TV Review: THE EVENT (2010): Season 1, Ep.1: I Haven’t Told You Everything

The Event, episode one – entitled I Haven’t Told You Everything – fulfilled two purposes at the same time. First, it  presented a good story in a non-linear way à la Damages and second, introduced many gaping questions, good ones, left to be answered throughout the remainder of series.

President Elias Martinez (Blair Underwood) was believable in his indignation towards – lets call them humanoids – held for what I’m guessing has been a very long time by the CIA having committed no crime. Telling the world about them, especially since the government has no answers about them yet, was a dubious decision even if his heart was in the right place. Where the humanoids are held was very clever as well. If they escape they are in a frozen waste land but then how did the re-captured humanoid get away? Questions, questions.

Other questions: What is the event described at the beginning of the episode? How are we able to detect these humanoids even though they look exactly like us? Where did that plane go? What power was used to disappear it? I am looking forward to these answers.

I was also wondering why Simon Lee (Ian Anthony Dale) did not shoot the tires of the plane or one of its engines while chasing it with his SUV. Later I realized that he was not armed. It would have been cool if he had been though, Face/Off cool.

Also questionable was the Secret Services’ response to the threat to the President. In real life, they would never allow him to stop and look when a threat to his life was imminent. They would have rushed him out of the danger zone immediately.

This series could be good. I do not think it will be Fringe-good, but its style and unanswered questions will certainly draw back audiences, myself among them.