First, let me go back to the concept. The concept is so intriguing, and so full of possibilities, and I see the writers actually touching on some of these major issues, that the conceptual questions to me are driving the show along with the characters.

You touch on a few of them: is Benford creating the bulletinboard to match his vision, or was the board created from actual leads? I’m getting the impression now that he’s merely recreating the board–thinking that these were all legitimate leads.

And the support group leader’s statement: We’re all prophets now, is a strong one. The weight of the future is on everyone. In Episode 3, you can see that everyone is weary of the future already, and living to that one focal point—but like someone who tugs hard on an unopened door, they’re all gonna fall back into nothing when it opens—no one is thinking about April 30, or the next year at all. They are focussed on that one blip of time. Which is logical.

Now, back to the characters. In episode 2, I could see the pact between Benford and his wife to be an intriguing and heartbreaking pact–to make sure the events don’t happen for the sake of their marriage. To say, as you do, that you need a strong marriage for the main characters is a bit narrow-minded. And unrealistic. This WAS a strong marriage, and the 2:17 wrecked it. And they are struggling to keep it going. So I’m with them. How many other couples may be struggling with their own futures.

With the way we humans change over time—who will be the same in six months, or like what they’re doing, or be doing something interesting. If I knew I was doing something boring, or stressed out, or whatever, in six months, I’d be trying to avoid that. In Ep 3, when AA guy’s wife claims she was doing the same damn thing that night in her vision, she’s pissed. Even normalcy scared people!

This is one of the best written shows on television, completely engaging, and placing science fiction in the mainstream again–this time smack dab in the middle of primetime. Battlestar Galactica would have killed for these ratings, and this publicity, and this network.

Now, one other thing, here we are at Oct 14, and you’ve only critiqued Ep 2?? I’d like to see Fantasy put you up on the Friday following the episode with a review and critique. I’m already thrilled by the complications in Ep 3–so some of your arguments may be moot, and certainly the ex-nazi’s manipulation of the visions makes this show resonate on a deeper level.

You have to now ask: If the flashforward had never happened, would any of this future be happening? Benford is acting as if the Flashforward revealed what he was already doing—but in reality, he’s just following all the leads in the vision–again–and may just, as I said, be creating the bulletinboard–not solving the mystery.

Certainly, in EP 3, the nazi-airport security guy storyline proves that people are merely bowing to the inevitability of the visions…

A) lack of likable characters. (FYI TV people, just because you have one smoking hot actress from Mad Men in her underwear doesn’t mean she’s done anything to trigger our compassion.)
B) Too many big-deal actors and very little big-deal writing.
C) it is totally contrived to make leaps that this vision of the future is of any importance.
D) Ralph Feines Lite is a tool. And Harold was more interesting when he was trying to get to White Castle.
E) Seth McFarlane for the win! Though his scenes would have been better if he used the Quagmire voice. Giggity-giggity! Oh Yeah.