Episodes One to Four: Short Synopsis

We all hate spoilers, don’t we? Well if you work in the industry you always know more than you should about even your favourite shows because all your friends share information over a latte as easily as gossiping old women over the back wall in a small Welsh valley town. I know this because I’ve experienced both first hand.

In recent posts, I’ve been waxing lyrically about the past of Flashback with very little information about what is to come, but now is the time to share a little information because, as I’ve already pointed out, good marketing is key to a successful product. So, for those not interested in spoilers, look away now. For all others…

FLASHBACK EPISODE ONE – A Temporary Condition

The GREAT LIBRARIAN on the planet Biblos has sent two of their society’s sub-elite to document the end of all life on the planet Earth. However, a miscalculation in their ship’s guidance system places them in orbit around Mars where they begin to form odd assumptions about the human race.

Meanwhile on Earth, BELINDA has given her ex-husband – the failing conceptual artist BRAD Raphael Merisi da Caravaggio, a piece of her brother TOM’s latest scientific invention to exhibit as his own work in the National Gallery of Art and Culture.

When the two alien historians realise their mistake and finally orbit around the correct planet, they inadvertently send out a pulse wave, which seemingly activates TOM’s gadget in the National Gallery, opening up a hole in the fabric of dimensions…

FLASHBACK EPISODE TWO – Foreign Bodies

Touching the anomaly, BRAD causes a parallel world doppelgänger to be drawn through the vortex, thus creating the best and biggest art event of the century. As BRAD passes the unusual events of the evening off as a planned piece of performance art, TOM ponders the dangers of opening up a doorway into a parallel universe. He realises that his invention doesn’t possess the ability to do such a thing on its own, and begins to formulate ideas of where the energy might have come from.

Meanwhile, aware that some damage to their ship might have alerted their home world, BEV and BEVERLY are reluctant to report the mishap to the GREAT LIBRARIAN, believing they will be instantly replaced by another research team. BEV decides that they will stay and work out for themselves what went wrong.

FLASHBACK EPISODE THREE – Mind Over Matter-of-Fact

BELLISSIMA is not convinced that the B-girls possess the skill to write advertising slogans about swirling vortexes into other dimensions until BELINDA convinces her otherwise – they don’t have to explain what the thing really is, just make sure it comes across looking fabulous whirling and twirling around behind a beautiful model in television commercials. In a fit of uncertainty, BELINDA calls in local political celebrity ALICE MAYOR, hoping that with her influence they can shut the gallery to the public while at the same time, secure sole access for the B-girls’ publicity needs. ALICE is intrigued by the phenomenon and wishes to see it for herself.

Meanwhile TOM’s robot dog POGO-STICK has discovered that the vortex is really quite stable and leads to a parallel world that is similar in geography but exists slightly ahead of them in the future. ALICE arrives and wishes to see the vortex in action. Unfortunately for her, BEV and BEVERLY are trying to recreate the original accident and inadvertently open the vortex once again. ALICE is lost inside, much to the personal horror of BELINDA, but once in the other dimension, ALICE has a business meeting that will changer her life forever…

FLASHBACK EPISODE FOUR – How Do You Solve A Problem Like Belinda?

Because ALICE was in her company when she vanished into the vortex, BELINDA jumps to the conclusion that she will be blamed for the Mayor’s disappearance, and pictures herself in increasingly worsening scenarios of incarceration.

TOM and POGO-STICK discover that there may be a way to locate the Mayor, although it involves opening up the vortex themselves. The only snag is that they need to communicate this plan to the other TOM in the parallel universe. With some junk from BRAD’s car, TOM sets about building a new device, the Sonic Silentenna to enable them to communicate with his counterpart in the other dimension.

BEVERLY comes up with an ingenious idea to solve their documenting problems: take the previously recorded bits of alien life on Mars and plunk it down onto the apparently corrupt patch of data on the Earth, thus giving the GREAT LIBRARIAN a complete, if somewhat flawed documentation of the planet.

Responding to a phone call from TOM, a practically hysterical BELINDA rushes down to the gallery to see what progress has been made. Much to her disappointment, she sees nothing of relevance until BEVERLY’s cut and paste idea opens the vortex up again and a few seconds later BELINDA is relieved to see her old friend ALICE come strolling through the vortex… or is it…?

To Be Continued…