Flash Forward

[I posted this originally on one of my other blogs: Confessions of a TV Addict, but I thought it was relevant to PCS too.]

Although a lot of TV shows recently have tried episodes consisting mainly of a flashback like Heroes, Grey's Anatomy, and most notably How I Met Your Mother, there is a new emerging trend of flashing forward. Let me explain.

Two CW shows have been reportedly toying with the idea of fast forwarding a significant amount at the beginning of next season, if they get renewed. The programs in question: One Tree Hill, and Veronica Mars.

It came out late last fall that a possible direction for One Tree Hill's fifth season could be a five year flash forward to all of the characters having just graduated from college, or on their respective career paths. This is definetly and interesting proposition for this show because it has been made clear that most of the characters will be going their seperate ways after high school with exceptions like Haley and Nathan. A move like this, obviously could be hit or miss. When you think about it, the audience for the show are pre-teens, who, while not opposed to twenty somethings managing life after college, are more prone to watching shows about their slightly older counter-parts. If OTH was to jump forward they may face a major rebranding of the show, and I don't know that the CW has the resources to do so. But potentially they could pick up a larger audience, because as previously stated, they will retain the majority of their pre-teen audience, but they could add high school students, college students, and even twenty somethings to their roster. It would be a bold move, but I don't see any other option for the show. I certainly don't want to tune in to a bunch of new cast members, and no interaction between our regular characters.

The second show which is debating this time lapse is Veronica Mars. It was recently reported by Reuters that VM creator Rob Thomas approached the CW with the idea to have Veronica training at the FBI Academy after she has graduated college. It seems that the idea was proposed so that the CW would have more options to renew the show. Smart move on Thomas' part. I would do anything to keep Veronica Mars on air, including waving goodbye to Gilmore Girls. The one problem with this flash forward is the supporting cast. What makes VM such a standout show, especially in the first two seasons, was the supporting cast. We already know that we're losing Piz (Chris Lowell) to Grey's 2.0, and there are rumors abound of some of the supporting cast getting the axe should this new format be picked up. Michael Ausiello from TV Guide has insisted in his column that this is just a horrible rumor. At this point, I think I would like to see a flash forward for Veronica as long as we don't lose Keith(her dad), Mac, and obviously Logan. I would be sad to see Weavel and Wallace gone, but they have done nothing this season, and I think that their characters functioned better in a high school atmosphere. The bottom line is that the college setting is not working with the VM format.

How do you all feel about these possible flash forwards? Or should these shows just end?