"'FLASHFORWARD': A Potential Nipped in the Bud"

 

"'FLASHFORWARD': A POTENTIAL NIPPED IN THE BUD"

Ever since ABC had cancelled one of its freshman series from the 2009-2010 television season, the science-fiction drama called "FLASHFORWARD", many television critics and fans have expressed the belief that the series had failed to garner enough viewers due to its less than stellar writing. Now . . . I have stated that although many have expressed this belief, but there were a good number of viewers who believe that the network should have given the series a chance to grow over the years. I happen to be one of those who agree with the latter.

Based upon the 1999 novel written by Robert J. Sawyer, "FLASHFORWARD" revolved around the lives of several people after a mysterious event caused nearly everyone on the planet to simultaneously lose consciousness for two minutes and seventeen seconds on October 6, 2009. During this "blackout” people saw what appeared to be visions of their lives on April 29, 2010 - a global "flashforward". Created by Brannon Braga and David S. Goyer, the series starred Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Courtney B. Vance, Christine Woods, Jack Davenport, Sonia Walger and Dominic Monaghan.

When the series had first aired in late September 2009, it became an immediate ratings hit and stayed that way during its first ten (10) episodes. Then ABC made the decision to put the series on hiatus for three-and-a-half months. Why? I have no idea. But after the series resumed its run in mid-March 2010, its ratings tanked. In fact, the ratings remained low until it was finally cancelled by ABC some two-and-a-half months later. Does this story sound familiar? Why, yes it does. The very same fate nearly befell the CBS science-fiction/post-apocalypse series, ”JERICHO”. Thanks to a campaign by fans to save the series, ”JERICHO” was given a second season – which amounted to eight episodes that aired in a new time slot that guaranteed its rating failure - namely Tuesday nights at 10:00 PM. A similar thing happened to NBC's "TIMELESS", which was moved to Sunday nights at 10:00 PM. And both shows have become cult favorites. But no amount of fan campaign could convince ABC to give "FLASHFORWARD" a second chance. Even though there were a good number of fans who became angry at how the network handled the series, it never became a cult favorite like "JERICHO" and "TIMELESS".

Yet, those critics and fans who did not criticize ABC’s handling of the series claimed that "FLASHFORWARD" was an immediate failure that destined for cancellation. Many of these critics and viewers claimed that the series failed to live up to the same quality as the pop culture classic, "LOST". To this day, I still have a problem with this assessment of "FLASHFORWARD". One, its only season had just begun, when this assessment was made against it. To expect the series to be perfect right off the bat had struck me as ridiculous. Now, I realize that both "LOST" and the NBC series, "HEROES", managed to immediately dazzle U.S. viewers and critics with highly regarded series premieres and well written first seasons. "LOST" managed to toe the line and become what I believe to be one of the best television series ever. But I feel that "HEROES" managed to do nothing but decline in quality in years, following its freshman season. "LOST" managed to maintain the momentum of its dazzling debut, despite a minor setback in quality during the first half of its third season. As for "HEROES", I thought its writing simply went down the drain following its first season. How it managed to stay on the air for another three seasons amazes me to this day.

Ever since the dazzling debuts of "LOST" and "HEROES"; television network executives have expected and demanded that other multi-seasonal series with a science-fiction/fantasy background repeat their initial success. I believe that this was a mistake. Some of the best science-fiction/fantasy television series I have seen have started out with a less than dazzling or even mediocre season debut. Good examples of this are “BABYLON 5″, “JERICHO” and “BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER”. Both ”BABYLON 5” and ”BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER” were given chances to fulfill their potential. Just as "JERICHO" was developing into a well-written series, CBS permanently pulled its plug . . . aborting its chances of fulfilling any potential.

As I had stated earlier, "FLASHFORWARD" also started with a less than dazzling first season. I might as well be frank. It was not perfect. But I do believe that it had great potential to grow into a well written saga. If the series had first aired over two decades ago, I suspect that it may have been given the chance to develop into something remarkable. I believe it certainly had that potential. Unfortunately, we viewers are still mired in the "LOST"/"HEROES" era of television broadcasting in which certain shows are expected to dazzle viewers in the pilot episodes.

Today’s television network executives, critics and viewers seemed to lack the patience or willingness to give a series a chance to grow. They want and demand instant success. In fact, I am beginning to suspect that many are becoming less tolerant of the television serial format. Unless these executives, critics and viewers are willing to change their modis operandi; future serial science-fiction/fantasy television series with levels of qualities similar to "BABYLON 5", "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER", "LOST" and "JERICHO" threaten to become a thing of the past. I certainly did not see that level of quality writing in shows like "HEROES", despite its longevity on the air.