The Passengers of Montego Air flight 828 embark upon a seemingly ordinary flight back home to New York when their plane experiences heavy turbulence. While the plane arrives unscathed, the passengers are informed upon arrival that they disappeared for 5 and 1/2 years despite them only having been in the plane for a few hours. Once back in New York the passengers and crew of flight 828 must deal with not only the massive time gap, but also unwanted public attention, government surveillance, unexplained visions and voices, and a sinister conspiracy involving malicious groups with interest in the passengers.
From its high concept hook to the fact a plane is the catalyst of the ongoing plot, Manifest bears more than a few similarities to ABCs cultural zeitgeist Lost. Lost helped open the door for bolder and innovative serialized storytelling in TV and for the most part networks have dialed back their attempts to directly ape Lost, but occasionally one (such as Manifest) comes through. While it doesn't reach the heights of Lost clones like Jericho or Heroes' first season, it also doesn't embarass itself like Terra Nova, Revolution, or Under the Dome.
A big part of what makes Manifest work is in its emotional core of "how does one adjust to a world that has moved passed them?" underlying its central themes. The show does a decent job establishing this ad makes fertile ground for interesting conflicts and drama, but unfortunately this is where the obligatory Lost elements rear their heads and distractingly so. While some characters have trouble securing employment upon return, others(such as a cop and doctor) are able to return to their lives with very little. This is where Manifest starts to stumble, while the series is allegedly focused on the characters dealing with a massive shift, it's also got elements of a police procedural, a medical drama, a conspiracy thriller, and even some elements of Touched by an Angel and Early Edition with its reliance upon "cryptic mystical messages" directing our characters through the story.
There's a good central idea in Manifest that makes for an engaging mystery, but it's suffocated by excess bloat, poorly developed characters, and an over reliance on the mystery box format established by Lost. It'll keep your attention in parts, but will also try your patience in others.
