Big hype surrounded NBC’s The Event, promoted as what the name says — a cross between Lost and 24 in its mythology, conspiracy, government intrigue, large cast of characters, and fractured narrative. I was more than willing to give it a chance, despite having been burned plot-wise by Lost in its final season and to a lesser extent by fellow ABC shows The Nine and FlashForward not going beyond a first season.
One reason why: Event’s showrunners promised both that answers to smaller
mysteries would be rolled out gradually and that they had an early endgame in position if the series wasn’t renewed. Another: Really good television is never a waste of time even if it’s not allowed to reach a conclusion (which, just to spit in Lost’s general direction again, may be preferable to reaching to a poor conclusion or, more to the point, giving up on large parts of the story in creating one). Yet another: I figured I’d
be able to ditch The Event if it truly became unsatisfying and, until that point, have a potentially exciting show to dissect with friends.
