The Event

This is a fun series to watch as it builds up with each episode. You cannot be sure who are the good guys or bad guys and which ones to kibitz.

The basic story is aliens with only 1% DNA difference crash-lands in the artic and are rounded up and kept prisoners for 66 years. Well, maybe some got away.

The Event- The Complete Series. There is very little potty mouth. No gratuitous sex. Even car chases and shoot-em-up scenes are not that graphic. Again, it is people vs. People.

The only drawback is after watching 5 DVDs the program abruptly stops.

The book series is humongous so I am not sure I will get closer by reading. But I will try.

So, I had no intention of watching this show. The previews prior to its premiere kind of turned me off. For me, there were aspects of the premise that were too played out to make it worth my time. However, my TV just happened to be on the channel this show comes on and nothing else good had started yet so I stuck it out. The ending of the first episode made me want to know what would happen next. It took until the 3rd episode to get me hooked. Now, I love it. Yeah, the cutting in and out was problematic at first, but I'm a fast learner. The acting, in my opinion, is largely very good. I think it's smartly written and well paced. I will be honest, though. If I didn't have DVR I wouldn't have stuck this show out long enough to find that I like it because Lie To Me comes on in the same time slot. It did take a while to warm up and get into a groove that wasn't so chaotic and confusing, but now I can't wait to see what happens next.

I was too busy at the time of premier to get into the program, but I DVR'd all the episodes for a later date. A couple of weeks ago I watched the first 7 episodes all at once, and have stayed up to date since. I am absolutely addicted to this show now, and will be heartbroken for the 3-month hiatus, and if it is subsequently canceled altogether.

I am taken aback by all the haters and pseudo-intellectuals nit-picking this program to death. There is absolutely nothing so onerously out of joint with this show as to draw that level of ire. And some of us prefer a show that requires our attention instead of our minds drifting to the bills or what we're going to make for dinner tomorrow night. I turn my phone off (anyone old enough to remember turning the house phone ringer off for some mini-series everyone wanted to watch?). I swear, there is a generation that simply refuses to be satisfied with anything. If it is infused with reality, the creators lack imagination. If it is imaginative, it has reality boundaries because their "sophisticated" willful suspension of disbelief must be bought off first. It's a cliquish farce.

Make up your own mind.

I was intrigued by the 4 minute extended trailer, and so I eagerly tuned in for the premiere. Unfortunately, it was very underwhelming. I didn't learn anything new from the 43 minute premiere that I hadn't already learnt from the 4 minute trailer. I actually found the premiere to be boring and unnecessarily drawn out.

Also, none of the characters really seemed all that interesting, except for maybe Mike and the lady from ER, but those aren't the main characters, so that's not a good sign.

I don't mind non-linear story telling, but, there didn't seem like all that much of a reason for the tactic here - it felt contrived. Also, this may seem like a minor point to some, but the way the "flashback" subtitles changed sizes really distracted me a lot. What's wrong with normal subtitles?

Anyways, I think I will give it one more episode to suck me in, but if the second episode is as underwhelming as the first, then I won't be tuning in.

This is a fantastic show. Excellent cast, spearheaded by the amazing Blair Underwood who plays the African-American President. I'm not too keen on the Sophia character, who seems to have the same facial expression and voice mannerism, regardless of the situation at hand. But the rest of the cast is superb, particularly the President's White House team - they seem to have the gravity and charisma to easily pull off a successful "The West Wing" remake.

The show advertised itself as a "what if '24' and 'Lost' had a baby" TV offspring, and I am definitely getting that vibe. The constant pacing of action and suspense remind me of "24", but with more depth and realism, so it's not as cheesy and convoluted (oh don't get offended, I'm a huge "24" fan but I'll readily admit that "24" had a level of cheesiness and hokiness that was good for unintentional laughs). And the aura of mystery and plot development is reminiscent of "Lost." Admittedly, "Lost" had the more interesting character development, but "The Event" seems to have a stronger, more robust plot that certainly knows where it's headed, which makes me feel as if the writers for "The Event" already have a strong ending in plan many seasons in advance - you brave, disappointed "Lost" fans who hanged on until the series finale know EXACTLY what I'm talking about! There were some painfully sad moments that were very compelling. For example, Agent Lee, who seemingly never ages as a result of his extraterrestrial genes, ran into an elderly woman who was his girlfriend of apparently same age many decades ago, and had to pretend to not recognize his long-lost love for the Greater Good. Those were beautifully done, heart-wrenching scenes.

So far, I have been thoroughly satisfied with this show. Every episode has been great. I can see how someone who joins in midway might get confused and lose interest (of course - this IS a serialized drama!) - so I HIGHLY recommend starting from the first episode and watch at least three episodes. You WILL be hooked, guaranteed.

If this show gets canceled, I'll be hugely disappointed - it would really really say something about us as TV viewers if we allowed disappointing garbage like "Heroes" and "V" to run on for more than a season but allow a high-caliber show like "The Event" with excellent production value and strong plot to go off air. Watch it! You will love it, that is my promise.

Edit: I caught the season finale yesterday - I was THOROUGHLY satisfied with it. It was indeed a wild ride. Without giving anything away, I will just say what I saw in the last few seconds give me hope that we are in for a VERY exciting and compelling second season - that is, if the show's still on the air. Come on, NBC execs, don't let us down!