Friday, April 2, 2010

FlashForward: Season 1 Episode 14 - Better Angels

Hello Future Dwellers!  We had another great outing of FlashForward last night.   Lots of action, great visuals and more twists and turns than you could shake a stick at!  Of course, being on the Thursday before a holiday weekend, probably nobody even saw it.  I know that I had problems fitting it in last night and I do not have much time to recap but I will try my best to give you all your money's worth.  Let's dig in!

Better Angels followed a couple main story lines.    There were some brief scenes with Bryce and Nicole at the hospital which we'll try to knock out pretty quickly.  Then we had Mark and Olivia's marriage crumbling as they try to explore Charlie's FlashForward.  But, I think we can all agree that the significant part of the story and the most visually stunning was Demetri, Janis, Simon and Vogel's trip to Somalia.  We learned some very interesting tidbits, almost proved my Janis pregnancy theory correct (I said almost!), and that final twist will have us talking for 7 days! (you know, because they'll go right back to it next Thursday, I'm guessing)

Bryce and Nicole

Bryce's story opens up with him huddled over a toilet throwing up.  I actually forgot that he had cancer.  It has been so long since we discussed it.  Of course, in terms of the show, it's only been a few episodes since we found out.  That 3 month break was rough!  But this was a good reminder.  When he leaves the bathroom he bumps into Nicole.  And their budding friendship/relationship continues to grow. 


  • We find out that Nicole is studying to become a doctor.   She's keeping it low key because she's afraid she will fall flat on her face. 
  • Bryce is very supportive but tells her to pick the right name as he ponders Dr. Kirby.  Hard to tell if he's kidding or not but he tells Nicole that his real name is Martin Goathead.  Ouch! 
  • Nicole senses that Bryce isn't feeling too well, but Bryce plays it off at first. 
  • Later on we see Nicole bagging up a 100 packs of graham crackers because he promised some kid if they stood still for their x-ray she would.  Bryce again is supportive of her going to become a doctor.  He gives her his "lucky calculator" that got him through many tough times of Med School.  Sweet gesture.  Look out again Keiko!


  • Nicole does the math and realizes it will take her 12 years to become a doctor.   And then they'll be able to work together.  And right after Bryce said he doesn't lie, he had to come clean on having cancer.   He says he might not be around in 12 years.   For some reason I thought he felt cured in his FlashForward, but I think he just saw something worth living for.  (Might be mixing it up with that other mythology show again and ROSE's "feeling" that she was cured)

The Interrogation of Charlie

Mark starts off his day talking to Stan back at FBI HQ.  They talk D. Gibbons for a little bit, and Mark understands that he has to get information out of his daughter's head about what she saw in the flash.  Back at home, Olivia is still trying to convince Mark to run away from it all.  Mark's loyalty and desire to unravel the mystery behind the blackouts seems to be what causes their undoing (if they let it).  Here are some of the main points we learned. 
  • Mark shows Stan the Hydra picture from his Flash Forward Board.  7 heads, bad breath, Killed by Hercules.   He then talks about Dyson Frost (D. Gibbons) and his background.  Brilliant, Reclusive, Particle Physicist, trained in Engineering at MIT, Minor in Victorian Literature.  He was a domineering father who only spoke to his kids in French even though they grew up in Wyoming.  BIZARRE.  He also became a Chess Grandmaster at age 15 (Yep, the white Queen they found in from Pigeon, Utah)
  • "Dyson Frost" supposedly died in a boating accident in 1990 on a boat called Le Monst de Boaistuau (French for Monster. Excuse me if I spelled anything wrong!) but also represents French writer Pierre Boaistuau who was an 18th century French writer who had illustrations of monsters in his books.  The more well known would be our favorite HYDRA picture.
  • Mark tells Stan about Charlie's cryptic words from her flash "D. Gibbons is a Bad Man".   Stan tells him to "be like hercules and slay the beast.  Mark gets his mission to get the information he needs out of Charlie's head so he can find Dyson Frost. 
  • Mark returns home and talks to Olivia.  Olivia has been researching Denver.  She continues thinking they should run away.  She has done her research.  2 Major hospitals need surgeons and FBI has a division there.  Mark jokes around with her and she says that they don't have to make any decisions but should soon.  Mark kind of just blows it off (Penny did not look happy!) 
  • Mark goes right into the Charlie Flash thing and how he needs to find out what she said.  Mark wanted to bring her into the FBI to their specialists, but Olivia offers to make an attempt first. 
  • Later on Olivia does have a sit-down with Charlie.  We can't let an episode go by without talking about SQUIRRELIO!  Olivia uses it as an analogy in trying to get Charlie to talk. 
  • Charlie is clearly afraid and is worried that if she tells that it's going to come true.  Olivia promises that nothing bad will happen.  Tough promise to keep! 
  • We continue in Charlie's flash in the kitchen where she is with Dylan.  Dylan got his cookie then overheard Lloyd talking to Mark on the phone "The Man you call D. Gibbons is a liar".  Dylan then went to the Fridge and said "Bad People Lie" and started putting magnetic letters in order to spell out "D. Gibbons is a Bad Man!" Nice:
  • So Charlie did not see D. Gibbons in the flash.   She said she heard fireworks next and went to the back door.  Hmmm, did people set off Fireworks in celebration of April 29th 10pm actually happening? 
  • Anyway, Charlie sees 2 men talking outside the back door and one of them says "Mark Benford is dead".  We do see a glimpse of the 2 men and if you pause it you could see who one of them was. But we get the reveal at the end of the episode anyway! 


  • But I am confused, I guess Lloyd was off the phone with Mark at this point?  We know that the masked men, 3 star tattooed men come after him at the end of his flash, but how would they know he was dead so quickly?   Pretty intense though and definitely raises the stakes a bit!  
  • Olivia is convinced now more than ever that they need to move away from all of this.  Mark, refuses to believe that it will happen and he wants to see his investigation through and prevent the next blackout.  Olivia foresees how their marriage crumbles.  Mark needs things to play out like he saw but one of the things that plays out is that they're not together anymore.  Yep, we've been saying this for months now!  How can you have it both ways?  Olivia makes a compelling argument, and Mark just can't agree with her.  He's too far into it.  Granted, we do not see him make a decision, but this wouldn't be much of a show if the man with all of the answers encrypted in his head just got up and left right?   (I know some would argue it would be an improvement to the show, but love it or hate it, Mark is definitely important!)   


Somalia

Finally, we made it to Somalia folks!  And it didn't disappoint.  We spend a majority of the episode in this locale (which looked amazing, I must say) and learned a few interesting tidbits.  Of course, my favorite was all of the extra personnel they brought with the cast (infamously referred to as Red Shirts ever since Star Trek).  We knew these guys were gonna get killed from the moment we saw them!   Let's dive in. 

Arrival

  • On the Red Panda chopper, there is a translator teaching our FBI heroes a few lines of Arabic including "I don't eat Dairy" and "What did YOU see?"  Janis said she was baking bread in her flash (Get it?  Bun in the oven?).  Demetri lies and says he was water skiing.  The guy on the right? Something tells me he didn't see anything in his flash! 


  •  Janis tells Demetri that DUTY calls and she won't be able to start baking that bread this weekend.  Of course, if you recall last week I put the theory out there that Janis may become desperate since she is supposed to get pregnant NOW, that she may turn to the nearest man around.  I predicted Simon may use his flirtatious ways and there might be alcohol involved.  And, while we don't get an answer by the end of this episode...I may not have been far off!  Just picked the wrong guy.  We'll get there folks. 
  • Once they land, everyone assembles their artillery and equipment and prepare to move into the town with the lone tower.  Simon requests a gun from Vogel.  Vogel refuses as Simon is in an advisory role.   Yeah, that story doesn't last too long!
  • They head into town and see the tower.  There is a marking on it when they look close up.  66:6 (creepy!)   This, we find out refers to the Koran Chapter 66 verse 6 "save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is men and stones;" Simon quotes Dante when he says "Abandon hope all ye who enter here" which was symbolic to the entrance to hell.   Take from it what you will.  I still say creepy!  Plus, we learn who put the number on there and why later. 





  • It isn't long before they find out they are not welcome in this town.  There are lots of armed men around the tower who start opening fire and one crazy guy who keeps shooting at the ground as he walks towards them.  
  • Vogel tells the translator guy to tell crazy man that they are relief workers with Red Panda.  Crazy guy doesn't even waste much time as he just just shoots the translator.  And yes, we find out he speaks perfect english.  One Red Shirt down! 

  • His name is Abdi Kalif and he knows the real reason these guys are here.  He recognizes Simon from TV admitting they were behind the blackouts.  Abdi claims that God caused the blackout and Simon merely put his finger on the button.  He sees through the lies, pulls a page out of their Red Panda book with the towers and says that he knows they are all there for the tower. 
  • Abdi mentions there were others that came to the tower too.  We flash back to 1991, and it is revealed that Abdi is the kid that was outside of the town when the towers were activated.  He said foreigners came to their town and promised, under false pretenses, that they would provide infinite electricity.  And they built the 5 towers.  But he now knows that those towers were not built for electricity. 






  • He returned to the town after tending to the goats and saw the whole town collapsed.  He went into details though of how they were there but appeared to be gone.  We get a glimpse of his mother with a necklace he describes later. 
  • And now joining our Kangaroo in weird animals just popping up, Abdi sees a Black Camel during this initial blackout.  Huh??  When he saw the black camel he ran.  A black camel is apparently a bad omen in Abdi's culture....



  • We return to the present and Abdi shows his craziness by taking the pilot and explaining to them that he's here for a purpose.  They then take him in the other room and shoot him.  Purpose SERVED!  Woaaaa crazy much?   He asks who these Red Panda people really are and what their true purpose is.  He threatens to kill them if they do not reveal the purpose. 

Turning the tables

  • The crew are held hostage and hang around pondering their options.  Apparently Demetri and Vogel already had a plan to act up like they are getting into a heated argument and cause a distraction.  It worked, but Demetri got a nice shot to Vogel's face in the process.  NICE! 
  • Their plan now is to get back to the chopper, get some weapons and neutralize Abdi's men.  Yeah, but Abdi's men have Rocket launchers now.   They did succeed in getting the chopper and grab the guns...and Simon gets his gun as well!  Naturally, Abdi rolls in with an armored vehicle with a huge machine gun on top.  



  • Abdi ends up shooting his own men and then tells the MOSAIC squad that they will fulfill their part of the plan.   Abdi then threatens Red Shirt #3 (guy from the helicopter) to try and find out who these people are again.  He crumbles under the pressure and tells Abdi that they are CIA here to investigate the tower and they are security.
  • So all is out in the open and they tell Abdi what is up.  They have reason to believe the blackouts happened on  a smaller scale in 1991.  Abdi doesn't believe it as he thought all of the people of the town died.  He saw the Black Camel, ran and when he returned, the town was cleared out.  "Death is a Black Camel that kneels at every man's gate"    When he returned to the town, he came armed (a "changed man") and the bodies were all gone.   We don't find out how much tine had passed, but only one tower remained when he left.  Where did the other towers go?!  Did they destroy them, transport them somewhere else? 



  • Abdi then spoke of his Flash Forward where he was speaking out about the "Better Angels".  He called himself the new face of Somalia and was telling the world.  He believes everything that has happened was part of God's plan.  He translated this to mean he will rule the country.  And realizes he was wearing his mother's necklace in the flash as well.  He believes the CIA can help him win his war.  He wants planes, tanks and boats.  Ahh yes, a man with a plan! 


  • When Vogel refuses to comply, Abdi shoots ol Red Shirt #3 to prove how powerful he is!  Told you he was gonna get whacked! 


Janis's Revelation

  • The MOSAIC squad has more time to reflect.  And Janis has the striking realization of what the "Better Angels" referred to.  And she wants to prove it to Abdi.  She asks for a computer to get access to the MOSAIC database.  She explains that "Better Angels" is from Lincoln's inaugural address.   They were in a Civil War just like Somalia now.  "Better Angels" was a speech about unity.  The MOSAIC database shows that there were many people who had flashes have seeing Abdi speak.  We find out it was a Peace Conference and people were inspired by Abdi's words.  They referred to Abdi's mother's necklace that he was wearing.  Abdi did not have possession of that necklace yet.  In his speech he is cited as directly quoting Lincoln's address  "will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature".  
  • Janis reveals to Abdi that his destiny is to STOP the war, not start one.   Abdi becomes a believer and less of a threat. 
Heading into the Tower 
  • Abdi is sold on the fact that in 1991, that was indeed a blackout and they saw the future.  But they still couldn't explain where the bodies went. 
  • Abdi tells tells them that he painted the 66:6 on the tower as a warning and has never gone in.   But now, he believes it is part of his destiny.  
  • Simon is befuddled that this tower even existed.  What he designed was theoretical and could only be done in the future.  And yet, here it is and has been standing there for 18 years.  
  • They head inside and Simon is confused further.  As we learned before the tower was built prior to Simon coming up with the concept in 1992.  Simon realizes this is exactly what he designed.  Perhaps getting Simon to come to Canada at such an early age Flosso was able to perform experiments on him that unlocked future thoughts of his?   But why wouldn't Simon remember that?  Maybe it ties into the work D. Gibbons was stealing from Lloyd around the same time as well? 
  • Vogel suggests that they hauled 4 of the 5 towers away and then the war came.  And that they haven't come to claim the 5th tower because the war hasn't stopped.  But we may find out by the end of the episode why the tower remains there. 
  • Demetri finds a Chess Board very similar to the one we saw in Pigeon, Utah.  This reeks of D. Gibbons!  Which makes sense because they also find a VHS tape with Gibbons studying the effects of the 1991 blackout!  Gibbons asked each person what they saw.  The one kid said he saw himself playing a game and in a couple weeks it came true.   Then we see Abdi's mother who says  she was looking for Abdi.  She could find him but she had hope.  She knew he would become great. 








  • D. Gibbons states that the study proves that the people uniformly experienced a consciousness shift 2 weeks into the future.   So we know D. Gibbons has been involved since the beginning.  Not a big shocker, but it is to them! 
  • Simon finds a basement door and they head in.  They find a linear accelerator (whatever that is) with a "DANGER" Radiation sign on it.  Simon says that this was 1 of 5 and were smaller less powerful versions of the ones they use at NLAP.   So they realized that they created a perimeter around the village with the towers to conduct the small scale experiment.  Didn't we already assume this!?!  But yes it explains why Abdi didn't lose consciousness because he was outside the perimeter. 


  • Demetri assumes this means that more than one tower was used to cause the current blackout.  Simon says that technology moves fast.  The rules don't apply anymore.  I guess if they were somehow using technology that couldn't be invented yet in 1991, could they potentially be using technology that may not exist in 2009/2010 either?   
  • And of course there was one more unveiling in this trip to the tower.  A room full of skeletons!  Yep, the whole town full of bodies were in there, shot to death.  Including Abdi's mother (we know how he got the necklace now)   Was anyone else thinking "DHARMA GRAVE?"  (okay, 2nd and last LOST reference for the day!) 
 





  • Abdi did not react to this news well, and returned to his violent ways.  He thought he had a destiny sent by God to avenge his people's death.  He put a gun into Simon's chest and Vogel shot and killed Abdi.  WOA.   Yet another flash that won't come true. 

Janis's Baby Making Plans
  • Janis was upset knowing that this wasn't supposed to happen.  Abdi should have lived on to become an advocate for peace.  This is one more strike against her and her desire to have a baby.
  • And then, almost if I could see the future myself, we then see Janis in her bedroom upset and desiring alcohol.  Demetri is there to save the day.  They have a long talk about how she needed to conceive the baby this weekend.  Demetri says that the weekend isn't over yet.  And then he ever offers his services! WHAT?!?!    Janis had named the baby Willa and she still wants THAT baby. And Demetri, disregarding having a fiance', said that the chances are he is not going to be around in a couple months.  It would be nice if Willa was.  Awwwww in a weird way that was kind of sweet.  But totally wrong!  Janis is gay and Demetri is engaged!   So, I'm not ruling Simon out just yet but considering it has to happen in the next day or so it seems like Demetri might be the guy.  If that's the case, I offer Kudos to the readers that called it! 



Simon and Vogel

  • Simon ended up with a rifle for fixing the Somalian's satellite TV.  Nice!  He then tells Vogel in his vision that he killed a man.  Of course, now we know that he already did it.  He was awake during the blackout.   He then unwraps his finger that got chopped off.   WARNING, the next picture is graphic!!  (i'll make it as small as possible)
  • Simon then asks Vogel what he saw, and we find out Vogel was the man outside of the Benford house delivering the news that Mark was dead.  WHAT!?!   Vogel says he was doing his job.  Hmmmm is Vogel on the Gibbons/Dental Flosso side?  Or was he just reporting the information for the FBI.  Who is the other man he is talking to?   Vogel says he was doing his job.  I guess we'll find out what that all means.  But, I guess we're all interested for Charlie to run into Vogel now aren't we?   



Back in the Tower

  • Demetri is in the tower watching the D. Gibbons video and Simon comes in.  Demetri couldn't sleep and is pondering life, death, fate.  Simon tells him not to ponder too much.  The greeks did and mostly ended up dead. 
  • After the little chit chat, the VHS tape was still running static and then the video returned with D. Gibbons. 
"Hello Demetri.  My name is Dyson Frost and I am recording this message in 1991.  Got your attention didn't I? 


WOA

TO BE CONTINUED!!! 

Pretty awesome way to wrap up the show wasn't it!?  I mean, what?  D. Gibbons knew about Demetri in 1991.  He knew that they were going to be at that tower.  Probably why the tower is even still there.  Does he know that Demetri is going to see nothing in his flash?  Is he going to give Demetri some information that will change the way he looks at things and inevitably lead to the scene between Mark and Demetri with a gun pointed at him?  Lots of things to speculate, but one thing we can speculate is that this is not the end of the video we are seeing here.  So I'm excited to tune in next Thursday and find out what else Mr. Frost has to say! 

I think I went a little overboard with the pictures and recapping in this one.  But I didn't want to leave anything out.  Always a sign of a great episode!  Hopefully, this is a sign that the show will keep improving and possibly become MUST SEE TV for a larger population (not to borrow an NBC term or anything).   Right now, we just have to hope for a 2nd season!  Anyway, I was impressed.  What did you guys think?  And do you have any theories on what is going on here?  See you in the comments.  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week! 

ENDING CREDITS 

Pictures courtesy of ABC and my iMAC! 

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19 comments:

Deebo said...

Mike,
Great recap as always, I must say that I love this show and I am really pulling for a second season (we might have to pull a “nut” campaign like Jericho!) I totally agree that THE SCENES IN Somalia looked absolutely amazing…I saw you referenced Olivia as Penny again! Love the Lost crossover lol…I definitely think the agent from Hong Kong might be with the masked men running into the FBI headquarters…Mark can’t be dead, they must have been jumping the gun on that confirmation…How Lost fans have not supported this show I will never figure out, it has all things we love and the writers have definitely stepped their game up!

Also- Fringe was brilliant last night! John Noble needs an Emmy NOW!!!!

MJ said...

Hey Mike - think you have had too much easter candy already. LOL At the top you say Mark went to Somalia instead of Dem. ;-D

Great ep - loved the twist at the end !

Man - thursdays are brutal. FF, Fringe, Supernatural - which blew my mind, Bones, Survivor. I can barely keep up.

Agree Deebo - John Noble needs an emmy, but he'll have to share with the John Locke guy! LOL

Deebo said...

I agree MJ- Locke has been amazing this season the warning to Widmore was classic!! I wonder how the twist at the end is going to play out? Can D. Gibbons time travel? He must have had future knowledge if he stole Simon’s research and then used it a year prior…Is supernatural any good? I am always weary of watching a show on CW

MJ said...

Supernatural started a little slow in the first year or two, took their time to really build their mythology - but the last 3 years have been fabulous ! Their big 5 year story will end this season - but the show is coming back next year with new stories, whatever that means. It has a lot of humor, but gets deep and darker with time.

Thought Frost HAD a domineering father who only spoke French ! My bad.

So Olivia has finally stated to Mark 'you can't have it both ways'. About time ! I've been saying that since the second ep. To me that is the weakest part of this show - Mark Benford and his attitude towards his vision and his wife. And really - I'd have questioned my kid a long time ago. This couples dialog is like on some weird delay - it's always weeks after it should have happened

My only issue was that the FBI actually thought that Simon could go in undercover without being recognized. I mean, really ?!?

I thought that Abdi didn't black out and that he saw the black camel when he first came back to the village ?

So - did Frost take those remaining towers and do further experiments outside Somalia and see Simon's future plans in order to build them in the past, or did Frost somehow put the ideas in a young Simon's head so that he'd create it in future? Ugh - now my head hurts. LOL

Deebo said...

MJ- great points all around, I want to know when we are time wise because Dimetri said he was going to die in a couple months? He die’s in March right? We better get to see the visions on April 29th!! I agree Mark’s attitude toward his family is a little weird? You would think he would leave to Denver to save his family…Your last paragraph made me scratch my head…very interesting???

After Abdi kills two innocent Americans we are just going to jump in bed with him and make him president? I am still confused what happens if you change a FF? Because if Abdi is dead doesn’t that change the FF of everyone who was at the speech?

Anonymous said...

Loved this episode. I think Janis and Demetri have already made a baby, they just didn't show them doing the deed!

I thought the Abdi character was fantastic -- too bad he's dead already!

We seem to be getting answers faster in this show than in "that other show." Actually, we seem to know more than some of the characters do! I wonder if that is the approach the writers are going to take with this so viewers won't get so frustrated waiting for answers.

If I was Olivia I'd be on my way to Denver. Her husband has obviously made his choice!

I thought the ending was great -- can't wait to see the rest of the tape! I did think it was funny that that videotape didn't melt after 18 years in the Somalian desert!

Good recap as always - Thanks! Cajun QT

Deebo said...

Anyone else wondering how D.Gibbons looked the same age in 1991?

Mike V. said...

Whew...finally getting a chance to post. I've been out all day! lol

OH MAN...I did it again!?!? (Olivia as Penny) lol I'm out of control...granted...I had very little sleep last night and watched the episode at midnight. Not sure how I called Demetri Mark either...thanks MJ. I'll have to correct this stuff!

Ugh...I'm 7 episodes behind on Fringe now...I want to just skip them and watch last night's! lol I might... (shh don't tell anyone!)

Wouldn't John Noble be up for a LEAD ACTOR emmy? O'Quinn would be up for a Supporting I think...even though he's definitely been in a lot of this season! lol

Anyway..onto FF I'm very vurious to how D Gibbons has all of the info too...maybe time travel..i dunno. They always said this show wasn't going to be too sci-fi. Maybe they've abandoned that lol Anyway, I thought 90's D Gibbons looked younger than Old D. Gibbons....his hair is certainly a different color!

MJ ...did i get it wrong with FROST and the french stuff? I thought it said he had kids...but you could be right! lol I was really punchy this morning. As for the camel...if i messed that up i certainly meant to say that he came back to the town and saw the camel. He didn't black out (Abdi) yikes...i may need an editor on this one!

Cajun you could be right about Janis and Demetri....we'll see! And I cant wait to see the tape either!

I'm gonna keep this brief because I have to go check the massive amounts of comments on the blog for that "other show" lol Happy Easter to those who celebrate!

kimmaaaay said...

didn't anyone ever tell Olivia that you can't run from your problems, that they will follow you, and by giving him the ultimatum to choose, rather selfishly I might add, she has just guaranteed that they will have problems. Even though he said that there is going to be another blackout... why can't she let him try to stop it... especially her being a doctor and all, can she not appreciate that he is trying to save lives?
Demetri and Janice did procreate. It does make sense that he would be the one with his mortality issues. I would still prefer that it be Simon, just because he is engaged after all, and him being unfaithful to his fiance even if it is to help his friend, is uncool, especially now that they have proven that the future can be changed.
I don't like Vogel, never liked him, he is not trustworthy. I think he is dirty and on the side of D.Gibbons/Frost

Mike V. said...

Kimaaay, it does seem like Vogel is pretty shady, and this episode didn't help matters for him.

Yeah, if Demetri/Janis did the deed and Zoey finds out, it could lead to some interesting plotlines down the road. And hey, maybe that's why the writers did it! create some conflict between these characters! I'm all for it.

As for Olivia's comments...no idea. I think her logic is sound. Move Away, don't be in the places you saw yourself being and then it can't possibly happen. But I agree with you that maybe the problems would resurface in a different way. We'll see!

MJ said...

Yeah Deebo - I am also veeery curious to see the effect of changing the FF. THe FBI guy killed himself just to prove you could change one, but the effect was so that a woman and her kid would live. But Abdi not being alive changes the possible course of a whole country, and all the many who would have witnessed the speech. So what happens to them on 4/29
.

I'm guessing that on the show it is January - which it would have been in the real world is ABC hadn't extented the xmas hiatus. That would also fit with Janis having to get preggers now so that she'd be in her second trimester in April.

I'm sure we will get to see what happens 4/29 - but it will be May or June by the calendar - which sucks for us.

Mike V. said...

great point about how the people listening to Abdi's speech will be affected by him not giving it. That has altered the vision for thousands of people vs. 1 or 2 people in Gough's suicide.

Yeah, I'm not sure when the season finale of FF will be...I'm not sure if there will be 24 eps still or just 22. I thought I had heard they advanced the plot quicker wiping out the need for 2 hours that were previously in the mix. But, I just can't remember for sure.

The hiatuses are definitely getting stranger for network television and the Olympics played a large factor this year.

AUStarwars said...

Mike,

Reading now, but you had to be thinkin the same thing I was, cant believe you didnt write it:

"Their plan now is to get back to the chopper, get some weapons and neutralize Abdi's men. "

Clearly their plan was to "GET TO THE CHOPPA!!!!!!!!!"

come on! ;-)

AUStarwars said...

Ok finished, good write up Mike! Keep calling people by their Lost names, Im still calling Simon (Charlie) Merry for what its worth lol.

I think Abrahms is doing what Abrahms always does, going back to a formula that works for him..thats why we have Towers (ie. Dharma stations), Video Tapes (like the ones in Lost), and Time Travel (wait wait, you are telling me JJ Abrahms is doing ANOTHER show/movie about time travel?! The guy really needs to see a therapist about living in the NOW!), but hey I like it! I think the one way to save the show is to make it more "Lost Like"

I think the Conspiracy (what im calling Flasso's men similar to X-Files) has been attempting these alternate universe/time travel experiments for years, for power and profit, so they probably did them on Merry at a young age, along with D Gibbons, and it seemed to make him nuts (D Gibbons does seem nuts right?)..its like he lives in different universes simultaneously or has knowledge of his own death or something..you watch..

Is the general sentiment that people dont like Mark? The story lines I dont like are the Army girl and her dad, the other doctor and his various love affairs, im fine with everyone else though!

AUStarwars said...

btw i know FF is not "technically" abrahms..but from that same family

Mike V. said...

LOL.... AUSTARWARS - Indeed...I definitely was thinking that. Now don't crucify me...but I don't think I've actually seen that whole movie...but I definitely know the line! lol

Yeah, it's totally accidental, but it's tough to get the other roles out of my head sometimes! lol To throw it off even more, I'm sure Penny will be on LOST tonight! lol

Wait a sec...you know JJ Abrams has nothing to do with FF right?

Does make sense that they were experimenting on Charlie/Simon/Merry at a young age. Totally agree. Gibbons does seem nuts...or something like a CULT LEADER or something like that lol But they're usually nuts!

I think the general consensus is to hate Mark...yeah. I don't know why though. Yeah he's brooding and tortured and he delivers some lines pretty badly...but that just cracks me up more than anything. I like mark. But then again...I have always been a big JACK fan on LOST (and there is a large group of haters on him too)

Yeah Army Girl and Aaron are pretty rough. But I think Aaron's backstory flushed him out a little more. That beard has gotta go though! lol Paul Bunyan anyone?

Looks like you answered my Abrams question....is it really the same family though? This thing was derived from a Novel and by one of the Batman Begins/Dark Night Writers (David Goyer) and Brandon Bragga who has been involved in other stuff as well. I don't think there is anywhere to link this to the brains behind LOST....except for the fact that they're both intense mythology stories and are aiming for the same audience.

AUStarwars said...

I always thought the producers were involved with Lost in some way shape or form..and then theres the whole Oceanic Airways sign in the first episode..but whatever i still like it regardles..its way better than V which moves glacially

Mike V. said...

I think that was just because both shows are ABC properties...and they were trying to appeal to LOST viewers, so they threw the billboard in there.

Yeah...I like both shows, but I definitely have been more into FF than V.

Anonymous said...

Let me clear some things up that the production team of Flashforward horribly put wrong. First, "Ganwar" isn't real, it was made up by the scriptwriters, and the translator was speaking the native language of Somalia, which is Somali, and he was terrible at it, all the actors were. Also, the location they were filming looked further north e.g. Egypt or Afghanistan. Nowhere near Somalia.

PS: the cast meant to be somali, were obviously not. They should really have asked for a real local with real local knowledge( Black camel? WTF?) and who speaks real somali, to act in it, or at least for background reference, behind the camera.

Apart from being totally incorrect in terms of somali culture, language and pretty much everything else, it's a good ep, and a great show.
That is all for now, my rant is over.