The Event - does it suck? (British viewer questions)

[JoeZhang]

OK, so tonight we are getting the first two episodes of The Event and 40 minutes in... well this show seems to suck. I have seen the first episode on a crappy torrent but it seems no better on a decent TV.

Does the show get any better and do they do less of the time-shifting or shall I call it a bust and turn over?

 

[Starbreaker]

I'm reserving judgment until the season is over. Just check out the weekly viewing threads here.

 

[Lt. Trull]

no actually... It's getting pretty interesting.... it's also been renewed for a full series of season episodes (around 20-22)... I'm not sure about season 2...

 

[startrekwatcher]

The first two episodes are not very good--the characters were bland beyond Ritter's character and Laura Innes' Sophia, the story didn't exactly hit the ground running, the action was trite, the flashbacks were pointless. I seriously thought I would be dumping this show a la V or FlashForward but starting at episode 3 the series gets better and I thought each subsequent episode so far has been better than the last. I started liking some of the characters better, the story got more interesting, they toned down the flashbacks and have become more relevant to the main story.

I also appreciated that isn't as unwieldy and complicated as LOST--it wisely focuses on just a modest ensemble and two or three story threads each week and pretty much moves forward in an easy-to-follow linear format.

I'd say stick with it you just have to get passed those first two hours.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Sad to say, it does suck. Worse than I feared. And I wanted to like it. It's nothing like Lost or 24. It's more like a cliche-ridden, plot-hole-ridden, awkwardly written, tone-deaf attempt by talentless people to imitate what made Lost and 24 so popular. Lost in particular is probably unreproducable, but The Event isn't even competent as a brainless thriller.

Jason Ritter and the actress who plays the FBI agent are good, but nothing else is salvageable on the show. I hope the show gets cancelled quickly and those two move on to more worthy roles, although the way TV is, that could be a faint hope.

However, the whole new fall season is a bust. None of the new shows are any good. I'll probably stick with The Event out of sheer inertia.

 

[Brolan]

I thought the first couple of episodes sucked, but it's gotten more interesting lately. It's far from the best show in the world but I'm still watching. And I watch very little TV.

 

[Jack Bauer]

Does the show get any better and do they do less of the time-shifting or shall I call it a bust and turn over?

There's still flashbacks but they're not as hyper as the pilot was. They toned the time jumping around quite a bit.

 

[Iconian]

I think it's good.

And the ladies do not disappoint.

 

[Shurik]

The pilot episode is by far the weakest and the most confusing episode of those that were aired so far. It gets a lot better.

 

[propita]

Still no explanation as to why “whomever” Vicky works for was so hot to kill Sean’s character, yet didn’t bother with all their earlier chances, like maybe drowning him while diving?

I still think that he’s the offspring of some of the group that went with Thomas. There’s something about him or why is he being bothered with?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I still think that he’s the offspring of some of the group that went with Thomas.

That's the obvious explanation. I hope they won't go for such predictable plot twists, but the way the show is written, I think they will. This isn't the smart kind of show where the writers know what cliches we'll immediately think of, and so they write in order to steer around those cliches.

 

[Shurik]

I still think that he’s the offspring of some of the group that went with Thomas.

That's the obvious explanation. I hope they won't go for such predictable plot twists, but the way the show is written, I think they will. This isn't the smart kind of show where the writers know what cliches we'll immediately think of, and so they write in order to steer around those cliches.

The only other explanation for the interest in this guy is that whoever kidnapped his girlfriend needed him for something (he's supposed to be a computer genius or something), otherwise it would've been much easier to just kill him and his girlfriend, as a part of the family of the pilot. This begs the question about what does he know/can do that technologically advanced people can't.
I don't think that him being the offspring of one of the Thomas' group is that obvious. If he is, didn't it bother him that his mom or dad don't age? Wouldn't it been easier to just tell him who he is, instead of going to all the trouble with the kidnapping?

 

[propita]

I still think that he’s the offspring of some of the group that went with Thomas.

That's the obvious explanation. I hope they won't go for such predictable plot twists, but the way the show is written, I think they will. This isn't the smart kind of show where the writers know what cliches we'll immediately think of, and so they write in order to steer around those cliches.

The only other explanation for the interest in this guy is that whoever kidnapped his girlfriend needed him for something (he's supposed to be a computer genius or something), otherwise it would've been much easier to just kill him and his girlfriend, as a part of the family of the pilot. This begs the question about what does he know/can do that technologically advanced people can't.
I don't think that him being the offspring of one of the Thomas' group is that obvious. If he is, didn't it bother him that his mom or dad don't age? Wouldn't it been easier to just tell him who he is, instead of going to all the trouble with the kidnapping?

If they needed him, why were they so willing to kill him (that one guy at the FBI office was aiming at him, and it’s easier to move a walking person than an injured one)?

And he’s estranged from his parents, so he might not be noticing their lack of aging too much.

And it doesn’t sound like it’s the ... well whatever they are, aliens or whatever ... that’re behind the plane’s intended crashing or the kidnapping or the killings. Sophia wasn’t doing that and Thomas only recently seems to have gotten violent.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I don't think that him being the offspring of one of the Thomas' group is that obvious.

The Thanksgiving Dinner scene, in which Sean reveals some sketchy backstory about his parents, struck me as just the type of misdirection that writers use when they have something big planned. Sean may not know the whole story about his parents, either. And the people who raised him aren't necessarily his natural parents.

I have a hard time believing Sean is even a normally skilled computer hacker - he just doesn't come off as a techie whiz kid. It would strain credulity to think that he has some special skills that nobody else on the planet possesses.

Wouldn't it been easier to just tell him who he is, instead of going to all the trouble with the kidnapping?

This show is so badly written that I'm not going to bother trying to figure out its logic until I see some evidence that it's worth the effort to do so.

 

[Mr Light]

It's definitely the best new show of the season, but it's not amazing. The story is certainly promising I just wish they didn't do the constant time jumping.

 

[Amasov]

It's hit and miss for me.

I enjoyed the first episode and REALLY liked the second one.

What's frustrating me is that the show seems to go out of its way to let the audience know that they're not going to answer anything.

A critic reviewing the show said, "If Lost, 24, and the 4400 had a baby, it would be The Event."

That has to be the most spot-on description for it.

I'm still sticking with it, but I have to admit being a HUGE Lost fan, my patience and interest in another mystery show is wearing very thin. They better get their act together and start answering, otherwise I'm going to quit out of exhaustion.

 

[Shurik]

If they needed him, why were they so willing to kill him (that one guy at the FBI office was aiming at him, and it’s easier to move a walking person than an injured one)?

IIRC, about a week passed between the kidnapping of his girlfriend and the events of the first episode. Maybe during this time whoever wanted him understood that he's just doesn't worth the trouble.
Or maybe I'm giving the writers too much credit ...

And it doesn’t sound like it’s the ... well whatever they are, aliens or whatever ... that’re behind the plane’s intended crashing or the kidnapping or the killings. Sophia wasn’t doing that and Thomas only recently seems to have gotten violent.

Yeah, seems like there's another faction involved in all of this ...

 

[Lt. Trull]

another faction.... seems like there are two stories.... one story involving the alien's... who are either from another world... or evolved humans from a future time.... either way... aliens.... and the other story involving the boy and his girlfriend....

both seemingly unrelated.... it will be interesting to see how this evolves... either he's detrimental to the evolution of the future humans.... or.... he's the offspring of one of them.... or maybe something else... time will tell....

 

[FordSVT]

Sad to say, it does suck. Worse than I feared. And I wanted to like it. It's nothing like Lost or 24. It's more like a cliche-ridden, plot-hole-ridden, awkwardly written, tone-deaf attempt by talentless people to imitate what made Lost and 24 so popular. Lost in particular is probably unreproducable, but The Event isn't even competent as a brainless thriller.

Jason Ritter and the actress who plays the FBI agent are good, but nothing else is salvageable on the show. I hope the show gets cancelled quickly and those two move on to more worthy roles, although the way TV is, that could be a faint hope.

However, the whole new fall season is a bust. None of the new shows are any good. I'll probably stick with The Event out of sheer inertia.

This isn't the smart kind of show where the writers know what cliches we'll immediately think of, and so they write in order to steer around those cliches.

This show is so badly written that I'm not going to bother trying to figure out its logic until I see some evidence that it's worth the effort to do so.

Please explain to me the mentality the forces a person to watch a TV show they clearly hate just because "there is nothing else on", because I don't understand it. I watch a show for a couple of episodes, if I don't like it I don't watch anymore. Is that weird?

Watch something else, watch something old you've never seen before, don't watch TV... but why spend hours of your time watching this show when you clearly believe it's total shit? Do you eat foods you find disgusting because you hope someday you'll like them?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Please explain to me the mentality the forces a person to watch a TV show they clearly hate just because "there is nothing else on", because I don't understand it.

It's fun to come here and bitch about it, and annoy people like you.

But there's definitely a point where a show will annoy me so badly that even the fun of bitching about it pales in comparison with the pain of watching it. I've already gotten to that point with No Ordinary Family, and The Event doesn't have long to go before it reaches that point. Unless something really big happens to change my mind.

Do you eat foods you find disgusting because you hope someday you'll like them?

If I think the chef might just be having an off day or an off week and could improve, and the food wasn't completely inedible to begin with, sure. I've given Chuck and Clone Wars second chances after writing them off, and I'm glad I did. I can cite many cases of shows I hung in with, that finally improved to the point that my patience was rewarded. Just to cite a few: The Gates after four episodes, Invasion after half a season, Jericho after a full season, ENT after three full seasons. And there are many, many others which just go to show that it's impossible to predict if a show will improve, or when it will improve.

There are just as many examples of shows where my patience was not rewarded. I hung in with Heroes till the bitter end, for example. But what if it had startlingly improved and I missed it? That prospect, and the examples of other shows that did turn things around, was more than enough to motivate me to stay the course.

What I don't understand is the mentality of someone who reads posts that just annoy them and then bitches about them in such a futile manner. What does it matter to you what some random person on the internet watches on TV or what they have to say about it? Just skip those posts or ignore the person altogether if it bothers you so much. Because unlike TV shows, my posts won't "improve" over what you've seen from me and I will continue to say whatever the fuck I care to say for the indefinite future. I'm very consistent that way.

Also, you might want to note that the OP specifically asked for opinions about The Event. I am on topic in giving my opinions, as requested. You are off topic, since the topic at hand is not whether I have the right to state my opinions, which of course is not under dispute and never will be. However, I'm quite happy to drag this thread way the fuck off topic and make it all about ME ME ME, a topic of far greater interest to ME than some dumbshit TV show which will manage to make it thru the whole season only because NBC is lame beyond belief and may keep it around out of sheer desperation.