'The Event': What's Wrong and How to Fix It

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by TV-Tastic, Dec 22, 2010.

  1. TV-Tastic

    TV-Tastic Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2010
    Location:
    Las Vegas, NV USA
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2010
  2. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    I can usually write 1000 word essays on How to Fix This Sucky Show, but The Event stumps me, because everything is wrong with it. The way to fix it is to cancel it and put something better in its timeslot.

    1. You got some splainin’ to do.

    No, the show needs a premise that is worth explaining.

    2. Simplify.

    When they come up with a viable premise, yes, it should be simple at its core.

    3. Less flashbacks.

    If the characters were interesting, maybe the flashbacks would be worthwhile.

    4. More ‘splosions, please.

    If the story sucks and the characters are dull, the ‘splosions just remind us that they're a distraction from the fact that the show has nothing going for it.

    5. Manny Effing Coto.

    Not that I'm blaming Coto, but S5 of Dexter was a letdown - the writers have lost track of their premise and the show has lost a lot of its snap. If Coto was partly to blame, sure, get him off Dexter and onto a show where he won't do any damage.
     
  3. TV-Tastic

    TV-Tastic Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2010
    Location:
    Las Vegas, NV USA
    S5 of Dexter was a letdown because S4 was so good. When you reach the top of your game four seasons in, there's nowhere to go but down. S5 is actually better than S1 - S3 my opinion. The problem is that every season of Dexter from now on is going to be a letdown because of the "Trinity Killer" storyline.

    -The 'Tastic
     
  4. Kail

    Kail Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2002
    Location:
    Ga.
    Waaaaay to much jumping around the timeline.
     
  5. TV-Tastic

    TV-Tastic Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2010
    Location:
    Las Vegas, NV USA
    Arrghh... should have mentioned this before:

    You're coming at this from a completely different perspective than I am. I like the show and the story, I just think they are doing a terrible job production-wise to keep and and attract audiences. I don't think the show in general needs to be fixed, but there are certain aspects about that certainly do.

    The issue regarding the action only works if there the story is there to begin with, so in that respect we agree. Action for the sake of action is a distraction if there's no substance. Again, I just don't think that's the case with The Event.

    -The 'Tastic
     
  6. TV-Tastic

    TV-Tastic Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2010
    Location:
    Las Vegas, NV USA
    See #3. ;)

    -The 'Tastic
     
  7. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    S1 and S2 were even better than S4. S5 was a letdown because the series had established an unusually high standard for its average, but when a series does that, it has an obligation to maintain it. There aren't any shows around as good as Dexter and so it's that much more galling when it starts to slip.

    What is it about the story that you like? I can't stand any of the characters and from what I can tell, the story is something about aliens who crash landed decades ago and are trying to do...something. Granted, it got so boring I started making heavy use of the fast-forward button, so I probably skipped over a lot of details, but I'm drawing a blank what it is about the show that's worth saving.
     
  8. Level 2 Diagnostic

    Level 2 Diagnostic Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Nov 23, 2005
    Location:
    A Man Called Hawk
    I'd say it's a lost cause at this point. It's clear they adopted the 24 method of making shit up as they go along. So even if they attempt to "explain" things it won't make any sense, because they're just making up the "answers" on the fly.
     
  9. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2007
    Location:
    Space Massachusetts
    Too much, and too late.
     
  10. Captain Pike

    Captain Pike Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Damn, disappointed; I thought the thread title was a Mitchell/Webb reference..

    REMAIN INDOORS!

    (ahh.. nevermind :|)
     
  11. Jack Bauer

    Jack Bauer Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 1999
    Location:
    Jack Bauer
    It's headed for cancellation already...no way it gets a second season. So why bother?
     
  12. TV-Tastic

    TV-Tastic Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2010
    Location:
    Las Vegas, NV USA
    Sometimes that's just impossible. Most shows that maintain any kind of significant history have that one great season that just plays out perfectly and when you hit the top there's nowhere else to go but down. 24, Prison Break, Heroes, and even Lost to an extent are shows that in recent memory had this happen to them. I think people are expecting far too much from the producers. This is art, not auto parts. Not every Shakespeare play was Hamlet.

    I've said the same thing about NuBSG. Sequels and pre-quels are pointless no matter how original the concept. No susbsequent BSG is ever going to be up to the standadrd of NuBSG no matter how original or successful it is. That being said it doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy Caprica or that I won't enjoy Blood & Chrome, I'm just not going into it expecting it to maintain the same level of NuBSG.
    Been watching Dexter since the first episode aired and I couldn't disagree more. Dexter, S1 wasn't even the best show on Showtime at the time and the series still only cracks my top 5 (still, despite the bit of a letdown of S5) today. But then again, to each his/her own. That's what makes the debate so fun.

    It doesn't sound to me like you are watching it at all anymore because you could have gotten that out of the first one or two episodes, but then again, like I said, I cetainly understand why people jumped ship early on.

    The storyline is very compelling as are the mysteries and twists. That's what's keeping me coming back. As far as the characters are concerned, this isn't a character driven show, it's an event-driven show but it doesn't seem to understand that which was the point I was making in the post in item #3 re: flashbacks. Genuine character relatibility really should be a non-issue with this show just as it was with 24. All you needed to know in 24 is who the good guys were and who the bad guys were and from there you would sit back and try to figure out which one was the mole at CTU. With the Event, it's not much different, at least, it shouldn't be.

    As far as why it's worth saving, at this point, as much as I like it, I don't think it's worth saving at all. The show has to appeal to a general audience and it's simply not doing that. It's only worth saving if they make dramatic changes to what they are doing with it now.

    Not necessarily. It's definitely a bubble-show but there are a lot more new shows on NBC that are far worse off and destined for cancellation.

    NBC wants this show to succeed and they are gong to try to help it along as much as they feasibly can for a couple of reasons. First, NBC has wanted their own 24 for some time now (they had even considered picking it up last year from FOX before they saw the books and the pricetag that FOX was asking). They had hoped that Heroes would be the answer but it never panned out that way and they gave that show a lot more time clean up its act then they probably should have. They aren't FOX. NBC has a history of giving shows a chance even when they probably shouldn't.

    Second, Universal has a crapload of money tied up in Evan Katz to run this show and The Event was the only reason they signed him to a two-year, multi-million dollar contract to begin with.

    As I noted, the two-hour recap episode airing on February 28 is an attempt to spark new audience interest and perhaps bring back people who may have left. The other thing to consider is the fact they ordered new episodes last month and they didn't have to do that. The Event is a very expensive show to produce and if they didn't have faith in it, they would have cut their losses, not ordered the reamining episodes of the season.

    -The 'Tastic
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2010
  13. Spot's Meow

    Spot's Meow Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2004
    Location:
    Hotel California
    There is something in what you've said about The Event not seeming to know whether it is a character or event driven show. They are stuck somewhere in the middle, doing both half-heartedly, when really they should have either focused entirely on making us love these characters no matter what's going on in the story, or really involving us in a compelling story no matter who the characters are. Unfortunately we just have mediocre characters acting out a mediocre story, and it just doesn't capture my attention.
     
  14. Starbreaker

    Starbreaker Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2001
    Location:
    Birmingham, AL
    It needs Betty White.
     
  15. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    You're right, I've just been skimming. But you still haven't described what it is about the show that is worth saving. Why not try explaining it to a new viewer who doesn't know squat about it? I'll take what you post and see what I can come up with to rescue it.

    As for its chances of renewal, NBC is facing another disastrous lineup this season, and my hunch is The Cape will be another instant-cancellation fodder show for them. They very well might make an extra effort to rescue The Event.
     
  16. Lookingglassman

    Lookingglassman Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2006
    Location:
    America
    I figure this show isnt going to last very long so that is why I refuse to watch it. I hate wasting my time watching shows with a mystery then it is cancelled and I am provided no answers to what is going on.
     
  17. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    Here's the NBC cancel/renew list. The Event is listed as more likely to be cancelled than renewed even though 1.00 is usually the right side of the line (just barely or should I say bearly ha ha :p). Maybe that's because The Event is pricey, or possibly the suits are embarrassed that their premier show of the season has flopped so badly and just want it out of the way? I wouldn't discount that factor at all, though of course nobody is going to admit it.
     
  18. Robert Maxwell

    Robert Maxwell memelord Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2001
    Location:
    space
    I think I watched the first five episodes of this show before giving up on it. It's such a muddled, incomprehensible mess. I'm not even sure what the show is supposed to be about and I'm not going to stick around for ages to find out.
     
  19. DarKush

    DarKush Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2005
    I agreed a lot with the linked article about the problems. And I agree a lot with the solutions. However, I think the show is too far gone.

    It's a shame. NBC did a good job hyping this show up and it had a lot of people tuning in, but all the flashbacks, the boring characters, the muddled story/stories, it quickly became a trainwreck.

    Nothing on Jason Ritter, but his storyline should've been eliminated. I think he's supposed to be the everyman, and his searching for and protecting his girlfriend is supposed to be the emotional core of the film, but it doesn't work for me. It just adds one more layer onto a cake with far too many layers. I wish they had kept the focus on the 'big boys' and centered the show around the sleeper agent. I found his episode far more interesting, and his scenes with the older woman he once loved far more emotional than any of the Jason Ritter scenes. The agent's struggle, his divided soul, works for me. Also, I wish they had made the detainees evolved humans. The alien thing, particularly for aliens that look and act far too human, has been done to death.

    Shift the focus to the government players, minimize flashbacks, and tell a coherent story, and maybe this show can salvage itself. Though I doubt it. I think the damage has been done.
     
  20. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    From what I saw, Jason Ritter's plotline was too tangental to the core alien-invasion story. But you need to have a character like that, the everyman, who the audience can relate to. The sleeper agent guy in the FBI could be the other lead character.

    But the problem still remains: what is the story about the aliens and why should we care? All I know is that they apparently are trapped on Earth and are a bit surly about it, and planning to do something about it. Is there anything more to it than that?