I'm in.

The last thing I needed was to become hooked on another serial drama, but ABC's "FlashForward" threw a wrench into that plan.

The Thursday night drama, which ABC picked up this week for the rest of the season, is "Lost"-like, with an I-can't-wait-until-next-week storyline and engaging characters, including two "Lost" alums in Dominic Monaghan (Charlie) and Sonya Walger (Desmond's true love, Penny).

The premise is based on Canadian author Robert J. Sawyer's 1999 science fiction novel by the same name.

The entire world - except for a select few - blacks out for two minutes and dreams about a day - the same day - several months away.

Are these really visions of the future? Who caused the blackout? And why were some unaffected?

Joseph Fiennes, the lead from the Oscar-winning "Shakespeare in Love," plays the FBI agent investigating the unexplained occurrence. Walger is his doctor wife.

The cast also includes John Cho, Jack Davenport, Peyton List, Courtney B. Vance and Omaha's Gabrielle Union.

Serial dramas, unlike procedurals, are major time commitments, but if done well, there's reason to keep coming back to them.

This one, so far, is done well. Very well. Its creators include David Goyer, who knows a thing or two about telling a good tale. The stories for the hit movies "Batman Begins" and "Dark Knight" were his.

The secret to a good serial is to build it around a core group of characters and run with it.

NBC's "Heroes," for instance, strayed from this tactic when it introduced too many new faces (the twins, the father, the puppet guy) and got away from the ones (Hiro) that made it a success in the first place. "Heroes" is still struggling to regain its audience.

In this case, "FlashForward" uses Fiennes as its go-to guy and expands from there. His investigation into the blackout drives the drama.

If you missed the first four episodes, I suggest catching up online at ABC.com or Hulu. "Flash" is one of this season's best new shows.

Across the remote

* The first movie I saw in a theater without my parents was "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" in 1975. I was 11.

I've been a fan of the comedy troupe ever since, watching MP's "Flying Circus" shows on PBS while growing up.

IFC (Time Warner digital channel 209) begins at 8 tonight a six-part docuseries, "Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)," followed each night by specials, show episodes and movies.

IFC will continue airing episodes from the first season at 6:30 p.m. Mondays, beginning Oct. 26, and 10 p.m Fridays. Seasons two through four will air in their entirety in 2010.

* It's still too early to tell if NBC's experiment with Jay Leno in primetime is a bust.

His Nielsen ratings so far have been horrible. During the season's third week, none of his five shows ranked higher than No. 60, with viewership between 4.5 million and 6.2 million.

Let's see how he does in December, when the networks air repeats and holiday specials. That's when NBC expects to score. By then, Leno will have tweaked his show, figuring out what works (comedy skits) and what doesn't (car racing).

* "The Simpsons" is running a create-a-character contest as a thank you for its fans.

Online submissions are due by 10:59 p.m. Saturday at TheSimpsons.com. Entries should describe the character's traits, including his or her name or nickname, age, appearance, occupation and catch phrases.

The character is slated to appear in a 2010 episode featuring Coldplay's Chris Martin as a guest star.

* The Los Angeles Times recently reported ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" has seen its viewership drop 13 percent from last year and 19 percent among the coveted 18-to-49 age group. My guess as to why: This season's cast is dull. There's no Cloris Leachman or Jerry Springer to spice things up.

* Quick hits ... Lincoln's Sandra Payne will appear Friday as a contestant on "The Price is Right" ... The Fox Reality Channel will end operations on March 31 after four years on the air, though its library may continue airing for an unspecified period ... "CSI" star Laurence Fishburne will appear in a continuing storyline on all three "CSIs" on Nov. 9, 11 and 12 ... Lauren Graham ("Gilmore Girls") replaces Maura Tierney on NBC's "Parenthood," which will debut in early 2010. Tierney is undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.