The Event: Casualties of War

It is never a good thing when a series pushes its action scenes to such an absurd point that I break down in a hysterical fit of laughter. Thankfully I did not get quite there, however, I did giggle audibly as the FBI agent pulled up in front of Sean and Layla and screamed “Get in!” After learning that suddenly Vicky had a heart of gold and seeing Sean and Layla make out for 20 minutes in the middle of a gun battle, that cliche line was too much to bare with a straight face.

On the plus side I am happy that Vicky was offing the bad guys, not Sean. If he went from being super nerd to Rambo I think I would have to be done with this series.

I would be happier if President Martinez was not a obvious analog for President Obama. Martinez has a strong and opinionated wife who tempers his rougher qualities. He has rich cultural ties to a country other than the United States, in fact, I bet people are clamoring to see his birth certificate! While the Inastrongka detainee population is not a perfect correlation to Guantanamo Bay President Martinez’s desire to release them only to have political reality smack him in the face echos our national conversation loudly. As are Martinez’s character traits, according to his adversaries, of being a good yet inexperienced man with high morals who waivers when faced with a tough decision.

I believe one of the reasons “The West Wing” was such a powerful piece of fiction was because it depicted a fairly liberal president while the reality of U.S. leadership was the exact opposite. In short, if “The Event” wanted to go for true drama they should have written the role of U.S. president more George Bush and less Barack Obama. That would have seemed edgy and made for fantastic storytelling.

Maybe I have seen to much science fiction but why is no one petitioning President Martinez to study the detainees? Last time I checked, we were fairly certain they were aliens and the only really good bit of science we have about them is that they are genetically 1% different than the human population of Earth. Where is the slimy, lab coated, mouth breather with a syringe lamenting the fact that the president will not let him/her attempt their somewhat risky experiment that might scientifically answer all the president’s questions, or make the detainees heads explode.

I have read more than my fair share about the Manhattan Project and I do not remember any scientist named “Thomas” working at Los Alamos. I absolutely hate it when writers give away humanities most impressive, amazing, and horrifying accomplishments and atrocities. As if it would be better if we did not take responsibility for our own decisions as a species.