Hold Out for the Full Season If You're Going to Invest in Flashforward

Toward the end of LOST’s fifth season, ABC began scattering cryptic flashes throughout the commercials. A kangaroo here, a wedding there, never for more than a couple of seconds, followed by the words “What did you see?” I assumed that these were meant to be mysterious clues for what was coming up in the season finale. Then I found out that they were hinting at another series altogether, one whose very name - Flashforward - seemed designed to snatch up the LOST-loving crowd.

Flashforward did not take its name from LOST; it was based on a book of the same title that predates the desert island drama by several years. Nonetheless, everything from the manner of advertisement and timing of the series introduction to the cast and elements used throughout the show suggests that ABC intended for it to replace LOST as a puzzling serial involving a strange event and a diverse cast of characters. Or at least they wanted it to be a contender, with V also vying for the title. In that contest, V was the victor, though I think most who were hoping for “the next LOST” would say that the drama about deceptive aliens and human revolutionaries doesn’t quite fill in the gap.

Flashforward begins with a global blackout. Nearly everyone on the planet falls unconscious and flashes to a point several months in the future, each seeing a different vision. It doesn’t take long for people to compare notes and discover that all of the flashforwards take place at the same time on the same day. FBI agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) creates a database where people can discuss the contents of their visions, hoping to gradually create a full picture of the events of that day. Meanwhile, individuals grapple with what they saw or didn’t see and, like time-addled Desmond in LOST’s third season, wonder whether the future can be changed - and even if it can, whether the universe will course-correct.

Aside from the premise, which seemed like the television show I’d been waiting for all my life, what drew me to LOST initially was the knowledge that the cast included Dominic Monaghan of Lord of the Rings. He became a major draw again, this time playing Simon Campos, a brilliant scientist with a dark secret. While he definitely has a sinister side, Simon has an undeniable charm, and he becomes much more sympathetic once the series delves into his backstory, which it unfortunately doesn’t do until the “spring season,” which is not included in this set.

Another draw in the cast was Sonya Walger, who played Penny, half of what is arguably the most beloved couple on LOST. Despite the popularity of the Desmond-Penny relationship and the incredible chemistry between Walger and Henry Ian Cusick, she didn’t actually appear in very many episodes, or in very many scenes in those episodes. But as Dr. Olivia Benford, Mark’s wife, she has a large role to play in every episode, interacting to some degree with almost every major character on the show. Her central conflict involves the fact that in her flashforward, she saw herself with another man. When that man, Lloyd Simcoe (Jack Davenport), shows up in her hospital as the father of one of her patients, her valiant efforts to stay away from him begin, though it seems her very attempts to keep him at arm’s length are driving him toward her. It’s strange to see Fiennes and Walger playing Americans, and they really don’t have much chemistry with each other, but that begins to feel intentional as the season goes on.

As in LOST, there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but in this case they are spread out all over L. A. While each character is connected to at least a couple of others, this is no cohesive collective, which makes connecting with individuals a bit harder, since we’re getting so many different stories at once. The largest group can be found in the FBI office, where major players include Mark’s boss Stanford Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance), who is generally cool and collected. An ethical and professional man, he remains a calm voice of reason as tempers flare around him. Janis Hawk (Christine Woods) is a no-nonsense agent who is shocked to see herself pregnant in her flashforward, while hangdog agent Shelly Vreede (Barry Shabaka Henley) is a stalwart fellow who provides subtle comic relief. The most intriguing story among the agents belongs to Mark’s partner, Demetri Noh (John Cho), who does not have a flashforward, seemingly an indication that he will die before the flashforwards take place.

Among the rest, my favorite characters are gruff Aaron Stark (Brian F. O’Byrne), a recovering alcoholic whose flashforward gives him hope of reuniting with his daughter, a solider he believed to be dead, and Olivia’s colleague, gentle, artistic Dr. Bryce Varley (Zachary Knighton), who is driven from the brink of suicide by his vision of a romantic meeting with an unknown Japanese woman.

The setting certainly doesn’t appeal to me as much as LOST; instead of a (mostly) pristine Island wilderness with sidetrips to various locales around the world, we’re rooted in a bustling metropolis that now has a slightly post-apocalyptic feel to it. The overall aura is oppressive, and though there are moments of levity - not to mention two adorable children - I couldn’t quite shake a grim, stifled feeling during most of the episodes I watched, and my attention often wandered. In this first batch of ten episodes, the only ones that completely captivated me were Scary Monsters and Super Creeps, the Halloween episode, which I found refreshingly light-hearted in places and emotionally charged in others, and Believe, the most optimistic of the bunch, which deals primarily with Bryce.

The show’s creators bragged of having a five-year plan for the show, but they failed to keep viewers sufficiently engaged to keep it on the air for more than a year. I’m not sure what they should have done differently; though it certainly didn’t capture my imagination the way LOST did, it did keep me coming back week after week, and I probably would have continued to watch had it been granted a second season. Still, there just seemed to be a certain something lacking when it came to truly caring about these characters, and despite the high caliber of the cast, I rarely felt very emotionally involved.

The season finale was filmed before the series was cancelled, so it ends on a cliffhanger. At the same time, there is a certain degree of resolution as we find out where each of the main characters is and whether his or her flashforward has come to fruition - and if so, whether it was interpreted correctly. I can’t think of any reason to have broken this season up into two DVD sets aside from a money grab. As unsatisfying as it may be to finish watching the series knowing that so much more was planned, Flashforward’s only season is still, in some sense, a complete package. The season really heats up in the second half, so you’ll want to hold off for the complete season set that comes out in the end of August rather than settling for half a season now. So while I wouldn’t recommend this particular set, I do recommend the series as a whole, despite the fact that it never quite lived up to the hype.

An Angel Helps Bring Unity in The Preacher's Wife

Back in late November, I arranged my Netflix queue so that I would be getting nothing but Christmas movies for the next month or so. The first of my Christmas flicks was The Preacher's Wife, which I'd been meaning to see for quite some time. Though I knew it was a remake of The Bishop's Wife, which I'd never seen either, I opted for the more recent movie first, since I wanted to watch it without knowing most of the basic plot ahead of time.

The title character in The Preacher's Wife, which is directed by Penny Marshall, is Julia Biggs, played by pop powerhouse Whitney Houston. Julia is the daughter of a much-loved preacher, and she is extremely active in the church where her husband Henry (Courtney B. Vance) took over for him following his death. Henry has devoted his life to caring for others, but it's become exhausting, and now Joe Hamilton (Gregory Hines), a wealthy former congregant, wants to buy his church and replace it with a fancy new cathedral in a location more convenient for his plans for the city.

With so many issues to deal with at once, Henry cries out in desperation for divine assistance, and his prayer results in an extended visit from Dudley, an angel portrayed by Denzel Washington. Dashing Dudley, who has a knack for lifting spirits with a touch of his hand, is the real star of the show, the catalyst who brings about extraordinary changes in a downtrodden neighborhood. Some are more open to him than others. The young narrator, Jeremiah (Justin Pierre Edmund), son of Henry and Julia, is initially wary but soon comes to trust Dudley completely. Meanwhile, Julia begins spending more and more time with him, finding him personable and much more accessible than her husband is these days, and Henry, who along with Jeremiah is the only character with an inkling of who Dudley really is, has trouble seeing anything angelic in some handsome stranger sweeping his wife off her feet.

The Preacher's Wife is a very sweet movie about a community coming together in a time of crisis and a man adjusting his life to reclaim the joy and enthusiasm that used to drive him. It's about rekindling a relationship and expanding the definition of family. And, of course, it's about being willing to call upon a higher power when life is getting a little out of hand. Like Clarence of It's a Wonderful Life, Dudley is not a theologically correct angel; he's a former human, back to Earth for the first time since his death, and given his exhilaration at his return, it's fairly understandable that he finds himself drawn to Julia, to the point of misusing the powers bestowed upon him (as when he stops every red light in town so Henry will be unable to join them for an ice skating outing). Dudley may be an angel, but he isn't perfect.

He sure is lovable, though, and plenty easy on the eyes. I always tend to enjoy Denzel Washington's performances, and this mostly light-hearted role is one of my favorites. Dudley isn't into grand gestures, which makes it fun to see the subtler ways he affects those around him. I was previously familiar with Vance as Jim in The Adventures of Huck Finn, where I thought he made the perfect faithful counterpart to Elijah Wood's rascally Huck. Initially, he's not quite as likable here, but that changes as we get a sense of the man he used to be and could be again. Houston gives a good performance, though I find her less interesting than her co-stars, partly because the movie often seems more interested in showcasing her singing talent than developing her character. One or two of her big numbers feel entirely superfluous, and my favorite songs are those in which the voices of children are more prominent. Speaking of which, little Edmund is absolutely adorable, and his perspective gives the movie extra heart.

There are points at which The Preacher's Wife seems to borrow heavily from It's a Wonderful Life, but then that is one of a small number of classics that have found their way into dozens of Christmas tales. This has a story all its own to tell, even in comparison with The Bishop's Wife, and it's one that's almost sure to leave you smiling.