Why should we care? (ABC photo)
ABC’s “FlashForward” hit the air drawing comparisons to “Lost,” but it’s turning out to be more like “Heroes” – meandering, lacking momentum and completely unfulfilling.
Once again, Thursday night’s episode, “Black Swan,” failed to deliver anything that advanced the plot. Well, until the last two minutes. And that is becoming the troubling trademark of this series. What’s the point of watching for an hour when nothing happens until the final scene? It’s one thing to end on a cliffhanger every week –“24” pulls it off consistently – but you need to have something satisfying that comes before that. Instead, “FlashForward” is giving us dead-end leads with the investigation, repetitive “now do you believe?” moments, and not a shred of closure. The handful of series “FlashForward” is most structured like – “Lost,” “24,” Season 1 of “Heroes” – have a season-long story arc, but also self-contained stories in every episode that let us feel like we’ve learned something, or at least solved one little part of the mystery. But “FF’s” plot hasn’t advanced noticeably in about three weeks.
At this point, I don’t even care about any of the characters, with the possible exception of Demetri (John Cho). We haven’t learned anything substantial about anyone, nothing that would make their story compelling or relatable. Compare that to “Lost,” where after just one episode viewers had clear rooting interests in the cast of characters. Or even “Heroes,” which did a fantastic job in its first season of introducing new characters and making them compelling. Why should I care if that doctor wanted to kill himself if we never learn why? Why should I care about a marriage that appears doomed when we’re given no history as to why they belong together in the first place?
I thought Season 1 of “Heroes” was one of the best things on TV in the past decade. But it lost its way – badly – in following seasons, losing the sense of purpose and time-is-running-out immediacy that made Season 1 so fun. Characters didn’t develop, they just changed, seemingly on a whim (Mohinder turning evil, anyone?). Plotlines were introduced and quickly forgotten about, or else took illogical leaps. The big-picture goals became lost in the shuffle as the writers struggled to figure out what direction the show was going. I finally gave up after two more frustrating seasons because I realized it was leading nowhere, and nothing would ever really be resolved. And I had already gone down that road with “The X-Files.”
I think that’s where “FlashForward” is headed. It’s repetitive, cheesy melodrama that runs in circles, and as a viewer you feel completely uninvolved. There’s no real sense of danger or suspense because you know none of the stars will die anytime soon. In fact, you know exactly how everything is going to turn out in the end. Once we know that, do we really need to know the “how” if it’s going to be so boring? I’m really disappointed, because there’s so much potential there for a mysterious, suspenseful series. But that’s just not panning out.
I’m trying to be patient. I know some series need time to find their footing before they get going. But how long will it take? If the series is falling into bad habits just four episodes in, in doesn’t bode well for what’s to come. Last week, it got picked up for a full season, 25 episodes. But the question now is, are any fans going to tolerate that many?
