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It’s far too easy and perhaps a little misguided to compare The Event to Lost... Yes, the two share certain similarities, but then again, any mystery-based TV show written within the past few years will have looked to Lost in some way or form (think Heroes, Fringe, FlashForward etc). I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - there is absolutely, categorically, no such thing as “the next Lost” (although, if you’ve got Lost-withdrawal and want something with a slightly similar tone, try Fringe). In reality, The Event (or THE EVƎNT) is best described as the love-child of 24 and FlashForward with a healthy dose of clichés and cliffhangers thrown into the mix too.
For the first two episodes, the plot of The Event does its best to be as confusing as possible whilst actually being quite easy to understand (so, a not-that-clever way of making the show seem more complex than it is). The CIA have covered up the presence of some “extraterrestrials” who resemble humans but have different DNA (I’m not buying that they’re really aliens just yet) and then they locked them away in a secret facility. The catalyst of the action comes from the current president’s (played by Blair Underwood) decision to reveal the existence of these “aliens” to the American public. Unsurprisingly, mayhem ensues - complete with assassination plots, kidnappings, murders, lies, conspiracies and loads of cliffhangers.
There’s no denying that The Event is a bit silly, and it has more than its fair share of issues. For one, the lack of continuity in the narrative (an overload of flashbacks and flashforwards) makes the pacing feel more than a little “off”. Its biggest problem, however, lies in the fact that it doesn’t flesh out its core characters...which will always be problematic for a new series. Obviously, a show is sold on its central concept...but it will only ever grow to succeed when the audience starts to care about the protagonists. The only character in The Event who I have any semblance of empathy for is Sean Walker (played by Jason Ritter), as he’s just an ordinary guy caught up in all this crazy confusion.
Unlike many reviewers, though, I didn’t totally hate the start of The Event. I think we’re better off than the US by getting the first two episodes shown in a double-bill (it gives us a much better idea of what a regular episode will feel like). Furthermore, I do think that Ritter is a genuinely decent actor, the story still has loads of potential to be intriguing and those narrative/character issues that I just mentioned aren’t so disastrous that they couldn’t be easily rectified. I’m someone who sat through all of FlashForward and I just love a big mystery show so I’m more than prepared to stick with The Event and wait for it to improve.
The Event airs on Fridays at 9pm on Channel 4. The first two episodes are available now on 4OD
Have just watched episode 5! The plot gets less confusing and more straightforward, and i suspect that theyre gonna come up with some "we're from the future" crap later to explain who the "detainees" are.
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