How did NBC get a picture of Friday nights in my basement?
Hello again! After a week off from The Event, it's great to be back. I was reading some of the comments on last week's article, and it appears that some of you don't believe that an excitable 14-year-old boy wrote the piece for me while I was away saving orphans. Would I lie to you?
I've also seen your feedback and I promise I will never, ever, ever compare The Event to Lost or 24 again. Let's face it, those two shows are nothing like The Event, except for the government agents, plane crashes, hints of sci-fi, preposterous cliffhangers, and expanding ensemble casts. I'm joking, guys, but seriously—no more comparisons. That stuff got old a long time ago; even I know that.
So let's take The Event for what it is: a whiplash car crash of a TV show. When you think it's going to turn right, it screeches left. When you want to slam on the brakes before smashing into a median, it accelerates, takes off its seat belt, and cranks up the AC/DC Pandora station. This show parks in handicapped spaces... even though it's perfectly healthy! I totally agree with that 14-year-old who wrote last week's article!
A lot of you have given me guff for calling out the ridiculousness of The Event, but you have to admit, the show's bread-and-butter is its shock value. And I want you to understand that when I say these things, it isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'd still tune into The Event even if I didn't have to; like the rest of the show's fans, I can't wait to see what happens next.
We may differ in our opinions of the academic quality of the program, but we both recognize why this show is so watchable: It's balls-to-the-wall fun. It's got enough intrigue in five minutes to fill an entire network schedule for the season. And, like I said before, I can't wait to see what happens next!
That said (you saw that coming, didn't you?), last night's episode slowed things down a tad too much and didn't serve up the eye-popping answers (or questions) we feasted on in the first three episodes. But it's incredibly difficult to keep up such a fast pace for three episodes—let alone a whole season—so perhaps we've just grown a bit spoiled. I give the producers big props for delivering shocker after shocker after shocker early on, and I still have confidence that they'll give us plenty more in episodes to come.
With less action in last night's episode, the actors were forced to trudge through some pretty clunky dialogue—and some pretty horrible acting was exposed. Agent Collier, the oddly sarcastic agent who's helping Sean, is particularly grating. I know I'm a writer and I'm supposed to be better with words, but I can't think of anything other than SHE SUCKS. She needs to be killed off very soon. (Fast fact: Heather McComb, who plays Collier, is married to James van der Beek!)
The Event thrives on being a sports car that's speeding out of control. Without the twists and turns, special effects, and action, it loses too much of its identity—and its weaknesses surface. Let's hope some more reckless driving on an icy one-lane mountaintop highway is coming up soon. Pedal to the metal, dude.
A few extra notes, because why not?:
... D.B. Sweeney, who plays Vicky's alcoholic partner Carter, will always be the dude from The Cutting Edge to me.
... Clifton Collins Jr., who plays the mysterious Thomas, is awesome in everything he does. He was born to be creepy, and he does it well. Remember him as Frankie Flores from Traffic?
... Possible spoiler alert: Heather McComb is only listed as appearing in four episodes of The Event, according to IMDB. This was her third. Does this portend a grisly death for the most annoying FBI agent in the history of television? Let's hope so.
... I am not a huge fan of the episode-long misdirections (Sean and Collier going to the wrong address, Vicky and Carter planning Leila's escape).
... I know I'm not supposed to rip on kids about their acting, but the two tykes in this episode (the plane crash survivor and Vicky's son) were heinous. Don't quit your day job, kiddos!
... One of last week's commenters, D-blaze34, had harsh words for the 14-year-old boy who wrote the article, saying he made an error when talking about the agent finding her bag with "spidey-sense." The 14-year-old boy thought the bag on the bed was Sean's laptop bag and regrets the error. Can he be a man now?
... Thanks to everyone who has been reading these so far! Keep the comments—good and bad—coming!
Follow TV.com writer Tim Surette on Twitter: @TimAtTVDotCom
This episode was not shocking as previous episodes have been, however I thought the pace was fine, and there was plenty of suspense to keep me on the edge, and I definitely want to know what happens next!
I love the show and the story. I agree that there are some inconsistencies. The authors should be more aware of details that can make the show better. The main problem with this show is as the Tim Surette indicated: acting!! I am surprised he mentioned the FBI agent as being the worst. Leila was horrible!!! She tried to cry at one time, with absolutely no tears in her eyes. She is not convincing at all. Great shows always had great actors, even in minor roles, let alone major roles. They have to step it up!!
Still the show is full of inconsistencies... When Vicky goes down in the cellar for killing Leila is daylight, when Leila few minutes after escapes is night... How is that possible? And the f&%$ing mobile out of battery? And the car chase? I love the concept, it's funny entertainment but the authors seems to be not too commited...
I really like this show so far. The last episode was not as exciting as I thought it was going to be, but I do get that sometimes you need an episode that is just a vehicle to get to the better stuff... Hopefully ext week will not disappont!
I like the show.. the last episode was not what i hoped for, I mean it was good, but it could do much better. I agree about the episode long miss directions, I am not a fan of them either. I hope they give us more entertaining episodes in the future. I can say one thing, i will tune into this show every week..
We can't like everything. At mmorpg.com you get banned for trolling if you say that you don't like a game. Here at this site we can say what we like about the shows! Thats's a good thing!
from the moment the bottle broke on the basement I knew she would escape by using a piece of the broken bottle glass (An idea clearly taken away from an episode of Breakin Bad where Walt had some drug dealer tied at Jessie's basement and a plate broke). Eventhough so far its a kind of predictable drama I'll continue watching it.
are you sure you don't want to rename your site "hatetv"? because there is nothing you like, probably except japanese cartoon, isn't it?
I noticed a lot of 24 moments in this episode, which is great! The presidents kid having the phone in his bag, Collier and Sean going to the wrong house, the planned escape of Leila... Even though it is as predictable as 24, it's still as great! I wouldn't compare any other episodes to either 24 nor Lost though, each show is its own, and people comparing it to dead shows are the ones killing it. Happened with FlashForward too.
i was also gonna write something about the spidey sense thing :D... i watched back the scene nd she clearly looked under the bed ....but dn i thought maybe the writer or the 14 year old boy was kiddin ..afterall the whole article was kind of a joke :P
I agree with Arch_Angel88. The show is an adrenaline rush, not a high end drama. It's fun and exciting, kind of like how 24 was at the beginning. But, I don't agree that wishing an annoying character dead is bad - I wished Chloe O'Brian dead for years and it never happened. The Event is fun and I actually didn't mind this episode being a little slower - I think I needed to catch my breath.
Fast Fact: Heather McComb and James van der Beek are divorced
Terrrible acting, but great hour of fun.Still, Tim. I wont follow you on Twitter!
Slight spoiler notice... Event is still interesting but the show is rather predictable. The moment I saw the cop car approaching I knew it was another bogus law officer. I admittedly did not see the faked death being part of the trickery. They filmed that rather nicely. I was not surprised to see the dead cops on the floor or the male kidnapper there. I also knew the fbi woman was not going to find the missing girlfriend at the house. Though the relationship exposed by the boy was unexpected. The female kidnapper still alive was a surprise. For a second. That seems to be the rule dealing with the event villains/aliens/whatever they are. They are hidden and ruthless. I now expect the worse from them! So in conclusion, they are not very surprising, but they are trying, so I will continue to watch for now.moreless
Shows like this should be taken for what they are, exciting and suspenseful entertainment. There will be many more gaping plot holes and bad actors to come, but you know what, as long as it continues to be entertaining I will continue to watch it. Lastly, Collier is annoying, but wishing for her character to die is a little much.
The least they could do was to choose a house with a door that had the handle on the same side.. They killed all the suspense...Having no "known" parents and having the same beard for at least 5 years, is Shawn one of them? Could he be an hybrid? Just theorizing here!
I love this show and even a "slow" episode every now and then won't kill my enthusiasm for it, After all it's good to take a step back occasionally to fully appreciate what's already happened and ponder what it might mean or what might happen next. Keep up the good work NBC and The Event's PTB.
Clifton is THA MAN!
still don't get those people i will stay stuck on that till they gives us info...........which means ill always be stuck on it
Kinda agree with this article
Dude...what if Vicky's alcoholic partner is Sean's father? He said his father started drinking and that they haven't talked so the girlfriend would have no idea what he lookd like. Just a crazy theory, but who knows with this show?
The Show is aright I suppose some of the acting is seriously horrible and I agree with you Tim the FBI agent must be killed and there better be some gore to it .
This show is soooooo campy! So full of stupid coincidences, I don't know if they sell it as a drama but I can't stop laughing. The entire showing how the escape trap was planned just shows how stupid they believes the viewers to be!
alrighty...
I think The Event has a lot of potential, and it will be interesting to see where the story takes us. Though I remember really liking Heroes until the crappy season 1 finale. Then season 2 started, and it was all downhill. So I hope The Event learns from the mistakes of its predecessors. P.S. I also hope Collier meets her doom next week.
It seems to me the kids can't act on any tv show I watch. and the dialogue they are given is no help either. They are always way too dumb or way too bright. Even Fringe, with its excellent acting, Olivia's niece is just terrible.
I think I luv u, hehe. Love the articles! Luv the show!
I still love this show (: