The Event

The first time, I was amazed for 42 minutes or so, while watching the pilot. No more big brother - but a series that has: -a good cast -good directing -great production -intriguing plot (as it seems) -makes you think (yes, that thing that people do sometimes) -makes you wonder (the thing that makes life a bit more interesting)

Then, I was curious and went on IMDb. And was amazed yet again, for about 10 minutes, while reading the reviews. Out of 14, 13 "reviewers" gave it "2 stars"... People complain that they "couldn't follow up"... You know, sometimes it may worth your while, to actually PAY ATTENTION to what you're doing/watching.

If you liked "Flash Forward", and got disappointed when it was canceled (surely, due to the kind of feedback I just witnessed), you will definitely love this. If they manage to keep up with the anticipation left by the pilot, if they manage not to drain it like they did with "Lost", it has the potential of becoming one of the best series of late.

Cheers, and don't let the facts confuse you.

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.

So I wasn't impressed with the pilot, found one of the main characters (Sara Roemer)to be a hum-drum drain that we have to work too hard to find believable, still some strong actors to pull it thru like Ritter, Innes and Underwood so I decided to give it another chance. Holy boring-soap-opera Batman! Was that ever a waste of time. The second installment was a duplicate of the first. It simply repeated everything they showed us the first time only from a side view perspective of someone else. OK, we already got that. It was not news, it was wholly predictable and painfully boring. I thought maybe there must be some interesting tidbit of news before the show ended but was ultimately punished for my patience. Unbelievable that producers think so little of our intellectual capability, treating us like toddlers that need everything to be repeated repeatedly. All the flashbacks are just annoying because we live a linear existence and like our stories to not deviate from that natural time flow so drastically. Lost interest now.

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!

Though some believe it was a bit "busy" and didn't enjoy the flashbacks, this is something a lot of shows or series for that matter are doing. Though it seems confusing at the time its a set up so that in future shows you say,"so that's what that was about, now I get it." It leaves the viewer acknowledging these little "treasures" that give explanation to something previously seen. It wouldn't be any fun if everything was explained as the show progressed. It's the show that makes us think & piece together information viewed so we can try and figure how things are connected and then when revealed we either are proud ewe got it right or realize we didn't take all the facts into account and got it wrong. It almost makes the show an "interactive" experience & then we sit a discuss it with co-workers trying to figure it out. I guess more lazy minded viewers would like it explained bit this way its so much more exciting.You wouldn't want a mystery novel to tell you the killer or meaning of the clues in the first chapter, you read on to see how it relates.These are just my opinions, everyone else has a right to theirs. I loved it.