First look: 'FlashForward'; MacFarlane to have recurring role

By Matthew Belloni

ABC sneaked its fall sci-fi drama "FlashForward" to a handful of journalists summoned to a Burbank screening room on Wednesday. Yes, a movie-style theater for a TV show, and if the message wasn't clear that this is supposed to be the "event" premiere of the fall, series exec producers David Goyer ("The Dark Knight") and Marc Guggenheim ("Eli Stone," "Brothers and Sisters") repeatedly emphasized the "cinematic" scope they were aiming for in the pilot.

So, did they succeed? It's certainly plays like a big show, and not just because of the screen Yes, it's "Lost"-y in its mysterious tone, global scope, multiple interlocking story lines, quick-cut action sequences, some uneven performances, a distinctive score and a whacked-out central premise: Everyone on Earth blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, during which the collective conscious of mankind jumps forward 6 months.

Via vivid dreams, everyone in the expansive cast -- which includes Joseph Fiennes, an excellent John Cho, Sonya Walger (yes, Penny from "Lost") and "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane (!) as an FBI agent -- is left with memories of events that won't happen for six months. Or will they? The clock is ticking, the minds are reeling, and the fatalism debate has already begun -- even without John Locke to guide us to the Orchid.        

In a short Q&A after the screening, Goyer and Guggenheim were quick to note that despite the obvious similarities to that other ABC sci-fi drama, "FlashForward" (it's one word now -- ABC dropped the space after a chunk of the pilot was shown at upfronts in May) won't require a six-year investment to get answers to the mysteries.

"By the end of Season 1, all of the main characters' flash forwards will be answered," Goyer promised. He and Guggenheim have mapped out a plan for at least three seasons, he said, and hopefully as many as six, and they know exactly how the second-to-last and final seasons are going to end.

Goyer says MacFarlane will have a recurring role. We asked how the animator best known for his voice work ended up on the show.

"Seth called me up. He said 'I f****** love this script,' " Goyer said. MacFarlane asked if there was a part for him on the show, so they cast him as an FBI agent who will likely recur in future episodes. Goyer said Alex Kingston ("ER") and others also ended up on the show because they reached out to him. 

Judging by the first episode, at least, it's a good bet the show will be popular enough to make it at least long enough to see those flash forwards revealed.