After the first couple of episodes of FlashForward I came to the conclusion that most of the characters were complete idiots. Now that I’ve watched the whole series, I can honestly say that my opinion of the characters hasn’t changed much: they’re still idiots.
That said, by the time it finished, I was actually quite enjoying it. Certainly enough that I’m annoyed that yet another ambitious plotline has been cut short before it really had a chance to get going. After its mid-season hiatus the show returned stronger and more compelling than before. The intertwining paths of the characters became more convoluted (in a good way), and they’d finally realised that their futures weren’t set in stone. That still didn’t stop any of them being idiots, especially in the last episode as they all inexorably followed paths that almost deliberately led to their flash forwards coming true – even when that wasn’t a good thing.
But now its over. No second series. No answers to the many outstanding questions. No incentive for me to ever watch another drama with a long-term storyline ever again. That’s the saddest thing about FlashForward’s cancellation: not the fact that it’s joined the long ranks of prematurely cancelled shows, but that it asked for an investment from the viewer that will never be repaid. Please stop doing that. Whomever it is who commissions these things, please treat the viewer with a bit more respect.
I’ve suggested in the past that the commission for a programme should include a contingency fund to allow for an extra episode or two to be produced post-cancellation in order to tie up the loose ends. I fear that unless something like that happens viewers will just become less and less inclined to start watching programmes with an ongoing dramatic narrative. That, in turn, just makes it even less likely that such programmes will be commissioned in the first place, and that really would be a shame, not just for the viewers, but for our culture as a whole.
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I can think of a few others – Farscape which had spent about 3 seasons building up to what could be a great end to be shot down in flames a few seasons before its end. At least they redeemed themselves and made a movie.
Defying Gravity – 13 Episodes total. The writers had writen out about 3 years worth of episodes, with all the plot lines and twists becoming more established and we had just started getting into the show when they cut funding as it wasnt getting enough viewers.
What ever happened to making a TV Series becuase it fits into a niche and people ENJOY it? So what if it doesn’t get 7 Million viewers, 3 Million is still a LOT of people, especially for a series set in space that wasn’t based around huge ships blowing the bejeesus out of eachother. All the sets have been destroyed already so there isnt even a hope of it being taken on by another company.
Quote from Wikipedia: “all online content regarding the show is being removed from the ABC website as of November 18, 2009, and are no longer available on Hulu”
Its as if they want to try and hide the fact that it ever existed …
I agree with you entirely on both these. At least Farscape did get some sort of conclusion. I’ve written about Defying Gravity in a previous post on this site.