When I saw that the show was based on the novel, Flashforward, I wasn't sure if I should read it or not. I was afraid it might ruin plot points. I've since decided that I will read the novel because it has received a ton of praise and would be interesting to see how the show plays out differently. Has anyone else read the book?

Disclaimer: when discussing plot from the book please spoiler font.

I read the book earlier this year - after I got the phone call about possibly doing a site for the show. From what I've seen of the promos and heard in interviews, there will be quite a few differences from the book. More details hidden below -

The main plot point of everyone in the world blacking out for a little over 2 mins. is the same in both - but there is a BIG difference between the book and the show regarding how far in the future the flash was from. In the book it is over 20 years in the future (sorry, the exact number eludes me at the moment - I read the book back in February) and in the show the flash is only 6 months in the future. Obviously, the shorter flash makes much more sense when converting it to a TV show.

I'm not sure how much more you want me to spoil. I will say that I only recognize one character name from the book being used in the TV show, and it looks like they are showing completely different stories in relation to the flashes. But again - that is the beauty of EVERY person on the planet blacking out: there are about 7 billion stories to chose from ;)

Even with the major differences, Robert J. Sawyer has given his stamp of approval on the show and even visited the set, so that's got to be a good thing, yeah?

Knowing about this forum I think I will pick up the book before the show starts. I always like to be well prepared :biggrin:

Hmm...I'm leaning towards not reading the book first, but maybe I should. It's a tough call. Hey, didnt I read it's written by a Canadian author?

I read the book a few weeks ago, and I thought it was a really good read. I can see why someone came up with a TV show based on it.

From What I understand, the Tv show will have the basic plot but new characters, so you may not get spoiled at all from the book.

Not to ruin anything for anyone, but the show is totally different from the book. You can enjoy both without spoiling either.

Thanks Quinton! And besides - to see your (you and the other creators' ) vision of things and your execution, well that's just new and different by definition - the book can't spoil THAT, and there's the rub. But it's awful nice to know any spoilerphobes don't have to steer clear of the book!

Take care, all!
Karen

ETA: Being my first post....OMG, cool, I see I'm a snow leopard - but don't worry, I'm usually purty cuddly - LOL!

Not to ruin anything for anyone, but the show is totally different from the book. You can enjoy both without spoiling either.

As I like to say, how successful would LOST have been if you could just trot down to Barnes & Noble and buy the book that tells you what the Island is?

Hmm...I'm leaning towards not reading the book first, but maybe I should. It's a tough call. Hey, didnt I read it's written by a Canadian author?

Robert J. Sawyer was born in the best part of Canada. :flag5:

Personally, I'm going to hunt for the book, it looks like a good read. I'm so excited for this show, especially seeing all those fabulous actors on screen together. I love whoever cast this show. :biggrin:

As I like to say, how successful would LOST have been if you could just trot down to Barnes & Noble and buy the book that tells you what the Island is?

Hi Marc! If you don't mind my piping in - do you have a different take on the book's relation to the show or are you agreeing with Quinton that they're pretty safe one to the other?

I'm a spoiled brat to a certain extent - I don't seek them out, but it doesn't bother me if I should catch one because I'm still dying to know how it plays out at airtime. So I'm pretty laid back about it - but even I would never wanna know THAT ahead of time... :D Not to mention the sanctity of, as I alluded to before, the vision of all you creators - you work damn hard to tell the story in a particular way and pace, I'm sure!

Thanks very much!
Karen

I definitely recommend the book to anyone who hasn't read it :) Very exciting to see that the show will be different from the book! The book is very well paced and not too long of a read (about 300 pages), I blew through it in about 3 days :D

I could of swore that I saw a list of characters from the show somewhere and it very nearly matched up to all of the main characters in the book... did I misread/misinterpret something somewhere?

I definitely recommend the book to anyone who hasn't read it :) Very exciting to see that the show will be different from the book! The book is very well paced and not too long of a read (about 300 pages), I blew through it in about 3 days :D

I could of swore that I saw a list of characters from the show somewhere and it very nearly matched up to all of the main characters in the book... did I misread/misinterpret something somewhere?

You can find most of the character names on this board, either in the VIP Actors' forums or in the FF character forums. The only name I recognized was Simcoe's but I have seen commented somewhere that even his character will be different.

And really - I think that was for the best. Almost 7 billion people blackout at once - why limit yourself to the handful of characters that were mentioned in Sawyer's book? :cool:

I just finished the book. Spoilers for those that haven't read it:


There are some striking character similarities from the book to the show, at least what we've seen so far in the trailer. There seems to be one guy who's seen a vision and is very happy with what he saw, one guy who doesn't see a vision, one person who sees in their vision themselves with another spouse, etc. Cool little nods to the book.

As for a book review, the pacing of the book was pretty good. It had a very long buildup but then the end was very abrupt. I guess it was good, but I just didn't like how it ended. It does make you think, for sure. I'm not much of a reader myself, let alone sci-fi, but I wasn't really a fan of the extremely far scope of the second vision with Lloyd, and Mr Cheung's live-forever drug. I really loved the first act, and overall I enjoyed the book.

Regarding tie-ins that could make a show successful, there is a plethora of content available. It does make a great basis for a weekly tv show.

YouTube - Canada's Dean of Science Fiction Talks Spirituality

Robert J. Sawyer was born in the best part of Canada. :flag5:

Personally, I'm going to hunt for the book, it looks like a good read. I'm so excited for this show, especially seeing all those fabulous actors on screen together. I love whoever cast this show. :biggrin:

Lol. And what part is that? Certainly not Toronto, right? :) Where, BC?

I don't know if i should read the book. It depends whether the underlying cause of the flashes is the same.

Does anyone know if it is the same general underline concept that could spoil the endgame?

I don't know if i should read the book. It depends whether the underlying cause of the flashes is the same.

Does anyone know if it is the same general underline concept that could spoil the endgame?

According to two of our VIPs, the book won't ruin the show's surprises for you (see below). Also, I thought I read in an interview - or maybe even on here somewhere - that the cause of the flash was different from the book. I think it pretty much would have to be for the statements by Quinton and Marc to be true.


Not to ruin anything for anyone, but the show is totally different from the book. You can enjoy both without spoiling either.

As I like to say, how successful would LOST have been if you could just trot down to Barnes & Noble and buy the book that tells you what the Island is?

According to two of our VIPs, the book won't ruin the show's surprises for you (see below). Also, I thought I read in an interview - or maybe even on here somewhere - that the cause of the flash was different from the book. I think it pretty much would have to be for the statements by Quinton and Marc to be true.

I should hope that not just the cause, but the reaction of the characters to the event, the events predicted by the characters and conclusion of the show should be differently.

Essentially I would hope that the only commonality is the flash it's self.

Which begs the question, why call it Flash Forward at all? Simple way to acknowledge the origin of the idea.

I'm sure the cause for the flash will be different. I'm sure anyone who has read the book will agree.

And why call it Flashforward? (book spoilers) The main premise of the book was the flash and its aftermath, along with the planning of a second planned flash. Since the show seems to be based around the flash, at least for the beginning of the season (and most likely the whole first season), I'd say it is appropriate to name the show Flashforward. Especially since it is a sweet name.

I'm sure the cause for the flash will be different. I'm sure anyone who has read the book will agree.

And why call it Flashforward? (book spoilers) The main premise of the book was the flash and its aftermath, along with the planning of a second planned flash. Since the show seems to be based around the flash, at least for the beginning of the season (and most likely the whole first season), I'd say it is appropriate to name the show Flashforward. Especially since it is a sweet name.

First off, I've not read the book (still torn about it 'revealing' too much of the plot/themes).
Secondly I've read, on this forum I believe, that after the show reaches the Ff date (April 29, 2010) there will be subsequent 'flashes'.... Thirdly (that sounds funny :p), is a question for those that have read the book could the source of the Ff really be that fungible? would it make sense if some other 'source' was responsible for it?

First off, I've not read the book (still torn about it 'revealing' too much of the plot/themes).
Secondly I've read, on this forum I believe, that after the show reaches the Ff date (April 29, 2010) there will be subsequent 'flashes'.... Thirdly (that sounds funny :p), is a question for those that have read the book could the source of the Ff really be that fungible? would it make sense if some other 'source' was responsible for it?

Point 1: The producers and staff from the show say it won't spoil anything.
Point 2: That is still speculation. Even the actors are speculating.
Point 3: I don't want to give too much away from the book, but it could make sense for other sources to be responsible. Even in the book, it wasn't one specific source.

First off, I've not read the book (still torn about it 'revealing' too much of the plot/themes).
Secondly I've read, on this forum I believe, that after the show reaches the Ff date (April 29, 2010) there will be subsequent 'flashes'.... Thirdly (that sounds funny :p), is a question for those that have read the book could the source of the Ff really be that fungible? would it make sense if some other 'source' was responsible for it?

Woah, that seems far too fundamental to the makeup of the show to be leaked before the show airs! (in regards to spoiler #1)

Point 1: The producers and staff from the show say it won't spoil anything.
Point 2: That is still speculation. Even the actors are speculating.
Point 3: I don't want to give too much away from the book, but it could make sense for other sources to be responsible. Even in the book, it wasn't one specific source.
thanks for the clarification :thumbsup:

Lol. And what part is that? Certainly not Toronto, right? :) Where, BC?

OTTAWA :cool:

I've just finished reading Flashfoward, and I really enjoyed it. Although I do agree with Mesa that the ending flash involving Lloyd seeing the far distant future with himself as an immortal was perhaps a little too Sci-Fi for my tastes, although this point itself shouldn't put anyone off, in my opinion - the rest of the book is great.

I really liked the mix of free will and destiny that the book managed to convey. And I really loved Jake and Carly getting together, I thought that was so cute! The way that it was sort of a self-fulfilling prophesy in that they met and got together because they had seen themselves together in the Flashforward.
The mystery of Theo's murder was captivating all the way through, although I guessed the murderer correctly as soon the man mentioned his wife's death. It was still great to be proved right. ;)

All up, a great read, and, with the VIPs comments about it not spoiling the TV series, I don't think anyone should deny themselves the pleasure.

I was wondering if anyone could point me towards some articles or give me some info on how closely the producers will follow the original source. I know the characters are new and they said there will be a different cause for the visions than the book, but how much in general will change?

I'm curious because it's a bit weird knowing there are likely answers to most viewers questions already discussed at length throughout the internet for someone to quickly google and spoil it for the rest of us. This seems like another show like Lost where viewers will enjoy exchanging ideas on a regular basis but knowledge of what is "supposed to happen" might seep through the culture and discourage some of the more outlandish thinking.

I watch True Blood, and though there are differences between the novels and the show, you could still learn more than half of what happens in each season just from reading quick summaries of the novels on the internet.

Is this whats going to happen on a mystery show of all things?

Go to this thread:

http://forum.redpandaresources.com/showthread.php?t=115491

There are comments and questions from other fans, with answers from some of the VIPs like Quinton (a writer) and Marc (exec producer and showrunner with David Goyer). The thread was actually started in July, but dropped off the main page when there were no recent comments. Looks like a good time to resurrect it, because I'm sure you're not the only one wondering this :)

FWIW Lloyd Simcoe is a character in the book.

If there are any commonalities between the book version and the TV version other than the shared name, I don't know.

I think I'm going to avoid the book for now, just b/c there's gotta be some conceptual/thematic influence on a certain level.... I'll probably read it during the hiatus.

Go to this thread:

http://forum.redpandaresources.com/showthread.php?t=115491

There are comments and questions from other fans, with answers from some of the VIPs like Quinton (a writer) and Marc (exec producer and showrunner with David Goyer). The thread was actually started in July, but dropped off the main page when there were no recent comments. Looks like a good time to resurrect it, because I'm sure you're not the only one wondering this :)

Should we sticky it?

Merged and stickied thread. Continue with discussion :)