FlashForward, 1x01, “No More Good Days”

Episode Title: No More Good Days
Writers: David S. Goyer and Brannon Braga

Director: David S. Goyer

Originally Aired: 09/24/2009
Grade: A+

I thought this was a great premiere, probably one of the most enjoyable I’ve seen since Chuck’s premiere (though obviously they’re two very different shows!). I don’t have enough to say at this point to make substantial paragraphs, so this is pretty much a random bullet point list of questions, nitpicks, and comments.

-It seems odd that such a short blackout led to that many fires high up in the skyscrapers. The car accidents and the helicopter crash make sense, but not so much those mysterious fires…

-When do we find out why the cute-ish doctor was going to kill himself?

-Joseph Fieness’s American accent is pretty decent.

-Why did the blonde terrorist suspect stay in the vehicle post-flash? Was she just unconscious, the Demitri whipping open the door jolted her awake? Otherwise, she just sat in the backseat and waited to be found, which seems a bit suspicious.

-Seth McFarlane?!

-Was Janis’s future sonogram somewhere other than the US? Because 10 PM seems like a weird time for that, unless she went to the ER or has a doctor friend with a private practice. I hope the oddity of this detail is addressed at some point.

-So Demitri’s either dead in six months, or unconscious, or he’s lying and was awake for the blackout. Pretty sure he’s not a bad guy, because if he’s in on it, it would be stupid to call attention to himself by saying he didn’t have a flash. Also, John Cho is fucking adorable/hot, so he better not die OR be evil!

-There are so many different anxieties that would come out of an event like this, but I think they’re all summed up pretty well by Aaron Stark’s, “You’re worried your future’s not gonna come true—I’m worried mine won’t.”

-The final image of the man in the black trench coat was disturbing in a way that may be difficult for some to pinpoint, but for me, I was reminded of footage of the Columbine shooters walking around the school library. The clothing, the sense of purpose… really gave me the willies. I’m curious whether the showrunners deliberately played on the Columbine images, because if so, that’s pretty clever—a lot of people would be disturbed, but might not be quite sure why it’s so disturbing (musical cues aside) because the incident is ten years old.