The Event

[JasonEvans]

I was going to write this post 11 minutes ago, but something happened 3 days earlier that distracted me and then it impacted what happened 2 hours ago even though the real point I was trying to make began 13 months earlier when I was handcuffed to the handicapped chick from ER.

Sigh.

My favorite part of the pilot was that we spent about 20 minutes of it on vacation with a couple characters I neither know nor care about at all. Woo hoo! Good times!

Sigh again.

Of course, the whole thing is saved because there was the freaky blue light that swallowed up the airplane at the end of the episode and the ER doc said, "I haven't told you everything" to the LA Lawyer who is now President. Yippee, it has some supernatural element to it that will make it just like Heroes and Lost and Flashforward... umm, how many of those shows were successful?

A third sigh.

I will keep watching, but am quite pessimistic. This thing feels like they are throwing 50 things against the wall and will run with whatever sticks while ignoring the gaping plot holes created by the ones that make no sense and slide to the floor. I have no sense of what is going on and where the show is going from that opening episode. It is almost like the anti-Lost or anti-Heroes because I have no sense of the basic premise of what is happening here. Heroes and Lost made it very clear what the basic premise was in the first 15 minutes of the episode. 15 minutes into The Event and I still was not sure what time period I was in.

Oh, and I especially enjoyed that the preview to future episodes gave away the fact that the dude on the plane (Jason Ritter) is in a hospital saying, "what happened." Gee, thanks for giving away that little surprise tidbit. I guess it is not that big a deal because nothing that happened in the episode made me care whether he lives or dies anyway.

Did anyone watch that and think, "wow, this mystery show is really cool and I cannot wait to see the next episode"!?!?!?

As an aside, I wonder if TV execs will ever understand that it is almost impossible to make a mystery show last long-term unless the story naturally lends itself to multiple mysteries and answers. I guarantee you that the folks behind The Event are hoping to drag this drek out for 5 or 6 seasons even though they really have an idea that would be best suited to a 4-6 episode mini-series.

--Jason "why did I watch that? Am I really going to watch Ep 2?!!?? Someone stop me!!" Evans

[Acymetric]

As an aside, I wonder if TV execs will ever understand that it is almost impossible to make a mystery show last long-term unless the story naturally lends itself to multiple mysteries and answers. I guarantee you that the folks behind The Event are hoping to drag this drek out for 5 or 6 seasons even though they really have an idea that would be best suited to a 4-6 episode mini-series.

--Jason "why did I watch that? Am I really going to watch Ep 2?!!?? Someone stop me!!" Evans

That's funny, when I was seeing commercials I initially thought it was a movie (was only paying a little bit of attention) and thought it looked pretty interesting. Then I realized it was a TV show and pretty much lost all interest...your review seems to confirm my thoughts.

[JasonEvans]

Here is a review (http://www.tv.com/the-event-tv-review/webnews/151571.html) that does a nice job of summing up the faults...


The Event is filled to bursting with misdirection, pseudo-camp drama, and the kind of "shockers" that not only force your brain to include the cover track "Dun Dun Dunnnnnn"s, but are difficult describe outside the realm of nonsensical soundbites and liberal repetition of "really"s.

...Jumping around in time, for no reason apart from the fact that it is "all clever and whatnot,"...

Specifically designed to keep us guessing while doling out lots of information, The Event gives us disappearances, strange connections, and (maybe, I guess, who cares?) aliens or something. Hooray.

In terms of ratings, they were pretty good -- over 11 million viewers and a fairly strong 3.7 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. Somehow, The Event actually built on its audience from first half-hour to second... so NBC may actually keep this crud around for a while.

--Jason "the real test is how many people come back next week" Evans

[Tom B.]

A friend of mine summed it up pretty well, I think, with the following:



It was OK, but I liked it better the first time, when it was called The X Files.

And the second time, when it was called Alias.

And the third time, when it was called 24.

And the fourth time, when it was called Lost.

And the fifth time, when it was called Heroes.

And the sixth time, when it was called Flash Forward.

And the seventh time, when it was called Fringe.

But other than that, I liked it.

[Reddevil]

A friend of mine summed it up pretty well, I think, with the following:

It was OK, but I liked it better the first time, when it was called The X Files.

And the second time, when it was called Alias.

And the third time, when it was called 24.

And the fourth time, when it was called Lost.

And the fifth time, when it was called Heroes.

And the sixth time, when it was called Flash Forward.

And the seventh time, when it was called Fringe.

But other than that, I liked it.


I commited myself to the first episode, and was bored to tears until the jet vanished. Even then I could not help but think, "Geez, they made no effort to get the President and his family the heck out of there!" They have to do better than stupid. I will give it another go, but things need to start coming together. I don't think I am alone with losing patience for these shows. Loving Fringe though!

[JasonEvans]

I hope the producers of this thing have real good insurance because JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelhoff are going to sue them.

Last night's episode was like watching Lost minus the good acting. We had a plane crash with people walking around the wreckage dazed and confused. We had flashbacks to reveal important moments earlier in the lives of the main characters. We even had a character asking, "where are we?" At least there were no polar bears.

I do like the fact that The Event is giving us some small answers. We now know that space aliens are behind the disappearing plane and some of the other stuff going on. There would appear to be 3 different forces at work-- the aliens, the government, and the "bad guys" led by DB Sweeney. The CIA agent being a secret alien was a bit too obvious for my taste. That reveal could have come down the road a bit later for more effect.

I thought this week was a little better than last week. We did not jump around in time quite as much as a week ago and it felt a bit like there was a "destination" or point to what was going on. I am continuing to watch... for now.

--Jason "more later-- what did others think?" Evans

[bluebear]

I hope the producers of this thing have real good insurance because JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelhoff are going to sue them.

Last night's episode was like watching Lost minus the good acting. We had a plane crash with people walking around the wreckage dazed and confused. We had flashbacks to reveal important moments earlier in the lives of the main characters. We even had a character asking, "where are we?" At least there were no polar bears.

I do like the fact that The Event is giving us some small answers. We now know that space aliens are behind the disappearing plane and some of the other stuff going on. There would appear to be 3 different forces at work-- the aliens, the government, and the "bad guys" led by DB Sweeney. The CIA agent being a secret alien was a bit too obvious for my taste. That reveal could have come down the road a bit later for more effect.

I thought this week was a little better than last week. We did not jump around in time quite as much as a week ago and it felt a bit like there was a "destination" or point to what was going on. I am continuing to watch... for now.

--Jason "more later-- what did others think?" Evans

I liked this week's episode better than the first as well and I think overall the plot is intriguing enough for me to keep watching but I agree that the acting and dialogue is painful..Are we convinced though that these "people" are aliens..wondering if time travelers might also be an option given how similar they are to humans..

[JasonEvans]

By the way, are we supposed to assume that The Event in the title is the crash landing of the UFO in 1944? It sure seems that way.

In many ways, this TV show is Lost combined with V combined with dinner theater acting and writing.

The aliens just murdered 200+ innocent plane passengers in the desert. The government response had better be really harsh. That was like a declaration of war on the United States. I fully expect to see torture and firing squads on the captured aliens.

--Jason "the bad aliens should have taken the plane passengers hostage, not killed them" Evans

[Wander]

I liked this week's episode better than the first as well and I think overall the plot is intriguing enough for me to keep watching but I agree that the acting and dialogue is painful..Are we convinced though that these "people" are aliens..wondering if time travelers might also be an option given how similar they are to humans..

This is my guess as well. In the near future there will be an "Event" that eventually leads to the doom of humanity. The "aliens" are actually future human time travelers trying to prevent this event.

I do think they revealed Sophia to be a good guy way too early. Would have been fun to guess about that.

[cf-62]

NBC has picked up the rest of Season 1!!!!

[JasonEvans]

This is my guess as well. In the near future there will be an "Event" that eventually leads to the doom of humanity. The "aliens" are actually future human time travelers trying to prevent this event.

It is worth noting that even though the President and his advisers have referred to the detainees as extra terrestrials and not human, the show narrator always refers to them in much less ambiguous terms when describing them in the "previously on The Event" thing at the start of each show. The narration is very careful to refer to them as "the group" and the such, never calling them aliens.

I think the show's producers think they are being clever, but most of us have already figured out what is going on ;)

--Jason "I need to check the latest ratings, but I think they were fairly decent this past week which is one reason NBC has picked it up for the full season" Evans

[JasonEvans]

Hey, how about a ratings report?



18-49 Total Percent
Episode Rating Viewers Change
Ep. 1 3.6 10.9 ----
Ep. 2 2.9 9.1 (16.5)
Ep. 3 2.4 7.5 (17.6)
Ep. 4 2.2 6.5 (13.3)
Ep. 5 2.2 6.4 (1.5)
Ep. 6 2.0 6.0 (6.2)

As I think most of us have heard, NBC has picked up a full season of The Event - 22 episodes.

As for where the show is going... meh. Not sure I care all that much. I am watching but mostly just out of inertia, not because it is drawing me in any further. The Sophia escape this past week was largely silly and I don't even begin to understand why the double-agent didn't go with Sophia and Thomas. Whatever...

The continued erosion of the ratings likely means the show won't survive beyond the first season. I just hope they realize it in time and try to wrap the show up before it goes away. Not likely, but I can hope.

-Jason "is anyone still paying attention to this show?" Evans

[johnb]

I quit watching after a few episodes. Disappointed since I'd thought I'd been able to replace the heroin of Lost with at least a little Vicodin, but the thrill is gone. Let me know if it picks up.