Review: 'The Event'

My first real writing job was cranking out entertainment pieces for the Chicago Tribune Friday section. Even though I was just freelancing, it felt like a real writing job and I was able to talk with one of my journalistic influences, the late movie critic Gene Siskel.

He was very kind to a young punk who was trying to find his voice and his advice about being a critic has stuck with me throughout my career. He said as a critic who sees a lot of movies, the temptation is to write a review that is mostly about comparisons with previous films. The trick, he stressed, was to review the film that was put in front of you. "You’re not reviewing the original version of the script or the movie you would have made,” he warned me several times. "Be true to the audience and tell them what they can expect from the movie they paid to see."

I’ve tried to do that as a television critic, though it’s a tough trap to dodge. If you watch thousands of hours of television a year, you have a vast amount of experience to draw from. It’s tempting to write about how a particular show isn’t as good as a favorite that was just canceled, or bring up some trend-setting series that sets the mark for all their competitors. It’s the same urge that leads music critics to proclaim someone the “next Dylan.”

If you’ve read any other reviews of NBC’s new series “The Event,” you’ve probably picked up on the tendency of critics to mention “Lost” and/or “Flash Forward.” Either in a sentence about how “The Event” isn’t as good as “Lost,” or a warning that while last season’s “Flash Forward” started strong, it faded fast in the ratings.

I can understand the temptation to make the comparisons. “Lost” set the standard for linear plot-driven mythology shows. And “Flash Forward” shows the dangers of a show getting bogged down in the characters instead of focusing on the conspiracy.

While it’s tough to know for sure after just one episode, “The Event” might just be able to make its own way with audiences, assuming the show gets enough viewer sampling on this tough Monday night primetime schedule.

Blair Underwood plays U.S. President Elias Martinez. He becomes aware of a international conspiracy that centers on a group of mysterious detainees (led by Laura Innes). At the same time, Sean Walker (Jason Ritter) investigates the disappearance of his fiancée from their cruise ship. That search leads him to a path that involves waving a gun at the cockpit of an airplane that is headed towards a crash with the President’s entourage.

The story is introduced in a Rashomon-style of storytelling that shows the initial scenes several times from the perspective of different characters. The result is that while the exact nature of “The Event” isn’t clear, the premiere hour crackles with a lot of energy.

NBC promises not to string audiences along and the second episode of the show apparently attempts to reveal the nature of “The Event.” I don’t blame audiences (or critics) from being skeptical about a show like this. The track record for similar ideas is not that great. But I’m willing to give the show some time. If producers do indeed continue on this breakneck speed of action, then “The Event” might be the surprise hit of the Fall.