Review: Series Premiere of FlashForward

The anticipated "FlashForward" premiered Thursday, September 24. Summer trailers (like the one above) gave us a quick synopsis of the show: Everyone in the world blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, and during that time, they get a glimpse of their future.

Another "Lost," you say? Yeah, that's what I said, too.

"FlashForward" does have that mysterious, all-questions-no-answers-quality of "Lost."

The premiere of the new series actually started much like "Lost" did: We don't see at first what actually happened; we see people, some injured, in a panic and surrounded by destruction, fire, and chaos - though the destruction in the opening of "FlashForward" is much more than a flaming plane crashed on an island. It's the opening of Lost but darker and more intense. There is nothing seemingly paradisiacal (no sunny skies, no white-sanded beaches, no crystal clear waters, no healing island...) in "FlashForward's" opening: a dim city-scene (Los Angeles) littered with crashed vehicles, people on fire, and screams of terror, perfectly reflecting the resulting chaos and panic of the 2 minute 17 second blackout.

This lasts about a minutes before the title of the show "flashes" onto the screen (again, similar to "Lost"). Then, "Four hours earlier" comes up. The show becomes heart racingly captivating soon after. Ok, so it becomes so intense that it was obviously leading up to showing the global blackout. But I still found myself holding my breath.

You know what I also found? Goosebumps. On my arms. I know a show is going to be intriguing and one that I'm going to watch religiously when it frequently gives me goosebumps in just one episode.

During the rest of the premiere, everyone realizes that they saw their future while blacked out, the main characters sharing what they saw with one another - some were bad, some were good, perhaps "gifts" as one character called them. The main character of the show, FBI Agent Mark Benford (Joseph fiennes) was getting close to figuring out who was responsible for the global black out in his glimpse of the future.

Oh, and the future that everyone saw was on April 29, 2010 at 10:00 p.m. Hmm...not sure what the significance is there yet. And yes, one person, so far, didn't see their future. So we know at least one character who is going to die before then.

While I was a little worried that the show was going to be too "Lost," FlashForward" looks like it's going to be a promising series...at least for the first season. (It's always hard to tell with these types of "Lost"-like shows that are only meant to last about six seasons. But they have all become hits, so I think it's safe to say that there's hope for "FlashForward.")

Definitely looking forward to next week's episode.