what is The Event?

It's another attempt to follow in the footsteps of LOST that will probably fail.

I watched the first episode of this show today and it made me think about what makes a good sci-fi-ish TV series.

Over the past few years I've come to really appreciate the story telling potential of a good TV show. There was Battlestar Galactica, LOST, Dollhouse, Terminator:TSCC and Fringe - all great shows (to me, at least).

Once it became clear that a "big mystery show" like LOST could work, networks have tried to fill in the gap left in its wake. Look at Flash Forward. It's has a central question and tries to build a story out of many different characters living through it. The Event seems like it will be more of the same.

Why doesn't it work for these shows? Because they seem to forget what made shows like LOST and BSG great - characters. Yes, both of those series had big plots with big mysteries, but what really pulled you in was actually caring about the characters. I wouldn't care what The Island was if it hadn't profoundly changed who Jack and Kate and Co. were. I am only interested in who The Final Five are because I care about what happens to them.

The lesson here is: You can't make a good TV show by finding some mystery and putting formulaic characters around it. I hope The Event rises above this ... but I have my doubts.