Do You Remember: The Event

Back in September of 2010, NBC debuted a new sci-fi thriller series called The Event, which ran for all of one season, consisting of 22 episodes.

The basic premise of the short-lived series centered on a group of extraterrestrials, some of whom have been detained by the United States government for 66 years since their ship crashed in Alaska, while others secretly assimilated among the general populace.

In the present day, the current President of the United States, Elias Martinez (Blair Underwood from L.A. Law), learned of the facility’s existence shortly after his inauguration and decided, after meeting the leader of the detainees, to release them and disclose their existence to the world, despite the objections of the intelligence agencies.

His plans are put on hold when an assassination attempt on him was foiled by means beyond human technology. The CIA realizes there are other extraterrestrials and secretly plans to find and detain them. Unknown to the agency, the agent chosen to head the effort is himself one of those extraterrestrials. The escaped extraterrestrials, upon learning of the CIA’s plans, have mixed reactions: some want to try to salvage attempts to peacefully assimilate, while others want to fight against the populace.

Caught in the middle of these events was Sean Walker (Jason Ritter from Joan of Arcadia), whose plan to propose to his girlfriend Leila (Sarah Roemer from Chosen) on a Caribbean cruise are cut short when she mysteriously disappeared from the ship. His investigation eventually lead him to uncover the assassination plot.

The rest of the cast included:

Laura Innes (ER) as Sophia Maguire, the leader of the mysterious extraterrestrial group of detainees;
Ian Anthony Dale (Murder in the First and Salvation) as Simon Lee, a CIA operative and secretly an extraterrestrial;
Scott Patterson (Gilmore Girls) as Michael Buchanan, Leila’s father;
Lisa Vidal (Rosewood and Being Mary Jane) as Christina Martinez, the First Lady of the United States;
Bill Smitrovich (Life Goes On and Independence Day) as Raymond Jarvis, the Vice President of the United States;
Clifton Collins, Jr. (Westworld and Ballers) as Thomas, one of the extraterrestrials who evaded capture;
Zeljko Ivanek (Madam Secretary) as Blake Sterling, the Director of National Intelligence; and,
Taylor Cole (The Originals) as Vicky Roberts, a woman who Sean and Leila met on their Caribbean cruise [who was a former assassin].

Among the recurring cast stars included:

Heather McComb (Ray Donovan and Prison Break) as Agent Angela Collier, an FBI agent who was involved in the arrest of Sean Walker;
D.B. Sweeney (Two and a Half Men and Major Crimes) as Carter, an assassin who worked with Vicky; and,
Necar Zadegan (Extant and Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce) as Isabel, an alien who had a relationship with Thomas.

And, some of the guest stars who have gone on to bigger roles included:

• Paula Malcomson, who starred in Ray Donovan and The Hunger Games movie franchise;
• Wynn Everett, who appeared in the second season of Marvel’s Agent Carter;
• Holland Roden, who is one of the series regulars on the MTV thriller Teen Wolf; and,
• Sam Page, who had a recurring role on Switched at Birth and appeared in this year’s The Bold Type.

The Event received generally favorable reviews from critics; and while the ratings for the series debut came in at 10.88 million viewers, each episode saw a gradual decline with the final episode garnering less than 4 million viewers. The final episode of aired on May 13, 2011.

Here is a trailer from NBC for The Event:

Do you remember The Event?