I caught the pilot episode of NBC's new, post-apocalyptic drama "Revolution" on Hulu. You can watch it there now (or just scroll down to where I embedded the video at the end of this post) or wait until it premieres at 10 p.m. tonight on NBC.

Tracy Spiridakos as Charlie Matheson, left, and Billy Burke as Miles Matheson from the new series "Revolution." NBC/Associated Press

In case you haven't caught a commercial or promo for NBC's new, post-apocalyptic drama "Revolution," NBC offers this synopsis of the show:

What would you do without it all? In this epic adventure from J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and "Supernatural's" Eric Kripke, a family struggles to reunite in an American landscape where every single piece of technology - computers, planes, cars, phones, even lights - has mysteriously blacked out forever. A drama with sweeping scope and intimate focus, "Revolution" is also about family - both the family you're born into and the family you choose. This is a swashbuckling journey of hope and rebirth seen through the eyes of one strong-willed young woman, Charlie Matheson (Tracy Spiridakos, "Being Human"), and her brother Danny (Graham Rogers, "Memphis Beat"). When Danny is kidnapped by militia leaders for a darker purpose, Charlie must reconnect with her estranged uncle Miles (Billy Burke, "The Twilight Saga"), a former U.S. Marine living a reclusive life. Together, with a rogue band of survivors, they set out to rescue Danny, overthrow the militia and ultimately re-establish the United States of America. All the while, they explore the enduring mystery of why the power failed, and if - or how - it will ever return.

Swashbuckling? A long journey? A rogue band of companions? Sounds an awful lot like my favorite book: "The Hobbit." But unlike J.R.R. Tolkien's classic children's story soon to be a likely bloated three-movie silver screen escapade, which I will be first in line to see, there's actually female characters to be found here. In fact, the lead is a teenage girl who feels a bit like Everdeen Katniss from "The Hunger Games." The whole show has a certain Panem-feeling of decayed society turning back to a tech-free world, and I'd wager that if you liked Suzanne Collins' trilogy or it's film adaption you'll enjoy "Revolution," too.

The fast-paced pilot, directed by "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau, doesn't waste time. The world goes dark about two minutes into the episode with an eerie sequence that showcases some of the immediate results of a complete failure of all things tech.

A requisite commercial break interrupts the mayhem, and it returns "15 years after the blackout" with a educational voice describing what happened over vast scenes of decayed cities, overgrown streets, deserted parks, etc. The show has a lot of these vast landscapes interspersed with more intimate shots and scenes between the characters. "Revolution" has truly created an immense world in great detail for its characters to traverse.

JD Pardo as Nate. NBC/Associated Press

I'll not spoil anything for you but the show took a couple of twists I wasn't expecting and had some surprising moments, both violent, funny and intriguing.

The opening hour (or nearly 44 minutes plus commercials) sets up some mysteries (Why did the power go out? Can it be turned on? How do they keep there hair and makeup looking so fantastic?) that I'm sure we'll be getting to the bottom of bit by back for as long as the series remains on air.

It's definitely worth tuning into the pilot, and here's hoping subsequent episodes live up to the grandeur and intriguing nature of this opener.


— Nicole Franz | NiFranz@News-Herald.com | @FranzOrFoe

Entertainment Editor Mark Meszoros, Community Engagement Editor Cheryl Sadler and Sports Editor Mark Podolski take a look at what TV shows from the 2011-12 season were canceled, what was renewed, and what we can expect for the 2012-13 season.

Then Sadler kind of tunes out while the comic fanboys go gaga for Spider-Man and the Dark Knight.

I don't quite understand how Nielson is the standard for TV ratings, especially now that there are SO many channels and SO many options and devices that allow us to catch up on shows whenever we want to watch them. So I like this infographic I found on visual.ly about How social media ranks fall TV's hit shows. The three different measurements displayed give a more clear picture about what people are watching, why they are watching, and how they are reacting to it.

(I haven't seen a single episode listed in this graph. Then again, nothing in that graphic is about "Jeopardy!" or something on Bravo.)


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

Fox's new drama "Alcatraz" debuted Monday night with a two-hour episode (though, it was more like two episodes played back-to-back). I have had a "Lost"-sized hole in my heart since the night of May 23, 2010, and am hoping this will fill it.

"Alcatraz" has a lot of similarities to "Lost" -- an island, a mystery, some supernatural happenings, and Jorge Garcia playing a very Hurley-like character.

Other first impressions of the show:

• Interesting concept. Alcatraz closed in 1963, but this show supposes the prisoners weren't transferred elsewhere, and now they're showing up in present day, having not aged a bit.
• The lead lady is kind of annoying. Sorry, Sarah Jones, but I don't buy you as a cop/detective/FBI special agent. I wish dramas wouldn't cast for looks because it makes the leading ladies seem generally helpless instead of strong.
• How long can this go on? In the two hours so far, we've had two criminals appear and the lead characters have worked to track them down. The show will get boring if that's all that happens. 
• Can the mystery be revealed without the show jumping the shark? Maybe it's preemptive of me to say that. I'm just worried the build-up is going to be too much and the reveal too weird/incomprehensible/ridiculous. We probably won't find out until the end of the season, but it's going to have to be enough to keep viewers interested in watching a second season.

Are you watching "Alcatraz"?



-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

When I blogged about "Work of Art" yesterday, I neglected to mention that one of our area's own is on the show.

Sarah Kabot, a professor at the Cleveland Institute of Art and a Cleveland Heights resident, is one of 14 competing to be the next great artist. Cleveland Heights Patch interviewed Sarah Kabot and got some insight on the artist, the casting process for the show and taping the first episode.

"Work of Art" airs at 9 tonight on Bravo.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

On Wednesday, Bravo TV premieres the second season of "Work of Art" (I somehow completely missed the first season). I previewed the first episode earlier this week to see what to expect from the cable network to which I devote most of my TV-watching time.

I was pleased and intrigued by the show. A lot of interesting work is going to come out of it, and I've gotten so used to the reality competition format that I'm not so annoyed by the excessive production, interviews, background music, commercial breaks, etc. that go along with it. The first challenge is pretty neat too: The artists have to take kitschy art and make it world class.

The host and cast of Bravo's "Work of Art" season 2.

 I enjoy looking at art, but I am not an art person. So while I might be able to tell you if something is good or bad, I'd never be able to tell you why something is good or bad. This particular challenge highlighted that so well, and the comments from the judges and others viewing the art help to explain WHY the art succeeds or fails. (The results of the first episode: I liked the pick for winner but not so much for the person going home. I didn't think that artist's piece was the worst, and I wish that artist would get to stick around longer for more than one reason, though I don't want to spoil the results.)

The cast of Lifetime's "Project Runway" season 9.

When I was considering what I enjoyed about the show, I was reminded of what I liked so much about another Bravo show, "Platinum Hit" and what I'm loving about "Project Runway" (which I'm tuning in to for the first time this season because of contestant Joshua McKinley, a Willoughby native). These shows take some incredibly talented people and push them to do their best work every week. The contestants are creative in ways I can only dream about, and the competitions give us talentless folks a front-row seats to their creative processes every week.

During commercial breaks of "Project Runway" in recent weeks, Lifetime has been promoting its new show, "Project Accessory," and I'm now really looking forward to another show and several more episodes of peeking inside some creative minds to learn how they do what they do.

Related links:

• Preview "Work of Art"
• Preview "Project Accessory"
• Jean Bonchak's "Project Runway" diaries

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

If Housewives, wealthy singles and competition shows aren't your thing, you can probably tune out of this blog entry right now.

I watch a lot of Bravo - well, almost exclusively Bravo, so I'm in kind of a Bravo bubble. The network has premiered several shows over the summer, and I have a lot of thoughts to share about the happenings.

(I know I don't watch many quality TV shows, so no need to lecture me about how I should be watching "Mad Men" or something.)

Real Housewives of New Jersey

The Real Housewives of New Jersey

This might be my favorite season yet of any of the Housewives series. If you're thinking about getting into the series (though you probably shouldn't waste your time), a marathon of this season's Jersey ladies would be the way to go. The dynamic of the current cast of characters is much better than in past seasons, showing the good and bad of everyone (but mostly the good of Caroline, whom I think everyone wants as their second mom [and not just because her son is gorgeous]). Teresa, who in past seasons seemed fun and sane, now seems like she is trying to put on a show to keep everything together. Maybe it was a bad idea for her to agree to this season, with the legal issues that have been going on with her family. Add to that the family feud with sister-in-law Melissa and cousin Kathy, and she's poised for a complete breakdown on national television. God, this show sounds so trashy. Did I really call it my favorite in the franchise?

Millionaire Matchmaker

I blogged a few weeks ago about how I was looking forward to the return of Patti Stanger and crew, and their matchmaking hijinks. So far this season, I'm disappointed. The matchmaking crew spent season four in New York City, and upon their return to L.A. this year, Patti spent plenty of time trashing NYC and the people there. From that point forward, season five has seem scripted. The first season or two of the show seemed much more staged, while the third and fourth were a little more natural. This season, though, has regressed a bit to the set-up situations. Patti's comments seem more unnatural, instead of her usual off-the-cuff wit. This week's episode - the third this season - has been my favorite so far, because it involved a charming prince and an awkward guy who works with my friend. But if more of the episodes are like the first two than the third, I'm not sure how much longer I will be reserving space on my DVR for this show. (But I am really looking forward to the episode that will include Madison from "Million Dollar Listing.")

Flipping Out

I'll try to avoid gushing about this show and just say that I love Jeff, Jenni and Zoila. I don't think I'm learning anything about interior design or remodeling homes, but I am laughing pretty hard when I'm watching it.

Most Eligible Dallas

I hope this show doesn't come back for a second season. I might tune out at some point, and it will be much easier to do that if it's not going to be back again. I don't know how it will be back again, anyway, because shouldn't these people be finding love? And that would make them less than most eligible. They should have just done a Real Housewives of Dallas.

Top Chef: Just Desserts

A group of pastry chefs competing to make the best desserts? The worst part about this show is that you can't taste what they're making.

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Taylor and Russell in happier times.

Oh, the elephant in the room. After the husband of one of the Housewives killed himself earlier this month, Bravo announced it would re-edit the footage from this season, which premieres Monday. What a tough situation. Taylor's storyline this season involved her troubles with husband Russell, so it will be interesting to see how the network incorporates or omits his presence. Prior to Russell's suicide, I had been looking forward to this season to see what was happening with the ladies. Sisters Kim and Kyle ended last season with a bit of exposure of some major problems between them, so I'm curious how their relationship has changed since then. And Camille is newly divorced from Kelsey Grammer, so I wonder if she'll be as much of a mean girl as she was last season.

So much bad TV to watch, so little time.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

One of my favorite shows, "The Millionaire Matchmaker," comes back for a fifth season at 9 p.m. today on Bravo TV.

The show stars Patti Stanger, the millionaire matchmaker and CEO of an exclusive dating service, the Millionaire's Club. In advance of the season five premiere, I read Stanger's book "Become Your Own Matchmaker: 8 Easy Steps for Attracting Your Perfect Mate". I was kind of bored and underwhelmed with it. Check out my review, and come back later this week to see my initial thoughts on the fifth season.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

I'm interested in obsessed with Bravo and will watch anything the cable network produces. This summer the network debuted two new shows: "Million Dollar Decorators" and "Platinum Hit."

I thought for sure I would love "Million Dollar Decorators" because of my previous love affair with "Trading Spaces" (confession: Ten years ago my goal in life was to be Paige Davis). But "Million Dollar Decorators" is not exactly the redecorating show you would find on HGTV. In January, I blogged that another Bravo show, "Million Dollar Listing," is an HGTV show plus drama, so I should have expected "Million Dollar Decorators" to be the same. I'm much less interested in these decorators and their personal lives than I am in the gorgeous homes they put together. Sure, I'll keep watching it, but it's one that I'll watch while catching up on my Google Reader.

"Platinum Hit," on the other hand, had pulled me in after one episode. It's not a singing competition, or based on musical ability, but instead at how good these contestants are at writing songs. And after watching this last week, I now understand just how difficult song-writing can be. Most of the characters on the show are divas - of course, because the entertainment industry is full of them. But some of them are really good musicians - like Nick Nittoli, who basically opened the first episode saying he was the next Michael Jackson. I don't know if I would go that far, but I was pretty impressed with the hook he wrote for the first challenge and the song it turned into. I'd actually like to download it, which Bravo conveniently (and smartly) allows viewers to do here.

If you want to tune in and missed any episodes, you can catch up on BravoTV.com - or just turn on Bravo at any time of day. The cable network re-runs every episode of every show almost on a loop.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl


P.S.: If you're a fan of "Modern Family," tune in to "Inside the Actors Studio" at 8 p.m. Wednesday on Bravo. The adult members of the cast paid James Lipton a visit.

If you're not watching "Parks and Recreation", you should be. The reason? Tom Haverford, played by Aziz Ansari. (Well, there are several reasons, but he's my favorite part.)

A couple of weeks ago, Tom Haverford introduced the world to his own names for several food items.

"Zerts are what I call desserts. Tray trays are entrees. I call sandwiches, sammies, sandoozles, or Adam Sandlers."

And he goes on and on.

Tom's big scene begins at 10:03 in the video below:


The Internet responded and gave us TomHaverfoods.com. Once you're on the website, click on the image of Tom to see more Tom-inspired names for the foods you love.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

We're 11 days into life without Michael Scott, and I'm not sure how long the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin will stay in business without the bumbling boss.

Michael's farewell was an episode fit for a series finale. In his last scene, he pulled his microphone off and inaudibly mouthed "That's what she said" before turning his back to the camera and walking away. Yes, I teared up a bit as the World's Best Boss departed (and earlier in the episode, I was having trouble keeping it together as Jim told Michael he had turned out to be an amazing boss).

If you missed Michael's departure, you can click the play button below to watch it:



Michael's replacement Deangelo didn't last long, either. After some missteps and uncomfortable, awkward moments, the new regional manager left Scranton. (Thankfully, the funny Will Ferrell didn't overstay his welcome.) Click the play button below to watch last week's episode:


The description for the next episode:

All-New Thursday, May 12th 9/8c
"Dwight K. Schrute, Acting Manager" (TV-14)
Dwight takes over for Deangelo and immediately begins applying his unique management style to Dunder Mifflin Sabre. Kathy Bates guest stars.

The promo in last week's episode showed some pretty interesting speculative replacements for Michael Scott as the regional manager. And while several of them would be good in the role, I'm still not sure how long the place will last without Michael Scott. The character will have to be strong and funny, but it can't be just another manifestation of Steve Carell's character. I also imagine that it would be difficult for someone such as Jim to replace Michael as head of the office. Then it will turn into a formulaic sitcom of the straight man keeping things together while all the goofy people around him act out. One thing that I've always loved about "The Office" is how all of the characters' personality quirks balance each other out so well, but if such a normal person is the center of it all, the balance will somehow be off. Then again, I don't want to see another Michael Scott in that role.

This is why I am not a television writer. I have no idea what direction would be best for the show.

All I know is that it's going to be pretty difficult to top Michael Scott's exit. The episode was entertaining and funny, yet touching and moving. Michael Scott acted exactly as Michael Scott would.

Has "The Office" jumped the shark? We'll probably find out early next season.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

"America's Next Great Restaurant" is NBC's competition reality show featuring four investors (chefs Bobby Flay, Curtis Stone and Lorena Garcia, and Chipotle founder Steve Ells) who have been given the task of selecting the perfect concept for -- you guessed it -- America's next great restaurant. The focus is on fast-casual eateries, otherwise known as fast food.

The show began in March with several competitors, and the list was narrowed to 10 chefs with 10 different concepts:

• chicken and waffles--now soul food
• fixed calorie portions--now healthy, Mediterranean
• fusion tacos
• grilled cheese (Danielle says: Melt, anyone?)
• healthy/indulgent; menu items presented in either a healthy version or a less-than-good for you version
• Indian cuisine
• meatballs
• Southern food
• stir fry
• wraps

Now we're halfway through the season, and just five contestants remain in the running to open America's next great restaurant:

Krystal Seymour and Gregory Westcott, Grill'Billies
(Southern)

Sudhir Kandula, Spice Coast
(Indian cuisine)

Stephenie Park, Harvest Sol
(healthy, Mediterranean)

Joseph Galluzzi, The Brooklyn Meatball Co.
(formerly Saucy Balls)

Jamawn J. Woods, Soul Daddy
(chicken and waffles/soul food)

Thoughts on the show

Cheryl: I like food and going out to eat, so I like the idea of this show. I've liked several of the restaurant concepts, and I've agreed with the judges on pretty much all of the decisions. What I don't like is the seemingly strict time limits on each of their challenges. I understand needing to make split-second business decisions, and needing to work quickly in a fast-casual restaurant environment, but I think that kind of stuff improves over time after the concept and recipes are well fleshed out.

Danielle: It's been a lot of fun to watch the as contestants go from having a pipe-dream-esque idea to something that could actually work as a restaurant. We get to see contestants develop menu ideas and crew uniform concepts, work with graphic designers on signage and logos, and then try to put them in action in front of test groups and the judges.

"You will not be opening America's next great restaurant"

Cheryl: I would like to see restaurants selling wraps, fusion tacos and customized stir fry, but I'm not surprised any of those contestants didn't make it through. The menus were intriguing and different, but the contestants struggled to develop their restaurants into working models. A good restaurant is a lot more than good food.

Danielle: While Cheryl and I both liked some of the concepts that have been eliminated, it was easy to see why they were chosen. Each week we seem to easily guess which concepts will be on the chopping block next. We watched as Saucy Balls turned into the Brooklyn Meatball Co. as his name and imagery was deemed borderline inappropriate and a bit campy. I guess it's been interesting to see this perspective since I haven't really thought about all the ins and outs of the restaurant business before.

Remaining contestants

Cheryl: I'm happy with the top five. I'm impressed at the comeback by Grill'Billies, which seemed to be headed home four weeks ago. I would call Grill'Billies the front-runners now (and I'd love to try some of their cherry cola pulled pork). I'd also really like to try the meatballs (his Italian grandmother's recipe!) and Indian food. I could take or leave the soul food (not exactly my thing, though I'm tempted by the chicken and waffles) or Mediterranean cuisine (even though it's probably the healthiest option). Who gets eliminated next week really depends on who fails the challenge. The meatballs restaurateur needs to kick it up a notch because I don't know if his great food will help him keep his head above water.

Danielle: Cheryl and I are in agreement. I saw Grill'Billies leaving early, but they have made a stellar comeback. As we saw in last week's challenge when the restaurateurs were tasked with operating food trucks in downtown LA, the Grill'Billies team seems to lack some business sense (actually, most of the contestants did, evidenced by most of them not knowing how much it cost to produce each meal, and no contestant was profitable in the challenge). I also think Joey, of Brooklyn Meatball Co., is one of the weakest.

Predictions

Cheryl: Grill'Billies or Spice Coast. The Grill'Billies concept seems like it would work really well across the U.S., but Spice Coast is so different from the usual fast food fare. The investors sure have a tough and tasty choice to make.

Danielle: Sudhir of Spice Coast seems to have his head together the most. His food has won over many contestants and the judges, and he has consistently shown fairly good decision making skills. Next week's challenge is feeding children, so he could suffer there--I'm not entirely sure Indian cuisine will win kids' hearts. Grill'Billies probably has the most universal appeal, but I imagine meatballs would have quite a bit as well. Still, my head and my heart are saying it will be down to Spice Coast and Grill'Billies. I think I'd like to see Spice Coast win because it would be so different from what is currently available, but big part of me is thinking Grill'Billies is going to pull off the win.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl
and Danielle Capriato | DCapriato@News-Herald.com

April 28 will be a sad day at Dunder-Mifflin's Scranton, Pa., office -- and throughout the rest of the country. Michael Scott will bid farewell to "The Office" as Steve Carell leaves the NBC comedy.

From The Associated Press:

NBC is confirming April 28 as the date for Steve Carell’s final appearance on “The Office.” His farewell episode on the popular comedy will be supersized, the network announced Monday. That night’s long goodbye will air from 9 to 9:50 p.m. Eastern time, followed by an extended version of “Parks and Recreation” that concludes at 10:30 p.m. Eastern, NBC said.

It will be weird to see "The Office" without Carell. On one hand, I think it's good that the bumbling Michael Scott won't be over-staying his welcome. But on the other hand, I can't imagine how successful the show will be without such a key character. "The Office" is full of plenty of laugh-inducing misfits, so the removal of their office leader will certainly change the dynamic.

Will Ferrell will be joining the cast for a short storyline, but I don't think NBC will make him the new manager of Dunder-Mifflin's Scranton operations. I think the new Michael Scott would need to have a not-Michael Scott personality -- or at least the new character's ineptitude will need to be manifested in a different way.

Will Carell's departure mean "The Office" is going to jump the shark? We'll probably have to wait until next season to find out. For now, I'm going to prepare for what will likely be both a laugh- and tear-inducing goodbye.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

Two of my favorite things will be coming together in May: Josh Holloway and NBC's "Community".

Entertainment Weekly reported Monday that Holloway -- who played the dreamy rebel Sawyer on "Lost" -- is making a deal for a cameo in the season finale. What's more exciting for those of us "Lost" and "Community" lovers is that his cameo will be part of a paintball game. The previous paintball episode, "Modern Warfare," is probably my favorite in the series, and the participation of gun-toting badboy Sawyer this time around will surely make this a season finale to remember. Set aside space on your DVRs for this one.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

The bad boys of real estate are back in Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing", a series that follows the drama of top agents selling properties in the tough market of Los Angeles.

I previewed the first two episodes of the season, and I'm pretty much hooked already. I'm fascinated by seeing the features, amenities and price tags on the gorgeous homes, and I'm looking forward to seeing the agents work out high-priced deals with difficult clients. And agent Josh Flagg (pictured on the right) isn't hard to look at for 42 minutes. Josh F. also appears to be the "nice guy" of the three agents featured on the show. Josh Altman (left) is aggressive and Madison Hildebrand (center) is kind of dramatic. Why do their personality traits matter? Because it's Bravo reality programming, and Bravo reality programming comes with drama drama drama.

Is this show something you should watch? If you like tuning in to HGTV to get a look at floor plans, furniture and interior decorating schemes of houses on the market, this is probably not the show for you. If you are interested in that kind of stuff but get bored with HGTV's presentation, you'll be much more entertained by "Million Dollar Listing." If you want a well-produced reality show with more substance than the usual and have an interest in real estate or beautiful California homes, you should give this show a try.

Unfortunately, the show premieres at 9 p.m. Feb. 3. With a (mostly) great comedy block taking up many TV watcher's Thursday nights, "Million Dollar Listing" might fight for viewers. But don't worry if you don't have the DVR space for it: Bravo replays shows frequently throughout the week and on its website.

Bravo's description of the show's fourth season:

The most buzzed-about real estate gurus return to Bravo for a brand new season of "Million Dollar Listing" and once again give viewers an up-close and personal look inside the high-stakes, cutthroat world of Los Angeles's real estate market. Josh Flagg and Madison Hildebrand return and are joined by Josh Altman, one of the most successful agents in the country.
"Million Dollar Listing" follows the lives of three of Los Angeles' hottest, young and aggressive real estate magnates in the making as they make a fortune selling multi-million dollar properties in the most exclusive neighborhoods – Hollywood, Malibu and Beverly Hills. With the economy still in a slump, Josh Altman, Josh Flagg and Madison must fight for their share of the market and the competition is intense. Season four follows the agents as they deal with some of the most demanding clients they have ever encountered. They are pushed to the limit and struggle to manage their personal lives while also trying to move some of the most magnificent and most expensive homes in the City of Angels.

You can preview the season by clicking the play button below (some offensive language is bleeped):



-- Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com

The promos on NBC refer to "The Event" as the lovechild of "24" and "Lost". Six episodes in, I'm starting to see that.

I watched several seasons of "24" via Netflix and was somewhat burned out after that. I don't remember which season I last saw, and I don't know if I'll ever go back to finish the entire series. "Lost," on the other hand, might be my favorite TV series of all time. I've mentioned that I didn't think any show could replace "Lost," but that was all the chatter I had heard about "The Event." So, I'm giving it a try, and it's kinda sorta growing on me.

The show flashes back and forth between present time and the past -- 66 years earlier, five years earlier, 10 hours earlier, 10 days earlier. Jumping around in time can be a tricky tactic to tackle, and it's something "Lost" did really, really well (maybe "The Event" would benefit from a sound effect to notify the audience of a transition). "The Event" is getting better at it as the show goes on, or I'm just getting more used to it -- not to mention that the jumping around is starting to make more sense as it now is actually advancing the plot.

The show in general is beginning to make more sense as more of the mystery is revealed. I guess that is where the "Lost" elements enter: These characters are trapped in some kind of crazy happenings, trying to figure out what is going on so they can get home safely. The "24" aspects of the show include a national emergency, government secrets, bad guys pretending to be good guys, and one guy who is determined to save the love of his life and her family -- all in a fast-paced, high energy setting that is incredibly similar to Jack Bauer's adventures. "The Event" also seems to have a bit of "Heroes" in it, with people who aren't exactly human. (And, the same creepy guy from "Heroes" is portraying the same character from "Heroes": the governmental aide who wants to keep the special beings locked up.) ("Heroes" is another show I started and stopped but might return to someday. The first season was so great, and the second season went nowhere. I think I tuned out in the third season.)

So can a mix of a highly successful show, a darn successful show and a moderately successful show that got awful fast become a success? I can't tell yet. I think the rest of the season will be fine, but I'm not sure where it will go from there. After all, we're still trying to figure out what the namesake of the show is (was that what was happening at the end of episode six????). And after "The Event" of season one, are we going to have another "Event" for season two, and so forth? Or will the "event" keep happening? (Or is it what happened in 1944????) I'm curious about what's going to happen in the next episode, but not in the same way I was with "Lost," when I would watch and re-watch and re-watch the preview for the following week (and spend a big chunk of my free time talking theories about the show, browsing Lostpedia, and preparing for an audiocast about the show for News-Herald.com). I just don't feel that way about "The Event," and I'm not entirely confident the series will become my new "Lost."

For now, I know of two things that will keep me tuning in every week: Jason Ritter and Ian Anthony Dale.

-- Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com

Tina Fey and the cast of "30 Rock" did something bold and brave last week -- a live show. The NBC comedy was performed twice Thursday night -- once for the East Coast and once for the West Coast -- in front of a studio audience that provided a laugh track. And I think they nailed it.

NBC / Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin share a scene in the
live episode of "30 Rock."

I'm a casual viewer of "30 Rock" because I miss it more often than I catch it, but I've always enjoyed it. The actors play roles perfectly suited for them and they work quite well together, and that transferred Thursday night in a live setting. The plot was kind of flat, but the excitement from the episode came from the fact that they were filming it in a new way. The half hour was filled with snappy one-liners and enough energy to keep the show moving along, even if the story the characters were telling wasn't that exciting. Maybe my favorite thing about the episode was Julia Louis-Dreyfus playing Fey's Lemon in the show's sidebars. She was funny, clever and unexpected.

Should "30 Rock" try this again? Probably not. The novelty of attempting a live show will be tiring if it's done too frequently, and I can't think of another instance in which it would make sense to do it. But if there is a reason, time and place, Fey will figure out how to make it a success.

If you missed Thursday's episode (or want to catch what happened on the other coast), I've embedded the videos below.

East Coast:


West Coast:



-- Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com