About a week ago I pulled down my copy of Flash Forward, dusted off the spine, and re-read it. It wasn't bad - held up to the second reading. Of course it wasn't good - it lacks certain literary values I like - but it is chock-full of meaty philosophy about physics, which I also like.

I wanted to reread it because I'd just found out that ABC was doing a show called Flash Forward which was supposedly based on the book. So after I read it I went to ABC's Flash Forward page. What a disappointment! It looks like ABC bought the title and general premise, then changed it to teevee lite^TM.

Here, it seems, is the premise of Flash Forward, teevee lite^TM style:

1. "A mysterious global event..." In the book the event wasn't mysterious; it was an anomaly - glitch - caused by an experiment a couple of scientists at CERN were running. But teevee lite ^TM hates events with explanations, so...
2. The two main characters are ex-film stars  and half the supporting cast is from Lost. But since they had eliminated the scientific aspect of the book, why bother with lab coats when you can have kewl guns and car chases weilded by pretty boys and girls? After all, in the real world we don't need scientists  - we need the Eff Bee Eye!
3. "... each person sees a glimpse of their lives six months from now." Six months!!! I know my life isn't much different from six months ago, but presumably the characters in this show have more interesting lives than I.

So the premise is, apparently, that a bunch of ordinary (but very, very pretty) dumfucks can solve one of the biggest mysteries of physics using only their Eff Bee Eye training.

Teevee lite^TM, indeed.