Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 22 Arrival

I was debating whether to watch The Event or Sanctuary first, and eventually decided on The Event even though I like Sanctuary a lot more. With The Event ending, I just had to see how terribly the show would end. "Arrival" went as expected with no surprising twists and regular stuff all around. There's a shootout, a hidden recording, and a litany of tropes, none of which have a lick of tension. Then the Event comes and the alien planet pops up beside Earth. Cool, I guess, but wouldn't the gravitational force wreak havoc on everything?

If there was one thing to take from The Event, it would be that Taylor Cole is nice to look at and hopefully got more exposure. Sure, the writers made her character into a one-note action chick who doesn't even say anything significant to Sean other than "thank you" (I'm advocating for a love triangle again!), but Taylor Cole looked really good the entire time and wasn't bad at acting either.

Score: 5.0/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 22 The Beginning of the End

The problem with The Event right now is that it's boring. I could care less about how stupid everything is if it were remotely interesting, but it isn't. Unlike FlashForward, which actually maintained mystery towards the end, The Event has become a straightforward action show with characters that all seem roughly the same, the exception being Jarvis who is far dumber than any other character (and that's saying something). Plot threads that seemed somewhat interesting or could grow--the girls who looked really old, a possible love triangle (yes, I'm partially advocating for a love triangle!)--have been dropped.

We're stuck with this flu getting released while the good guys try to stop it. No twists or anything, just predictable plot. Even the stakes don't seem that high. As much as the writers try to throw in factoids about the Spanish Flu and how this variant is far deadlier, it's the flu! In an age where we can drop by a drug store for medicine, the name of flu doesn't seem that scarier, no matter how the deadly it may actually be.

Score: 6.0/10

All missed reviews

Here are the short reviews for shows I missed through the week. I included reviews for shows I've stopped reviewing to balance things out. Also, you might have notice that reviews for Breaking In and The Good Wife are still missing. Blogger still hasn't restored them, but since the Glee review was restored, I assume the other posts should follow. If that does not happen by Monday, I repost them. (If you really want to read them, they're on Insidepulse TV.)

Body of Proof Season 1 Episode 8 Buried Secrets: "Buried Secrets" is a reminder that Body of Proof is a mash up of different shows. Every part of the episode has been done before in large amounts, but Body of Proof does them well, which makes the show worth watching.

Modern Family Season 2 Episode 22 Good Cop Bad Dog: I normally find plots of Modern Family to be somewhat realistic, but Jay and Gloria’s plot with Guillermo and the dog seemed like it belonged on Breaking In instead of Modern Family. But Phil and Claire were great in the episode, and realistic, so it mostly balanced out.

The Chicago Code Season 1 Episode 11 Black Sox: I’m not particularly interested in Jarek and his lady problems, especially since it’s been one of the least developed plots. It looks like Gibbons is finally making his move, whatever that they be. We originally thought he put a hit out on Teresa, but that turned out wrong. Is he capable of ordering her murder if she gets too close?

House Season 7 Episode 21 The Fix: It was really out of the blue for House to suddenly decide to fix himself with an experimental rat drug. But this contrivance does put House in some kind of danger. That’s better than nothing, right? OK, maybe not, but we should see what the writers do first before casting too much judgment.

The Big Bang Theory Season 3 Episode 23 The Engagement Reaction: Priya wasn’t mean in this episode for once. She talks to Penny without being bitchy and is actually fine with Leonard being near Penny. The Raj stuff was again weak and random, but that’s to be expected. As far as the main story goes, the stuff between Howard and his mother was hilariously creepy, especially when Bernadette yelling reminded me of Howard’s mother while Howard thought it was sexy.

Parks and Recreation Season 3 Episode 13 The Fight / 14 Road Trip: Two episodes of Parks and Recreations!! And if that wasn't good enough, next week has two more episodes! While I enjoyed both episodes, I would give the edge to “The Fight.” There were so many great moments with the actual fight, Snake Juice, and Ron. Ben and Leslie finally make out in “Road Trip,” so there was development on that front for once.

The Office Season 7 Episode 24 Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager: Dwight is a guy who often expresses wacky ideas, but since he’s never in a position of power, nothing really comes of it. Well, this was Dwight’s chance to shine. Unfortunately, his excessive regulation in the office ends up with him shooting a gun in the office and eventually being demoted. The episode has the Dwight and Jim dynamic that was been lessened over the years, so that was nice to see. And as Jim tells Dwight, Dwight did one good thing in making all the orders on time.

The Mentalist Season 3 Episode 22 Rhapsody in Red: Before the two-hour season finale next week, The Mentalist dished up a fairly standard episode. Jane solves the crime while the rest of the team fills in the background. I did like, however, the increased attention on Cho, who is easily the funniest character other than Cho, and he got to tackle something close to home for once.

The Event Season 1 Episode 20 One Will Live, One Will Die: This new plot device the writer are using is the one where they show us part of what’s going on to mislead us. In the previous episode, it was the cocaine trafficker who turned out to be irrelevant, and in this episode, we only hear half of the phone call. To be honest, it’s plain stupid.

Hawaii Five-0 Season 1 Episode 23 Ua Hiki Mai Kapalena Pau: "Ua Hiki Mai Kapalena Pau" heads directly into the season finale, mixing a standard standalone plot with the only search for Wo Fat and Chin Ho’s admission of guilt to stealing the money. The episode is tense, with the whole island potentially in danger, but as always, the day is saved.

Blue Bloods Season 1 Episode 22: The first season of Blue Bloods ended with a resolution to the Blue Templar plot, which chugged slowly along as the season went. It is resolved as expected, with the acknowledgement that the Blue Templars are just a couple of bad eggs in the basket. As always, the Reagans and police department come out looking like the greatest heroes ever.

Camelot Season 1 Episode 7 The Long Night: After last week’s snoozer, Camelot came back with a fairly strong episode. Morgan had some really nefarious schemes up her sleeves, deceiving Arthu and the rest of them, while stealing Igraine’s place at the end of the episode, using her shapeshifting ability. Oh, and gratuitous nudity!

Breakout Kings Season 1 Episode 10 Paid in Full: “Paid in Full” puts all the dirty laundry out there. The cons find out that Ray is not actually a Marshall and the audience and other cons learn that Lloyd was sent to prison for writing a fake prescription which ended in a girl dying. Charlie’s big speech at the end is a tinge disingenuous with his big “revelation” of a congenital heart defect, but it makes a point: everyone has their secrets and problems, but they have to trust each other. Considering what Shea was doing in the previous episodes, there is still a lot to be resolved.

Treme Season 2 Episode 3 On Your Way Down: In an episode riddled with crime, there is an obvious standout, the rape of Ladonna, which was harrowing to say the least. The fallout is executed brilliantly with Khandi Alexander coming through. As the visible crime affects several characters, there is also an undeniable crime in the background being perpetrated against all New Orleans, Nelson’s slimy dealings with the city’s money.

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 19 Us or Them

Now that The Event is in the endgame and there is no mystery left, it has nothing left in the tank. Jarvis is stupid, so Sophia plays him easily, Sean and Vicky are still globe-trotting and, and Michael dies in the process of getting Simon out of the compound. Other than the hilarious cocaine switch, the episode goes as one would expect.

Score: 7.4/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 18 Strain

With four episodes left, The Event is heading towards the season (probable series) finale, and "Strain" sets the table for what's coming. It's not as dense in terms of total plots as last week's episode, so we see a fair amount of Sterling trying to pin Jarvis for Martinez's poisoning. Ultimately, Sterling has to bite the bullet and accept that Jarvis will get away, but realizes that the poisoned coffee got on his sleeve. For all the time spent to show that Jarvis would be getting away scot-free and would also be president, the ending was rather cheap.

Sean and Vicki do some digging around and find the body carrying the weapon. And... it's the Spanish flu! I know it killed a lot of people back in the day--almost 100 years ago--but would it be effective in light of modern medicine? My guess is that the writers fill link the flu to extraterrestrial origins, which could be cool, but flu doesn't have the shock factor of, say, a massive ray gun.

Score: 8.0/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 17 Cut Off The Head

The Event works best when crazy shit happens. The characters suck, the plot holes are aplenty, and the writing in general is terrible. But I gotta admit--there is some really wild things that go on sometimes. "Cut Off The Head," unfortunately, is not the least bit exciting and juggles several plots in preparation for next week's episode

Sophia finds this body in Siberia which is supposed to be the weapon, she gets Jarvis the poison to kill Martinez, Dempsey randomly kills himself while Sean and Vicky are still figuring out what to do, Leila tries escaping and manages to call Sean, and lastly, Martinez's wife tells him a story about how her parents were Dominican, not Cuban, which seems to be a cover up. Yeah, a lot happening but nothing too important.

Score: 7.8/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 16 You Bury Other Things Too

With only six episodes left in the season and most likely the series (the ratings have really been in the crapper), The Event continues to roll with reasonably interesting things happening. The writers still can't avoid plot holes, but characters are at least making decisions and taking sides.

One recurring theme we've seen is that people abandon principles when things need to get done, and those who do not get burned. Martinez is fine authorizing bloods tests for every American, ignoring civil liberties and ethical questions. His wife, on the other hand, stands her ground and realizes this is wrong, even under the circumstances--and Martinez's stare at the end of the episode definitely puts her in a rough position. Sean has gone full Rambo and is not only getting in shootouts, but also is torturing people. Meanwhile, Sophia has completely taken Thomas's position and now wants to kill humans for the aliens to come. Standing his ground, Simon wants to run away and even prevent the genocide, but Michael turns him in while Leila watches warily. As we learn, Dempsey was part of a group of people who seem to have protected Earth against the aliens, but from what we've seen, he's used his role for personal gain.

But for all these actions that can be interpreted as the best option for each player, on the whole, it's clear nothing good is coming from this. The Event looks like a prisoner's dilemma, where the best choices lead to undesirable outcomes, and on a larger scale, the spiral model which some believe led to World War I. Each character makes choices which look good at first, but when the other characters also do the same, it sparks incidents which only lead to more incidents and violence.

Score: 8 .6/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 15 Face Off

"Face Off" has some good moments--the Washington Monument getting obliterated, two buses getting destroyed--but it's all so ridiculous that I wouldn't matter how many landmarks are destroyed. After being a badass the past few weeks, Thomas turns back into a mama's boy and is unceremoniously killed off, the president only sends one attack helicopter after three buses, and the list goes on. Nevertheless, the final confrontation between Sophia and Martinez is getting closer and we many dead lives on both sides, at least there'll be lots of action.

Score: 8.3/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 14 A Message Back

The only reason why I watch The Event is that I want to know what happens. For all its stupidity, The Event has proven it can have a substantial amount of plot, as opposed to V which is stuck in a continual rut. "A Message Back" is built upon pure stupidity and illogical actions from everyone--slightly more than usual--but things actually happen.

With his homeworld practically useless, Thomas wants to transfer everyone from the alien world to Earth. Sean goes crazy and is now going after Dempsey with Vicky as a virtual hostage. It requires about 50 suspensions of belief, but characters are doing things.

Score: 7.9/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 13 Turnabout

After the fairly exciting return last week, The Event was back to its old tricks, underwhelming and spending an hour doing nothing. The end of "Turnabout" is decent, with Thomas getting hold of nuclear material and Martinez deciding to get tough, but the rest of the episode is dragged down by the usual suspects--Sean, Leila, and a randomly inserted Vicky.

If Thomas caused Chernobyl, does that mean the Russians know about the aliens? Yeah, I don't think the writers thought about that.

Score: 7.5/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 11 And Then There Were More / 12 Inostranka

Hey, The Event is back. I'm sure more than a few people were surprised that it had returned, simply because people talk about it anymore. Back when it premiered, NBC ran promos all the time and people were genuinely interested, indicated by the solid ratings for the pilot. Quickly, however, the enthusiasm dropped and now it's almost a sure cancellation. So what went wrong?

To me, the biggest problem was how the plot could be incredible one week, with twists everywhere, and then nothing the next week. But even if the plot isn't always good, the characters can still maintain the quality of the show. Lost is a great example since the mythology kind of fell apart in the very end and we still cared enough about the characters to love it. Unfortunately, between the flashbacks and boring conversations, the characters of The Event never came to life and the show became entirely dependent on plot, which as mentioned before, fluctuated greatly.

"And Then There Were More" and "Inostranka" aren't bad since they pretty exciting stuff, but it still feels like The Event of the first 10 episodes. Thomas's break in of Inostranka and rescue of his fellow aliens while killing Sophia's supporters is awesome, pushing the limits of the plot. The struggle between Blake and Thomas is very cool, with Clifton Collins, Jr. and Željko Ivanek delivering strong performances. At the same time, the idea of Thomas wanting to bring more aliens to Earth is quite appealing. As always, the aliens are the best thing about the show.

On the other hand, nothing else really sticks out. Sean and Leila are as bland and uninvolved as ever (the writers not revealing what's going on definitely hurts them since we don't know their significance to the big picture) and the introduction of Senator Lewis (Virginia Madsen) leads to cliched discussion of principles. Hopefully this will improve over time, and if not, hopefully the plot maintains the same energy in has in tonight's two episodes.

Score: 8.6/10

Preview of Week 3/6/11 - 3/12/11

Breakout Kings - A&E, Sunday, March 6, 10:00pm ET

Read my review here. If you're not going to watch Shameless, you might as well watch Breakout Kings.

The Event - NBC, Monday, March 7 8:00pm ET

The Event returns with 2 new episodes. I hardly remember what happened last time, but it probably won't matter.


Stargate Universe - SYFY, Monday, March 7, 10:00pm ET

Stargate Universe has been cancelled, but we still get to see the final 10 episodes, thankfully not burned off on one night. On the other hand, I'm fully prepared to be underwhelmed.

Southland - TNT, Tuesday, March 8, 10:00pm ET

Ben is finally graduating (the first three season cover less than a year of time) and also must deal with John's continued decline due to drug use.

White Collar - USA, Tuesday, March 8, 10:00pm ET

After the revelation that Alex is somehow involved with Kate's death, the season finale this week should be interesting.

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 10 Everything Will Change

The Event is a show where stuff happens. I know, I know, that isn't saying much, but in reality that's all The Event is, a show filled with sequences of actions, tied together somehow through nebulous connections and interactions. The characters have no clue what's going on, the audience has no clue what's going on, and it seems like the writers don't either.

While the generalities of what's going on continue from episode to episode, the specifics have little to no relevance. Sean and Leila alone have traversed across half the country, leaving destruction in their wake and yet they keep plowing forward as if nothing that happened before has any relevance.

A good part of "Everything Will Change" is dedicated to this rocket about to launch. The president and his staff sit there, worried of that it has a nuclear warhead and will strike the United States, but the audience knows that it happen. The big "reveal" is that the rocket has a satellite that sends a signal out into space, presumably to the home planet. Big freaking whoop.

Meanwhile, the Sean and Leila show goes on as they find evidence that Leila's father was an alien, except they can't connect the dots (Leila's too dumb to realize her father never aged,). What appears to be happening is that the young children of the aliens are having their eternal youth harvested, and that the substance is in limited supply.

At this point, I don't really care what happens when the show returns in February. The characters are boring, the plot is senseless, and I'm not interested in any part of the show.

Score: 7.0/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 9 Your World to Take

The Event began by bringing up a bunch of questions and answering them to a degree, and it kept the show going even when the characters weren't interesting. However, nine episodes in and the show has fallen in a bunch of answered questioned about characters I don't care about.

The main plot follows Thomas and his alien GF Isabel trying to overthrow Sophia. Unfortunately, Thomas is turned in liquid (figuratively, of course) and Sophia forces Isabel to shoot herself in the leg to show loyalty. Is there a greater reason why Isabel didn't turn the gun on Sophia? She seemed hellbent on getting power, and she could have shot Sophia dead right there.

Sean and Leila spend another episode running around after finding a girl who'd been at the facility with Samantha before escaping. Some guy shows up and chases them into a field, presumably to get the girl, but he's actually after Leila.

What does this all mean? I have no fucking clue. Week after week there are new characters, new locations, new schemes, and the main characters are mixed around in there. In an episode which doesn't explicitly reveal anything, there's not much to consider on a large scale.

Score: 7.0/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 8 For the Good of Our Country

As most television aficionados probably read, NBC significantly revamped their lineup for midseason, given their ratings woes. While I doubt it'll help, switching things up is never a bad idea. One show that will be shuffled around is The Event. There are two more episodes before a long hiatus lasting until February 28. Despite my general apathy towards the show, I'll wait out the final two episodes before the hiatus and see if I feel like watching in February.

The focus is taken off of the aliens in "For the Good of Our Country," and we kind of a get a better idea of what's going on. Dempsey, played by Hal Holbrook, is the puppet master, controlling even Vice President Jarvis. The final reveal, that he can make his face younger, may be related to last week's reveal of the old children. In any case, I'm still not that interested.

Sean and Leila remain pointless background characters who spend the episode doing nothing after Sean is shot. Well, not nothing precisely, because Leila forces a doctor to operate on Sean, but insignificant on a large scale.

It looks like Agent Lee is in the clear. The incompetence is truly mindboggling. The writers keep knocking down hurdles, but they're still moving without a care in the world for the wake they leave behind.

Score: 8.0/10

• Bipartisan ticket. What a joke...

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 7 I Know Who You Are

After tonight's episode, I was wondering why I still watch the show and then remembered that I sort of enjoyed a few episodes. I wasn't invested in the characters and didn't like the plot holes, but those wacky plot twists were somewhat enticing. And there are episodes like "I Know Who You Are," empty hours of television in which nothing gets done except for a lot of stupidity.

If there had to be a plot, it would be the obvious parallel for Blake. The mystical forces of The Event universe have decided to make Blake's wife a Russian spy and later make him part of the program that handles people who can perfectly blend in with people. Crazy how these things work out.

This Murphy thing should fall through immediately once they figure out that he couldn't have been at the coffee shop (since they have surveillance cameras everywhere) and see that Lee was at the coffee shop. And if Lee remains undercover and Murphy is grilled forever, it's just another big plot hole which we'll overlook.

Sean and Leila are literally useless to the overall plot. Take out Leila's sister and there would be no need for them to be on the show. Madeline takes them to this super-secret hideout where they find out the names of girls who've been kidnapped and shell companies based in Los Angeles. Before they can do more digging, people come in with guns and there's the obligatory explosion. Wheee!

I have to admit--that last scene got me. I was expecting clones or something, but those masks were scary (for me at least). But I get scared easily, so I'm not a good measure of whether it was shocking or not. In any case, the writers added another wrinkle.

At this point I have no clue why I even bother to write more than 100 words about the show. I don't even like the show or have any intense response to anything on the screen. Before quitting, however, I want to give The Event one more chance.

Score: 7.5/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 6 Loyalty

Exactly how long can The Event last for? At best, the show seems to be a long line of twists, albeit doled out at the right time. The characters started weak and have yet to improve, with exception of Simon who was quite interesting in the episode and instantly became better than Sean and Leila. It seems like there is a definite life to how long the writers can come up with stuff that won't have us groan each time.

The majority of The Event is not bad per se, especially when compared to FlashForward which quickly ran out of steam. As The Event progresses, there appears to be a bigger picture surrounding these individuals. "Loyalty" mainly focuses on how the characters on the small-scale will go somewhere, and not on how they affect everyone else. Most of the time, people are running around the place, but we have no idea what their motivations are, which is annoying but tolerable since the outcome is another twist.

The whole sequence of events from Sophia's escape to the ending is probably the best plot the show has had. The three aliens, Sophia, Simon, and Thomas, attempt to escape the grasps out of government with a few clever tricks. Before they can get away clean, however, the government gets Sophia on camera. The episode ends with the building collapsing and Simon standing to look at an empty crater.

Sean and Leila are supposed to be the normal people caught out in this huge mess we can related to, as opposed to the technologically advanced aliens or the powerful government people. Unfortunately, they are neither good characters, nor do they have good plots. They could be absent for an episode or two and I'm sure no one would mind. This week, they find themselves on the other end of a gun, because they run off to Leila's parent's house. Why would they do this knowing they're fugitives? Don't ask me. Anyway, there's a reporter played by Paula Malcomson who tells them about the aliens.

Score: 8.7/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 5 Casualties of War

The Event is a show which works on the large scale. President Martinez going head to head with Thomas was interesting in all regards, 24-esque in the tough choices to be made. The revelation that Thomas helped on the Manhattan Project was another cool reveal.

The small scale parts, Sean and Leila reuniting is nice and comforting, but nowhere near as compelling as the bigger stuff going on above them. It's hard to recognize their significance when they're both not interesting characters or doing anything interesting. They're just running around the place. Likewise, Vicky's son is revealed to be a baby she was supposed to kill. Yeah, it humanizes her, but I'll need more than that to actually care.

As some people might have read, The Event was given a full-season pickup earlier today, mostly because NBC has terrible ratings (somehow The Event was NBCs highest performing drama last week). With the pickup and in my mind, a fairly good episode, I guess I'll be sticking around for the rest of the season.

Score: 8.4/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 4 A Matter of Life and Death

Yeah, looks like the fun is over. The first three episodes of The Event delivered a few good, sci-fi twists and weren't half bad, but the fourth, "A Matter of Life and Death," proves there is no life beyond the initial shocks. It's an episode purely about characters, never delving into the aliens or their background. It's focused directly on the characters, and when the characters are basic building blocks, it makes for an agonizing hour of television.

I'll stick around for another week, but if the show stays the same as this week, I'm out.

Score: 5.0/10

Review - The Event Season 1 Episode 3 Protect Them from the Truth

Compared to recent Lost-wannabes, The Event is plotted much better. Everything seems to be headed in a certain direction and there aren't loose ends all over the place. The show isn't entirely mystery, as we do get a fair amount of answers.

But compared to Lost, the characters are essentially blank slates, fill-ins for whatever plot development there is. And therein lies the problem to the whole show: it's centered around titular Event and nothing else. The focus is so great that we never see the characters interact in a normal environment, so their personalities can come out. It's always running, driving, screaming, or shooting, nothing that defines a person, except what they do under pressure.

I'll keep watching because I want to know what happens in the end, but that may not happen in the end. The ratings for The Event have decreased significantly--after only three episodes--and if the trend continues, it's likely the show will be canceled, much less get the back 9.

Score: 8.5/10