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Dec 3, 2009 · A561984: Directed by Michael Nankin. With Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Jack Davenport, Zachary Knighton. Demetri and Mark fly to Hong Kong to find the woman, who forewarned Demetri's murder.
- (635)
- Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
- Michael Nankin
- 2009-12-03
Dec 4, 2009 · FlashForward: "A561984" Review - IGN. Confessions, lucky cats and Eartha Kitt. By Matt Fowler. Updated: May 8, 2012 9:51 pm. Posted: Dec 4, 2009 2:12 pm. Yes. It's true. You all actually...
- Overview
- Summary
- Trivia
- Unanswered Questions
"A561984" is the tenth episode of season 1 of FlashForward. It first aired in Australia and the United Kingdom on Monday, November 30, 2009, three days before it aired in the US in the United States on Thursday, December 3, 2009 on ABC.
Finding Nhadra
Nhadra Udaya is in deep thought in her office with the same view through the windows as that seen from the balcony in "White to Play" while she ponders her version of the Mosaic Investigation wall. In direct violation of Stan Wedeck's orders, Mark Benford and Demetri Noh fly to Hong Kong to find the woman who called Demetri with the warning that he would be murdered on March 15, 2010. Upon landing on December 15, 2009, they are met by Marshall Vogel, who introduces himself as a member of the legal attaché's office in Hong Kong. He tells Mark he should answer his ringing telephone call because it is Wedeck calling. Mark begins introductions and Vogel interrupts, displaying his foreknowledge of the reason for their journey and reminding them that they have come to a country, China, that has been labeled as being responsible for the Global Blackout by the United States Government. Vogel advises Mark and Demetri to return to Los Angeles while they still have jobs. When Mark's phone rings with a second call from Wedeck, he answers it and is promptly reprimanded for flying to Hong Kong; Mark attempts to justify his actions and terminates the call by telling Stan that he had lied to Demetri and told him that Stan had changed his mind about letting them make the trip. He explains to Demetri that if things go badly, Demetri will need to be carrying a weapon. The agents begin with linguists information that the mysterious caller is in Hong Kong, is from Tehran, and is London educated; they add to that Demetri's observation that her voice sounds like that of a smoker. With the coerced assistance of a man in a restaurant, they identify the restaurant where the woman routinely has a late supper. They confront the woman, who is eating her meal in the company of four armed men. Nhadra sends one of her men on an unidentified errand. She reluctantly reveals that Mark will be the one to murder Demetri in March using his service weapon, A SIG-Sauer model P226 with the serial number A561984. The situation flies out of control when Mark takes Nhadra into custody as a material witness, an act which is questionable on foreign soil. Marshall Vogel shows up and defuses the situation by telling Nhadra, addressing her by her first name, to have her men lower their weapons. When Mark and Demetri do the same, they are forcefully arrested by the Hong Kong police. Vogel escorts Mark and Demetri to the airport. When Mark wants to know why Vogel is keeping them away from Nhadra, Vogel responds that they do not need to know what she knows. When Vogel again refers to the legal attaché's office, Mark challenges his statement. Vogel admits to an affiliation with the Central Intelligence Agency. Mark's phone rings again. When he answers, Wedeck tells him that he had seen the video of the confrontation with the police outside the restaurant. He orders Mark to surrender his badge and weapon to Demetri and, after hanging up, Mark complies. While Mark and Demetri are waiting for their flight, Mark assures Demetri that he will not shoot him. Meanwhile we find Nhadra in her office talking with D. Gibbons who entered Hong Kong against her advice.
The Announcement
Lloyd and his associates hold a press conference. Gordon Myhill introduces himself as the director of the National Linear Accelerator Project and tells the audience that they have information about the events of October 6, 2009. While he is making his introductory remarks, Simon Campos cautions Lloyd Simcoe that he is to stay within the talking points the three had discussed. Myhill introduced Lloyd and Simon and Lloyd as the associate directors of the Plasma-Wakefield Program. Lloyd speaks first and discloses that they were experimenting in the production of energy levels that existed just after the Big Bang and they conducted such an experiment at exactly "1100 hours" on October 6. The crowd erupts with questions, but Lloyd is able to calm them until he adds that the scientists believe that their experiment caused the GBO. Oscar Obregon asks if the scientists are taking responsibility for results of the GBO. Lloyd becomes flustered and Simon steps in to say that the results were totally unforeseeable and to remind the audience that scientists conduct experiments all the time without being able to predict the results. Myhill returns to the podium to attempt to conclude the conference and announce that NLAP would be releasing an official statement. Lloyd interrupts his colleague and tries to offer an apology for the GBO, adding that he lost his own wife and that he would give anything to have her back. An outraged woman grabs a security officer's revolver and attempts to shoot Lloyd. Security officers subdue the woman and usher Lloyd and Simon off the stage. Simon accuses Lloyd of losing his objectivity. Lloyd responds that he was trying to be definitive. Simon rejects Lloyd's argument and tells him that if they can not agree on Simon's terms, then they are at war.
Learning about the Blackout
In a meeting with Stan Wedeck, Simon says that he does not believe his group caused the blackout. When Stan points out that Simon said he did, Simon replies that it was not his choice and that Lloyd Simcoe tends to be emotional. Simon tells Wedeck that he does not know who is responsible, but that he can "divine" the answer if allowed access to the Mosaic files, adding that he has a security clearance. Wedeck rejects Simon's offer until Simon points out that, if the cause of the GBO is believed to be known, the funding for Wedeck's investigation will evaporate. Wedeck offers to meet again the following morning and provided some information to Campos. In the next meeting, the two are joined by Janis Hawk, who shows images to Simon of Ganwar Region that have supposedly been sterilized to mask the location; Simon immediately identifies the area as Somalia by recognizing the terrain. Simon asks that Janis zoom in on a tower and pronounces that he designed the tower and identifies it as a specialized pulsed laser for a plasma afterburner; he adds that the concept should win a Nobel Prize in about two years. He compliments the agents on the Government's modelling software, explaining that the tower looks real. Campos is taken aback when Janis tells him that it is real. He explains that scientists are still running simulations. Janis tells him that the picture was taken in 1991, a year before he thought of the idea. Simon has trouble believing that anyone else could have come up with his idea and points out that people like him thrive on fame and immortality. He ponders the idea that the person who thought of the existing tower might be both brilliant and reclusive. Wedeck shows Simon a composite drawing of D. Gibbons; he explains that Gibbons has been hacking into high-tech facilities and plays chess. Simon denies knowing Gibbons, but says he will help the FBI find the fugitive because he wants revenge.
Production Notes
•This was the last episode before the hiatus. The show returned in March 2010. •This episode premiered in Australia first in the world on November 30, and then the UK three days before it aired in the US. •Brían F. O'Byrne (Aaron Stark) appears without lines. •This was the first episode in which Nhadra Udaya's name was used.
Bloopers and Continuity Errors
•The arrival in Hong Kong is shown in an exterior view at Kai Tak Airport which closed in July 1998. The departure exterior view is of the current airport at Chek Lap Kok (the names in English and in Chinese [赤鱲角機場] are visible). •The screen showing the Blackout Announcement in US has a character composed of a square and a cross which is not a valid Chinese character. The proper translation of Blackout should be “昏迷”, not “停⌧” (the second character is an encoding error). •The game of chess seen in the flashback to D. Gibbons in the doll factory (while Janis tells Simon what they know about D. Gibbons) differs from the game seen in "White to Play".This may however been done intentionally, while Janis wasn't there in the doll factory. •Director Keller of the CIA testified in a closed session of Senator Joyce Clemente's committee about his suspicion that China was responsible for the GBO. ("Gimme Some Truth") In this episode, Marshall Vogel comments about "our Government" believing the Chinese to be responsible for the blackout.
Cultural References
Lloyd Simcoe refers to the Many-worlds interpretation by Hugh Everett III. Many-worlds claims to resolve paradoxes such as Schrödinger's Cat, used by Simon Campos while picking up Camille. ("Scary Monsters and Super Creeps")
General
•Does Marshall being on a first-name basis with Nhadra indicate the U.S. government is involved with the blackouts/flashforwards? •If Simon told Lloyd in "Black Swan" that they were responsible for the "greatest disaster in human history," why is he now saying he is not sure they caused the GBO?
Nhadra/D.Gibbons/Suspect Zero
•How do(es) Nhadra/D. Gibbons have information on Mosaic, such as "137 Sekunden"? •What does Nhadra have to gain for protecting D Gibbons? •Do have the crows in D. Gibbons' doll factory lab have to do something with the fact that crows were dying en masse during the Global Blackout? •Is D. Gibbons still trying to beat the same game in chess?
Article Comments for FlashForward: "A561984" Review by Matt Fowler Summary: Yes. It's true. You all actually heard a CIA agent say to Benford, "You're...
Dec 4, 2009 · The episode "A561984" was exactly what the series needed, especially as it now heads into an extended hiatus that lasts until March. We never thought we'd say this a week ago, but we're suddenly...
- December 3, 2009
Dec 4, 2009 · We loved the episode "A561984." In this Round Table discussion, we explore it in depth.
Dec 3, 2009 · Tune in to "A561984" when FlashForward airs on Thursday, December 3rd at 8:00pm ET on ABC. In the meantime, if you're impatient in waiting for the new episode, pass some time at our...
