You can’t go into The Event with anything less than your full attention. With a narrative that spans multiple time frames, and a conspiracy-laden plot that concerns a group of extraterrestrials prisoners from the 1940s, it’s far from easy viewing. The NBC show takes its time, valuing plodding exposition over action, and much of the large ensemble cast – including stellar turns from Laura Innes, Jason Ritter, Scott Patterson and Blair Underwood – are given plenty of backstory. Heavy on shady government agencies, and wheels-within-wheels-type machinations, The Event is big and clever, and perhaps it’s this that has caused audience figures to drop off, and NBC to pull the plug after the first season. Though rumors of another network picking it up abound, its tendency to meander makes it unappealing to casual viewers – you really can’t dip in and out – and though the show is engaging and engrossing, it’s the kind of heavyweight television that probably won’t survive in this age of instant-gratification. And that’s a loss for us all.