I watched the series premiere of FlashForward this afternoon – and I’m very hopeful that this is going to be a really great TV series. Here is the premise in a nutshell: for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, the entire world blacked out and gets a glimpse of their future. Obviously – once the 2 minutes and 17 seconds are up, the world is in mass chaos, people are dead, injured and it seems that everyone had a flash forward to the exact same moment in time about 6 months in the future.
Already there are some major issues as some people see themselves in relationships with different people, some don’t have any flash forwards (does that mean they are dead in 6 months) and others are now beginning to try and piece together how this could have happened. And for you Losties out there, there is one scene in the show where you can see a billboard advertising for Oceanic Airlines. Whether that means there is some sort of crossover to Lost, or ABC just did it for fun…who knows.
But more than just being an entertaining and engaging show, FlashForward proves to essentially be a show about fate and free will. One of the age old questions: do we have control over our lives? Can we change fate? And for those from a Judeo-Christian background, how does God fit into all of that? Has God planned out our lives for us? Are we simply puppets? Can we change God’s plans…?
And the creators of FlashForward are well aware that their show is posing those questions – and hopes that viewers will really wrestle with those ideas and questions. They put together a short 15min documentary called “What is the Meaning of Fate” that is really interesting to watch, as the writers, producers and directors interact with that question themselves. You can watch it below:
I hope this show does well – because I would love to see where they’re going with this idea. I love shows with a twist and I think FlashForward could be a great one. Not only that – but I think they’re really addressing some deep questions about fate and free will, and I am looking forward to seeing where they go with it.
Related posts:
- Celebrate Earth Day by Getting “Everyday Justice” for Free
- Sign up for NYWC Today and Get a Free Book!
- How I Got 3 FREE HD Camcorders (and you can too)
- Future of Mainline Protestantism
Share This Post:
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Good thing we have popular television to really delve into the question of fate and free will, since western philosophy never touched on that topic, and even if it did it would require too much time and effort to understand, well at least for a Twitter culture.
@Andy: Good thing we have anonymous commenting to really delve into the question of profundity of popular culture, since western philosophy never touched on that topic, and even if it did it would require too much time and effort to understand, well at least for a Twitter culture. You know what I mean? Anyway, I’m going to go read some philosophy.
Delving into the profundity of popular culture is like high diving into the kiddie pool. It doesn’t take long to get to the bottom of it all.
I haven’t watched it yet, but am planning to give it a chance and see how the series does. For interest’s sake, the series is based on the Robert Sawyer book, Flashforward.
{ 1 trackback }