New Shows Midseason Wrap-up: The Drama (The Event, No Ordinary Family)

The Event



Perhaps 24 and Lost should have used protection, because their "baby" is hard to care for ...

At the end of the fall season, I had 4 unwatched episodes of this show stored on my DVR.  I actually had to pep talk myself into finishing (something about following through and supporting the genre to hold off the infestation of reality mediocrity...).  I must say, once I get going with an episode, it’s hard not to keep watching (except when a certain blonde character appears and stares blankly through the screen), but then again, I wouldn't be able to look away from a train wreck either ... and I can’t say I miss the show now (except to lament huge potential wasted).

There are plenty characters that intrigue me – Sophia aka alien leader, Thomas aka Sophia's genius but weak (for now) son, Simon Lee aka hot alien CIA agent, basically all the “others”/aliens, Vicky the assassin with a soft spot for babies, creepy old guy pulling the strings to everything, Luke from Gilmore Girls (now confirmed alien and father to blondie), blondie’s sister … but they are not being developed fast enough, and I’m not really attached to any yet – clearly something this show did not copy (or copy successfully) from Lost.  My biggest problem with the show though, is the plot devices galore – there are too many ridiculous “how convenient” moments (okay when they hit you with it upon first viewing, but any reflection of the events (ha) after an episode just leaves me with a load of “wtfs”).  There also seems to be an inability to tie up loose ends, but I’m holding out hope this is intentional.  Again, the contrived plot may be easier to swallow if I actually cared about the characters, but since that is a big fail thus far … might I suggest killing off blondie aka new!Walt Leila to spice things up and free up time for us to discover more about the aliens? I suggest an intense confrontation with her alien father followed by a shocking demise (maybe at the hands of Vicky, she’s been itching to do this) – it’s win win - creating drama and revenge motives for certain characters while getting rid of dead weight [in the interest of full disclosure, I am indeed not a blonde].  Here’s to hoping the show returns revamped for the better (not sure how it could do worse, but you never know).

No Ordinary Family

I was really into this show in the beginning – the family is likeable, their new powers are cool, there’s an interesting villain looming in the background (closer than our heroes realize), there’s a quirky character (Katie) who often echoes what’s on my mind, there’s a good mixure of light-hearted moments and heart-warming ones … but recently my enthusiasm has been seeping for this show.  Why are these people (ironically the parents) so reckless with their powers with often little positive result to show for it? In the real world, the traffic or atm cams would have caught on to the dad’s random jumping a long time ago.  The show right now seems to be having an identity crisis between being a family drama and a superhero showdown, and it doesn’t seem to be moving forward on either end.  I believe it could do both, but it has to quit stalling!