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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Event: Penultimate

So word came down from NBC a few days ago that this first season of The Event would be its last, which is too bad, because, as I've been saying, the story's been getting much better.   And this also makes it difficult to review this episode with any sense of wonder about where things will be going for these characters in any kind of future.  On the other hand, if Plato or some kind of related Platonic view is right that all stories exist somewhere, in a realm somewhat beyond human comprehension, but still amenable to human perception, then I can review this next-to-last episode with that in mind....

(How's that for a preface?)

The big reveal tonight in episode 1.21 is that Sophia's aliens were here first.   That's actually a good reveal for a continuing story that tells us why then they left Earth in the first place, whether some aliens stayed here and are actually some of us, etc.  About all we can fathom, at this point, is that Demsey had something to do with this.

Meanwhile, the story is tightening on both sides - the aliens are proceeding with their nefarious plan to kill we humans with a souped-up neo-Spanish flu, but we're winning some rounds on the White House front.

Let's look at that first.  President Martinez, injected last week with the reversal serum by his wife, is recovered to the point that he can leave the hospital - against doctor's orders - and confront the treacherous Jarvis.   It's an excellent confrontation, in which Jarvis, weak but not without resources, reminds Martinez that Jarvis is still President, and only the cabinet can deem Martinez fit enough to resume office.

Sophia's aliens are well into setting up three distribution points for the neo-Spanish-flu in the U.S.  One good break for us, though, is that Leila, now infected, and the alien Dr. Mengele - actually, a woman in this story - are located in a place that Simon, Blake, Vicki, and Sean, now working together, are able to reach.   They get a little information from the doc, but will it be in time?   And although it seems that Leila is doomed, even that's not certain, because she's a hybrid, and, in principle, anything is possible where hybrids are concerned.

As I've been pointing out, this is a fine 24-like show, which deserves more time.  As it is, I'll look forward to next week.

See also The Event Debuts on NBC ... The Event 1.2: Aliens! ... The Event 1.4: 24 Back in Action! ... The Event 1.6: Not Only Aliens, Immortals! ... The Event 1.7: The Portal and its Implications  ... The Event 1.8: The "Republican" VP and the Anti-24 ... The Event 1.9: "Native Populations, Indigenous People" ... The Event 1.10: Satellite ... The Event 1.11-12: Hardball in Fiction ... The Event 1.13: A Little to Close to the Reality ... The Event 1.14: Upping the Ante ... The Event 1.15: Bluffs and Stakes ... The Event 1.16: High Placed Sleeper  ... The Event 1.17: Target Martinez  ... The Event 1.18: VP. President, Spanish Flu ... The Event 1.19: Triptych ... The Event 1.20: Two Poisons





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4 comments:

Unknown said...

The Event really has hit its stride here at the end of the season. Maybe I'm silly, but I really am at the of my seat, so to speak, waiting to see what happens next. I do wonder why Blake didn't raise a general alarm once he know that distribution of the virus was about to begin. Jarvis isn't well enough respected for him to have been able to burn Blake completely. I felt bad for Vicki, seeing as she's so smitten with Sean (although it's unclear why) but has to watch him remain wholly dedicated to Leila.

--Robin

David Perry said...

Hard(ish) sci-fi doesn't seem to fare well on television. Flash Forward, Caprica and The Event all seemed promising, but lasted only one season.

I agree with Robin -- but I'm as much on the edge of my seat about the history of the "aliens" as about what happens next.

Paul Levinson said...

Agree completely with Robin and David.

And add V to the list of canceled shows. And, for that matter, Invasion. These managed just two seasons.

Journeyman, which was developing into a fine time travel show, didn't even make it through one season.

TheLooper said...

Not to mention Fringe seems to ride on the edge of oblivion every season as well, but is managing to survive.

But, what it tells me about all of these shows, Sci-Fi is at least coming out of it's slumber a bit for these shows to even exist in the first place. For awhile there, Star Trek was the only genuine Sci-Fi making it on TV, and the last series of it even got cancelled, with Star Trek: Enterprise. Dean Devlin's quote before Independence Day came out was, "Sci-Fi is dead, except for Star Trek." I think all these shows are proving it still has a pulse, it just needs to fully recover.

I really believe we're on the cusp of having a really awesome Sci-Fi series grab people's attention and knock exec's socks off because they keep allowing them to be developed, which was unheard of 10-15 years ago. It's only a matter of time.

I understand Torchwood is pretty good as well, but again it needs to be something on the networks here in the U.S., not something on Starz or the Sci-Fi channel. Something that could really compete with the likes of CSIs, and all those reality spoofs, and of course Monday Night Football.

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