The Event
The Event is an action/mystery show. What do the missing girlfriend, stolen plane, and mysterious group of people in captivity have to do with one another? And what-oh-what is the titular "event"?
Whether creator Nick Wauters was influenced by Lost or not, The Event is definitely following in that show's footsteps. I think it's safe to say that this show would not have been made were it not for the success of Lost. But let's leave that aside.
The Event is thrilling in a mind-bendy sort of way. The timeline of the pilot was almost too twisty to keep up with, but it worked. I admired the device of seeing a scene several times from different perspectives - the scenes meant something different every time because the viewer had new information.
The pace of the episode was heart-palpitatingly fast, except for the unusually long and dull romantic-cruise-sequence. (It was like, "What is this scene doing here with no guns and car chases and planes crashing?") So far there are no characters I was able to really hook into, but I don't think that's what they're going for. The characters feel like pawns to serve the plot and the mystery (in a good way?).
In the end, I don't care about the characters, but man do I want to know what the heck is going on. My prediction is that The Event will be like last season's Flashforward: it opened with a bang, but fizzled out quickly. We'll see.
Lone Star
Lone Star is about a con-man (James Wolk) trying to get out of the game while still leading a double-life, juggling two wives in two different cities (Adrianne Palicki and Eloise Mumford).
This is my favorite pilot I've seen this month. It's really proof that execution is far more important than concept. The premise of Lone Star didn't appeal to me at all, and had me a little confused ("How do you make a show out of that?"). But the episode is artful and unexpected. It's smart, good story, just the right amount of soap. I didn't expect to feel so personally troubled watching it, but it plunks you right down in the main character's predicament, pulled in several directions at once. Dare I say I was moved by it?
I don't have much else to say about it other than a strong recommend. I can't wait to see if it continues as strongly week-to-week.
UPDATE: Because this show is interesting and original and enjoyed by me, it is of course already in danger of cancellation.
Mike and Molly
Mike and Molly is a romantic comedy about a police officer (Billy Gardell) and a fourth grade teacher (Melissa McCarthy) who meet at an Overeaters Anonymous group.
This is probably my least favorite pilot I've seen this month. It's not funny. With a sitcom, I can forgive a lot if the jokes are funny. They're not. The majority are fat jokes of the fat-people-only-think-about-eating variety.
The jokes betray the story and the characters. For example, when Mike and his partner are investigating a burglary at Molly's home, Molly's sister is smoking marijuana out of an apple because her bong was stolen. What? Even if the joke was funny (which it's not) I would still be offended by it. It's just bad storytelling. Why WHY would ANYONE smoke marijuana and talk about their stolen bong in front of the police? And WHY wouldn't the officers say or do anything about it? It's not even acknowledged.
The best way to write comedy is to let the jokes come organically from the action of the episode and the flaws of the characters. Mike and Molly is a bunch of weak one-liners forced onto a threadbare story. Yeah, thumbs down.
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is a remake of the popular cop show of the 1970s. They fight crime. In Hawaii.
I'm running out of steam here, so briefly: Hawaii Five-O has a great core cast of characters, which is what really sells a procedural cop drama. The characters are fun and the relationships dynamic. The four main characters are well cast (Alex O'Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park). The show keeps the fun of the original but ditches the cheese factor.
No real complaints, I guess. I just cannot care about TV cops anymore. If you go in for that sort of thing, this one's worth a watch.
Tune in tonight for Raising Hope and Running Wilde on FOX, and Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC (more cops!).
You need to get HBO. You can't review pilots without reviewing their newest masterpiece... are you just going to wait for DVDs? HBO is a network too.
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