When I first heard about "The Event" I didn't quite know what to think. Being a veteran of "Flashforward" and more recently "Persons Unknown" I was extremely careful not to get too attached to the show as I had done with the aforementioned. All over the internet people were saying it was the next Lost. I even saw a review where someone said it was like the child of 24 and Lost. Those two shows were my favorite of all time so I had to tune in. After watching the pilot episode I had decided that I was going to commit to watching it. However, there were things that bothered me in the very beginning.What bothered me first about the show in particular was the amount of flashbacks. While I like the use of this storytelling technique (Lost) I didn't like how it went from fifty years ago to five minutes ago. It reminded me of the first few episodes of season 2 of Lost. I found myself thinking "I've seen this before." However I continued to watch because I hoped it would get better. I was relieved when they stopped with the awful use of flashbacks.
But just when I was relieved that the show quit jumping all over the place it did exactly the opposite of what I wanted. It slowed down so much it wasn't going anywhere. I was rooting for the aliens when it came to Leila's story and as far as Sean went I considered him a wannabe Jack Shephard. Then we went on the long break. When we came back in 2011, I was kind of like,"Let's see what you can do now because so far I'm not all that impressed" To my surprise I liked the second premiere. I thought it sped things up and provided an entertaining two hours. I liked it that Sean and Sophia were meeting and that maybe some dialogue between the two could give us some answers.
Unfortunately "The Event" took one of my least favorite roads. I can't think of a way to describe what they did except for 'he can't come with us.' Sean leaves Leila and the aliens so she can be with her dad. I could write the rest of the season. Sean would go on his mission and eventually be reunited with Leila. Woohoo. We already had a rescue mission on this show. Remember? It was that long and boring part of the first half of the season. OK now I'm going to calm down and take a moment to talk about a slightly more interesting aspect of the show. Washington DC.
After the 2011 start I was really liking how things were going. I liked what I saw in the promo's. I saw the president tied to his desk with Sophia smiling above him and then the Washington Monument falling. My first thought was holy &%^# I'm glad I stayed with this show. However I came to the realization that the president was not tied to his desk and that it was nothing more than a dream sequence. However, I was glad that the destruction of the Washington Monument was real.(not in real-life!) I say this because I thought that President Martinez was going to turn to more blood thirsty measures. I guess I was wrong though. It never got past him just getting in a tissy fit with his general.
I think the majority of people who have watched "The Event" will agree with me when I say that it was a good idea, showed potential, but unfortunately it has failed because of a number of reasons. One, it moves too slow and at times is boring. Two, the break. Yes, I said it. I believe that "The Event" failed partially due to scheduling. It took a major break straight in the middle of the 1st season which is fatal to a new show. (For more information on this phenomenon see Flashforward) However you have to ask yourself a question, how much can bad scheduling be attributed to the failure of a show? I say in this case a very small portion. And last but not least number three, it is a failed attempt at the formula that made Lost so successful. That formula has to involve an equal amount of action, answers, emotion and still have questions that pull the viewer in week after week. So to conclude my review of the show I will end with the word that comes to mind when thinking about any show that illustrated promise but ultimately failed; disappointed.
Agree? Disagree? Feel free to reply in the comments. This is my first article so constructive criticism is always accepted.
Welcome to the site.
ReplyDeleteYep, the break really hurt the ratings, but it did give time for the writers to, IMHO, improve the pacing of the show, unfortunately it was too late by then to bring new viewers onto the show.
Absolutely agree.
ReplyDeleteI think that any new show is hurt TERRIBLY by a long hiatus after only a handful of episodes. If a series is established and plans to have a 5-8 episode run and then finish the season after a long break it can work. I don't like it, but it can work. The truth of the matter is serialized shows work best when watched consistently every week from start to end.
I agree with this write up. The show should have been sped up a long time ago and has lost viewers because of it. I hope, however, that it will be renewed for another year so that those of us who like it can see the end to the story.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with everything you've said. I, to this day, still continue to watch The Event, simply because I just want to see how it ends after watching it for so long. The first few episodes were good in my opinion, but then it got too slow and just boring and that is what I think made people stop watching it. Then came the hiatus, which caused more people to forget about it, and if I'm honest, I've really liked the new episodes which came after the hiatus. Although I do think it is too late for a 2nd season. I really hope they end this show with style as it is a good show, but just flawed in a few ways that could have been better.
ReplyDeleteI think any show is doomed once the critics/bloggers/entertainment writers start calling it "the new Lost." There will NEVER be a "new Lost". That being said, The Event tried to use many of the same PR strategies LOST used in its later years--teaser web sites, character twitter feeds, etc. Problem is you cannot FORCE a community on the Internet. The average viewer was completely unaware of these PR adjuncts. The fans did not know about these things until a fanbase started developing, and the community began to grow on its own.
ReplyDeleteLost was seriously slow at points. In fact, it was pacing difficulties that first spurred the writers into setting an "end date", just so the fans didn't have to suffer through too many Acharas. Yes, the Leila kidnapping took WAY too much screen time, and yes, the show got much more interesting when the stories began to intersect. Bud I cannot think of a single Event episode that was as filler-bad as Stranger in a Strange Land.
We have been chatting at http://the-event.tv/chat since about the 3rd episode. After the hiatus, I started my own recapping site (inostrakans.com) , simply because the typical sites either weren't recapping, or it was very clear that the recapper did NOT like the show. Just week, I added a forum section, simply because my readers asked me to. There are a dearth of forums for folks who actually enjoy watching the show.
No, the Event is NOT the greatest thing since sliced bread, but it IS one of the better shows on network television today. We need a few "thinking shows" in a sea of "Bobs Burgers". I, for one, am noticing the negative impact the threat of cancellation is having on the show. Stories are getting truncated (Dempsey anyone) or abandoned altogether (Samantha and the Prune Faced Girls) just so that a single season can have value on its own. I think, like Firefly, many potential fans may not even find the show until it's rerun on cable or it comes to Netflix, and in five years, you may see folks feeling similarly to how they now feel about Firefly--a show that was terminated prematurely despite great promise. And unlike My So Called Life, we'll get some sort of "ending" to the story, rather than an empty cliffhanger that was meant to whet the appetite for next season.
I want to bring up some new points, and a spin on some of what you said.
ReplyDeleteAll season long, the show's been up against stiff competition on Monday night... most of that time up against Dancing With The Stars, which dominates that night. If it had been on at 10pm, for example, I think it would have done better, when the kids were in bed, and the adults could pay attention to the show.
The flashbacks were confusing to someone who wasn't fully paying attention to the show. I think that didn't help.
I think they undersold the science fiction component of the show, which is a big part of the show. Some people that, quite frankly, aren't into that kind of show would have avoided it and wouldn't be bashing the show.
All the publicity backfired on the show... "The Conspiracy is Not The Event", "The Cover-up is Not The Event", etc... so people said, "OK, so what is the event then?" And... basically, we're not going to tell you! We're now 17 episodes in, and although I think most viewers can guess what "the event" is now, we still don't know if "this event" (bringing all 2.5 billion non-terrestrials to Earth and the war will ensue as a result) is THE EVENT that was suggested in the first episode. Perhaps there's some other event coming later... we don't know. It's also been convenient that the non-terrestrials just don't tell you anything... I mean come on... a lot of what has happened would have been avoided just with some honesty.
Lastly, with smart ass articles on TV by the Numbers and other places saying that the cancellation is the event were self-fulfilling. I don't know how many people took that article to mean that the show WAS cancelled. The show hasn't been cancelled, and I hope that they'll look at the past. 24's season 1 numbers were pretty bad (#76 in TV that year), yet Fox stuck with it, and it became a hit for the network. If NBC Universal is smart, they'll bring back the show, and give it another season to find an audience. I think a DVD release and perhaps replays on Syfy will bring a following. It would be perfect to come back for a 22-episode run starting in January, and play all the way through.
I LOVE the show, warts and all! I want it to return and I'll do whatever I can over the next month to rally people to support the show, and hopefully make a difference. Fans, check out savetheevent.blogspot.com to find out what you can do to help make it known by NBC that the show has a very loyal following. I've also got a site at theeventfanatic.com as well... but I'm not posting here to publicize anything of mine. I just want The Event to get a season 2... even if that's a long shot at this point.
I agree with some of what you said. I do like the show. It has really picked up since the first half of the season. But I'm not sure your comparison to 24 is right. 24 got really good reviews its 1st year and yes perhaps at the time mediocre numbers. I think a better comparison for 24 would be Fringe. I'd love to see the show renewed, unfortunately I think a slow start turned a lot of people away.
ReplyDeleteLike The Walking Dead, for instance!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading my mind! I agree with everything you said, especially the self-fulfilling prophecy part. And I, for one, have never really understood DWTS. Don't get me wrong--I grew up going to as many Broadway shows as I could wangle. But if you offer the average Joe tickets to a ballroom dancing expo, they'd most likely scoff. Those same folks will be glued to their sets for 2 hours (really about 1.25, if you factor in commercials) to watch the B list doing just that. They can't all be watching just to see if Kristie Alley will fall again.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that once word of this post spreads through our rather small community, the tone of the comments here will change. It is a shame that anything that requires to develop and requires some thought is canceled before it ever gets a chance. Then, much of what's canceled here takes off when it's sold to Europe, and the network suits start wishing they had another couple of dozen episodes to sell overseas.
I have to disagree with the conclusion that "bad scheduling" (the long hiatus) was just a "very small portion" of TE's problem. Prior to the hiatus, TE's worst rating was 1.7, and that was against Monday Night Football, Dancing with the Stars, and new episodes of 2.5 Men. After the hiatus, against weaker competition, and despite better reviews from the critics, the show debuted at 1.4 and quickly dropped to 1.2, and then (after another hiatus) down to 1.1 this week. A lot of people simply forgot about the show during the hiatus. A long hiatus is a killer.
ReplyDeleteIn December, 1.7 was considered bad, but these days, NBC would kill to get a 1.7 for any Monday night show. Chuck is down to 1.3 and still is deemed a "toss up" for renewal. The season finale of Harry's Law drew just 1.4, yet HL is considered "likely to be renewed" for another season.
Ratings for TE had steadied in December, with small increases for 2 of the last 3 episodes. If they had kept it going, even by just showing a few re-runs, it would likely have held its existing audience and even picked up some football and 2.5 Men fans.
Agree that the break improved the pacing and other aspects of the show. But couldn't this have been accomplished without a long hiatus? Maybe a few reruns, like almost every other show was doing in December-January?
ReplyDeleteI used to LOVE DWTS, addicted really. A year ago I made a pledge to myself to stop watching all reality shows (including Project Runway). Never regretted it.
ReplyDeleteAs for The Event, I look forward to it every Monday. I'd like to see it stay for another year. Longer than that and I think it would run out of steam. People are complaining about the pacing. I'd like to see the pace pick up, the story be nicely told, and then wrap up. V will probably be cancelled, but I thought those two years were just fine--a good solid story and a bang up ending. I wish as much for The Event.
I totally agree. When it first came on in September, its sister cable networks showed multiple airings of the show. When it came back in March, it came back cold. I would have thought NBC Universal would have shown episodes the weekend before, or done a recap show... but nothing. Yes, it made all episodes available on nbc.com and Hulu, but when they took the show off the air, a lot of people thought that it was cancelled, so why watch it at all?
ReplyDeleteI don't get it either. I can't watch it. My wife tried to get into it, and was watching it early on, but I just left the room every time. She eventually couldn't get into it, either, but not because of me.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite TV show of all time, without a doubt, was Star Trek: The Next Generation. I was fanatical about that show, but, and I even knew it then... that first season of TNG SUCKED. Thankfully, it got good ratings in syndication, so Paramount gave it time to develop, and develop it did... and it became a legendary show. It doesn't map 100% because of the ratings issues, but I just know that most people that I have met that watch The Event have become fully engrossed in the show. If they give the show time for DVD release, and make it available for streaming on Netflix... and bring it back in January, the show really does have a chance. On Syfy, the show also has a chance. None of the pilots sound remotely interesting. Wonder Woman? Meh.
You know, you have made a point that makes me think of something. In the first 10 episodes, they were doing that Lost technique, where each episode focused around one single character and tried to grow that character in that episode. They spent too much time with that and didn't get people hooked on the larger story.
ReplyDeleteWith Lost, they were lost... they didn't know where they were, and once the show got going, it was clear they didn't know what was going on. You could do that kind of thing... there's no pace they needed to keep. They could build the show up and take their time.
The Event promised "an event". That means stuff has got to happen... and at least explain what the event is... they didn't do that.
If The Event gets renewed or picked up on Syfy or USA, one thing the writers really need to lose is all of this non-terrestrial secrecy. It's gotten old. Stop trying to protect us - you've burned that bridge. Just come clean and tell the audience, and the characters, who you really are, then tell the story.
I loved the flashbacks, but I do agree that the formula wasn't used well. Also, when they came back and just stopped using the flashbacks, the actual pacing fell apart. Imagine watching all of the episodes up to now and you have a heavy dose of background in the flashbacks that make you think, "Okay, where is this going?" Then the next episode turns into a straight-forward formula and just.....stays that way. So, I guess we'll never know how they crashed on earth, how they made lives for themselves, and never learn more about sophia's doomed relationship with her son.
ReplyDeleteNow, they are killing off everyone that was "important" one by one and going nowhere in the plot. I agree wih everything that I read here. I would like to add another negative of the show. It's the jumping of the shark. To this day, it has never been explained how Sean knew to get on the plane and get a gun in the very first episode, the 2 rogue scientists' disappearance that helped Sean and Leil escape from a rooftop....where did they go???, and, of course, the absence of the background stories (shown with the flashbacks).
I will stay with the show just to finish it, but the biggest event of them all will be if this series ever gets renewed.
The Event has solid ideas and I think has cracked to formula of not keeping to many things secret and at the same time revealing just as much to keep viewers interested... But the writing is bad... just plain bad... ditto for acting... There are a couple of things that the show could have done differently storywise, but with what they did the actors and writers made it unlikable... Scheduling? yes, that can be a factor, the show may have retained more viewers had it aired uninterrupted, but not enough for a renewal... Plus, we are in a time when there are very few serialized shows that click on networks...
ReplyDeleteThe Walking Dead for written for a 7-episode first season the whole time... It was not put on hiatus, the season just ended... Maybe they would have made it a 13 episode season from the get go if they had known that it will be so hugely successful...
ReplyDeleteI am sure that the same amount of viewers may not tune in when it returns, but assuming that the stories will be interesting and there will be the same amount of promotion, I am sure a substantial number of viewers will return, myself included.
Me too. But it is kind of strange. After only six (seven?) episodes, the finale was aired in December and the second season doesn't start until October. That is one loooong break for a not-yet-established show. The second season better take off running or viewers will give up.
ReplyDeleteAMC did the same thing with Breaking Bad. There was a 7 episode first season and after that all seasons were 13 episodes
ReplyDelete