FlashForward Inconsistencies and Plot Problems

I watched FlashForward from the beginning. I love the story even though the storyline has more holes than a standard slice of swiss cheese and the characters are about as lovable as gargoyles. I think the plot line of FlashForward is very finite unless the producers can find a way to keep it going. Then again, I'm a Lost fan too and the producers have managed to keep that one going for six seasons.

FlashForward Problem #1: The Time of Day

The flash forward takes place on April 29^th, 2010 at 10:00pm. There are several problems with characters flash forwards at that time. The first problem is with Agent Janis Hawk, I don't know any doctor's office open at 10:00 at night or available to do an ultrasound.

Since we are on the subject of the ultrasound, when I first watched the ultrasound flash forward, I thought that Agent Janis was crying during her ultrasound because Agent Noh was the father and he was dead. Her tears did not seem like happy ones. Considering they are both headed to Somalia during the time that Janis is supposed to conceive I wonder if my initial gut instinct won't somehow come true.

Back to the time of day: what were the kids doing up at that time of night? Dylan and Charlie are no more than six years old, so why weren't they in bed? And how the heck did Charlie have a flash forward that encompasses both Dylan and her in the kitchen and her knowledge of D. Gibbons with such terrifying emotions.

Speaking of D. Gibbons, the baker, she was at her shop and on the phone with her credit card company in her flash forward. It appeared that it was daytime in Los Angeles.

The only way to rectify the difference in the time of day is if the characters were in different time zones (which is not likely) or if they write in the fact that the flash forwards did not all happen at the same time but they just happened to be on the same day. But that doesn't make much sense considering everyone on the planet blacked out at the exact same time and had a vision of the exact same date in the future. So why wouldn't it be the exact same time also?

FlashForward Problem #2: The Characters Never Smile

I don't need to get a warm and squishy feeling inside over television characters but FlashForward's characters have very little to like about them. Take Agent Mark Benford for example. This man has a perpetual snarl on his face. If he's not giving someone the evil eye then he's looking at them in utter disbelief. Try a smile every once in a while.

I like Sonya Walger as an actress but her portrayal as Dr. Olivia Benford is just about as grumpy as her character's husband. Zoey Andata, Agent Noh's fiancé, plays an overbearing and arrogant defense attorney. These two are both beautiful women, let's see the beauty.

Now, I know hard times seem to be ahead but c'mon people, life goes on, let's make the best of it.

FlashForward Problem #3: To be Forewarned is to be Forearmed

FlashForward has already laid the groundwork that a person can change his or her future when Agent Al Gough took a nosedive off the FBI building to ensure that he doesn't kill a mother of twins. If you believe in 'when it's your day to die then it will happen' then Agent Gough's self sacrifice was for nothing.

Agent Demetri Noh is supposed to die on March 15th. He knows that he was shot in the chest by his partner's gun. Agent Noh: put on a bulletproof vest and lock yourself in the house with a semiautomatic weapon on March 15^th. Problem solved.

The Benford's problems are also just as easily solved. If Mark doesn't start drinking then Olivia will never end up with Dr. Lloyd Simcoe. Free will should be driving these characters instead of tearing them up.

All that having been said, I still love FlashForward. Maybe it's the concept of knowing what is going to happen one day in the future and rationalizing decisions based on that vision or maybe it is the thought of people coming together to solve a mystery. I will follow FlashForward until they resolve both their issues and storyline.