with some good surrounds per each episode, though nothing
stunning, yet this is one of the better such mixes we have had off of an ABC TV
on DVD title in a while. Extras include
two featurettes: FlashForward: A Look
Back and Creating Catastrophe: The
Effects Of A Global Blackout.
- Nicholas Sheffo
