The X-Files and 24 both involve agents working to untangle government conspiracies and thwart threats that the general population remains blissfully unaware of, but beyond this basic outline, the adventures of Mulder and Scully are a world away from Jack Bauer’s sweaty exploits. The X-Files defined sci-fi in the 1990s, crafting an entire mythology around extra-terrestrial life, unexplained phenomena, and spooky urban myths. 24 redefined television with its unique real-time format, but also modernized the action genre (alongside another JB) into something fast-paced, gritty, and plausibly realistic.
It’s the plausible realism that puts The X-Files and 24 in completely different tonal zip codes. Unless your name is Fox Mulder, The X-Files exists in a world of paranormal fantasy that speaks to the “believer” in us all. In stark contrast, 24 was shaped by the fears and feelings of a post-9/11 landscape.
Not exactly a natural crossover, then. Nevertheless, one TV show came along in 2010 that looked to combine the alien thrills of The X-Files with the time-sensitive suspense and espionage spills of 24, and almost got away with it.
In terms of taking cues from The X-Files, NBC’s The Event revolves around a hidden alien presence on Earth covered up by the United States government. Not quite as outwardly terrifying — or, indeed, as noir-y — as The X-Files, The Event was still one of the most promising alien conspiracy shows since the Mulder and Scully years, and rather than musing over the existence of said aliens, focused more upon their intentions.
In its style and execution, however, The Event carried a greater resemblance to 24. With Evan Katz credited as a producer on both, this correlation was not entirely surprising, but seeing the 24 approach, complete with its political subtext, applied to a modern sci-fi series proved a little more novel.
The Event Was A Victim Of Lost’s Success
Despite bearing a closer resemblance to the aforementioned two shows, The Event was lumped in with the growing trend of Lost clones. Not entirely without good reason, as the pilot episode was based around a plane disaster and had more ‘mystery boxes’ than an unlisted government storage facility. Lost‘s success put a great deal of pressure on similar series, and most of these Lostalikes swiftly fell by the wayside: Flashforward, Alcatraz, Invasion, etc.
Whether due to over-saturation of the mystery genre, unrealistic expectations, or a lack of creativity, the raft of shows tossed into the ‘Lost clone’ bucket yielded few classics, with fellow put-a-plane-in-the-pilot series Manifest the best of the bunch.
And yet The Event really did deserve a second season. Not only did the 24-isms set it apart from other mystery shows of its day, there was a genuine attempt to be ambitious, as The Event employed a twisty narrative structure set across multiple different timelines. Ultimately, this era-hopping might have confused viewers more than intrigued them, but The Event‘s heart was in the right place.
Had it happened, The Event season 2 looked destined to adopt a more streamlined structure. More importantly, season 2 would have been The Event‘s time to discover its own identity. Season 1 was a mashup of The X-Files, 24, and sure, Lost, but the finale promised something very different. Ending with an alien planet arriving via portal to cozy up next to Earth, The Event was primed to tread more galactic science fiction territory, far from Lost, The X-Files, and certainly far from 24.
It was a cliffhanger that would’ve left The Event no choice but to forge its own path rather than staying as an ‘X meets Y’ series. For that reason, if no other, The Event deserved an opportunity to rise above its assigned designation as the latest in a long line of “new Lost” shows.
- Release Date
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2010 – 2011-00-00
- Directors
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Nick Wauters