Banking on the success of TV shows like Lost, NBC is debuting The Event on September 20. The premise is a little fuzzy: network execs haven't revealed much about the show since debuting it at Comic-Con earlier this summer. Here's what we do know: during an investigation of his fiancee's disappearance, a man discovers what could be a massive cover-up. Not a lot to go on, but that short description leaves a lot of room to explore different plot devices.
Still, I can't help but thinking The Event looks like another big budget conspiracy series that will start strong and fizzle halfway through the season. Where shows like Lost succeeded in offering answers along with more and larger questions, shows like Flashfoward and Heroes got off on its on mysteries without satisfying the audience. The cast (including Blair Underwood and Jason Ritter) promises potential--but "Flashforward" and "Heroes" had great casts, too. And NBC doesn't have a very strong lineup this fall--so if "The Event" crashes, their season could end up looking mighty shaky.
But I'll watch--if only to find out if the first episode lives up to the hype. Sometimes a simple premise can be developed into an intricate puzzle...and sometimes, it flops. I'm hoping for the former.