Movie Queue Monday: "Flash Forward"

As the cold bug claimed its latest victim (me) this weekend, I relaxed and finished the last of this short-lived, but entertaining show. The premise of "Flash Forward" is that the whole world blacks out for two minutes, 17 seconds on October 6, 2009. Planes crash, buildings explode, and mayhem ensues while the world's population falls unconscious (it also makes for an action-packed pilot reminiscent of "Lost"), but the really interesting factor in this mysterious event is that while asleep, most people have a vision or "flash forward" of the future.

The show's main focus is on a group of FBI agents, lead by Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes), who are investigating "the blackout".  The main characters grapple with the complex moral and ethical issues arising from knowledge  of the future and Benford even references how their situation is like Sophocles' tragic hero Oedipus: in trying to avoid the future they have been shown, they may be unknowingly setting it into motion.  The themes of fate vs. free will add complexity and depth that many "cop dramas" lack and the first few episodes have a creepy and mysterious undertone that I enjoyed.

That being said, I can see why ABC canned "Flash Forward" after only one season. First, the plot itself lends itself to more of a mini series rather than a multi-season show. How many blackouts could you have before it just gets old? There was also (in my opinion) a rather silly explanation for the blackout and less than stellar character development for some of the show's many characters.

Even though I  applaud the show's attempt to bring great moral questions to the fore,  the writers did a poor job of addressing or attempting to answer these questions, leaving a strong sense of moral ambiguity to serious issues such as marital infidelity, suicide, and murder.

Overall, I would say I recommend this entertaining and unusual show. Four stars.

Movie Queue Monday: "American Pickers"

 

American Pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz

I know what you are thinking: What? A show about antiques? What could be more boring? That's what I thought until I watched "American Pickers". This entertaining reality tv show is definitely more "Indiana Jones" and less  "Antique Roadshow". I don't normally watch a lot of reality television and am not that interested in antiques, but I love this show because "this isn't your grandma's antiquing", to quote their mantra.  Less stuffy that "Antique Roadshow", this History Channel show feels more like an American treasure hunt. "Pickers"  Mike and Frank scour the back roads of the American countryside for "hidden treasures" ripe for the "picking" for their antique business based in Iowa.

Crawling into junk piles, tunnels, attics, barns, basements, and other often unsavory places, Mike and Frank have an eye for valuable items and a knack for bartering with the owners.  Oftentimes they just show up at people's houses and asked to look around, and, surprisingly, most people let them. Many of the people they buy from are elderly and live far off the beaten path in rural, remote areas. It is kind of sad to see the conditions some of them live in—literally crammed in with a ton of junk—but Mike and Frank seem to treat them with the utmost respect and listen to their fascinating stories about the different items they have collected over the years.

The two "pickers" have great rapport and banter back and forth like brothers, which makes the show that much more entertaining. I also feel like I am learning something about antiques and popular history by watching the shows, which helps me to feel a little less guilty about watching the entire series in one week.  :) Recommended- four out of five stars. (Some adult language and occasional sexual innuendo might make it inappropriate for children)