Flash Forward:

The FAQ:

Last updated: September 22, 1997.

Here are some FAQ-type questions I have come up with for Flash Forward; if you think of any others that you want answered, just drop me a line:

Q: Who produced Flash Forward?

A: Flash Forward was an international co-production between Disney (U.S.) and Atlantis (Canada).

Q: Why was Flash Forward cancelled after only one season?

A: This answer to the question involves circumstances at Disney. What follows are some excerpts (edited by me) from a post that "Bojay" (Bojay1997@aol.com) made to the rec.arts.tv newsgroup in July 1997; Bojay's post explains the circumstances behind Flash Forward's cancellation. Bojay's knowledge of the situation arises from his correspondence and telephone conversations with both Disney and Atlantis:

...The saga of Flash Forward seems to be a very strange one, with politics and money playing a big part. Apparently the show had better than average ratings [on The Disney Channel. The ratings on ABC on Saturday mornings were average or below average.]

[Flash Forward] was well liked by management at The Disney Channel, until a reorganization late in 1996. At that point, a decision was made to shift the focus of the channel to becoming more commercial, and I have heard that the reason Disney now runs commercials [i.e. network promos] within shows is that they are preparing the audience for when they become advertiser supported. In most areas now, Disney is in fact part of the basic cable package and not a premium channel.

[Flash Forward] was piloted on the Disney Channel and then shifted to ABC under some type of temporary arrangement. It sounds bizarre, but even before the show was broadcast on ABC, "The LA Times" was reporting that Disney was going to move it back [from ABC] to the Disney Channel in January of 1997.

Flash Forward had two things going against it - First, it targeted a demographic [i.e. teens] that was older than Disney was trying to compete for [i.e. children 2-11]. Second, it actually cost money to make the show, which apparently made little sense to [Disney] management when compared to buying reruns and showing old movies that Disney already owned.

Bojay

So it seems than management decisions, combined with cost factors, led to the cancellation of Flash Forward. And the other production company behind the show, Atlantis, simply did not have the resources to produce the show alone. Since the announcement, the actors involved in Flash Forward have moved on to (many) other projects, so it is inconceivable that the show can be brought back now.

The cancellation of Flash Forward is a shame as the show was probably one of the best things Disney (or, for that matter, ABC) had going for it.

Indeed, if Bojay's reports are true, we can probably expect little in the way of original programming from The Disney Channel, from now on.

Q: Where is Flash Forward filmed?

A: If you guessed New Jersey, you guessed wrong. (Disney's The Babysitters Club and Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete & Pete were both filmed in New Jersey.)

Flash Forward was actually filmed in Toronto, Ontario, CANADA.

And, yes, the "Fisher" and "James" houses are actually real, neighboring houses somewhere in the Toronto area.

Q: Does that mean that the actors are all Canadian?

A: Not quite. Jewel Staite (Becca) and Asia Vieira (Christine) are both Canadian, as is Rachel Blanchard (Ellen (the 1st one)). Judging from their accents, so are Ricky Mabe (Horace), Robin Brûlé (Ellen (the 2nd one)), Juliana Stewart (Kerry), Melody Johnson (Maxine), and most of the rest of the cast.

However, Ben Foster (Tucker) and Theodore Borders (Miles) are both American. Apparently, Foster is from Iowa and won the role in some sort of young actor's contest. I'm not sure where Borders is from, but he too is American.

Q: What happened to Rachel Blanchard (the 1st Ellen)? And while we're at it, what happened to the actors who originally played the James and Fisher parents?

A: I think I have the answer to this question, and the answer is found in the way television series start.

You see, when you start a series, you start out with a series idea, and several scripts for the pilot and two or three other episodes. If the network likes the idea, they'll give you the money to film those episodes. Then the network will look over the finished product, and if they like what they see, they'll give you the budget to film a half (i.e. 11-13 episodes) or a full (i.e. 22-26 episodes) season of episodes.

Now, in the case of Flash Forward, you will notice that the first 4 episodes are copyrighted "1995", while episodes 5-26 are all copyrighted "1996". In addition, if you look closely, you'll notice that the crew credits (i.e. especially the "Executive Producer" credit) for the show are slightly different for the first 4 episodes, as compared to all the later ones.

Clearly, the first 4 episodes of Flash Forward were filmed in an initial, separate batch. There was then a lapse, a long lapse from what I have heard (long enough for Jewel Staite to film the 13 first season episodes of the show "Space Cases" actually). During this time, Disney decided whether to pursue the series, and (if they were going to go forward) what changes should be made to the show. Then the go-ahead for a full season was given, and the remaining 22 episodes were filmed.

During that lapse, Blanchard auditioned for the role of Cher Horowitz in the TV series, Clueless, and, guess what!, she got the role! That meant that Blanchard was no longer available to play Ellen Fisher, and the producers had to recast the role (a process that must have taken a while, as Ellen isn't seen again until episode #12). Robin Brûlé eventually was cast in the role of Ellen Fisher.

I'm not sure what happened to the actors who originally played the James and Fisher parents, but, for some reason, it was decided to recast all of the parents too. (It is possible that, originally, the parents were not going to be a major part of the show, and so the actors who played them weren't important. But, during the break, it may have been decided to use the parents in the series more, so the producers decided to get better actors). Subsequent to this original recast after episode 4, the same actors portrayed the Fisher and James parents throughout the rest of the series.

Ricky Mabe, who played Horace James, was the only actor to portray one of the other James/Fisher family members throughout the entire run of the series.

Q: Who the heck is Max(ine), and where did she come from?

A: In the first episode with Maxine Morrow, episode #9, it is established that Maxine had previously lived in Tucker and Becca's town, and had been Becca's best friend in grammar school (specifically, in Grade 5). Then, Max and her family had moved to New York City, where they had lived for the 2 years after that.

When Max moved away, Christine had moved into town (just two days later! according to Becca). During those next two years (Grades 6 and 7), Christine had become Becca's best friend.

These are the circumstances that lead to the friction between Max and Christine from episode 9 on.

The question of why the producers and writers brought the character of Max on to the show, even though they already had Kerry, is not known to me. I do not know if that was originally planned, or if the producers and writers felt they needed something extra on the show, and so brought on the character of Max after the first several episodes.

Whatever the reason, I must say that I personally liked the move, as I think the character of Maxine Morrow added to the show.

Q: What happened to Kerry in the last half a dozen episodes?

A: I have no idea. Kerry was very prominent in the first 4 or 5 episodes, but was seen less after that (especially after the character of Maxine Morrow showed up).

It is possible that the producers decided that they liked the character of Max better (after all, Max is used a lot from episode #13, on). Also, once the issue of Tucker's crush on Kerry was resolved (in episode #9), the rationale for having Kerry around was diminished.

Juliana Stewart (Kerry) was last billed for episode 20 (though she does not appear much, if at all, in that episode, as far as I can tell). She is not seen in any episode after that, and she must have left the show, for one reason or another.