

We have to wait until March for ABC's FlashForward to return, but once it does, expect answers to everything. That's what series co-creator and executive producer David Goyer promises. What's first? (Spoilers ahead!)
"Who Suspect Zero is will be our first episode back," Goyer said in a group interview on Friday on the show's set in Burbank, Calif. "Even in that first episode back, we answer a ton of big questions, and pretty much every episode afterwards. I can't think of a question we don't answer by the end of the season."
Actually, the big reveals start even before the show's March 18 return. A recap show will air before the 18th to summarize the first half of the season, but it will include new footage.
"If you're a loyal viewer, we're going to drop a bomb at the end of that one, too," Goyer said. "If you watch that episode and you're a loyal viewer, you're going to get a critical piece of information a lot sooner than you would in the life of the show," Goyer explained. "If you don't watch it, you'll get it in the life of the show anyway."
Another big question the show plans to answer is the balance between fate and free will. So far, many flash-forwards are on track to fulfillment, while some have been averted by drastic actions, including one character's suicide.
"What we're going to answer by the end of the season is 'How is it that some of these things can be coming true and some of them can't be coming true?'" Goyer said. "That is sort of the bulk of what we'll be dealing with in terms of philosophically over the second half of the season. It's not determinism, and it's not free will. We never intended it was either/or. There is a philosophical model of the universe that combines them, and we do deal with that head-on in the second half of the season."
Executive producer Jessica Borsiczky Goyer described the philosophical shift thus: "The first half of the season was 'What did you see?', which has now been played out," she said while paired with David. "We know what everybody saw. Now it's 'What will you do?' I think that's where the second half of the season is leading us: seeing what everybody does about their vision now that they've accepted that, by and large, they're happening."
The plot of season one continues past April 29, when everybody's vision is set to be fulfilled. That could include another blackout, David said. "The other thing is we had always, always planned on there being another blackout," he added. "We had always planned on revealing that there was going to be another blackout before the end of the season. That was part of the plan even when we wrote the pilot. So we go past April 29th in the first season, and I feel pretty confident in saying what happens past April 29th is, I think, more interesting than what happened before."
Another big bombshell involves Janis Hawk (Christine Woods). "We did something gigantic with her character at the end of episode 15 that we didn't tell anyone was going to happen," David Goyer said. "She got to the end of episode 15 and sort of was like, 'Holy s--t.'"
In one of the first few episodes, the show returns to Somalia. Episode three showed that there had been a blackout in Somalia in 1991. The investigation now takes the characters to Somalia in the present, though it's filmed in California. You'll meet the Somali boy who saw the weird smoke, all grown up.
"You meet him as an adult," David Goyer said. "It's also a lot of guys firing rifles at armored vehicles."
Some recurring actors will have larger parts in upcoming episodes. Keiko (Yuko Takeuchi), Bryce's flash-forward love interest, will be back more often than originally planned.
"I think it's interesting like people really liked Yuko," David Goyer said. "They really, really liked her, so she's in the second half of the season in more episodes than we had intended. There are certain things like that where we've built up people's roles based on that."
You'll also see more of Jeff Slingerland, aka Dr. Raynaud (Callum Keith Rennie), Marshall Vogel (Michael Ealy) and the Man in the Warehouse (Ricky Jay). "Michael Ealy plays a prominent role in the second half of the season, and there's a number of new characters that will sort of be feathering in," David Goyer said. "You're going to start meeting some of the faces of the enemy, starting with episode 11. We'll meet a bunch of them in the second half of the season. That's one of the other interesting things, is we'll start to let you in on who the people that engineered the blackout are and why. There are a couple more that are coming, and, assuming we go into season two, one of those guys will be a series regular in season two."
FlashForward comes back March 18 and will air Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
By OldManInOhio at 10:20 AM ON 01/11/10
Okay, whiners. Are you going to look for something positive in the article above or are you going to continue to trash the show based solely upon what was aried in 2009?
It's time to wait and see what the producers come up with.
By Kermonk at 10:25 AM ON 01/11/10
All answers which should have been addressed by the third episode at the latest.
Now the only question left is: When are they going to cancel this slow moving mess.
By JaTal at 11:35 AM ON 01/11/10
Yes, lets cancel this slow moving mess, they don't deserve to continute making this show because they don't provide answers as fast as you need.
Sure the show isn't perfect, but lets give it a chance to grow. Allow the writers & producers to figure out how to tell stories in the world.
Everyone is complaining that Day One is now a movie. But with how some SciFi "fans" treat genre shows is it any wonder they get yanked?
Believe it or not, but some show actually get better the longer they are on. The actors understand the characters better. The writers get better at telling the story. The fans understand the world. It just sometimes takes a little patience.
By Thomas at 12:00 PM ON 01/11/10
I see it the opposite way. I'm concerned they're giving away too much too soon...perhaps out of fear that it WILL get canceled, and they want to finesse a wrap-up if needed.
By Sci-fi fan at 1:57 PM ON 01/11/10
@ JaTal
I agree and that is what I am hoping for Stargate Universe. The character and story development in that show has been slow, but I am hoping that things begins to unfold a little quicker and that they actually have some interactions with alien races.
By Ron at 2:57 PM ON 01/11/10
I could handle the slow pace of the show if only characters were just more interesting. My problem is that I don't really care about ANY of these characters...hence the reason I stopped watching about six episodes in. I read this piece to see if there was anything worth tuning back in, but so far not seeing anything. It's just too much of a yawn fest at this point.
By AngryJonny at 3:01 AM ON 01/12/10
Um, in the picture above, why's the woman in the center in the green top standing like that?? Sorry, but it's really distracting. Nobody stands like that!
By OldManInOhio at 9:20 AM ON 01/12/10
"Yes, lets cancel this slow moving mess..." - JaTal.
Suddenly clairvoyant are we?
Please share with the rest of us how you personally KNOW what the makers of this show have done but has not aired yet.
While you're at it, can you tell us exactly what will happen in the final season of LOST?
What the heck, know any upcomming lottery winning numbers?
By OldManInOhio at 9:23 AM ON 01/12/10
"Um, in the picture above, why's the woman in the center in the green top standing like that?? Sorry, but it's really distracting. Nobody stands like that!" - AngryJonny.
Perhaps her back hurts because she's wearing really high heeled shoes? Maybe she's a hooker.
By MaryAnnMc at 10:05 AM ON 01/12/10
Flash Forward was my favorite show of the fall. It was edge of the seat suspenseful, and the characters were intriguing. Every moment might bring a new surprise or new revelation. It looked like it might be headed down the same road in terms of a long haul of intricacy and intrigue as Lost.
Now I am extremely concerned. They will satisfy the masses, tie up all the loose ends, and there will either be no second season or no reason to watch it if there is one.
By OldManInOhio at 1:41 PM ON 01/12/10
I personally still believe in LOST. That story isn't finished.
Flash Forward is still in it's infancy. It needs time to focus but I hope it will happen in time.
Other shows of related interest died or were killed before their time. Consider the fates of CRUSADE, Jericho, and Defying Gravity. Each had serious potential, great casts, credible writers, good or reasonable music, and were killed by MEN IN SUITS.
By kris at 3:04 AM ON 01/29/10
I do agree and don't. It became slow. They came out with too many storylines, and it became boring. The first four episodes and the last two were very good. Lost still has many unanswered season one questions, 6 seasons later. If they gave you all the answers early what would be the poiny?
I hope they provide more excitment, twists, and answers, and also more room for questioning and new major questions to appear. That plus more suspense! I think based on the fall finale, they are heading in the right direction.
kris:
I do agree and don't. It became slow. They came out with too many storylines, and it became boring. The first fo...More »