The Event

[Emperor]

Watched it Monday night. The pilot was not as good as Lost... but most rarely are. It has the same feel as Lost but for some reason I just do not care... yet. I have read that the next few episodes are really good. I will continue to watch and give it a chance.

 

USA Today says:

 

… Questions, and lots of them, are what NBC has been seeding all summer with an insistent campaign designed to make you wonder, "what event?" The good news is that by the time you get halfway through the enjoyably exciting premiere, you'll most likely want to know the answer to that query. And the potential, built-in bad news is that by the hour's end, you won't be much closer to the answer. … knows the game it's playing and its risks. You can tell from the wink-at-the-audience last line, delivered by the always-welcome Innes: "I haven't told you everything." … Tell us more — and soon would probably be best.

 

 

The New York Times says:

 

… A thriller that leaves no device of the genre underdeployed, “The Event” zigzags between the personal and the political, and back and forth across the calendar among cruise ships, military drones, planes and automobiles. It travels to a house in Atlanta, a prison in Alaska, a beach on St. Lucia, and Coral Gables, Fla., where the Cuban-American president, played by Blair Underwood with a kind of no-nonsense humanism, maintains his nautically suggestive retreat. You accumulate frequent-flier miles just by watching. … bright and showy and too in thrall to its own hysteria to feel unsettling. It doesn’t quiet down enough to disturb, and as a result its claims to relevance seem merely perfunctory. … In another era it was possible to produce a thriller of this kind and forgo images of children in peril, but today our anxieties are so unevenly divided between potential threats to domestic life and broader distrust of institutions that it seems almost a prerequisite for bad things to happen in living rooms. On this count, “The Event” brings it on.

 

 

The Los Angeles Times says:

 

Welcome back to the big leagues, NBC. With Monday night's premiere of "The Event," the network that as recently as last year seemed hopelessly mired in creative and financial chaos has finally located a tent pole, a new show as big, brash and promising as "Heroes" was a few years back. … clearly seeks to fill the hole left by " Lost," albeit, one hopes, in a less loose-ends-loving way. Just as "Lost's" greatest strength was character arc — what will happen to an assortment of fairly ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstance — "The Event" seems prepared to make its characters as complex as its storyline, always an event worth attending.

 

 

TV Squad says:

 

… compelling; it kept my interest and it made me want to see more, which is all I can ask of any pilot. The show has an extremely appealing lead in Jason Ritter, who plays Sean, a vacationing good guy who gets caught up in a terrifying mystery. So if you're having 'FlashForward' anxiety attacks, just know that Ritter is far more endearing than Joseph Fiennes ever was in that arcane and off-putting ABC show. 'The Event' was a well-paced hour that played skillfully with time, and if the characters were a little thin, well, it's a pilot -- it'll take time to give characters shading and dimension. …

 

 

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

 

… All of this is intriguing if confusing. Much of it is vague on purpose, of course, but in the pilot there are so many flashbacks (23 days ago, 8 days ago, one nanosecond ago, etc.) that it becomes almost comical. And yet, it's mighty entertaining. The question you need to ask yourself is whether a serialized drama with loads of twists and turns - and no guarantee of success - is worth the investment of your time. There's always a need for a pulse-pounding mystery with a little paranormal thrown in. If "The Event" proves it can let out the story while reeling viewers back each week, it could be something special. …

 

 

The Washington Post says:

 

… a cynical grab for the orphaned fans of both "Lost" and "24," a hybrid drama incorporating threats to national security and a minority president by a group of terrorists (a la "24") and supernatural episodes of dislocation and unexplained phenomena (a la "Lost"). The come-ons are everywhere in this show, from the vaguely Oceanic color scheme on the doomed airliner to the very CTU-like font choice in the title cards, which tell you the names of characters and what day and hour this is. You'll need those title cards. … I, for one, have decided I can't do anything about preventing the event, nor will I help plan for the event or worry about the event; I have something else scheduled. So do let me know how the event went. …

 

 

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

 

… a propulsive, edge-of-your-seat pilot episode that raises many questions and is likely to leave viewers eager to learn more. …

 

 

HitFix says:

 

… The pilot is a lot of flash and no substance. It wants me to want to find out what the event is, but I don't care, and I imagine within a week or three, neither will most of the audience. …

 

 

The Boston Herald says:

 

… the most intriguing new fall drama … Will “The Event” turn out to be another “FlashForward” or the next “Lost”? I’m betting cautiously on the latter.

 

 

The Boston Globe says:

 

… The creator of the show, Nick Wauters, has done his mythology-series homework, and now he’s taking his skills public with the hope of delivering the “Lost,’’ “24,’’ or “X-Files’’ of the 2010s. Hijacked plane? Check. Coverup involving the president and CIA? Check. Big Secret that could change the fate of mankind forever? Check. Zeljko Ivanek? Check. Well-drawn human characters? Um, oops. … I’m going to watch next week, in hopes of finding an answer to tonight’s biggest cliffhanger: Can “The Event’’ turn out to be something more than just another mega-conspiracy wannabe?

 

 

The Hollywood Reporter says:

 

… As showrunner, Evan Katz, formerly of Fox's "24," knows a good deal about storytelling at breakneck speeds. In addition, executive producer Jeffrey Reiner, who directed the pilot, barely lets you catch your breath. However, unless they reward viewer trust with a few satisfying answers -- and soon -- "Event" will see a sharp decline in RSVPs. So far, the most enjoyable part of this dizzy ride is the brilliant cast. Underwood and Ritter are entirely convincing in complicated roles. Equally impressive is the work of Innes as the tightly wound conspirator and Zeljko Ivanek as the president's straight-talking aide. …

 

 

Variety says:

 

… does a nifty job of raising suspicions -- and introducing a diverse cast of characters, from an extremely unlucky vacationer to the president of the United States. NBC's stab at a big, serialized "Lost"-like premise gets off to an enticing start …

 

 

9 p.m. Monday. NBC.

[Emperor]

There was a conference call with the creator of “The Event.” He explained “The Event” began life as a movie screenplay without a sci-fi element.

 

1.2 is suspenseful and has nifty twists. It answers many questions and poses interesting new ones.

 

Notes, cloaked in invisotext:

 

 

* The flashback format continues. But the flashbacks go farther back. A LOT farther back.

 

* 1.2 begins with what happened to the plane.

 

* "Marine layer."

 

* 10 minutes into 1.2, we flash back to 13 months earlier with the president. For the next three minutes we get a TON of key info.

 

* Some key numbers: 97, 66, 1%, 2%

 

* "No, they're absoluely not."

 

* Chimpanzee. Vitamin C. Foot massage.

 

* One of the cops rushing onto the scene is played by hot “Generation X” girl Heather McComb, so you know she might be around beyond the 911 response.

 

* The president's post-plane-vanishing attitude is curious to me. Sophia’s people clearly saved his life. This guy is no David Palmer.

 

* "You need to see this."

 

* 1.2 titled "To Keep Us Safe." 1.3 is titled "Protect Them From The Truth."

 

* 1.3 teaser: blood and mayhem.

 

* "This wasn't supposed to happen."

 

* Lot of Richard Kimball and Kate Austin and David Lightman in Sean Walker’s DNA.

 

* Clea Duvall turns up halfway through 1.3.

 

* "... before it's too late."

 

* 3.1 reveals the employer of Ms. Vicky Roberts.

 

* INTERESTING cliffhanger for 1.3!

 

[Krakalakachkn]

The pilot hooked me. It was a well done thriller pilot with good directing and intense cutscenes. I like the cast of characters, this show contains a lot of lesser well-known supporting actors and most of them are really good. You will recognize the Colonel from Die Hard 2, the Dad from Phil of the Future, the Magister from True Blood (also Danko from Heroes), Dr. Kerry Weaver from E.R., and Luke Danes from Gilmore Girls (and Gary Tolchuck from Aliens in America, his best role in my opinion). I can't wait for the next episode.

[hotpocket2006]

I was kind of iffy about this show after I watched the pilot. It seemed exciting, but I wasn't sure if it could hold my interest. After I watched the 2nd episode though, I am hooked for right now. It's definitiely interesting, and the whole thing with the boyfirend looking for his girlfriend storyline is very interesting. And also how the

Aliens killing all the people that were on the plane

really creeped me out.

[hmenick]

Watched the first 2 episodes of this, I enjoyed them and will continue to watch, but Lost really soured me and I think it'll have to be really good to hold my attention.

[Adrian44]

Really enjoyed the ending of Episode three. I was almost ready to give up on the show. I will watch next week and give it another chance.

[Emperor]

I realized I forgot to DVR Ep 3 and I didn't really care. So I think I am done with this one.

[Krakalakachkn]

That's a shame, episode 3 was really good