Why was the TV show Flashforward not a commercial success?

Despite's comment below (he asserts "the term 'Flash Forward' was first used in the third season finale of LOST," as if that's where the idea came from), that's just not true. FLASHFORWARD the TV series was an adaptation of my 1999 novel of the same  name, published five years before the FIRST season of LOST debuted. More:  as announced in VARIETY on 26 September 2002 -- two years before LOST debuted -- David Goyer was attached then to write, direct, and produce an adaptation of my novel FLASHFORWARD ... which is precisely what Dave eventually went on to do (co-authoring the pilot with Brannon Braga). Also, the pilot script for FLASHFORWARD was developed at HBO (which is  why HBO is credited on each episode); HBO was not looking to imitate anything on broadcast TV. The casting of Sonya Walger (who appeared in only 14 of the 121 episodes of LOST) as FLASHFORWARD's female lead was in no way an attempt at LOST-related stunt casting. FLASHFORWARD was cancelled for two reasons.  The first was scheduling:  the series was not suitable viewing for 8:00 p.m. / 7:00 p.m. Central (the traditional TV "family hour"),  but that's when ABC slotted it (and kept it for its entire run):  the intensity, violence, gun use, and presence of a major lesbian character, brilliantly played by Christine Woods, is not what America wanted in that timeslot.  So, by the end of the first season, the ratings were low. The second reason was budgetary:  Stephen McPherson, then president of ABC, did only want to keep one science-fiction show.  In the end, we were delivering the same ratings each week as "V," also on ABC, but we were produced in Los Angeles and had an expensive cast; "V" was produced in Vancouver and had a much less expensive cast. So, "V" was (sort of) renewed and we were not.

I actually spent a fair amount of time thinking about this at the time. I'm a television writer and generally a fan of RJS's novels. I had read FF years before the show premiered and knew it could make a great show. When they put together the dream team that they did, it felt like it was going to be a home run. And you have to understand, it's one of a long string of attempts by networks to capture the magic of LOST. I don't mean to imply that it's derivative; but it would be naive to think that when McPherson bought this show, he wasn't thinking about LOST. And I think that we can learn something about why it didn't work (despite it's high quality) by looking at the two shows in comparison. There are two things that people seem to forget about LOST: 1) it was epic speculative fiction AFTER it was trapped on fantasy island with the 50 hottest people on the planet and; 2) it had a clear and resonating theme of hope. I genuinely believe that if you take away Fox's "we stand together, or we die alone" message from the first season, LOST might not have worked. And did I mention the 50 hottest people on the planet? Tropical island. Trapped. With models. As RJS says, the 8pm slot was death for the show (as it has been for every show since), but I also think it's chances for success would have been better in any time slot if there had been a greater sense of hopeful wonder (and models in bikinis). I'm not saying it would have been a better show, just a more commercially viable one.

I reviewed every episode of FlashForward at the time - e.g., http://paullevinson.blogspot.com/2010/05/flashforward-ends-on-high-note.html.  It had its flaws.  Like many successful television shows, it took its time to find a firm, riveting footing after a great debut.  In an earlier television age, it would have been renewed, and we would likely still be enjoying it.  In our reality, ABC cancelled it too quickly, and lost a golden opportunity, much as I think NBC did with Journeyman.

A major thematic question of Flashforward was, "Can we change the future?" Flashforward answered that critical question very early on in its run, in "The Gift" (episode 7), where a character (Gough) changes what was seen in his flashforward. Question answered: We humans have free will, and we can cheat destiny. By answering that question so early on, we had little reason to stick around for the rest of the show to see how all the fragments seen in the flashforwards would play out. We already knew everything was up for grabs, and could be changed.

I'll add two factors, both of which arguably fall under the category "too good." First, the lead character was morally complex and not perfectly likeable; I think some viewers probably had trouble with his keeping secrets from his wife. And second, plotwise, they put an awful lot of balls in the air; as the season progressed there were more new questions raised than old ones answered. That was one of the things I liked best about the show, but it may have frustrated less dedicated viewers.

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 used on Lost, starting with the third season finale, and FlashForward featured Lost alumni Dominic Monaghan and Sonya Walger. ABC launched FlashForward as well as a remake of "V" (with Lost's Elizabeth Mitchell) as shows that would take on LOST's audience after it ended.  At the end, it was reported a choice between FlashForward and V over which one would continue, and ABC went with V, which only lasted one more season.