by Kyra Lennon

Created on: May 02, 2010

Just like everything else, choosing the best current television show is a matter of taste. Some may prefer a good comedy, some might select a drama, others may choose a reality television show. Comedies are usually by far my favourites but in October of 2009 a new sc-fi/drama series caught my attention and sped its way to pole position as my favourite current television show.

ABC's Flashforward first aired in the U.S and the U.K last October. Based on Robert J.Sawyer's book of the same name, Flashforward was hailed as the new Lost, a challenging thing to live up to.

The premise of the show is that the entire world lost consciousness for two minutes and seventeen seconds, and in that time everyone saw a glimpse six months into their future. The story centres around a team of FBI agents, in particular Agent Mark Benford who saw a series of clues to what may have caused the Global Blackout in his own flashforward. His team attempts to piece it all together from Mark's memory of his vision.

The science element comes in when a team of scientists claim that they were responsible for causing the blackout during an experiment reminiscent of the CERN Large Hadron Collider experiment that is happening in the real world. It is soon apparent that it isn't nearly that simple though, many other things played a factor.

Alongside the FBI and science investigations, every character in the show has to struggle to come to terms with what they saw. Mark Benford's wife, Olivia saw herself in bed with another man, gay FBI agent Janis Hawk saw herself having a pre-natal sonogram and Agent Demetri Noh didn't see a thing. The big question in Flashforward is whether or not the future is set in stone or whether it can be changed.

Flashforward is coming to the end of its first season, but in the short time it has been on our screens it has provided suspense, drama, puzzles, excitement and incredible cliffhangers as the FBI team try to untangle the clues. Unfortunately, the brilliance of the show and dedication of the fans has not been reflected in the ratings. While the pilot boasted over twelve million viewers, a three month hiatus in the middle of the season had a big impact on those numbers and they have dropped significantly since then.

It's unfortunate that this fantastic show may be cancelled if the numbers don't pick up. It brings a phenomenal cast including Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Sonya Walger, Dominic Monaghan and Jack Davenport. The creators of the show are equally as brilliant – the team includes David S.Goyer who wrote Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and the Blade movies, and Jessika Borsiczky who took over as show runner late last year.

I would strongly advise anyone who hasn't seen Flashforward yet to give it a try. If you love shows that bring up many questions about the mysteries of life, plus a healthy dose of scientific theory and police work, Flashforward could be the show for you!

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