Welcome to another edition of TV or Not TV where I’m starting to wonder if I fell in love with FLASHFORWARD too soon.

The pilot episode of FLASHFORWARD did exactly the job that a lot of pilots are supposed to do in that it sucked me in with a decent mystery and gave me enough questions that made me want to see the story that it set up. Everyone balcks out for two minutes and seventeen seconds, some people have very lucid visions of themselves around 1o PM six months in the future. Scenarios are set up that seem impossible: a dead daughter is seen alive, a loving wife is happily involved with another man and so on. Some people have no vision at all.

Instantly the questions chime in that make you want to tune in week after week. Will the visions come true? If the visions come true how will these characters get from here to there? What will happen to those with out visions? Great questions, but only if you like the way you get the answers.

From a television series stand-point I want you to understand that I think the show is great. The performances delivered by the characters are solid, they are committed. The question now, however, is can the writers pull it off?

With a show that is working off of this complicated of a premise you really have to make a decision: are the visions inevitable or are they a future that is not set in stone? Regardless of the two approaches you can, from week to week, play a game of cat and mouse where you dangle aspects that support both approaches to leave the mystery in place. I think, however, that this is more of the easu approach because it allows you to provide too much filler that can come in trying to pad out an entire season in a method where the viewer feels like they are getting a little jerked around.

The gutsy approach, in my opinion, is to go with the former and stick with it. Decide the future seen is inevitable and tell us this amazing story of how people get from point A to point B. Just because we know the way a future part of the story occurs doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the journey of traversing the story. BABYLON 5 proved that giving us a glimpse of the future doesn’t stop us from watching, it only wets our appetite to find out how we get there.

Sadly the evidence of the episodes we’ve seen so far has proven that they are going with the easy approach. I can’t blame them for it since they have at least a 22 episode order to fill and I’m just a guy that watches what they turn out.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way let’s talk a little about the more immediate future.

MONDAY

NBC – 8:00 PM: Remember during that first good season of HEROES when HIRO fell in love with and lost CHARLIE at the hands of SYLAR? Remember how he went back in time and tried so many times to save her and no matter what he couldn’t do it? The writers are sweeping that all under the rug as HIRO goes back againt to try to save CHARLIE and cash in on the popularity of JAYMA MAYS.

TLC – 9:00 PM: TLC continues to keep the GOSSELIN train a rollin’ with the special interview show by NATALIE MORALES called KATE: HER STORY.

MTV – 8:00 PM: It isn’t every day where you see one animated show building a two episode arc around the making fun of another animated show. Repeat or not that’s one reason to recommend the CARTOON WARS episodes of SOUTH PARK.

TUESDAY

ABC – 8:00 PM: No, your TV didn’t travel that far back in time on Sunday, the V that is on tonight is a re-imagining of the 80’s mini and actual series. Hopefully this will suck far less.

NBC – 8:00 PM: THE BIGGEST LOSER goes to Washington, D.C. and the contestants even get a tour of the White House kitchen.

WEDNESDAY

ABC – 9:30 PM: If you aren’t already watching MODERN FAMILY than I recommend that you get caught up on HULU.COM and then tune in to ABC at 9:30. It’s just about the only thing good on TV tonight.

THURSDAY

ABC – 8:00 PM: Complaints up above aside I’ll still be tuning in to FLASHFORWARD tonight.

BRAVO – 10:00 PM: THE REAL WIVES OF ORANGE COUNTRY returns tonight. Who would have thought that these cosmetically enhanced ladies of Southern California would be thought of as the sane group?

FRIDAY

THE CW – 8:00 PM: It’s always emberrassing when unexpected family drops by, but when it is your long-dead father from your home world? Tune in to SMALLVILLE to try to make sense of it.

CARTOON NETWORK – 8:00 PM: SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS is a decade old and even the KRUSTY KRAB is having an anniversary celebration. 

SATURDAY

BRAVO – 9:00 PM: Even though KATHY GRIFFIN: BALLS OF STEEL aired earlier in the week I purposely saved it since there is so little on Saturday nights. Just thought I’d share that.

FOX – 11:00 PM: It’s the premiere of THE WANDA SYKES SHOW and if this show is anywhere near the quality of her work on THE CHRIS ROCK SHOW or CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM than we’re in for a real treat.

SUNDAY

FOX – 7:30 PM: Tonight it is official, SETH MCFARLANE takes of the FOX network tonight with AMERICAN DAD, FAMILY GUY, FAMILY GUY PRESENTS: SETH & ALEX’S ALMOST LIVE COMEDY SHOW, and THE CLEVELAND SHOW.

ABC – 8:00 PM: Tonight on EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION KELLIE PICKLER is a special guest. Here’s hoping they just give her a mic because anything else means they’ll just be out next year to replace the whole house again.

Comments: None