Review by KC Carlson
While it may be titled FlashForward: The Complete Series, viewers need to be warned that — despite including all 22 episodes of this high-concept sci-fi/thriller series, plus copious bonus features — this five-disc DVD set doesn’t tell a complete story, as the series was was badly mishandled by ABC and ultimately canceled before revealing all of its intricate secrets.
Plus, the box set inadvertently throws salt on the open wound with the misleadingly titled FlashForward: A Look Ahead featurette. The title makes you think that you’re getting the lowdown on what might have happened if the series hadn’t been canceled. Instead, it’s simply a five-minute preview of clips assembled to entice viewers to come back to the show after its ABC-imposed 3 1/2-month hiatus — something that ultimately didn’t happen, and led to its ultimate cancellation.
Based on the 1999 SF novel by Robert J. Sawyer and adapted for TV by Brannon Braga and David S. Goyer, FlashForward largely deals with the reactions of the world’s population following a total global blackout. During that time, people saw their futures in a dreamlike state while unconscious. In the novel, the FlashForwards occurred 21 years in the future. It was decided for the show to keep the futures just a few months away — amusedly picking a date when the actual series would most likely air its season finale (assuming that everything went well — which it didn’t).
Almost the entire world fell unconscious for 137 seconds, causing untold destruction and many thousands of deaths. (Virtually every airplane in the sky at the time crashed, without even taking into account millions of automobile accidents.) All of which were shown with high-quality, super production standards, creating an SFX extravaganza that the two-hour pilot portrays in detail.
Most of the key cast (including Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Christine Woods, and Courtney B. Vance) portray FBI agents investigating the phenomena — including the possibility the incident would happen again. Other cast members include Jack Davenport, Sonya Walger, Dominic Monaghan, Brian F. O’Byrne, and Peyton List as either characters related somehow to the main FBI cast or characters who may be involved in the rapidly escalating conspiracy behind the FlashForwards.
The FlashForwards themselves show the main characters in typical soap-opera developments, such as entering into affairs, or lapsing back into alcoholism, or discovering romance with someone they haven’t met yet. An unattached lesbian character is shown giving birth. A man whose soldier daughter was killed in Afghanistan sees her alive. Another character is apparently being drowned by an unknown person. In one of the show’s few bits of humor, the FBI chief is shown sitting on a toilet reading a newspaper for his entire FlashForward. Another FBI agent has no FlashForward at all, assuming that this means he will die — something confirmed by a mysterious phone call days later. The FlashForwards are obviously the focal point of the ongoing personal dramas, but for me, many of them were so ambiguously filmed that it was easy to extrapolate any number of interpretations based on the often skimpy details.
Fortunately, the lead FBI agent’s FlashForward included him actually investigating the case, so they have a lot of information available about the phenomenon up-front — if they can only correctly interpret it. The investigation quickly escalates into a global conspiracy, including mysterious cults, a Quantum entanglement device, previous isolated blackouts, and a mysterious “Suspect Zero” who did not lose consciousness during the blackout. A key early moment of the series is when one of the main characters figures out that the FlashForwards don’t necessarily have to happen as they are portrayed and does something dramatic and moving to prove it.
Part of the problem that the show faced (which is becoming a trend with many of today’s new high-concept programs) is that FlashForward would have been better served with a finite endpoint. Too many episodes seemed liked wasted time, rushing back and forth across the planet to investigate something that may-or-may-not be a part of the big picture, and it was occasionally difficult to remember what was important and what was not. Further, the balance wasn’t quite right between the high-concept mythology aspects of the show (especially the oft-confusing super-science) verses the crowd-pleasing soap opera and personal storylines of the characters — many of which were compelling, but, again, somewhat difficult to place within the overall fabric of the show. Ironically, the show was first developed by HBO, which let it go to ABC when it was felt that the show was more like a typical broadcast network show.
Beyond the regular cast, there are an embarrassment of riches of great character actors in supporting roles, including Gabrielle Union, Lee Thompson Young, Alex Kingston, Annabeth Gish, Gil Bellows, Peter Coyote, Lindsay Crouse, Gina Torres, and the always entertaining Ricky Jay, as well as many, many others.
Architects of Destiny — a 20-minute behind-the-scenes covering the entire season and asking “What do people do with the emotional baggage upon waking up after the FlashForward?” It features most of the cast and about a bizillion Executive Producers (which may be part of the problem with this show — too many cooks).
FlashForward on Set — About 15 minutes of closer looks at some of the show’s key scenes, including much stunt work and showing the entire scope of the blackout.
Meet Yuko — a 5 1/2-minute feature focusing on cast member Yuko Takeuchi, a huge star in Japan, but unknown in America. She plays Keiko in one of the show’s most endearing, yet frustrating, subplots. The actress is remarkably charming, even in this puff piece about her.
Interviews From the Mosaic Collection — a bunch of two-minute interviews with everyday people about how the FlashForward event affected their lives. These are actually outtakes from an unused series of interviews called Stories From the Mosaic, presented by a fictional Public Television Channel. At least nine more interviews are included as Easter Eggs on the last disc, effectively making this bonus feature outtakes from a series that you probably didn’t know existed in the first place.
Creating Catastrophe: The Effects of a Global Blackout — a seven-minute feature about filming the stunts/effects for the pilot.
The aforementioned FlashForward: A Look Ahead and Could, a 1:30 piece described in the ABC press release as “a dramatic look at the second half of FlashForward, narrated by Dominic Monaghan” but actually another ABC promotional clip piece recapping the first half of the season, following the hiatus.
Speaking of Monaghan, there’s also an Easter Egg of him discussing how he taught himself how to solve Rubik’s Cube while on-set. Wow, I guess the show was boring for everybody! There’s also a short Easter Egg of actress Christine Woods (playing Janis Hawk — one of the show’s standout characters) being attacked by a fly while being interviewed on-camera.
There’s only one episode commentary, for Revelation Zero, by actor Dominic Monaghan and Executive Producer Jessika Borsiczy. Plus the usual deleted scenes (about 15 minutes’ worth) and a three-minute blooper reel.
Which leaves us with Kangaroo?, two minutes about that damn kangaroo that showed up in the middle of the global catastrophe in the pilot. All I remember about the kangaroo is that in the original airing of the the pilot, right after the kangaroo appeared, ABC cut to a commercial. But before the commercial played there was a short ABC promo/recap of the kangaroo with this voice-over: “Wow! Did’ja see that kangaroo?!? Huh, did’ja?? Did’ja, did’ja, did’ja?!!!!?!? What the hell was that?!? That was SO weird, huh? Right? Weird, like Lost-weird! Right??? See — this show’s just as cool and freaky as Lost!!! Right? Huh?” (Well, that’s how I remember it, anyway…)
Anyway, in that 15 seconds, ABC managed to create yet another TV trope: “Jumping the Kangaroo” — the point at which your loving homage to another beloved series becomes instead a blatant rip-off. (As if the billboards for Oceanic Airlines earlier in the episode weren’t enough.)
FlashForward deserved better. The show had a remarkable cast, some occasional heads-up writing (when they weren’t spending so much time chasing the mythology), and deserved to have a satisfying wrap-up. In my brain, ABC Executives were somehow behind the global conspiracy. Watching the show will be frustrating knowing that it doesn’t successfully wrap itself up, but it’s worth watching for the small moments.
But find a way to watch it where it doesn’t profit ABC/Disney. Not only did they screw over viewers by waiting too long to actually cancel it (leaving no time to produce a satisfying wrap-up), but they’re also screwing the hard-core fans who bought the Part 1 DVD set earlier this year (of the first 10 episodes) by not producing a Part 2 — forcing fans to re-purchase those episodes with this Complete Series set. At least Fox finally came around and did the right thing with a similar Part 1/Part 2 situation with their Glee DVD releases. But then again, Glee is a successful show, one that Fox successfully supported and publicized. FlashForward deserved better.
It’s also unfortunate that FlashForward’s most interesting storyline — what was going on behind-the-scenes in the real world production of the show, since it burned through showrunners like they were kindling — wasn’t documented as a DVD extra. Now, that would have been worth the price of admission! (The studio provided a review copy.)
Due out November 30 is the re-release of Fantasia, Disney’s collection of animated classical music videos, in a special edition with its companion remake (with different musical pieces), Fantasia 2000.
The Blu-ray is definitely the edition to get, since it comes with four discs (each movie on both Blu-ray and DVD) at a price difference of only $6. The list price is $46, while the two-disc DVD edition is $40. At Amazon right now, the price difference shrinks even further, to $2.
The Blu-ray also has the most special features, including, only on that edition, “the highly requested Academy Award® nominated short Destino…. the seven minute film is the result of a unique collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali begun in 1946, but put on hold due to studio financial concerns. In 2003, Roy E. Disney worked with a team of modern day animators to complete the film as a tribute to Walt’s pioneering artistic vision.” Along with it comes a new documentary, Dali & Disney: A Date With Destino (shades of Stan Lee!), telling the history of the project.
Fantasia contains eight animation sequences, set to music played by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski. The most famous sequence is “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, in which Mickey Mouse (voiced by Walt Disney himself) faces down brooms carrying pails of water. Fantasia 2000 went in a different direction, with a string of celebrity hosts, including Steve Martin, Bette Midler, James Earl Jones, Penn and Teller, Angela Lansbury, Itzhak Perlman, and Quincy Jones. Music is by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Levine. I’m not sure I’ve seen either of them fully, and I know that I wouldn’t have been able to appreciate them until now. (The last couple of years have been a crash course in animation for me, as I’ve seen a number of classic features on home video.)
Here’s a full list of the bonus features for Fantasia, from the press release:
And for Fantasia 2000:
Opening in theaters on September 17 is the Lionsgate animated film Alpha and Omega. Justin Long and Hayden Panettiere voice two wolves who have to travel together to get back to their pack. Sounds traditional for a kids’ movie, but I like the twist that she’s popular, an alpha wolf, while he’s a loser/slacker type. It sounds like a mashup of a high-school comedy with a cartoon wilderness adventure.
Also, the cast is great; included are Christina Ricci, Danny Glover, Vicki Lewis, and the late Dennis Hopper (in his last role). You can see the trailer at apple.com. I’m not crazy about the 3-D (and the surcharge that comes with it) or the way they’ve somehow given the female wolf girly hair, but the scenery is impressive, and I like the way she takes the lead. There are more video clips available at the film’s website.
You remember this movie, right? Jim Carrey plays a nice-guy nebbish who gets the girl and beats the gangster when he finds a mystical mask that turns him into a cartoon character. It’s a dazzling showcase of Carrey’s abilities with physical comedy as well as his acting skills.
We’ve been going a little crazy acquiring Blu-rays since we acquiesced to the format, but I think we picked the right time, with more deals being available now. It’s fun to consider what favorites you really want to see again, especially those with good extras or on sale at Amazon. This disc, we bought as part of the Warner Blu-ray trade-in program (which, by the way, was amazing — although it says allow 4-5 weeks, we got our upgraded discs in a week and a half!) for two reasons: the visuals seemed like they’d benefit from the new format, and our DVD copy was so old that the back cover copy was basically explaining to the audience what a DVD was.
I hadn’t realized, back in the day, that this was based on a comic, although certainly it wears its animated influences proudly. I don’t think I’m part of the original audience for the print version, anyway, given the distinctions the creators point out between the comic and movie. That happens in “Return to Edge City”, an almost half-hour behind-the-scenes feature.
I’d also never before realized that the movie was made by New Line (home of the very successful Nightmare on Elm Street series) because, based on the source material, it was intended to be a horror/revenge movie with some funny. As they describe the comic, it sounds like The Spectre with more of a sense of humor, but plenty of gore and killings. During the film’s production, they changed direction to make it more influenced by Tex Avery (who features in another 15-minute extra comparing the special effects to his cartoons).
The Mask itself is like Dr. Jekyll’s potion — it brings out the deepest side of your personality. Because Stanley is a good guy, his prankster has an unrestricted ability to rampage but with a sense of fun. And I love that they have musical numbers!
The film and its new direction was written for Jim Carrey before he was well-known (before Ace Ventura, Pet Detective), which resulted in a great match of actor and character. He could act sweet and soft-spoken for the romantic comedy while still providing the physicality for the outrageous gags. He has such skill in his rubber-faced exaggeration that he worked very well with the ridiculous effects, giving the animators the ability to meet him halfway. Made in 1994, the effects are early computer-generated work by ILM, the best in the business. (Unfortunately, the only scenes of Carrey in the special features seem to be promotional stuff taken at the time of filming.)
The low expectations for the movie — since it was being made with a TV actor and a horror director — meant they had to choose an unknown for their leading lady, because most names turned them down. This is Cameron Diaz’s first movie, accompanied by the second-hardest-working push-up bra in Hollywood (after Julia Roberts’ in Erin Brockovich). Diaz gets her own featurette, “Introducing Cameron Diaz”, about her discovery, which is a bit star-struck and repetitive.
There’s also a short bit on training dogs for movies and two commentaries, one with just director Chuck Russell, the other with the director, writer, producers, and other staffers. That second one is reportedly much better than the first, although we haven’t had a chance to listen to them yet. Overall, this was a great excuse to revisit an enjoyable superhero comedy.
I don’t always run the interviews Warner Home Video sends out to promote their original DC animated movies, but I’m posting this one because I happen to think that Ed Asner as Granny Goodness is the most genius piece of voice casting ever.
He originally played her in four episodes of Superman: The Animated Series and two episodes of the various incarnations of the Justice League cartoon. He’ll be continuing the role, described as “the primary henchwoman for the evil lord Darkseid, ruler of the distant planet Apokolips”, in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, due out September 28. I also like this writeup for pointing out how much Asner has done in animation and how recognized his career has been.
Ed Asner reprises his Justice League role as Granny Goodness. (Photo courtesy of Gary Miereanu)
What follows was provided by Warner Home Video.
Asner’s storied career boasts seven Emmy Awards — three supporting actor honors for his role as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, two more as the title character in Lou Grant, and a pair of awards recognizing individual supporting performances in the landmark miniseries Roots and Rich Man, Poor Man. He has won more acting Emmys than any other performer and is the only actor to ever win Emmy Awards for playing the same character in both a comedy and a drama. The five-time Golden Globe winner also served as President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1981-1985.
Live-action accolades aside, Asner has been ever-present in animation for nearly 25 years, running the gamut from guest spots on shows like Animaniacs, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Johnny Bravo, King of the Hill, The Boondocks, and Hercules (to name but a few) to regular roles in Gargoyles, Freakazoid, Batman: The Animated Series, Spider-Man, and Captain Planet and the Planeteers. He also voiced the role of Santa Claus in the animated television special Olive the Other Reindeer. (He’s played Santa Claus for four different film/TV productions.) Asner’s stirring, funny, wonderful portrayal of Carl Fredrickson in Disney/Pixar’s Up had critics wondering why the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences had yet to add a voice acting category to the Academy Awards slate.
Asner, who turns 81 this November, had a few short minutes to answer questions following his latest recording session as Granny Goodness. Take note … or Granny will know.
Granny Goodness
QUESTION: How does Granny Goodness compare to playing other female characters?
ED ASNER: I don’t think I have played any other female characters before (he laughs). But if I did, she’d have more balls than any of them. It’s become the fashion lately — there’s Brian Bedford in Stratford doing Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde’s play. What hasn’t been done enough is women playing men in as butch a manner as possible. That’s got to be even more fun. I’m talking somebody like Marjorie Main pulling it off.
QUESTION: What do you use as a focal point while voicing Granny?
ED ASNER: I’m thinking she’s a lot of chest, a lot of high pressure steam, and that she’s probably got a constant focus on vengeance and wreaking havoc on whoever she can. And I want to get away with as much damage as I can in as high-flown and effeminate form as possible.
QUESTION: You’ve done it all and had long-lasting success in the entertainment industry. What’s the enticement of voice acting for you?
ED ASNER: It’s always a trip a joyful trip to come into the studio, and especially working with this group. Andrea (Romano) is a delight to work with, and Bruce (Timm) knows this genre better than anybody. Plus, it’s the ability to let your imagination take flight -– to take chances, to plunge and to soar. That’s something you don’t get to do as an actor. You get to do it as a kid. So I grab the opportunity as often as I can.
QUESTION: With all the animation work you’ve done, and the huge success of Up, can we assume you see animated films and television as a viable source of entertainment?
ED ASNER: I’ve always loved cartoons –- I watched them when I was young, I still watch them now. And it is interesting to see how much more adult they’ve gotten in terms of content, from these super hero pieces with their violence and more adult themes to the truly mature, fully-developed stories developed in films like Up and Wall-E. Today’s animation goes places cartoons didn’t used to go.
I somehow have missed seeing The Black Cauldron until now (although I was a fan of the books by Lloyd Alexander; I loved Gurgi). This 25th Anniversary Edition, although bare-bones, may be a good chance for me to remedy that.
I’m curious to draw my own opinion, since reaction to the movie appears very mixed. I was surprised to see that it was Disney’s first PG-rated animated film, as well as the first to use computers, and the darker nature of its content seems to spur debate (as well as discussion about how faithful to the source material it is). It was considered a flop, in part due to how expensive it was to make.
The new 25th Anniversary Edition DVD is due out September 14 with these new bonus features:
They’ve also included the bonus features from the previous release: the theatrical trailer, another trivia game, an art gallery, and “Trick or Treat”, a Donald Duck cartoon from 1952. There’s no Blu-ray version, which suggests Disney doesn’t have high hopes for this re-release. They are promising a new movie transfer to digital, though.
So, if you’ve seen the film, is it worth watching? And does that opinion depend on whether or not you’re familiar with the books?
