Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

The Event: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 15, 2023

Mill Creek has released NBC's ill-fated TV show 'The Event' to Blu-ray. The show aired for a single season, 22 episodes in total, from September 2010 to May 2011. Despite great promise, a lofty premise, and a complex web of intrigue, aliens, conspiracy, politics, and many other varieties of storytelling devices that merge into a singularly big experience, the show proved to be overly intricate, relying far too heavily on the use of flashbacks and time jumps to build the narrative. From the pilot episode, The Event sacrifices much of its potential and intrigue thanks to its inability to offer a more steadily cohesive big picture story, choosing to jump from one place and time to another to little avail at defining the bigger picture. It's not so much the use of flashbacks but rather the extensive use of flashbacks, often with little cohesion, resulting in a failure to set the table as they were intended. Fortunately, the flashbacks cease partway through the show, but by then it was damage done: The Event never recovered and drifted into single season obscurity, a fate that was not deserved but nevertheless earned by the wayward way of telling an otherwise interesting story that deserved more focused attention.

Jump aboard the high-octane conspiracy thriller that follows Sean Walker (Jason Ritter) as he investigates the disappearance of his would-be fiancée Leila (Sarah Roemer), unwittingly exposing a cover-up so big it could change the fate of all mankind. Sean’s quest sends ripples through the lives of an eclectic band of strangers, including newly elected U.S. President Elias Martinez (Blair Underwood) and Sophia Maguire (Laura Innes), the leader of a mysterious group of detainees.

If the flashbacks were a major problem, one of the shows major wins was its ability to both unfold the mystery and repackage it with every reveal, at the same time both expanding on the story while simultaneously adding more layers to it. Every episode is rewarding for the way the story continues to maneuver pieces, and that each episode also further shrouds the bigger picture only entices the audience back in. The issue is, first, the excessive use of disjointed flashbacks and, second, a mounting frustration where the show begins to feel like it's more interested in not telling the story, at least to some degree, than it is actually telling it. There's good material here -- some creative ideas and plenty of opportunity for fascinating interplay between various types of characters and rationales -- but it doesn't work as well as it should as it is structured. Performances are solid and the technical side of things is fine, but the show desperately needed a significant restructuring to really find the success it deserved.

The Event: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mill Creek releases The Event to Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer. The 22 series episodes are spread across five discs, which do share some space with standard definition supplements. Spacing is not a serious issue, then, but the picture does show some of the typical Mill Creek macroblocking and questionable compression tactics that are so often associated with the studio's output. Fortunately, the net effect is not usually too terribly bothersome. Certainly, there are places where it's more visible than others, especially in lower light shots and scenes, but for the most part the image is rather healthy, at least enough to satisfy the demands of a midrange TV show receiving something of a budget Blu-ray release. It certainly looks good at a glance; viewers will note fairly stout textural details and fine overall clarity, especially in close-up, where essentials like skin and hair are presented probably near the peak of what the source has to offer. In fact, the image often looks downright good at its best. Look at the 21-minute mark of episode one. This outdoor scene introducing President Martinez looks sharp, clear, clean, and largely free of extreme compression issues, but when the next scene switches to a lower light interior, the level of visible compression artifacts becomes clearer. Still, detail holds strong here, and the image is more than watchable. Colors are just fine. There's good depth to blacks, crispness to whites, and enough depth and vividness to the rest of the palette to please and bring life to clothes, natural greens, water and sky, and so on. Beyond the compression issues, which are far from severe, this is a solid enough image that will definitely satisfy casual viewers but that will certainly give videophiles pause.

The Event: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mill Creek delivers The Event to Blu-ray with a well-rounded DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation satisfies for its directness of core elements and its ability to immerse audiences with healthy and vigorous surround wrap as applicable. The track offers fine frontal elements, including centered and well prioritized dialogue as the primary sonic element driving the show. Music is nicely spaced along the front and enjoys a modest, but obvious and welcome, surround support element. The back channels carry a fair bit of action and environmental details as well, making for a satisfying circular environment that pulls the listener in as needed. The subwoofer belts out some healthy, if not slightly unkempt and not always prodigious, low end effects. To be sure, the track is limited by the show's sound design, which is not to the standard of a major motion picture, but the overall components here and as designed are presented well and satisfy the show's audio needs.

The Event: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray release of The Event contains various commentaries, deleted scenes, and featurettes spread across all five discs. This is not a substantial collection of extra material, but what is here is more than adequate in support of the show. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Disc One:

• Deleted Scenes (480i, 1.78:1, 10:04 total runtime): Several scenes with supportive text to help identify the content and the context.
• Magic Behind The Event's Special Effects (480i, 1.78:1, 8:05): Series Creator Nick Wauters, Visual Effects Supervisor Victor Scalise, and Visual Effects Editor Tony Safarik explore the making of key shots from the pilot episode.
• Audio Commentary: For "I Haven't Told You Everything:" Creator/Co-Executive Producer Nick Wauters, Executive Producer Steve Stark, Director/Executive Producer Jeffrey Reiner, and Series Stars Blair Underwood and Ian Anthony Dale.

Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes (480i, 1.78:1, 18:15 total runtime): Several scenes from various episodes.
• Audio Commentary: For "Loyalty:" Creator/Co-Executive Producer Nick Wauters, Executive Producers Steve Stark and Jeffrey Reiner, and Series Stars Blair Underwood and Ian Anthony Dale.

Disc Three:

• Deleted Scenes (480i, 1.78:1, 11:31 total runtime): Several scenes from various episodes.
• Dr. Dempsey Alternate Story (480i, 1.78:1, 11:32): A significant selection of deleted scenes that were replaced in order to bring the story to a different place. The scenes are from the season's tenth episode.
• Building Collapse (480i, 1.78:1, 4:49): Series Creator Nick Wauters and Visual Effects Supervisor Victor Scalise explore another key visual, this time from episode six.
• The Event's Visual Effects (480i, 1.78:1, 1:47): Series Creator Nick Wauters and Visual Effects Supervisor Victor Scalise briefly break down a key visual effect from episode 10.
• Visual Effects Magic for Inostranka (480i, 1.78:1, 4:33): Series Creator Nick Wauters and Visual Effects Supervisor Victor Scalise discuss a key historical recreation from the show.
• Podcast Commentary: For "And Then There Were More:" Production Designer Stuart Blatt, Special Effects Supervisor Gary D'Amico, and Visual Effects Supervisor Victor Scalise.
• Podcast Commentary: For "Inostranka:" Production Designer Stuart Blatt, Special Effects Supervisor Gary D'Amico, and Visual Effects Supervisor Victor Scalise.

Disc Four:

• Deleted Scenes (480i, 1.78:1, 5:27 total runtime): Two scenes from various episodes.
• Audio Commentary: For "Strain:" Executive Producers Steve Stark and Evan Katz and Series Stars Ian Anthony Dale, Laura Innes, Jason Ritter, and Lisa Vidal.

Disc Five:

• Deleted Scenes (480i, 1.78:1, 9:47 total runtime): Two scenes from various episodes.
• Creating an Event (480i, 1.78:1, 11:20): A basic breakdown of project history, core story and thematic elements, cast and characters, and more.
• A Day in the Life with Jason Ritter (480i, 1.78:1, 11:24): Ritter guides viewers through life on the set, with a humorous bend.
• Audio Commentary: For "Arrival:" Executive Producers Steve Stark and Evan Katz and Series Stars Ian Anthony Dale, Laura Innes, Jason Ritter, and Lisa Vidal.

The Event: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Event is not a television event, as in a show that is destined to be remembered in the long run, but as a decently brain-twisting and complex effort, it does enough to build tension and hold attention, even if it does such things imperfectly. The acting is solid and the visuals are fine for a midlevel TV show. Genre fans will enjoy binging this over a few days, but it holds little long-term replay value, especially in the ocean of TV options on the market. Mill Creek's Blu-ray offers adequate video, solid audio, and a nice selection of bonus material. Recommended!