Review of “FlashForward – Gimme Some Truth”

The truth never sets anyone free, it just shackles them to a nightmare

Following the premise, “What if it happened before?” Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) enlisted fellow FBI Agent Al Gough (Lee Thompson Young) to contact a hacker to get CIA satellite imagery on Somalia from December 1990 – and they got just what they needed: photos showing several tall pylons in the middle of nowhere in Somalia. However, before they can run down this lead, the team is called to Washington, D.C. to answer to a Senate Intelligence Committee who is vetting each intelligence branch to determine which one should run point on the black-out investigation. It wants to consolidate money and data under one government branch. Thus, the FBI has to justify its Mosaic investigation or they could lose their funding.

With an admonishment from Stanford Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance), “Just keep your mouth shut. If you tell anyone else about this, we are DOA,” Benford must hide what he saw in his flashforward vision about his drinking. For once anyone hears that he was impaired at the time, it casts doubt on the credibility of the FBI’s entire investigation. But, at the Senate Intelligence Committee hearings, everyone subjected is to lie detector testing because the “CIA believes this was a targeted event designed to bring about the collapse of our government.” Despite passing the lie detector test, Mark is asked to testify before the committee and, while subject to cross-examination before the committee, he revealed that he was investigating crow attrition (the mass death of crows) as a sign that the black-out was not an isolated incident and may have happened before. He was also forced to reveal that he saw masked gunmen coming to kill him in his vision, which he felt validated the Mosaic investigation as it must have yielded fruit or why would anyone want to kill him. But when asked, “Why is everything in your recollection so hazy and disjointed?” Mark could not give an adequate answer as to why he could not remember more than 30 seconds or so, when everyone else could remember in startling clarity every moment of their 2 minute and 17 second visions. He only continued to state that the Mosaic investigation is a way to construct a picture of what the world will look like in 6 months and it has proven more reliable than theories that the black-out was due to the work of aliens, pharmaceutical companies, or China.

Unbenownst to Mark, Senator Joyce Clemente (Barbara Williams) had a personal ax to grind. As she reminded Wedeck, if only she could prove what he did 6 years ago, she would be the President of the United States. But then she cryptically said, “If you sit by the river long enough, you’ll see the bodies of your enemies float by,” and shared that in her flashforward vision, she saw herself as President. It was chilling as she said, “As impossible as that may be, it’s a nice thought, isn’t it?” But it was also prophetic.

For Wedeck is friends with President Dave Segovia (Peter Coyote) and he knew that by playing the right card, he could secure their funding and make this Senate investigation go away. So when the President told Wedeck, “The Chinese view chaos as opportunity and the black-out gives me a chance to pay you back” and offered Wedeck the Director of Homeland Security position, we knew that this was when Wedeck was going to play his card. The President had a deep dark secret: a mistress who bore him a son. After Wedeck blackmailed him into making the Senate hearings disappear, the President said, “So no more Boy Scout. How did you find her?” Wedeck simply replied, “Well, I was the bagman who paid her a quarter of a million dollars.” To which the President coldly remarked, “You weren’t just comfortable in the mud – you enjoyed being there. You can only play this card once you know. Are you sure you want to play it now?” Wedeck
quietly replied, “Now is all I’ve got.” And just like that, Clemente’s vision came true. She got the Vice President nomination which opened up after the prior V.P. was killed during the black-out. And the Senate inquiry screeched to a halt as the FBI was selected as the branch to receive the investigative funding and to run the primary investigation of the black-out.

In a telling bit of foreshadowing, when asked about his flashforward, the President said the he was following the example of other world leaders and not revealing what he saw. He also reminded everyone that it is time to be “thinking about the present, not the future – we have too much to do.” However, we saw that the President had been woken up by a Secret Service agent who said, “Mr. President, sorry to disturb you, but something is happening.” What exactly did the President see? That is the real story yet to be revealed.

What Worked

The opening and closing scenes of the episode were riveting. Watching the simultaneous attacks on Mark, Demetri (John Cho), Wedeck, and Janis (Christine Wood) while on opposite sides of the country was a thrilling adrenaline rush. It was perfectly executed and perhaps a lethal strike. While Mark, Demetri and Wedeck were under attack and a rocket propelled grenade blew up their car in the parking garage, Janis faced her attacker and managed to efficiently defend herself until she was shot and left lying in a pool of blood on the street. It was gripping and nerve-wracking. The cliff-hanger ending was particularly well done.

Also surprisingly handled was the conversation between Janis and her lover, Maya (Navi Rawat), who asked her, “Do you date guys too? I Mosaic’d you. It’s way better than Google-stalking.” For Maya had seen what Janis had posted about seeing herself pregnant in 6 months. After Janis was shot, we are left to wonder whether her vision will come true after all.

What Didn’t Work

While it had to come out sooner or later, it felt clumsy the way Olivia (Sonya Walger) found out that Mark had been drinking in his flashforward. It was entirely too convenient to have Aaron (Brian F. O’Byrne) hanging around their house and she just happened to overhear him on the phone with Mark reminding him to go to an AA meeting while in D.C. Then later Olivia just happened to receive a text message from an unknown caller which read, “Mark was drinking in his flashforward.” Given how Olivia reacted, it felt a bit like she was looking for excuses to make her flashforward vision come true. Maybe the future is not yet set in stone and it needs a little push perhaps?

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

‘Gimme Some Truth’ teleplay was written by Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin with story by Barbara Nance, and directed by Michael Rymer. ‘FlashForward’ stars Joseph Fiennes, Sonya Walger, John Cho, Gabrielle Union, Courtney B. Vance, Gina Torres, Jack Davenport, Brian F. O’Byrne, Peyton List, Christine Woods, Zachary Knighton, Dominic Monaghan, Ryan Wynott. ‘FlashForward’ airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

 

Review of ‘Sanctuary’ – Eulogy

Hoping when all hope is gone and praying for one last miracle – for it is only when we stop hoping and praying that someone is truly gone

In the aftermath of the devastating attacks on the Sanctuaries around the globe, in “Eulogy” the team set about rebuilding, cleaning-up and redistributing the abnormals to more secure facilities, while grieving the deaths of Ashley (Emilie Ullerup) and Clara (Christine Chatelain).

On the lighthearted-side, Will (Robin Dunne) and Henry (Ryan Robbins) were tasked with transportation and assimilation of 20 containers worth of displaced abnormals seeking refuge after the attacks on the Beijing, Tokyo and London sanctuaries. With the aid of Ark-Fong Li (Hiro Kanagawa), they set about filling every available nook and cranny at the main facility. They also debated the necessity of keeping the EM shields at maximum capacity, but Helen had insisted that it stay at maximum while the Cabal threat is still out there. The threat had not been eliminated yet.

Still on the sideline was Kate Freelander (Agam Darshi) who was not certain how to contribute and who was trying to make up her mind as to whether she was going to stay or go. Without a clear invitation, she was in limbo, and as she astutely assessed, “things are just too weird right now.” But without anywhere else to go and with the temptation of the new arriving abnormals too great a lure to pass up, Kate decided to hang-out – and got herself in a bit of a predicament in the process. While trying to steal some Steno tusks, she discovered a newly born Steno baby, which provided a merry chase before being recaptured. This provided some much need levity in a serious episode about the meaning of death. For it was pretty funny how the Steno baby steadfastly pursued Kate, not to eat her, but to play with her. As Henry explained, “You’re the first thing it saw. It thinks you’re its mother.” Watching Kate bond with the Steno baby was adorable and unexpected.

Then in the background, Helen (Amanda Tapping), secluded in her grief, was not only having visions of Ashley, she was also experiencing flashbacks. Between the visions and flashbacks, Helen felt certain that Ashley was not yet gone. She felt that it was possible that Ashley had been transported out of the Sanctuary just as the EM shields came up during the fight. But even as all investigations proved futile, Helen continued to cling to her persistent belief that Ashley had somehow survived. For, if Ashley had not actually made it through the shield, then perhaps Ashley had been bounced-back to a point still within the Sanctuary. When a search revealed the skeleton of another hybrid embedded in the wall, Helen then latched onto the idea that Ashley was stuck inside the computer system. But as each theory was investigated and disposed of, Helen became more and more irrational in her desperate desire to believe that Ashley was still alive. However, relying on Will as her moral compass and with reality check visits from Bigfoot (Christopher Heyerdahl) and John (Christopher Heyerdahl), Helen was finally forced to admit that Ashley was gone. Will had gently reminded her, “Are you searching for closure or a miracle?” Ashley could not have survived. She was not outside of the shield. She was not within the Sanctuary nor even trapped in the computer system. It was time to face the inevitable that Ashley was dead. So standing before an empty coffin, they each put an item of remembrance inside as Helen saw one last vision of Ashley who softly told her, “we must let go. . . ” It was haunting and heart-breaking to see to what lengths a mother will go to hold on to her lost child. Without a body to weep over, Helen simply wanted to believe that the impossible was still possible and that some essence of Ashley must still exist. It was like she was holding a butterfly net trying to capture a soul.

What Worked

The scenes between Helen and John were surprisingly touching. Under the guise of providing her an update on his efforts to track down and eliminate the Cabal brain-trust, it was clear that John had really stopped by to check on Helen. But after the funeral, when Helen asked him, “will you be joining us?” John harshly replied, “you may have found closure, but I have not – not yet!” He had not yet finished stalking Dana Whitcomb (Lynda Boyd) who still remained at large and a threat to them all.

While not very clear on what all the flashbacks were supposed to mean, it was still cool seeing Helen in her Indiana Jones-looking outfit in her flashbacks while she searched the desert for a long lost tribe so that she could return the ashes of the tribe’s shaman for which they had been waiting for over 300 years. As the tribesman told her, “Now our ancestors will be at peace.” He then gave her the necklace that she ultimately placed in Ashley’s coffin saying, “may it guide you through dark places and into the light.” Whether this is a clue as to what really happened to Ashley or a reminder that Ashley has gone on to a better place remains to be seen.

What Didn’t Work

The show’s writers need to tone down the gross-out factor as there is simply too much goo and gunk being flung about. The show is supposed to be about a sanctuary, not the Island of Dr. Moreau. In particular, Smithers with the long blue claw-like hand and the equally unnecessary and extremely repulsive flying insect guy. This is not supposed to be a creep-fest.

Also, Kate needs a serious attitude adjustment and she has some of the worst stereotypical dialogue: “You clearly need my help”; “If only you had the services of a world class tracker at your fingertips”; “Stun, no gun. I got it.” It would be helpful to not reduce Kate to a caricature and to allow her a bit more dimension to her character. Otherwise she will continue to alienate the audience.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

‘Eulogy’ was written by Sara B. Cooper and directed by Brenton Spencer. ‘Sanctuary’ stars Amanda Tapping, Robin Dunne, Emile Ullerup, Christopher Heyerdahl, Agam Darshi, Jonathan Young, Christine Chatelain and Ryan Robbins. ‘Sanctuary’ airs Fridays at 10 p.m. on Syfy.

Is ‘Heroes’ Dead?

A once lauded show may be at death’s door – is it too late to save it?

Attending a recent screening of “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” I heard Joss Whedon voice a very controversial pronouncement: “No one can save ‘Heroes!’”

Though, in his defense, he was provoked into such a response only after first being asked if “Dollhouse” is canceled, would he consider writing for “Heroes.”

While Joss may have meant to be flippant, those harsh words have been echoing in my brain. After all, who is he to say such a thing? Joss may be right, but it still seems a dire condemnation of a show that is still on the air and which is seemingly strongly supported by its network. Like any drama, it has highs and lows creatively and, like similarly ratings-challenged genre shows, it struggles to secure and retain a portion of the television viewing audience.

Feeling like the gauntlet had been thrown down, I took up the challenge and watched all of the episodes this season to see if in fact the show is beyond saving. Imagine my surprise then when I found that the show still had all the elements that drew me to it from the beginning. It still felt creative and interesting, and I felt intrigued watching the seven episodes to date.

This caused me to ponder a bit more if I could see what everyone else was talking about. A simple Google search brought up the story, “’Heroes’: Five Ways to Fix a Series in Crisis” that was written by Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly about a year ago. Although it’s a year old, some of the issues the column raised still felt timely: (1) too many heroes, (2) absurd plot twists, (3) over-heightened reality, (4) stale storytelling, and (5) “Heroes” was too disposable.

Looking back, I am not sure I agree. After all, “Heroes” not only survived its third season, it is now well into its fourth season. Surely, it must have found its footing somewhere in this past year to have made it this far. But, to be fair, due consideration should be given to each issue raised.

Are there too many heroes? Looking back over the past four seasons, we met more than 45 heroes, only 12 of which have been regulars and another 10 were significant enough to readily recall as well.

The regulars included: Claire (the cheerleader who can regenerate), Noah (Claire’s father), Hiro (time-traveler and teleporter), Ando (Hiro’s trusty sidekick with the power of amplification), Matt (the mind-reading cop), Peter (the empath), Nathan (the flying man), Angela (the precognitive dreamer), Tracy/Niki (the stripper with super strength/the lobbyist with freezing capabilities), Mohinder (the scientist who turned himself into a bug-like creature with super strength) and Sylar (the watchmaker who figured out how to steal other’s abilities).

The other prominently featured heroes have been Daphne (the speedster), Samuel (the carnival master with the power of terrakineseis and who uses ink as a weapon), Elle (who had power of electricity), Monica (the mimic), D.L. (Micah’s dad who could walk through walls), Maya (the girl with the ability to poison everyone nearby with oozing black goo), Isaac (the prophetic painter), Adam (the Japanese warrior who could not die), Micah (the rebel kid who can talk to machines) and the Haitian (who can erase memories).

And honorable mention goes to: Meredith (Claire’s mom, the firestarter), Linderman (the collector who had the power to heal), Ted (the human nuclear bomb), Bishop (Elle’s dad who could turn things into gold), Alejandro (Maya’s brother who could stop her poisonous anger), Maury (Parkman’s dad with mind-control abilities), West (the flying boy), Luke (the kid who could microwave a person), Eric (the puppet-master) and Arthur (Peter and Nathan’s dad, who could steal other people’s abilties).

Just seeing all the names and remembering what each could do and how they contributed to the arcing storylines, I would hazard to say, that “Heroes” would not have been “Heroes” without them. Additionally, with only 12 regulars, the series was enriched by the multiple story arcs interwoven to create the tapestry of the show. It is what keeps the show fresh, inviting and fast-paced.

Addressing next the concern that the show had absurd plot twists, I will concede that it did travel outside the realm of possibility on a routine basis. However, the show’s entire premise is outside the realm of possibility. It posits a reality where people develop special abilities, such as telepathy, mind control, self-regeneration, telekinesis and a multitude of other paranormal abilities that do not yet exist or perhaps cannot exist in the world we live in today. It is based on all these extraordinary abilities that the show was conceived and it invited us to enjoy the exploration of these fantastic phenomena with them. It is absurd, but it was fully intended to be. Thus, we should just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Then, as to the accusation that it portrays “over-heightened” reality, I again refer to my argument above. This is a fantasy show meant to portray a fantastical world where anything is possible. It only makes sense to over-heighten it to exaggerate how amazing or horrific it is. That is one of the creative licenses of dramatic storytelling – especially when entering the realm of science-fiction. This is very much a necessary ingredient for the stories “Heroes” seeks to portray.

As to the claim of stale storytelling, it is another concession that after a few seasons any show will struggle to keep their storylines fresh, inventive and engaging. Rather than yell, “jump the shark” at each attempt to revitalize and kickstart a newly introduced character or at the beginning of every new story arc, a viewer must have patience that the story will slowly unfold and develop as it needs to in order to lay the foundation of the story.

One cannot always start a scene with the character jumping off a cliff or facing a loaded gun. Sometimes it makes sense to allow a natural progression in storytelling in order for there to be a momentum to build up toward a climatic moment. There must be reveals that surprise us and keep us guessing as to what else may jump out and change the way we see each character and their relationships to each other.

But, as with any story, there must be moments to breathe, regroup and re-establish the roots of the story as it bends and weaves through a season. It cannot be simply a leap-frog approach to hopping from one adrenaline rush to the next. No, a good story allows breathing room. Heaven forbid we start calling breathing “stale.”

And last, the premature pronouncement that “Heroes” is too disposable. Clearly, both the network and fans disagree. Like similar genre shows which have struggled to retain their audience, “Heroes” has struggled as well. Its average viewership has been 5.5 million viewers, and those are faithful fans who clearly love the show. And in reward for such loyalty and devotion, the network has continued to order this fourth season. Whether it continues beyond this season remains to be seen, but given the passion of the fans and the continuing creative spark of the writers, it is certainly possible.

Now having discussed and discarded the reasons from 2008 on how “Heroes” could be fixed, I would like to propose a few of my own. After all, this is 2009 (almost on the verge of 2010), and an entire year has passed – a lot has happened in that interim.

First and foremost, “Heroes” does not provide enough character interaction – and by character, I mean the primary characters. It is essential in any series for the core characters to interact with each other on a regular basis. Otherwise, the storylines just lead outward like a starburst, not connecting.

A truly good television show finds ways to keep its core group together and interconnected. There is a reason a viewer tunes in and keeps tuning into a television show. They are attracted to the characters, they are curious how they react to each other, and want to see how they address common problems and obstacles together.

Like the saying “no man is an island,” no television series can effectively operate by taking its characters on solo journeys. No one wants to see Sylar out and about on his own, they want to see him lurking on the fringe of each of the core groups’ lives. It is only when he is amidst them that the terror is real — for it is only when
he is within striking distance that the tension level rises and we wait with baited breath.

So this season’s forced isolation of virtually all the characters has led to a disjointed storyline. Each character is handicapped by having to carry their own story arc without the support and interaction of the other characters.

Looking back, two of the most successful and highly rated episodes of the entire series were “Homecoming” and “Company Man” in the first season, which was simply because they brought the scattered heroes together to fight a common enemy. There was perhaps no more thrilling moment than when Peter showed up to rescue Claire just in the nick of time in “Homecoming.”

The trifecta of bringing together Peter, Claire and Sylar in that riveting episode upped the ante of tension – that and the tagline “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” became the rallying cry around the globe and glued viewers in front of their television sets.

Another good example was when Noah, Matt, and Ted all came to together in “Company Man.” It was the gathering of seemingly unconnected individuals in a moment of extreme crisis that brought the viewers together. So the secret to “Heroes” success is not just great characters and strong writing, it is imperative that the characters be brought together for the magical ingredients to work.

I mean who does not get chills at the sight of Sylar (Zachary Quinto) and Samuel (Robert Knepper) on screen together. Just knowing that they could join forces and reign hell on earth, or turn upon each other and accomplish nearly the exact same thing, is riveting.

Just like viewers do not like to have characters culled from the pack and sent on solo expeditions, neither do viewers like “hanging chads.” Whether it be a storyline that was dropped or a character that vanished into the ether, it makes viewers feel like they have been toyed with when this happens. It presumes that the audience wont notice that the storyline came to a screeching halt or jumped to another point entirely and never came back, or that we would not notice when a character simply never reappeared again with no explanation.

A few vanishing points have been Mohinder’s sister and Micah, who is roaming about without adult supervision using the code name “Rebel.” As for disappearing characters, what on earth ever happened to Monica or Maya.

“Heroes” needs to play to its strengths. It has fascinating characters that deserve the chance to test their mettle up against one another and to not be left adrift on their own. It also needs to respect its audience by not taking it down the primrose path and then pretending it did not exist. It simply needs to work on tighter, more integrated storylines to keep the characters together.

Trust me, the viewers are forgiving, but not that forgiving — which is perhaps why ratings have slid so significantly from an average of 13 million viewers during its first and second seasons to an average of 6 million viewers for the third and fourth seasons.

Finally, as to the question whether “Heroes” is dead, I say, “No!” But I may be the lone voice crying in the wilderness. It is a fun show and it deserves a bit more time to shine and dazzle us all. Don’t start fitting it for a coffin yet.

Related article:

http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6816

Spotlight on Kelli Williams

Reaching back to the 1980’s, a young fledgling starlet was cast as the younger version of Linda Hamilton in the cult classic “Beauty and the Beast.”  It was an innocuous start to what would become a sky-rocketing career.  For being cast as the younger version of a sci-fi icon is never a bad way to get a foothold in the notoriously difficult television landscape — and so began the illustrious television career of Kelli Williams.

During the next 5 years, Kelli would pinball between various television guest appearances on such shows as “Quantum Leap,” “The Young Riders,” and “Earth 2.” She also had the chance to work with Meredith Baxter, playing the daughter of the infamous Betty Broderick in the television events, “A Woman Scored: The Betty Broderick Story” and “Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter.”  Perhaps learning a trick or two from Meredith (who won an Emmy for her searing performance), Kelli continued her quest for the role that would showcase her talents.

Then in 1996, Kelli appeared in a controversial episode of the Emmy-award winning series, “Picket Fences.”  This may be where David E. Kelly first discovered the fearless yet vulnerable actress; for less than a year later, he cast her as a female lead in his new legal series, “The Practice.”   During the subsequent six seasons and 145 episodes, Kelli received many accolades for her riveting, pitch-perfect performance playing defense attorney, Lindsay Dole.  In that role, she was the voice of humanity with ram-rod convictions which resonated with the television audience.

After that she next appeared in the short-lived series The Lyon’s Den opposite Rob Lowe and that was followed by a lead role in the series Medical Investigation. Playing Dr. Natalie Durant was perhaps a foreshadowing of the role she currently plays.

But before that, Kelli also appeared for a quick six-episode arc on the adorable series Men In Trees. Welcomed back with open arms by the television audience, Kelli soon landed a lead role in the Fox series Lie To Me which debuted last spring.

Picked up for its second season, Lie To Me is an ideal vehicle for Kelli to display her wide-range of emotional resonance. She gets to play razor-sharp lie detection expert, Dr. Gillian Foster, who is a foil to Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) and a mentor to both Eli Loker (Brendan Hines) and Ria Torres (Monica Raymund). With aplomb, grace and subtle wit, Kelli is a joy to behold on screen. When she cries, we cry and when she laughs, we laugh. She holds the audience in the palm of her hand and we are delighted to be there.

Be sure to watch for Kelli in Lie To Me, Mondays at 9/8c on FOX.

Related article:

http://nicegirlstv.com/2009/10/26/spotlight-on-kelli-williams/

Spotlight on: Sonya Walger

As one of the break-out stars of the new hot ABC series “FlashForward,” Sonya Walger has been gaining notoriety for the last couple of years playing Penelope Widmore on “Lost.”

But before her attention-grabbing success on “Lost” and “FlashForward,” Sonya was a steadily working television performer.  After doing short stints on such shows as “Heat of the Sun,” “Misdomer Murders,” “The Vice” and “Goodnight Sweetheart” in 1998 and 1999, Sonya scored a big break being cast as Donna Barnes in the series “The Mind of the Married Man.”  Unfortunately, that role lasted only one season and she was back to steadily working in both film and television roles; the most noteworthy was being cast as Nicole Noone in made-for-television movie, “The Librarian: Quest for the Spear.”

But 2004 was a really good year for Sonya.  That was the year she gained traction and momentum in her career and, in between 2004 through 2006, she appeared in ten episodes of “CSI: New York” as Jane Parsons and five episodes of the series “Sleeper Cell” as Special Agent Patrice Sexner, which was quickly followed with a ten episode stint in 2007 on the ground-breaking series “Tell Me You Love Me.”  But it was in 2006 in which lightening struck when she was cast as Desmond’s star-crossed lover, Penny, in the ABC phenom “Lost.”  It was only 11 electrifying episodes, but with the line “not Penny’s boat” scribbled across Charlie’s hand as he sacrificed himself to convey that dire message to the rest of the castaways, Penny suddenly became a lightening rod for fans to latch onto.  Unlike any other romantic pairing on the series, Penny and Desmond were always portrayed as destined to be together and the writers were generous enough to play up their epic romance.

While the Penny-Desmond storyline is ongoing through the final season of Lost, which will be broadcast starting in January 2010, Sonya was not content to sit around. She quickly scored a recurring role on the short-lived series Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles as Michelle Dixon, Charlie Dixon’s doomed wife.

Then in a bold career move and with a masterful stroke of luck, Sonya landed the lead role in the red-hot ABC series FlashForward playing Olivia Benford, wife of Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes), the morally conflicted doctor who is uncertain if she wants her flashforward vision of her future to come true — for in her vision she saw herself involved with another man. Sonya’s portrayal is perfectly nuanced as we see her determination to remain faithful to her husband and marriage in the face of temptation and the mechanisms of fate. Sonya also radiates such a heart of goodness and loving warmth that the audience is drawn to her whenever she is on screen.

It will be a pleasure to watch as Sonya continues to explore her character, Olivia, in FlashForward and to see what surprises lie in store on Lost.  ABC has picked a winner with this radiant actress and it is a delight to be blessed with her presence on two hot series that will play back-to-back through this upcoming season.

FlashForward airs Thursdays on ABC at 8/7c.

Related article:

http://nicegirlstv.com/2009/10/22/spotlight-on-sonya-walger/

“Fringe” recap

After the momentous revelation that William Bell had been hiding in an alternate universe – the same universe that Walter had kidnapped Peter from after his son died — the first season of “Fringe” seemed like it would be a hard act to follow.  But as the second season has already shown, “Fringe” has a few more surprises up its sleeve.

Starting off with a bang, we were immediately thrown amidst a head-on car crash.  Car accidents are routine, but not when one of the drivers disappears into thin-air.  Thus, in the second season opener, “A New Day in an Old Town,” the sole survivor of the accident was a man who soon revealed himself to be anything but a man.  He was a shape-shifter – and clearly not from our universe.  It was his mission to kill Olivia.  Olivia, in the meantime, had been yanked out of our universe and into the alternate universe for a meeting with the mysterious William Bell.  It was because the auto accident failed to stop that meeting from occurring that Olivia had a bulls-eye on her back.  For whatever William Bell had told her was worth killing for.  However, Olivia’s return to our universe was not gentle and she was thrown through the windshield of her car and sustained a nasty head injury.  This left her unable to remember the vital information that William Bell had shared with her.  Because Olivia was in a coma, Peter stepped forward to take command and was instrumental in getting the Fringe Division reinstated.  It was touch and go for most of the episode, but in the end, Olivia miraculously awoke and Peter saved the Fringe Division from bureaucratic extinction.  And Walter made Peter a custard cake for his birthday.

In the second episode, “Night of Desirable Objects,” it was wish-fulfillment of the worst kind – it was answered with a twisted distortion.  A doctor so badly wanted a baby of his own; he decided to play God and manipulated the baby’s DNA so that his wife’s disease-ridden body would not reject it.  However, it is never a good idea to use cross-species in order to accomplish such a goal.  The monster he created was worthy of a horror story of its own and it proceeded to stalk the town’s inhabitants.  During that investigation, Olivia, still recuperating from her auto accident injuries and unable to recall what happened to her, nearly shot Peter.  This prompted Nina to pay a visit and recommend that Olivia seek out a man by the name of Sam Weiss who might have some answers to the medical problems Olivia was experiencing, including her accentuated hearing.  In the meantime, with Olivia still unsure of herself and acting erratically, Peter
continued to step up and fill the power-vacuum to lead the team.  And Faux-Charlie (the shape-shifter who had killed and replaced Charlie) continued to lurk in the background with orders to find out what Olivia knows and then kill her.

Then, in “Fracture,” it was a race against time to locate several former military personnel who had been exposed to a nerve-agent that could be triggered turning them into human bombs – for at just the right radio frequency, the genetically altered body would crystallize and then shatter.  While Peter and Olivia took a quick field-trip to Iraq so that Peter could convince an old associate to assist in locating doctors familiar with the nerve-agent, Walter was preoccupied with and balking at the prospect of moving into a new apartment. After returning state’s side, Olivia continued her unorthodox treatment with Sam Weiss who worked on rebuilding her confidence.  There was also a surprise appearance by The Observer who was seen sorting through photos from the briefcase – in particular, photos of Walter.

Concluding the 4-episode arc involving the shape-shifter posing as Charlie, in “Momentum Deferred” it was finally revealed what the shape-shifter’s handlers feared Olivia would remember — William Bell had told her the location of a cryogenically frozen head of their leader.  With a facial recognition program on the verge of revealing the shape-shift as Charlie, Walter called upon a former friend/lover to try to recreate an experiment where she could recognize those from the alternate universe.  While Olivia killed Faux-Charlie, just not in time to stop him from pushing the send button on his phone telling his cohorts where the head was located.  Thus, in the end, the head was retrieved by the shape-shifter and Walter failed to see that his experiment worked all too well with Rebecca recognized Peter from the alternate universe.

Finally, in last week’s episode “Dream Logic,” we witnessed the power of dreams – or rather the power of addiction.  A sleep therapist had created a brain chip that once implanted allowed him to steal a person’s dreams.  However, rather than providing a person with a peaceful night sleep, it left the person sleep-deprived and when he replayed the dreams at his leisure, they would experience them while wide-awake leading to extreme violence.   With Peter and Walter hard at work on solving the dream mystery, Olivia was back into therapy with Sam Weiss feeling guilt-ridden over Charlie’s death and like her entire life felt like a nightmare.  Sam’s therapy methods while unconventional did have results as collecting business cards from everyone wearing a red shirt revealed a hidden message, “you’re gonna be fine” – which was exactly what Olivia needed to hear.  Meanwhile, back at the lab, Walter was worried after Peter shared that his recurring nightmare involved him being kidnapped in the night – which smacked awfully close to the truth.

With the loss of Charlie, Olivia doubting her abilities, Peter stepping up to lead the team and lots of typical “Fringe” weirdness going on, this season promises to be just as thrilling and mind-boggling as ever.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

‘A New Day In The Old Town’ was written by J.J. Abrams and Akiva Goldsman, and directed by Akiva Goldsman. ‘Fringe’ stars Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown, Jasika Nicole, Kirk Acevedo. ‘Fringe’ airs Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. on Fox.

 

“Dollhouse” recap

Last season ended with Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) discovering the Dollhouse and inadvertently unleashing Alpha (Alan Tudyk) upon it.  Alpha then promptly kidnapped Echo (Eliza Dushku) and downloaded over 30 different personalities into her all at once.  But to his dismay, Echo did not feel enlightened or freed by this process. Her reaction was quite the opposite and Alpha then saw that he had created a monster which he could not control and which turned on him.  He escaped, barely, and Echo was returned to the Dollhouse.  Ballard then traded his freedom for Mellie’s (Miracle Laurie) and agreed to become Echo’s handler while Boyd (Harry Lennix) took over as head of security.

 As we re-entered the realm of the Dollhouse in the second season, it was several months later with Paul Ballard now employed as Echo’s handler, with she and Ballard working together to bring down the Dollhouse from the inside.  However, unlike previous memory wipes, Echo is no longer unaware of what has happened to her.  Due to her super-enhanced multi-identity state, the average memory-wipe does not completely erase the imprinted identity.  Thus, each imprint remains with Echo and she remembers everything after her assignments.  This is the price Echo must pay for, if she revealed the ineffectiveness of the wipes, she would have not have any identity at all, nor could she assist Ballard in taking down the Dollhouse.

 In the second season opener, “Vows,” Ballard was the client and he had retained Echo’s services in order to infiltrate the world of a British arm’s dealer.  Echo has been programmed to be an FBI agent who is under-cover as the arms dealer’s fiancé.  It was a con within a con.  So with Ballard and Echo occupied with their mission to bring down another nefarious organization, the core of the episode actually focused on Dr. Saunders aka: Whiskey (Amy Acker) as she had learned that she was not in fact Dr. Saunders, but was instead a doll.  Wanting to punish Topher (Fran Kranz) for imprinting her in the first place, she asked him to explain why he programmed her to hate him and he stated that he hadn’t.  That was something she came up with all on her own.  He had not merely programmed her to be a “yes” man, but had given her the ability to have free-will.  She was free to chose how she felt.  In the end, confused as to who she was and her role, Dr. Saunders exercised that free will and finally left the Dollhouse.

 In the subsequent episode, “Instinct,” Echo is imprinted with the personality of a recently deceased mother in order to care for the newborn child whose father cannot stand the sight of him.  However, when Echo overheard the father saying that he cannot keep up the ruse anymore and that he wanted to get rid of the baby, she kidnapped the child in order to protect it.  But, like before, a simple memory wipe was not enough to erase her memories and feeling an overpowering need to protect the child, she went to confront the father.  It is only after the father reasoned with her that Echo began to see the difference between her multi-faceted personalities and the imprinted one and was willing to leave the baby with his father.  After having her emotions manipulated into loving a child that was not hers, more than ever, Echo swears to make the Dollhouse pay for making her love a child and then being forced to give it up.

 Then in the third episode, “Belle Chose,” a serial killer’s personality is downloaded into Victor’s (Enver Gjokaj) body in order to ascertain the location of the woman the killer had taken.  After the killer’s uncle released him in Victor’s body back out into society, DeWitt (Olivia Williams) and Topher elected to turn off the Dollhouse system in order to remote-wipe the serial killer’s personality out of Victor.  This worked partially, for instead of wiping the killer’s personality, it merely transferred it into Echo’s body – who was in the middle of a teacher/student sex fantasy.  Echo, as the killer, promptly stabbed the professor, escaped and returned to his lair where there were three women locked in a cage.  Victor (now thinking he is a girl) went dancing at a nearby club and hilarious hi-jinks ensued from that particular identity crisis.  In the meantime, Echo grappled with the imprint of the serial killer and urged the women to kill her in order to escape.  Fortunately, the GPS-tracking chip led Boyd and the security detail to them and everyone was saved.  But are they really?  For Echo again still showed trace signs of still having the serial killer embedded into her conscious.  It remains to be seen whether she will be strong enough to keep that imprint at bay.

Finally, in the fourth episode “Belonging” the series exploded.  They had promised that everything would come together and grab everyone’s attention – and they were absolutely right.  Focusing on Sierra and her backstory on how she was kidnapped, drugged and repeatedly sexually assaulted by her captor – all under the permissive watch of the Dollhouse was eye-opening, sickening and riveting.  It also ratcheted up the level of tension and moral dilemmas they all face.  It was Sierra’s story, and how they all became swept up in it.  Victor as the quiet champion awaiting the return of his princess.  Boyd the fixer who stepped in to clean-up Topher’s mess.  Adelle’s heart-broke handing over Sierra to a monster.  And Topher who never had a heart before, discovered he had one.  Interestingly enough, even with Echo out of the lime-light, she caught Boyd’s attention and there was some cool interplay with Boyd catching her reading a book (Dolls are not supposed to be able to read) and his attempt to ferret out what she was up to.  And in an episode where Paul Ballard did not even appear once, it was startling to see how the other characters came together just fine in his absence.

 The second season is not merely a journey through the various fantasies that wealthy clients are willing to pay for.  It is a discovery of self-identity as Echo fights to figure out who she is amidst all the downloaded personality imprints.  It is also a mission to bring down those behind the Dollhouse and to put a stop to the human enslavement they have created.

 “Dollhouse” is created and produced by Joss Whedon and stars Eliza Dushku, Tahmoh Penikett, Olivia Williams, Dichen Lachman, Enver Gjokaj, Harry Lennix, and Fran Kranz.  “Dollhouse” airs on Friday nights at 9:00 p.m. on Fox.

Review of ‘Sanctuary’ – End of Nights (part 2)

When in a standoff with your enemy do you allow yourself the luxury of scorched-earth tactics

After walking into a trap at the Cabal headquarters, and losing Ashley (Emilie Ullerup) in the process in Part 1, this week’s episode was a constant adrenaline rush of fear, uncertainty and nail-biting conflict. 

Perhaps wishing to toy with her prey, in a mock-gesture of mercy, Dana Whitcomb (Lynda Boyd) gave Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) a choice: “your daughter or your work – you choose . . .”  Helen must either surrender the entire Sanctuary Global Network or sacrifice her daughter.  But not willing to bow before such a common terrorist ploy, Helen declared that she will not surrender every abnormal under their protection.  For her father created the Sanctuary network to protect abnormals and humans from each other out of fear that if he did not, chaos would reign – which is exactly what Dana Whitcomb wants.

In the wake of an outright declaration of war and the ease with which the Tokyo sanctuary was taken, Helen rallied the team in order to prepare for battle.  Rounding out the team were Dr. Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne), Clara Griffin (Christine Chatelain), Nikolas Tesla (Jonathan Young), John Druitt (Christopher Heyerdahl), Henry Foss (Ryan Robbins), and Bigfoot (also Christopher Heyerdahl).  The only one not joining in the fight was Kate Freelander (Agam Darshi) who they feared had set them up and she was released so that she could get away before the fight began.  For there would be no compromise and they would fight to the bitter end.  It was a fight to the death.   

After learning that the Cabal were using some kind of remote data burst to interfere with and breach the EM shields; and the hybrids had the ability to communicate telepathically and quickly regenerate (bullets seemed to bounce off of them and wounds healed within seconds — which John figured out after stabbing Ashley straight through the heart to no avail), Helen gave Tesla the task of creating a weapon to combat the seemingly invincible hybrids.  After Ashley had been captured, she had been converted into a hybrid human-abnormal.  Due to her lineage having a human mother and a teleporting father who is akin to “Jack the Ripper,” she is arguably already a hybrid – and that unique DNA made her a perfect test subject for the source-blood.  John noted that Ashley may have inherited her father’s blood-lust as one of her gifts and pronounced, “what is bred in the bone cannot be undone in the flesh.”  Therefore, Helen wanted a weapon that will interfere with the effects and influence of the source-blood; something to disable the genetically-enhanced abilities.  Unfortunately, with such a handicap that it must only disable and not kill, once created, the gun only stunned the hybrids for just a few moments.  Helen was then forced to admit that the gun needed to be programmed to kill if they were to survive.  This was even more clearly emphasized after the attack on the London Sanctuary and it had been necessary to release the Elemental, which ended up torching the entire facility — and after it was discovered that Clara had died so needlessly.  As Tesla sadly noted, “Churchill may have been wrong.  Victory at any cost?”   

It was a high-priced episode with the loss of two lives – R.I.P. Ashley Magnus and Clara Griffin.  The battle may have been ultimately won with their sacrifice, but it remains to be seen who wins the war.  For Dana Whitcomb is still out there and she has the ability to make more hybrids.

What Worked

The battle sequences were astounding to watch in execution.  Additionally, there were some particularly fun tactics used, such as the black petrifying oil that Will employed to encase and subdue one of the hybrid-attackers.  Also fun was watching Nikolas locked in an electrical battle both with Ashley and later with one of the other hybrids. 

Then it was cool to find out the agent for the demise of their entire security system was a mere cellphone.  The incoming call was embedded with a computer virus that wrecked havoc and brought down their shields within seconds.  Very well executed indeed.

What Didn’t Work

It seemed implausible that Will would allow Clara to distract him with a bit of foreplay while they were expecting an eminent attack.  It was nice that they got to say good-bye, but it felt very clichéd.

Also, it felt drawn out that Bigfoot would continue to refuse the Lazarus medication at such a critical time as well.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

‘End of Nights (Part 2)’ was written by Damian Kindler and directed by Martin Wood. ‘Sanctuary’ stars Amanda Tapping, Robin Dunne, Emile Ullerup, Christopher Heyerdahl, Agam Darshi, Jonathan Young, Christine Chatelain and Ryan Robbins. ‘Sanctuary’ airs Fridays at 10 p.m. on Syfy.

Review of ‘Stargate Universe’ – Darkness

Discovering the light in the darkness

This was an episode in which the gadgets nearly stole the show.  The lights may have gone out due to power depletion, but it was highly entertaining to see the crew record their messages of hope, longing and despair in the Kino and Eli (David Blue) was never more adorable than when he handed his cellphone to Chloe (Elyse Levesque) to give her a bit of light in the darkness.

For all the cuteness, this was a dark episode – and not just because the lights went out. Watching the normally calm, cool and collected Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) have a panic-attack and pass out from fear and exhaustion set the tone.  They were all at wits end.  Without power, they were basically sitting in a coffin in space.  Dr. Rush’s fear was not unfounded for all the fiddling everyone had done to figure out what each button and switch did had needlessly depleted their power reserves.  His bellow, “Stop pushing buttons!” was not just out of frustration.  They desperately needed every second of power they could eek out of the ship to survive.

So while Dr. Rush was incapacitated, it fell on Col. Young (Justin Louis) to figure a way out of their dire predicament.  Thus, it was appalling that his first thought was to use the communication stones to go home and say good-bye to his estranged wife.  But in the absence of both Rush and Young, the younger folk had more to do and they rose to the occasion: Lt. Scott (Brian J. Smith) continued to try to figure out a way to use the shuttle; T.J. (Alaina Huffman) kept a watchful eye on her recuperating invalids, both Col. Young (occupied by Col. Telford) and Dr. Rush; and Eli got to play the hero in the midst of the chaos.

For it was Eli’s idea that everyone should record a message into the Kino for posterity – just in case someone else came along and discovered it long after they were gone.  This felt very foreboding and added a somber note to the episode, for some of the Kino messages included: “All I want is to get off this ship”; “I shouldn’t even be here.  To think I could have missed all this.” and “I always knew I’d die in space.  I knew something awful was going to happen.  I just knew it.”  But, like therapy, it was a way for everyone to release their darkest fears.

On the flip-side, there were some nice comedic moments to offset the feeling of futility, such as when Col. Young asked, “So where does that leave us?” and the response he got was. “Dead.”  Likewise, when Col. Young inquired of Eli, “So you’re working the problem” and Eli sheepishly responded, “Yeah.”  To which then Col. Young snapped at the other two scientists standing there, “Does the computer-hacking drop-out have to save our asses?  Or are you going to get your heads out of yours?!”  — with Eli mumbling in the background, “The drop-out is still here. . .”

Additionally, once the darkness descended and there was no light anywhere, it was Eli who gallantly gave Chloe his cell phone with the faux admonishment, “don’t make any long distance calls.”  It was Eli’s quick-witted quips which also deflected some of the pervasive foreboding when he was accosted by a group of anxious survivors and he glibly reassured them that, “If they tell me, I’ll tell you.  This is good. I think as a group we’ve bonded.”

Finally, while Col Young was running away and saying good-bye and Eli was busy keeping everyone’s spirits up, Lt. Scott was in his way working on potential solutions; and  once Col. Young returned and Dr. Rush awakened, Lt. Scott was able to share with them that he believed that the ship had taken them to their current location for a specific reason:  that point had 3 habitable planets within range.  Still in desperate need of fuel resources, they set their course for orbital insurgent trajectory even with Scott’s warning ringing in their ears that it would be “close enough to kiss but not enough to capture.”  Thus, it was not too surprising, when moments later it was noted, “The planet has altered Destiny’s course more than we hoped” — and in the distance we saw a fleet of alien space crafts approaching.  Survival at what cost?  Are the ships friend or foe?  This far into space it does not bode well.

What Worked

Surprisingly, the shower scene, in which Eli stood guard so that Chloe could get cleaned up was more poignant, funny and endearing than one would have thought.  It is a credit to the actors that it was so delicately and humorously handled.

Also surprisingly right on key was the awkwardness between Col. Young and his wife, Emily (Ona Gauer).  That she did not immediately race to his side and accept that it was indeed him inhabiting Col. Telford’s body was believable.  The same with her reaction to his half-hearted apology for she immediately chastised him with, “you still chose to go.”  Her sad pleas to “just let me go” was an echo of a relationship already long gone.

In contract, it was nice to allow Dr. Rush a lighter moment, when he awoke and TJ asked him, “How do you feel?” and he ruefully replied, “Embarrassed.”  His willingness to attribute his recent panic-attack as caffeine withdrawal was priceless.

What Didn’t Work

Is it really necessary for Col. Telford (Lou D. Phillips) to continually go out of his way to undermine and question the authority and leadership of Col. Young each and every time they body-swap?  It also feels like a poor use of Lou D. Phillips to give him such tedious lines where as Telford he says: “I’d like to speak to Dr. Rush immediately” and “I want to know what’s really going on aboard this ship!”  Let’s hope they take some time to flesh-out his character a bit more and give him a less two-dimensional role.

Also, all the “Planet of the Apes” references have been over-done.  It is time to find another sci-fi film to emulate and refer to.  It will help keep the show fresh and more engaging.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

‘Darkness’ was written by Brad Wright and directed by Peter DeLuise. ‘Stargate Universe’ stars Robert Carlyle, David Blue, Brian J. Smith, Alaina Huffman, Ming-Na, Lou D. Phillips, Jamil Walker Smith, Elyse Levesque, Justin Louis. ‘Stargate Universe’ airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on Syfy.

 

Review of ‘FlashForward’ – Black Swan

Lulled into a false sense of security

This episode was by far the most surprising to date.  It lulled you into thinking this was the same thing we had begun to expect over the course of the last few episodes, and then out of the blue, it delivered a blow not seen coming.  It was not even a death-blow.  It was just a major shocker.  The “black swan” was not Ned (Keir O’Donnell), the guy who thought he was going to turn into an African American; the “black swan” was Lloyd Simcoe (Jack Davenport).  I guess it is true when they say the best way to hide something is to hide it in plain sight.  For I never once suspected that Lloyd had anything to do with the blackout.  Thus, seeing the final scene of the episode where he takes the call from Simon (Dominic Monaghan) was a surprise.  The hair on the back of my neck and arms rose as I heard Simon tell him, “Talking to me is one of those little inconveniences you’re going to have to put up with now that we’re responsible for the single greatest disaster in human history.”

As continuity goes, it was cool to see Alda Hertzog (Rachel Roberts) again — the blonde terrorist that Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) and Demetri Noh (John Cho) had been chasing at the time of the blackout.  She fooled them by cryptically telling Demetri that his time was running out and then sending them on a wild-goose chase.  (Side-note:  There’s a lot of bird references in this show with crows, black swans and now geese.)  As riveting as the interrogation scenes were, it was rather mind-numbing to watch them actually go to Indio to the restaurant and chase a petty drug dealer.  However, Alda, for all her resistance to answering their questions, was actually a fount of information.  Alda was the one that ultimately gave us two significant clues.  The first was about the “black swan” theory.  She explained that a black swan is something so out of the ordinary that it is used to describe events beyond the realm of the ordinary.  The second clue she provided was regarding the Sufi parable about an old man and a young boy with a candle and the old man asks the boy where the light comes from –  and the young boy blows out the candle and tells the old man, “if you tell me where the light went, I will tell you where it came from.”  The black-out and the reveal that Lloyd Simcoe was involved with it were the “black swan moments.”  As for the significance of the Sufi parable, perhaps that was to illustrate that it does not matter how the black-out occurred and that they needed to focus on the why it happened. For Alda told Mark, “you’re ignoring the most profound question:  why?”  It is not “who” or “how” that really matter, but the question of “why.”  Like with the boy and the candle, the disappearing light is not the point.  The point is that it happened.  Thus, accept it and address the more pertinent question.

With so many cryptic clues slowly being unveiled, it is clear that the visions everyone experienced during the black-out are stressing them out to their breaking points.  Even Demetri said, “all I can hear is the clock-ticking everyday.”  And with everyone so preoccupied, surely they cannot be doing their jobs effectively.   Thus, it creates a window of opportunity for criminal activity to go uncheck or unnoticed simply because everyone is so distracted.  Maybe that was the point of the black-out.  Like a magician’s trick, while everyone’s attention is focused elsewhere, they can get away with anything.  The black-out is a long-term distraction.  For, as Mark told Demetri, “we can use what we saw to stop what we saw.  We can solve your murder before it happens.”  By effectively taking Demetri and Mark’s attention off of their other investigative work, the diversion is complete.

What Worked

Before learning he was the bad-guy, it was adorable watching Lloyd read Dylan (Ryan Wynott) his favorite book, “The Magician’s Handbook” and acting out all the characters in order to connect with Dylan.

As for the hospital patient, Ned, who had Addison’s disease, it was funny to see how as much as Olivia (Soyna Walger) wanted to ignore all the signs that were revealed in Ned’s flashforward, like her efforts to send Dylan to the PT Department, it kept boomeranging back to her.  Also interesting was Ned’s analysis that, “all that worrying kept me from being the me I am supposed to be.”  It was like watching a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Another fascinating reveal was finding out that Nicole (Peyton List), the awol baby-sitter, knew Aaron (Brian F. O’Byrne) and it was based on his recommendation she got the job with the Benfords.  Adding another layer to her story was learning that in Nicole’s flashforward she saw herself being drowned by an unknown assailant.  That was just bizarre – for her to witness her own death.  Just as horrific was her revelation that she saw, “someone drowning me and I felt like I deserved it.”  What on earth does that poor girl do to deserve such a fate, let alone feel that needed to atone for whatever she would do in the future that justified being murdered?!  It is mind-bending.

What Didn’t Work

It was ludicrous that the priest that Nicole went to see for guidance kept a box of live crickets in his desk drawer and turned her away after giving her a t-shirt  The world feels a bit off-kilter with that kind of behavior.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

‘Black Swan’ was written by Lisa Zerling and Scott M. Gimple and directed by Michael Rymer. ‘FlashForward’ stars Joseph Fiennes, Sonya Walger, John Cho, Gabrielle Union, Courtney B. Vance, Gina Torres, Jack Davenport, Brian F. O’Byrne, Peyton List, Christine Woods, Zachary Knighton, Dominic Monaghan, Ryan Wynott. ‘FlashForward’ airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.