The Event: "Pilot" - Sept. 20 on NBC - Grading & Discussion

[Base_Delta_Zero]

Fail.

I was amped about this and then it started. What a bunch of bullshit. If they had put everything in chronological order it might have actually been interesting and I could have ignored the asinine characters whose names I know, but don't care to recall.

It should have been aliens. They should never have shown us stupid humans as the big mystery detainees. And the aliens should have always been shrouded in mystery and shadow. The conniving white advisors undermining the will of yet another Black, I mean Cuban, President was tiring, too. The whole thing was one big yawn after another.

I'll DVR one more episode to see what they do with the jet/wormhole thing, but if they're just going to pile more idiotically structured flashbacks on top of unanswered questions and paper-thin characterizations, I'm out.

And Daybreak is an epically awesome show that actually finished a story in one season. If big changes aren't made to The EV3NT, and soon, I don't predict such happy results.

 

[Aragorn]

The Entertainment Weekly TV guy says three major questions are answered in the second episode.

 

[lennier1]

The Entertainment Weekly TV guy says three major questions are answered in the second episode.

Unfortunately the pilot episode made sure that only part of the viewers will even bother with the second episode. Kinda like using bad writing to force an even worse ratings drop than normal.

 

[Trekker4747]

The Entertainment Weekly TV guy says three major questions are answered in the second episode.

One of my questions is if I'll be reimbursed for the Dramamine the show forced me to buy. Will that be answered?

 

[Caligula]

You may have seen the brunette from this:

Knew I recognized her from something!

So I'm guessing that the "detainees" are aliens or future humans or angels, and they teleported the plane away to save the Notbama and their leader lady. And the evil government conspiracy which was keeping them captive is the one who blackmailed Gilmore Guy into kamikazing Notbama.

"Notbama".... Classic. You should trademark that.

 

[bigdaddy]

Question: I just saw the premiere of The Event, and it was so good! (EWWW) Do you have any scoops? —Marie-Eve
Ausiello: I just watched next week’s episode and was completely satisfied with both the quality and quantity of the answers we got. In addition to learning what happened to the plane and its inhabitants, we find out what turned Scott Patterson into the pilot from hell and who exactly The Others (a.k.a. Laura Innes & Co.) are. Bonus scoops: A rather pivotal character from the premiere is murdered, and someone else is not who he/she claims to be.

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/09/22/ask-ausiello-spoilers-glee-greys-gossip/

 

[Snick27]

Question: I just saw the premiere of The Event, and it was so good! (EWWW) Do you have any scoops? —Marie-Eve
Ausiello: I just watched next week’s episode and was completely satisfied with both the quality and quantity of the answers we got. In addition to learning what happened to the plane and its inhabitants, we find out what turned Scott Patterson into the pilot from hell and who exactly The Others (a.k.a. Laura Innes & Co.) are. Bonus scoops: A rather pivotal character from the premiere is murdered, and someone else is not who he/she claims to be.

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/09/22/ask-ausiello-spoilers-glee-greys-gossip/

But everything is shown so out of order that by the end of the episode you just didnt care.

 

[Starbreaker]

I just feel sorry for anyone who watches all 22 episodes and hates every one and spends hours bitching about it. You think I'm crazy now, but we'll see...

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Question: I just saw the premiere of The Event, and it was so good! (EWWW) Do you have any scoops? —Marie-Eve
Ausiello: I just watched next week’s episode and was completely satisfied with both the quality and quantity of the answers we got. In addition to learning what happened to the plane and its inhabitants, we find out what turned Scott Patterson into the pilot from hell and who exactly The Others (a.k.a. Laura Innes & Co.) are. Bonus scoops: A rather pivotal character from the premiere is murdered, and someone else is not who he/she claims to be.

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/09/22/ask-ausiello-spoilers-glee-greys-gossip/

But everything is shown so out of order that by the end of the episode you just didnt care.

Truth hurts.

I just feel sorry for anyone who watches all 22 episodes and hates every one and spends hours bitching about it. You think I'm crazy now, but we'll see...

Well, if one cannot derive any entertainment from watching said episodes, one may as well derive some entertainment from bitching about said episodes. Fair is fair.

 

[LitmusDragon]

Based on the feedback here I may just stick with Fringe.

I'll be DVRing the new episodes while I wait for my S2 box set to arrive. Amazon ran out of stock on them, apparently. Mine's been delayed about a week.

I guess that's good news for Fringe. Or bad news from the manufacturing plant.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I just feel sorry for anyone who watches all 22 episodes and hates every one and spends hours bitching about it. You think I'm crazy now, but we'll see...

And if 22 episodes down the road the same people who complain about every single episode yet still watch the show religiously are here, they'll be the annoying ones. Until then, whining about people having a negative opinion about a new show in a discussion forum where opinions are not only desired but necessary makes you the one being annoying.

 

[Starbreaker]

I wasn't directing that at anyone in particular.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I know. And my post wasn't just directed at you. I find both the show stalkers who virulently hate a series yet comment on it in every thread for years and those who can't seem to be able to take even reasonable criticism of a show they love equally irritating.

 

[Starbreaker]

5 Sneak Peaks

http://www.spoilertv.com/2010/09/event-episode-102-to-keep-us-safe-5.html

 

[Greylock Crescent]

5 Sneak Peaks

http://www.spoilertv.com/2010/09/event-episode-102-to-keep-us-safe-5.html

Thanks!

A couple of quick things. For the most part, the clips don't give us much that couldn't have already been inferred from the first episode. Sean and his girlfriend have absolutely no chemistry or charismatic screen presence regardless of when in their relationship we see them (honestly, it's worse than watching Anakin and Padme).

The only interesting tidbit was when Sophie said:

Spoiler: What Sophie said about her people

"My people have been waiting 66 years." Which would seem to confirm that an "event" of some kind happened in the past.

 

[doubleohfive]

I finally watched the pilot. Jason Ritter needs to wipe the smudged charcoal off his lip and chin; the faux-goatee look doesn't work well for him.

The disjointed flashbacks and the jumping around through the timeline was distracting, to the point that I was grateful to have the character name cards. But, for fuck's sake, Hollywood needs to give the Jeffries Extended BT font a day off.

It was beyond obvious the other couple Sean and Layla encounter were shady... and equally it caught my attention that both the Vice-President and what's his nuts from True Blood (the Magister) had left the Miami hotel just before the press conference was to begin. Hopefully Martinez will put two and two together and realize this.

All in all, not the greatest pilot ever. Then again, most shows don't have great pilots. LOST is one notable exception, and I think because it was so good, so well-recieved, and so fresh in our minds, we've come to expect stellar quality out of every pilot we see and that's just not how pilots work. I like enough of I've seen enough of the show to want to tune in next week and hope that they improve on what they've done already.

Here's my theory: Laura Innes, the other dude (the one driving the SUV at the airport) and the other inmates at the Alaska institution are aliens or some other form of non-human, non-American beings. So is Luke from Gilmore Girls. The reason his wife was shot was because she's human. The two daughters were kidnapped and likely protected because they were half-human/half-alien/whatever hybrids. The Event was these aliens/whatevers arriving on Earth.

You heard it here first!

 

[Shurik]

The only interesting tidbit was when Sophie said:

Spoiler: What Sophie said about her people

"My people have been waiting 66 years." Which would seem to confirm that an "event" of some kind happened in the past.

This could also imply

Spoiler: What Sophie said about her people

"The return of the Space Nazis "

 

[Greylock Crescent]

This could also imply

Spoiler: What Sophie said about her people

"The return of the Space Nazis "

Spoiler: What Sophie said about her people

"Space Nazis. I hate these guys."

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I'm sticking with my Mirror Universe theory, due to the backwards "E" in the logo. There's no America in the other reality, hence the MU characters talk and act American but are not. The pilot wasn't the dad because dad was shot (didn't that look like a man's hand in the pool of blood back at the house - not the mom's?) He's evil MU dad from the other reality.

I hope it's not something as tired and obvious as that, but if it is, at least I can gloat! By making this prediction, it's a no-lose situation for me.

Sean and his girlfriend have absolutely no chemistry or charismatic screen presence regardless of when in their relationship we see them (honestly, it's worse than watching Anakin and Padme).

NOTHING is worse than watching Anakin and Padme. Jason Ritter seems like a guy who could have chemistry with someone, but the girl they got is cardboard. If only they could cast Natalie Portman instead...

 

[Hyperspace05]

Hmmm - I voted Average.

The biggest problems with the premiere episode were:

1. The incredibly disjointed timeline
They are really taking the LOST thing too far - without understanding what made LOST work well (most of the time). LOST used to have two parallel stories in each episode. BUT here we have THREE, and not only that, we jump back and forth in chronological order, and frequently repeat several minutes worth of scenes (in total) which is just a sign of lack of trust in the material. They did not think they had a compelling start of the show, so they re-jiggered things until it was a mess.

2. The teasing of the EVENT itself.
Arrgh. Yes, it is OK to do that in advertising of the show. BUT NOT IN THE SHOW ITSELF. Especially when you have characters who are discussing a situation (like the president and his advisors), and they are deliberately as vague as possible to each other for no reason, other to stretch out the suspense. This hyped EVENT has better be something extraordinary, or this will be a HUGE letdown.

I will watch for another episode at least, but if things don't improve, I will dump my season pass real fast.

And I agree with Temis... 'They' are probably from an alternate dimension or time travelers.