NBC hopes the mystery of the question, What is the Event? will keep viewers tuning in to "The Event."

From all the pre-premiere hype given to "The Event," viewers know that the show centers around a mysterious event, an event so unbelievable that not even the president of the United States knows. The CIA has a carefully crafted conspiracy to keep the details buried. And some of them appear to know what The Event is. But 97 detainees at a remote base in Alaska not only know what The Event is, they seem to have also been involved in The Event.

Jason Ritter stars as Sean Walker, an appealing Everyman, who is drawn into a (to him) terrifying mystery involving the disappearance of his intended fiancé from a romantic cruise ship vacation. Intercut with this back story is a more present story where Sean is boarding an airplane chased by an FBI agent. When the plane takes off, Sean heads to the front of the plane and pulls a gun, causing the other passengers and crew to think hes a terrorist.

Layered onto this storyline is the story about the CIA cover-up. President Elias Martinez plans to go public and release the detainees even as his closest advisors plead with him to change his mind. He plans a press conference in Florida with Sophia Maguire, the enigmatic leader of the detainees, at his side.

All these disjointed threads begin to pull together in the last quarter of the show. Sean is not a terrorist. He is trying to prevent one of the pilots (who happens to be his fiances father) from assassinating the President by crashing the plane into the Presidents Florida retreat. Suspense builds as the Secret Service trys to rush the President, his family and Sophia to safety as the plane veers toward their location.

The episode ends with an interesting mini-event when the plane disappears mid-air. It could be enough to keep viewers interested for a second week of viewing.

The creators of "The Event" make no secret that they are trying to draw the "Lost"/"24"/"Flashforward" viewers. But one question that comes to mind is: Are they trying too hard to be the next big conspiracy-theme show? "The Event" uses non-linear storytelling as a device. The first half of the pilot overdid this, jumping around in time in such a random way that it became a confusing jumble of events.

A variety of on-line extras have been created to enhance "The Event." Characters have Twitter feeds, a website will have supplementary videos and information about the events unfolding on the show, and each week, NBC will offer a video called Deconstructing The Event that will give viewers extra information about that weeks episode.

Even though producers and creators Nick Wauters and Steve Sark emphasize that the show is intended to be character-driven, the pilot was so chopped with plot points that viewers never had a chance to decide if they care about any of the characters.

Wauters says that answers will not be held back for long periods of time.

There will be big reveals and big clues in each episode, Wauters said in an interview with TV Squad. It will be a balance between a mystery and a thriller and a character piece.

The stellar cast is one of "The Events" strongest elements. Besides Ritter as Sean Walker, the cast features Blair Underwood as President Elias Martinez, Scott Patterson as Michael Buchanon, Laura Innes as Sophia Maguire and Zeljko Ivanek as presidential advisor Blake Sterling.

"The Event" is worth a second look. However, many viewers operate on a one and done mindset. NBC will have to hope that the answer to the question, What is the Event? hasnt become Who cares? in the thoughts of potential viewers.

To read Airlock Alpha's review of the episode, please click here.

"The Event" airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.