What looked to be one of the biggest hits of the new season, FlashForward, isn’t looking like such a hit any longer. Will the series make it to year two?
FlashForward begins as the world’s population blacks out for 137 seconds and they “flash forward” to see visions of their lives six months in the future. The series’ ensemble cast includes Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Jack Davenport, Zachary Knighton, Peyton List, Dominic Monaghan, Brian F. O’Byrne, Courtney B. Vance, Sonya Walger, and Christine Woods.
The series debuted on September 24th on ABC. The premiere attracted a 4.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 12.47 million viewers. The following week, the number dropped to a very respectable 3.7 and 10.73 million.
For week three, the ratings dropped again to a 3.0 and nine million. Total viewership rose for weeks four and five but the demo remained essentially the same with a 3.1 rating.
On October 29th, FlashForward dropped to a series low of a 2.7 rating and 8.92 million viewers. The sudden drop was understandable because it aired opposite the World Series on FOX. Unfortunately, baseball fans didn’t return last Thursday when there wasn’t a big game. FlashForward’s ratings sank even further to a 2.6 and 8.47 million, barely beating FOX’s Bones for second place.
ABC has already committed to a full season of FlashForward so it’s relatively safe for now. However, if these numbers don’t start going up, the series is far from guaranteed a second season.
What do you think? Do you think the ratings will go back up or will the show burn out in one season? Are you still watching? If so, what could be done better?
Image courtesy ABC.
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I enjoy shows with complicated suspenseful plots. This show has potential, even in the face of some flattened character development for the moment.
I think the networks are so used to airing “reality” show (where a camera crew and lights follow the “reality”), that they’ve lost sight of something. When a show actually has a complicated and suspenseful plot, shifting its schedule around and leaving large gaps between episodes lose its audience.
There’s nothing to remember or connect in a show where the most complex aspect of the plotline is “will she drink the orange juice the other house-mate bought??” Move that show around, and there’s not much cost. Move “Flash Forward” around, and people lose the connection to its story.
i 100% agree. My favorite show, Jericho, was killed for the same reason. You go off the air in the middle of a season for more than six weeks, people forget. i didnt, but there are those that do. i personally am sickened by what “reality” staged TV has done to the American public. People no longer wnat to think, its much easier to have canned crap force fed to you nightly. i LOVE this show and hope it makes it thru. if not, i guess its another network to sit right next to CBS on my do not watch mantle.
I have enjoyed this series so much, but it’s on at an inconvenient time and day. If it was on the weekend or later in the week everyone would be watching the show. Remember 4400, it is still wanted. Everyone who watched it still wants it back. It was great! This is almost the same thing, it’s a feasible future. This show reminds me of Orson Wells’ the war of the world, it made everyone pay attention, people thought it was real. If they made it seem as intense as that, people would want to see it everyday. I know that things like this are possible, you need to make it so real that you can’t afford to not see it. You have to create an urgency so people will be very anxious to see it, can’t wait to see it. I know I can’t wait to find out all about it.
I agree! I just found it again tonight by accident. And it appears as if I missed at least one episode. So I am not sure if I missed the beginning of this round or the end of the last round. But I am glad I found it! I really do like this show.
p.s. Ann, I agree with you…I liked 4400 also. I think “Heroes” kind of took the spotlight as they had similar story lines…even though 4400 came first.
I hope they keep this show.
Any show worth watching on TV is always cancelled, which is why no one is watching TV these days. TV execs seem to think “dumber” is better. The cushier the job the dumber they get.
I have been afraid to invest any time with shows on ABC, because like a previous poster said, I have been burned by ABC and the other networks way too often. ABC: Invasion, second season of The Mole, Nothing Sacred, etc. A show is not even given a chance and it is pulled and cancelled. Viewers have finally said “Why bother?” and then networks complain of poor ratings on all shows. Wake up! Viewers can only stand so much of cheap reality shows!! I know scripted shows are very expensive, but they are what viewers want.
to much like lost as much as lost was ok i couldnt be bothered to go through all the confusion of complicated plots yet again, if they change it slightly make it a little bit straight forward then I would enjoy watchin it further.
I love this show!!! Please keep it on the air. Too many good shows on ABC are cancelled.
I fear soon two ‘televisions’ will supplant the almighty tube of our forebears: the first will be ‘reality’ television, utter fluff, and will be watched by the most people; the second will be scripted television, and will have shows good, bad, and all shades inbetween.
Flash Forward is certainly watchable. C+/B-. But other wonders, such as NBC’s Kings (is there a letter grade higher than A?) was cancelled in a season (a $2 million price tag to each episode had something to do with that). Television has to tighten its belt, as do all portions of our society, and their first move was towards reality shows. The last decade of waning viewership, however, bolstered by the brain-dead idiots who spend their evenings eating microwaved TV dinners (in plastic containers, c’mon people! For chrissakes!) watching Survivor, Donald Trump, and 24 (note that ‘reality’ teleivision is usually scripted, just by idiots) has kept TV viable. But without the thinking portion of the population, television is doomed to become a bulliten board for idiots, much as radio has become (at least where I come from).
The real problem is the decline in intelligence, the decline in reading, the decline in people asking questions. We’re too comfy in our lazy-boy recliners to give much of a shit about everything. Therefore, I propose we all sit on a pine-cone for at least an hour a day. Maybe, just maybe, it’ll get us off our asses.
I tried to watch this show, but then when it was pulled off the air, I have pretty much lost interest in it. nearly 6-8 weeks off the air makes me less vested in the show. I could careless whether it will be renewed or not. Now that Lost is in its final season, these types of shows don’t make it anymore. I watched Invasion-cancelled, Lost on Mars had so much potential and they dump it, and I am sure they will get rid of “V” as well. Why should I even attempt to watch these shows when the Powers That Be will just keep giving us viewers more crap reality shows…they don’t give their dramas enough chance to make it. Look what happened over at NBC with Southland and Medium…there are on different networks and are doing quite good. Most of the executives don’t know what they are doing.
I enjoyed the episodes of the show that have been aired, and I was looking forward to watching more. But it’s been so long now that I find I don’t remember what was going on in the story…and I really don’t care. So I doubt I’ll watch it when it continues. (Same for V, by the way.)
I just started watching the show — online. Love it and can’t wait till it continues. GREAT SHOW!!!
I would really like to see Flashforward return for another season. I thoroughly enjoyed the episodes that I had the opportunity to watch. I currently have them recorded on my DVR and am waiting to learn if there will be a season 2 before I bother to watch the remaining episodes. I am an MBA student and don’t have time to watch live tv and late night DVR surfing is my life after studies and family are complete for the day.
I love supsense dramas. There are enough foolish television reality shows on television and it is really nice to have something in which you can totally lose yourself into for an hour a week. Please return the show.
Love the show,, so it would be not a good thing to cancel it – as again a great show would disappear!!!
One of the few show that caught my eye.
I missed a few episodes and was glad to complete the season in the internet.
ABC should know that by the demand to actually see the whole series on the web, there is an interest.
It is a smart show, makes you think and talk about the next day by the watercooler.
Stop dumbing America. The reality shows simply are forced into our rooms and sends me rushing to other networks with quality interesting shows.
Bring them back or sell the right to cable network, they are getting better.
This show has so many problems. Complicated plot lines, flat action scenes, and the worst of wall, a terrible lead actor in Joseph Fiennes. He doesn’t fit his role at all and is one of the main reasons I gave up on this show. We don’t need dumbing down of shows, but when you have a good idea, don’t kill it with monotoned actors.
I love every episode of this series, there are alot of depth to some episode, that intrigue you, make you feel for the character.
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