Gimme Some Truth

"Gimme Some Truth"
Episode	Season {{#pad:1|2|0|left}}, Number 05
Air Date	October 22, 2009
Title Image	an alarm clock
Written by	Barbara Ellis Nance (story) Nicole Yorkin (screenplay) Dawn Prestwich (screenplay)
Directed by	Bobby Roth
Guest Stars	Peter Coyote as Dave Segovia Talia Balsam as Anita Ralston Lee Thompson Young as Al Gough Barry Shabaka Henley as Agent Vreede Navi Rawat as Maya Barbara Williams as Joyce Clemente Glynn Turman as Senator Noland Michael O'Neill as Director Keller Michael Cavanaugh as Warren Moore Frank John Hughes as Press Secretary Mel Rodriguez as Oscar Obregon Omid Abtahi as Bureau Agent
Co-starring	Amy Rosoff as Marcie Turoff Emerson Brooks as Connelly Michelle Tuzee as Broadcaster Mieko Hillman as Renee Garrigos Christopher Mack as Little Boy Micole Mercurio as Maureen Nilson De Macena as Tae Kwon Do Guy
Transcript
Episode Images

Gimme Some Truth was the fifth episode of Season 1 of FlashForward. It first aired on October 22, 2009 on ABC.

Summary

Garage Attack

RPG fired

At 1:30 am on October 31, 2009, in a parking garage, Mark Benford is explaining to Stan Wedeck that things he does remember he remembers clearly; Wedeck tells him to keep quiet. Mark, Stan, Demetri Noh, and Agent Vreede enter their vehicle as Mark marks a call to someone and tells the party that their Mosaic Investigation funding is secure. A black sport utility vehicle slams into their car at high speed. The black vehicle backs off and the occupants dismount. One of the unidentified attackers fires a rocket propelled grenade at the agents' car. The car explodes, leaving no sign of life.

Polygraphs and a Senate Hearing

The U.S. Capitol after the GBO

Thirty-nine hours prior to these events, the circumstances which led to the opening scene are revealed. Mark Benford, Demetri Noh and Agent Vreede are subjected to polygraph examinations by an FBI examiner. At 10:00 am on October 28, hearings about the GBO by the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by Senator Joyce Clemente begin in Washington DC. The Surgeon General Anita Ralston testifies that psychotropic pharmaceuticals in the global water supply as the potential cause of the consciousness shift have been ruled out by various agencies. Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Chairman Warren Moore testifies that an alien intelligence may have caused the blackout. Director Keller of the Central Intelligence Agency blames the Peoples' Republic of China for the event because China suffered relatively few fatalities of less than half a percent during the blackout. When Senator Clamente points out that the blackout occurred at 2:00 in China, Keller responds that that is the point and that the event was designed to cause the collapse of the United States Government. Clemente announces a short recess, after which Stanford Wedeck will testify regarding the effort launched by the Los Angeles Field Office.

Senator Clamente approaches Stan while he is talking on the phone to his wife. An adversarial conversation ensues in which Clamente reveals that she has an agenda against Wedeck because of something he had done with an unidentified woman six years earlier, alleging that if she could have proven his misconduct, she would be the current President of U.S. Stan replies that she would never have won re-election. Clamente reveals that in her Flash she saw herself as President.

When the hearings reconvene, Stan testifies the Mosaic collective gathering the visions of people all around the world, allowing the FBI to construct a picture of what the world will look like on April 29, 2010. When Clamente chides him for having proceeded without authority, Wedeck reveals that Mark Benford had a vision of himself investigating the cause of the blackout and that the leads the FBI normally would not have for six months were already being followed. Senator Clamente says the committee should hear testimony from Mark. Stan attempts to block her move, pointing out that he is the Deputy Field Director in charge of the field office. Clamente comments the Wedeck managed to land on his feet and, in spite of Wedeck's comment that Mark has already been through a polygraph examination regarding his Flash, decides to reconvene the hearing the following morning with testimony from Mark. Stan tells Mark to just tell the truth.

The next morning, Mark reports that the FBI has learned that at least two men were awake during the Blackout and causes some consternation when he says that one of the things that happened during the GBO was a massive crow attrition and that had also occurred in Somalia in 1991. Clamente challenges Mark regarding the decision to open the investigation without authorization from FBI Headquarters. Mark says it seemed to be appropriate because in his Flash he was conducting such an investigation and that a team of masked gunmen were trying to kill him. Clamente is incredulous that masked gunmen will be able to penetrate a secure federal building. In response to Clamente's question about why he was alone in the office in his Flash, Mark can only say that he was working late. He is unable to explain to the committee why he can only remember approximately thirty seconds of the future when other people can remember the full two minutes and seventeen seconds. Wedeck walks out of the room as Clamente comments that the investigative techniques are close to voodoo or fraud and asks if anyone has a question about NAZI repatriation.

Images of Somalia

The FBI learns about the towers

At the Los Angeles Field Office, Al Gough gives Janis a thumb drive containing eighteen years of satellite imagery from Southern Somalia, telling her that it came from the Central Intelligence Agency. He does not tell her how he acquired the images. Janis gives the drive to Marcie Turoff with instructions to upload the images for review. Later, as they cycle through the images, Janis sees an asphalt road. She Marcie and Al closely examine the pictures and see five pylons or towers in "the middle of nowhere." Janis emails the images to Mark in Washington. As he and Demetri review the data, she tells them that the towers were built in approximately five months. They conclude that the U. S. Department of State probably knows that the towers exist and has kept the FBI in the dark.

Dealing with the President

The President's "other woman"

Stan Wedeck plays one-on-one basketball with a man who proves to be the President of the United States, Dave Segovia. They take a break and discuss their friendship. Stan suggests that the Senate Intelligence Committee hearings are at least good for bringing them together. He expresses his concern about losing funding for the Mosaic Collective. Segovia tells him not to worry, but cautions him that Senator Joyce Clemente is chairing the hearings.

Later, after a Presidential news conference, Segovia offers Stan the position of Director of Homeland Security, which includes membership in the Cabinet. Stan is certain that Clemente would block his appointment. Segovia assures Stan that Clemente would not be a problem. Following Stan's conversation with Clemente, he is sitting in the hearings and when he hears Clemente challenging Mark's testimony, he comments, "How dare you," and leaves the room. Stan calls Janis and asks her to do something for him.

Later that day, Stan visits Renee Garrigos, an African-American woman with a young son; Stan seems to be on good terms with both. That evening Stan joins President Segovia for drinks. Segovia asks if Stan has considered his job offer. In response, Stan displays a photograph of Segovia with Renee sitting on Segovia's lap and says that he is not in the room to talk about a job, but to continue funding for Mosaic. He tells his former boss that he was able to locate Renee through the Mosaic database. Segovia cautions that Stan can only play that card once and asks Stan if he is sure now is the time. Stan replies that it is all he has and leaves the room. Segovia keys a number into a phone and tells the party on the other end that he has a problem he needs taken care of.

At Home with Olivia

The Message

Back home in Los Angeles, Aaron Stark is doing some friendly repair work at the Benford residence while he talks to Mark by phone. They discuss the pressure Mark is feeling and Aaron reminds him that there are Alcoholics Anonymous meeting available in Washington, DC. Olivia overhears Aaron's end of the conversation and, after Aaron asks her for a combination for her home alarm, they discuss how Mark's troubles with alcohol were most evident when he was away from home and under pressure from the job. Later that evening, when Olivia tries to set her alarm and it will not work, she tries to call Aaron but is interrupted when she receives a text message that Mark was drinking during his Flash. When she tries to determine who sent the text, she is unable to do so.

Garage Attack Redux

Mark counterattacks

Stan Wedeck, following his meeting with the President, finds his agents at a bar where Demetri Noh and Agent Vreede are well on their way to intoxication and are singing Karaoke. Mark Benford confesses to Stan that he was drunk in his Flashforward and, as a result, cannot remember the precise details of his Flash. As the four agents check out of the garage, they see a television report that President Dave Segovia has nominated Senator Joyce Clemente to fill the vacancy of vice president created when the sitting vice president died in an airplane crash caused by the GBO. Mark comments that he does not understand how Washington works and Stan replies that it is the ultimate trade-off town. The attack is shown from the perspective of the agents fighting back and killing two of their assailants while two other escape in the black sports utility vehicle.

Janis

Janis down

At a Tae Kwon Do lesson, Janis and a man spar in a ring of students. She defeats the man by knocking him to the floor. When Janis returns to her place, squeezes the shoulder of another woman. At the end of the session, the man approaches her and suggests a night out together. Janis apologizes and says she has other plans. She and the man agree that they might meet "another time." As the man moves away, Janis and the woman whose shoulder Janis squeezed share an uncomplimentary remark about the man. That evening, Janis and Maya share dinner in an elegant restaurant. They discuss the fact that Janis is constrained from openly admitting that she is gay because she carries a weapon in her work with a Federal agency. Maya comments that in her Flash, she was wearing a wedding ring, then admits that she was providing too much information for a first date, but Janis suggests that it may be a sign of how well the two are getting along. They make casual conversation about their futures and Janis initiates a lingering kiss with Maya.

The next morning at Janis apartment, Janis is dressed for work, but Maya is still in sleepwear as they share preparing breakfast. Janis' alarm clock sounds and she bemoans the fact that she can never get it set right. Janis tells Maya she can stay in her apartment when Janis leavers for work and gives her permission to go through her private property. They agree to meet after Janis workday is over at an art gallery. When they meet at the gallery, Maya gives Janis an alarm clock as a gift. Maya admits that, in lieu of going through Janis' things, she looked her up on the Mosaic Collective and learned that Janis will be pregnant in April. She asks if Janis also dates men. When Janis says that she does not, Maya suggests that the fact that she saw herself wearing a wedding ring may suggest a future together for the two. Janis tells Maya that in her Flash she was going through the pregnancy without assistance and summarily ends their budding relationship.

Later that evening, at the same time Janis' co-workers are being ambushed in Washington, Janis is attacked by two Asian men. She kills both but suffers a serious wound in the abdomen that leaves her bleeding in the middle of a street.

Trivia

General

• The pylons/towers found on the satellite images of the Ganwar Region appear to be five points perfectly spaced in a pentagon layout which could in turn also be seen as a five-pointed star (similar to the tattoos on the gunmen in Mark's flashforward).
• Real-life US politicians Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin are referenced.
• Gina Torres makes an uncredited, voice-only appearance as Felicia Wedeck, talking to her husband over the phone.

Music

• Can You Find Me Love by Harrison & The Majestic Kind
• Arabesque No. 1 in E Minor by APM
• A Story by Sugarplum Fairies
• Wait In Line by The Estate
• Sister Christian by Night Ranger
• Like A Rolling Stone by The Rolling Stones
• Additional Background Music by John Charles Marshall

Bloopers and Continuity Errors

• Senator Clemente was referred to verbally by Wedeck as Joyce, but her nameplate at the panel hearing said Jane.
• The panel hearings were a supposedly closed session, and no cameras can be seen, yet the news report featuring Clemente shows an image of her at the hearing.
• The television in the parking garage in Washington, D.C. was carrying news from Channel 7 in Los Angeles.
• When the episode aired on October 22, Agent Vreede, when recounting his flash forward while being polygraphed, says that he entered the incorrect security code when leaving the building. By October 24, ABC had edited this reference to an incorrect code on its webplayer, so that now, Agent Vreede says "I was leaving for the night. I was headed out the security exit. I don't know why - maybe 'cause it was late."
• The polygraph examination were poorly represented; in a polygraph examination, the examiner asks a series of yes/no questions that have been previously discussed with the subject.
• If 20 - 25 million (numbers differ thorough the show) people died world wide, that's roughly 0.30% / 0.37% (assuming a world population of 6.7 billion). So the number of casualties in China might be above average!
• President Segovia offers Stan Wedeck the position of Director of Homeland Security, a Cabinet-level position.  In real life, this is called the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Literary Techniques

• Prolepsis. Showing the gun battle in the garage, then telling the current episode from 39 hours prior to that single event.
• Irony. Based on his trust of Mark, Stan sticks his professional reputation on the line to receive the funding necessary to continue the Mosaic Investigation—then realizes his reputation is at stake when Mark reveals that he might have been intoxicated during his flashforward.

Unanswered Questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. Avoid questions that are unlikely to be answered. More details...

Theories for these unanswered questions should go on this article's theory page.

General

• Who tried to kill the Mosaic agents?

External links

• Episode's article on IMDB