First episode of FlashForward

So this is what Five has been spending money on, instead of buying HOUSE season 5...

In true fashion of trying to stop people in the UK from watching the series illegally online, Five have managed to get their schedule sorted to start airing this new series just days after the US have viewed the first episode.  So far, so good.

But what's this, I see...

Oh no, not the world experiencing a single event simultaneously... No, they surely had not done that in The 4400 already, no of course not...   No they don't have US government officials investigating the world's population from the get go...

Y'know, it's almost as if it were The 4400, but without the super powers, and they still need to save the world.

Actually...

The series is meant to be "loosely" based off an SF novel Flashforward published in 1999.  However, I saw far too many similarities with The 4400 in the first episode.  And I liked that series, and it was cancelled prematurely, so perhaps I'm hating this new series just a little too much due to this bias.

Basically, what happened was

If you have watched Five at all during the last two weeks, it was not difficult to understand what the show's basic concept was:

What would happen if the world's population of 7 billion people simultaneously experienced seeing their future in six months time? And, just how did this happen?

Of course this must be investigated by the likes of the FBI post-haste.

Here's a question

If the world's population essentially blacked out whilst gaining these visions of their futures, why the hell did the scriptwriters not think to talk about the thousands who either died or just survived plane crashes after their plane pilots blacked out?

Will you continue watching it?

Well, I'll watch the second episode when it airs on Five next Monday at 9PM.  I'm not ready to give up on this just yet.

Related links

Five's FlashForward website 

Wiki entry on FlashForward

Wiki entry on the novel Flashforward

Wiki entry on The 4400

Dexter

Second season
When the second season started airing on ITV1 this month, oh how I was thankful. I don't tend to watch series that revolve around investigators of crime, or the psychopaths and sociopaths that commit them, but this show is the exception.

How'd I get into it?
Perhaps my main reason for getting into it was due to being a bit of a fan of Michael C. Hall. Despite being under the age of 18 when it originally aired in the UK on Channel 4, I was (and still am) a big fan of Six Feet Under. So when I found out that he was in a new show, well I felt compelled to at least try and watch it. Also I had enjoyed Julie Benz's performances in Taken, and Buffy and Angel.

What is it then?
The series is based on the novels Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter and Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay. I have to say that I am slightly tempted to read them.

Why do I like the show?
Maybe it's the suspense, or the characterisation, or just how subversive the character of Dexter is, but I really like this show. Admittedly, it did take me a while in the first season to get into it and start enjoying the whole thing, but I stuck with it and now I find it pretty enjoyable to watch.

It's all about Dexter
The character of Dexter Morgan is deeply disturbed, and if the image above is not enough of a hint, well, he's also bit of a sociopath too. He also just happens to work for his local P.D., (where his adoptive sister works), attached to their forensics department. His situation, and after work hours activities are certainly intriguing. Dexter lives by a code that was created for him by his adoptive father, a police officer, when it was realised by his father that he had sociopathic tendencies. The code is along the lines of: only kill those who kill. So Dexter is a sort of dark avenger, killing off the serial killers living around Miami.

One reason to watch ITV1 and ITV4
Dexter is the only thing I'm currently watching on an ITV channel on a regular basis. Mind you, just because it was shown in the UK on FX first does not mean that I am unable to wait long enough for a series to be shown on a free channel or to arrive on DVD. I will wait, and happily go slowly mad in the process too.

Try to watch the first series, if you haven't yet
The first season is currently available on DVD. I advise at least renting it.

Related link
Showtime's official website for Dexter