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FlashForward: No More Good Days (series premiere)
by Jason Hughes, posted Sep 25th 2009 1:50AM
(S01E01) Well, that was it. The most eagerly anticipated premiere of the season, if early buzz is any indicator. Is it the next Lost? Is it as good as everyone says it was? It can be. As much as I liked this pilot, though, I can't say that I know for sure how good the show is going to be based on it.
The opening sequence was every bit as epic and awe-inspiring as the opening moments of Lost. Whereas in Lost we had the aftermath of a cataclysmic plane crash on a deserted island, here we had the cataclysmic crash of ... everything! They dropped us right into the moments after the global blackout to immediately show us the impact it would have. It was like the opening of a big budget summer blockbuster.
Oh, but I wanted to see more scenes of the aftermath of this cataclysmic event. I think I could have watched that for almost this entire episode. The global fallout of this must be catastrophic, and while I know it would have been cost prohibitive to do it, damn, it would have been awe-inspiring to really show how epic this event was.
In that moment, I couldn't help but think of the majesty of the concept: that every person on the planet blacks out at the exact same time for two minutes, seventeen seconds and has a vision of their lives on April 29, 2010 at 10pm Pacific Time. That's seven billion visions, combining to paint a complete picture of that future moment. Can the mosaic of those prophecies be compiled in time?
In time for what? Well, so far we don't know, but as I was watching it, I kept thinking that someone had to have had a vision of something that was important. I think Mark's (Joseph Fiennes) vision is important, but more in helping him pull the pieces together. But there's a significance to that date, other than it being my brother's birthday.
The awkward positions that the visions are putting people in with their interactions with one another is fascinating to watch. Next week, Olivia is going to meet that boy's father and recognize him from her vision as the man who was not her husband that she had intimate feelings toward. That will dramatically impact their relationship. Especially because he had to have had the same vision.
Who were the people gunning for Mark in his vision? Dominic Monaghan's character has one now, per the preview sequences, so what does that mean about his character? There's some connection with Red Panda, which seems to be an omnipresent corporation. There was a bus billboard for the brand, and the logo was also on Mark's wall of clues. Oh, shout out for the nod to Oceanic Airways on the billboard in the distance there. A great nod to an obvious thematic inspiration in Lost.
The fact that I'm left wondering so many things proves that as the opening salvo of an epic drama, "No More Good Days" was a resounding success. I want to meet more characters, see more visions, watch Mark pull the pieces together, find out if Demetri (John Cho) seeing nothing can mean something other than his death. I want to know why Marks' daughter said that her vision/dream was that there were "no more good days." What does it mean? What path is humanity on now?
And that video from Detroit. The man who wasn't asleep. Oh that moment grabbed me and would not let go. It got me excited about this mystery in a way that even seven billion people passing out simultaneously couldn't. There's something to this and it's going to be fascinating. And if that guys turns out to be the kid's father, from Olivia's dream, then my wife will have been right and I'll have to start listening to her more.
[Watch clips and episodes of FlashForward at SlashControl.]
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