Robert J. Sawyer

Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Science Fiction Writer

Archive for the 'FlashForward' Category

Clueless no more!

Sunday, June 21st, 2020

I’m chuffed to be the first clue in today’s Quizword crossword in the Sunday Mirror in the UK (Sunday, June 21, 2020). “6 Across” is “1999 science fiction novel by Robert J Sawyer.” I never foresaw that! ;) (Click picture for larger version.) Robert J. Sawyer online:Website • Patreon • Facebook • Twitter • Email

Triggers, FlashForward, and Me

Saturday, April 15th, 2017

A piece I finished five years ago today, on April 15, 2012, for the blog of Gollancz, my UK publisher: Triggers, FlashForward, and Me by Robert J. Sawyer Thanks to the good people at Gollancz, I was recently interviewed in SFX, the world’s top-selling English-language magazine devoted to science fiction. I spoke in that interview […]

How do you spell “FlashForward”?

Tuesday, May 10th, 2016

A question I received today:There’s seem to be some dissent on the topic of how to capitalize/space FlashForward. Is it FlashForward or Flashforward? Or Flash Forward? My reply: It’s an interesting question. The official TV series spelling was FlashForward, but since the wordmark was always rendered in all-caps on screen, that wasn’t obvious to most […]

My suggestion for FlashForward’s second season

Thursday, February 19th, 2015

Well, we never got to make a second season of FlashForward, the ABC TV series based on my Aurora Award-winning novel of the same name. But here’s the memo I sent to the producers and staff writers five years ago today (February 19, 2010) outlining my suggestion for Season Two: === Hi, All. Since you’re […]

FlashForward flashback

Monday, December 15th, 2014

Long before the 2009-2010 ABC television adaptation of my novel FlashForward, the book was doing quite all right. It got a starred review (denoting a work of exceptional merit) from Publishers Weekly; it won Canada’s Aurora Award for best SF/F novel of the year; it won (in blind judging) the world’s top annual cash prize […]

Why was FlashForward canceled?

Sunday, June 23rd, 2013

Over on Quora, someone asked why FlashForward was canceled, and someone else replied with an answer that was partially right but significantly wrong. That answer:The Lost curse. In the 6 years that Lost was on the air, ABC failed at using that monster hit to launch any new shows. The term “Flash Forward” was first […]

Wanted to buy: Easton Press FlashForward

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

Anyone out there with a copy of the Easton Press signed leather-bound edition of my novel FlashForward they’d like to sell me? My authors’ copies went astray in the aftermath of the death of my literary agent, and I’d love to have a copy for my shelf. Send me an email at rob@sfwriter.com if you’d […]

In FlashForward, I predicted this year’s Nobel Prize winners in Physics

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

My novel FlashForward (published by Tor and the basis for the ABC TV series of the same name) was published in 1999 but is set today. In it, as many hundreds of people have mentioned to me over the years, I correctly predicted that the current Pope would take the name Benedict XVI. Well, here’s […]

The truth behind FlashForward’s Oxide Super stadium

Monday, September 26th, 2011

I don’t think it was ever explained on air, but the Oxide Super stadium, where Suspect Zero is first spotted in the FlashForward TV series, is named that because it’s an anagram of Oedipus Rex, and alludes to this scene from my novel FlashForward, in which Theo (the character who became Simon on the show) […]

New interview with me

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Here’s a great new interview (in English) with me conducted at the Budapest International Book Fair, in Hungary, on Sunday, April 17, 2011, where my Hungarian publisher, Galaktika, was launching the Hungarian translation of my Nebula Award-winning novel The Terminal Experiment. Thanks to Hungary’s Ekultúra for the terrific interview! It’s available in three video segments: […]

Provocative questions about FlashForward

Friday, March 11th, 2011

The members of the Yahoo! Groups-based Classic Science Fiction Message Board discussed my novel FlashForward, which was the basis for the ABC TV series of the same name, as their February 2011 modern book-club title. The group discusses one classic (more than 30 years old) and one modern book each month. (The group is open […]

FlashForward email interview

Monday, July 5th, 2010

Eleven months ago, at the beginning of August 2009, I did a by-email interview with a reporter for a genre magazine who was doing an article about FlashForward, the ABC TV series based on my novel of the same name. Only brief snippets were used int he article, and while cleaning my hard drive today […]

Inside Edition’s Jim Moret loves the FlashForward novel

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

Jim Moret, chief correspondent for the TV news magazine Inside Edition, recently posted his review of my novel FlashForward on his Facebook page: I became hooked on the ABC series Flash Forward which, sadly, has not been renewed. Today I bought and read the novel that inspired the show. This is a great read – […]

FlashForward canceled

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

FlashForward, the ABC TV series based on my novel of the same name, has been canceled. The final two episodes will air May 20 and May 27, 2010. At 22 episodes, FlashForward is now the longest-running science-fiction series ever based on a novel by a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America; […]

FlashForward by the numbers

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Okay, I won’t kid anyone by saying the ratings for the return of FlashForward, the ABC TV series based on my novel of the same name, were what we’d hoped for. But let’s bring some clarity to the discussion. Here’s a good analysis of how we did from RBR.COM (Radio Business Report / Television Business […]

Flashforwards, Flashbacks, and Me

Monday, March 15th, 2010

After a three-month hiatus, FlashForward, the ABC TV series based on my novel of the same name, returns to television this week. On Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific (9:00 p.m. Central), a one-hour clip show entitled “What Did You See?” (a catch-phrase straight out of my novel) airs (immediately following […]

FlashForward pub night in Toronto

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Sponsored by Ad Astra, Toronto’s SF convention: FlashForward Pub Night Celebrating the Success of our Guest of Honour Robert J. SawyerType: Party – Movie/TV NightDate: Thursday, March 18, 2010Time: 7:00pm – 11:00pmLocation: Scruffy Murphy’sStreet: 225 The East MallEtobicoke (Toronto), Ontario, Canada So you *think* you know what the future holds? FlashForward, based on Rob’s book […]

On FlashForward set watching the episode I wrote being filmed

Friday, March 5th, 2010

I’m in Los Angeles, on the sound stage for FlashForward, the ABC TV series based on my novel of the same name, and they’re filming the episode I wrote. Woohoo! My episode, entitled “Course Correction,” airs Thursday, May 6, 2010. Above, that’s me with Christine Woods, who plays FBI agent Janis Hawk. Pictured: Christine Woods […]

Vanity request: FlashForward screen grab

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Now that the first 10 episodes of FlashForward are out on DVD, I have a favour to ask. Could somebody please send me high-resolution screen captures of my two credits from the ending credits (from any of the 10 episodes)? My first credit is the first one in the ending credits, and says “Based on […]

FlashForward is coming back in style

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

ABC remains totally committed to FlashForward, the TV series based on my novel of the same name, and we’ll be having a massive relaunch in March: On Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, right after Lost, ABC will be airing a one-hour clip show summarizing our first ten episodes. Two days later, on […]

Hungarian cover for FlashForward

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

That’s the cover for the Hungarian edition of FlashForward, my novel that’s the basis for the TV series of the same name, published by Galaktika. I think it’s terrific. For more about the Hungarian edition, see the publisher’s website. Robert J. Sawyer online:Website • Facebook • Twitter • Newsgroup • Email

FlashForward DVD on sale today

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

The first ten episodes of FlashForward, the ABC TV series based on my novel of the same name, are now available on DVD. W00t! Robert J. Sawyer online:Website • Facebook • Twitter • Newsgroup • Email

FlashForward DVDs land one week from today

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Over on my Facebook page, I noted the above fact, and someone popped up to say, “Anybody else remember when they sold whole seasons on DVD?” My response: Sure, but we’re competing now with Hulu and online viewing and the whole darknet, where episodes are available pirated the day they’re broadcast. There’s a market out […]

New showrunners at FlashForward

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

The new showrunning team at FlashForward, the ABC TV series based on my novel of the same name, is: Jessika Borsiczky, Lisa Zwerling, and Timothy J. Lea. Jessika — who is from Montreal — was the person who first read my novel a decade ago, and pursued getting it made as a TV series; that’s […]

Just to prove I’m not clueless: see this weekend’s TV Jumble

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

TV Jumble by David L. Hoyt is a syndicated puzzle from Tribune Media Services, Inc., that appears in countless newspapers, including The Toronto Star, Canada’s largest circulation paper. This weekend’s jumble has, as the answer to its puzzle the name of a TV show I’m involved with. The cartoon illustration that’s part of the puzzle […]

FlashForward staff writers

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

The Hollywood Reporter has now posted a comment from David S. Goyer about him stepping down as showrunner of FlashForward, the ABC TV series based on my novel of the same name: “As my feature projects have started ramping up again, I felt I was being pulled in too many directions. I’m proud of the […]

David S. Goyer steps down as FlashForward showrunner

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

David S. Goyer has stepped down as showrunner (head of the writing staff) on FlashForward, the ABC TV series based on my novel of the same name. The Hollywood Reporter has a brief notice here. David is extremely talented, and he ran the writing room with verve, panache, courtesy, and intelligence. Above, left to right: […]

United Nations Secretary-General Stephen Lewis

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

I received an email today from a person in South Korea who had just read FlashForward, my novel which is the basis for the ABC TV series of the same name, pointing out that I use the names of many real people in the novel, but for some reason changed the name of the UN […]

Student video interview

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Last month, some high-school students (and the mother of one of them) dropped by my home to interview me for a class assignment (they were studying my novels FlashForward and Humans), and they’ve put two videos of that interview up on YouTube: Part One (8 minutes)Part Two (7 minutes) (The sun is setting outside my […]

Peter Anthony Holder on FlashForward

Monday, January 18th, 2010

Peter Anthony Holder, a famed Montreal broadcaster and blogger, just sent me this wonderful email about my novel FlashForward, which is the basis for the ABC TV series of the same name, and, with his kind permission, I’m posting it here: As I mentioned to you I decided that it was high time that I […]