“The Event” Has Slowed to a Crawl

The new fall TV lineup offered many choices for the avid viewer. For the nostalgic cop show lover there is “Hawaii Five-0” or if you are more of a sitcom person there is “Outsourced.” Then there is the “Lost” void, that rather large niche viewer base that required fodder for water cooler talk and has been left in the wind ever since Jack and the gang walked into the light.  One new show has obviously been vying for that empty spot and that is “The Event.”

Initially one of the highlights of the new season, “The Event” with its jarring, flash back riddled storytelling, that is seemingly unrightable to the viewer, but that is the hook. The unknown is what drew in the “Lost” audience among other things, primarily though it was the mystery. “The Event” has mixed that kind of unnecessarily opaque storyline seen in “Lost” with the action of the now retired “24” (not canceled, Jack Bauer can’t be canceled). Strange mysteries, aliens, wormholes and explosions “The Event’s” first episodes were very entertaining, but can they keep that pace?

 If “The Event” wants to survive for a second season it will have to maintain a few core elements.

·        Wormholes are a must. Most people don’t know what to make of them and unless you are a sci-fi aficionado or a fan of Stephen Hawking’s theories, wormholes are as good as magic and just as mysterious.

·        Keeping the aliens in the show lightly defined is key. If you give too much away people will not be as interested in them, remember the oddly quiet man smoking a cigarette in the fedora always draws the most attention from viewers.

·        Keep the action in every episode. There are multiple storylines that are active in the show and at least one of them needs to be action oriented during an episode. If all of the storylines are moving like molasses then you might as well have aired a rerun.