This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant

I was really excited by the prospect of FlashForward. I eagerly awaited its premier and the first couple of episodes I thought, yes, this has legs. But the past four weeks of the show have just been dire. I’ve been confused as to what direction they’re trying to take and the relationships between characters is nigh on non-existent. This saddens me.

The show features one of my all time favourite actors in Dominic Monaghan who hasn’t featured nearly enough as I’d like him to, which is a shame but I shall use this to cling onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, the show can turn things around.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, FlashForward has shut down production, the show hasn’t been cancelled however, they are merely taking a break for a while but have enough episodes stored in the bank so there shouldn’t be a big gap like there was that one time during the writers strike for Lost.

This break comes at a time when ratings for the show hit an all time low, so rumours that the show is facing the chop of course are going to circulate. The question is, how can FlashForward save itself?

I personally think there is too much confusion in the writing style. They show a FlashForward then they go off into several different character tangents and you sort of lose focus. I think the show could benefit from a Lost style structure where each week they focus on one person’s FlashForward or at least a part of it, like the clues on the Mosaic board, and build on that. Keeping a centralised theme.

As shown it appears the FlashForwards are man-made and thus the future that is being written is coming true because the characters are letting it. Then we see characters thought dead turn up and characters alive in their FlashForward suddenly killed. It’s no wonder people are turning off, this stuff is confusing.

The show needs to turn things around and do it quickly. The characters need addressing, giving more sense of purpose. It’s all well and good saying they’ll work out their problems in the end and it’ll all become clear but if we don’t develop any feelings for these characters now we’re not going to care about them come the end of the season.

So FlashForward, if you get a chance to carry on production, look at making episodes simpler, still keep the mystery and intrigue but try to remain focused throughout. Less of the crazy soundtrack over needless action sequences and plenty more of Mr. Monaghan please.

I shall continue to tune in but I’m not getting attached, not only is the show not letting me, but if it does go the way of the chopping block, I don’t want to miss it.