Episode: “No More Good Days” (Season 1, Ep 1)

Original US Air Date: September 24, 2009

In this series opener, we see the beginning of the mystery of ABC’s “FlashForward” begin with the whole world experiencing a brief look into their lives six months into the future for 2 minutes and 17 seconds.  The series centers on Mark Benford (played by Joseph Fiennes), a FBI agent in LA, and the people around him as they try to deal with and uncover the mystery behind the worldwide FlashForward.

Here’s a great vid introducing you to the show and the central characters:

Vid recap of series premiere:

FF QUESTIONS:

What each of them saw gave them hope or trepidation for the future.  If they saw this future, can they change it?

• Mark is afraid that whatever is to happen has driven him back into the bottle. Who is coming to kill him for what he knows about Mosaic?
• Olivia was with another man- Lloyd Simcoe.  Why would she cheat on Mark?
• Charlie, the Benford’s daughter, would only say that she had a bad dream and that “There are no more good days”.
• Demetri saw nothing.  Does this mean that he is dead six months from now?
• Janice was getting a sonogram of her baby girl at 17 weeks.  She doesn’t even have a boyfriend yet.
• Nicole was being drowned.  Why?
• Aaron saw his daughter alive.  He desperately wants this future to be true.
• How did Lloyd Simcoe’s son know Olivia’s name?
• What did Bryce see that gave him so much hope?

Walk through the clues Mark saw on his Mosaic board in his FlashForward:

• The words “blue hand”
• A UK passport
• Red Panda Resources logo (same as seen on the side of bus when Mark and Demetri apprehend terror suspect after the FlashForward)
• The name “D. Gibbons”
• The date “April 29, 2010”
• Mark writing “Who else knows?”
• Baby doll photograph of a melted doll head with bullet casing nearby
• A picture of an elderly man
• The friendship bracelet that his daughter made for him
• Photograph of three star tattoo that corresponds to the tattoo on the outside of the forearm of one of the masked men coming to kill Mark.
• A piece of Renaissance art
• A chess piece- a king or queen?

BURNING QUESTIONS:

• Who was that man in Detroit that didn’t FlashForward?
• Did you notice the Oceanic billboard six minutes into the episode (pictured here)?  It states a “Perfect Safety Record”.  What do you think that means for “Lost”?
• Why wasn’t Demetri in the car with Mark when Mark came to?  Where did he go?
• Why was there a kangaroo on the streets of LA?
• Who is the terror suspect Mark and Demetri have caught and why is she the one asking the question of “why” the FlashForwards happen?

Compare your FlashForward story with others using the Mosaic website.

[Commentary]

The cinematic quality of how this is shot and presented is truly something to behold- the wide shot scenes of the devastation in LA are impressive!  The helicopter downed at a skyscraper touched a nerve for me, but I think it was meant to elicit that kind of reaction.  I like that no detail is without thought- notice the small touches that the art department threw in: a motto about a “better tomorrow” for the Red Panda ad on the bus, something being “timeless” in the ad on the back of the paper that Mark is reading while they are on a stakeout.

The more intimate scenes with the characters are shot in a voyeuristic style and this adds to the feeling of watching the story unfold and making you question yourself- “What would you do with the knowledge of your FlashForward?”  Watch this one, folks.  They are stretching the boundaries of what you can do on the small screen with this production.

Watch the mystery unfold. “FlashForward” is on ABC, Thursdays 8/7 C.

Check out our coverage of “FlashForward”:

FLASHFORWARD- Sneak Peeks Into Ep 2!

FLASHFORWARD Goes Global

What Exactly Is FLASHFORWARD? The Mystery Behind The Buzz

Missed an ep? Go to the show site or www.hulu.com to watch full episodes.