It got better as it went along, and the presence of the wacky scientist guy seemed to help counteract the silly-in-its-over-seriousness tone... But MAN, what a cheeseball show!
Is JJ Abrams intentionally trying to pay homage to silly sci-fi b-movies? Did Fox come to him and say, "We want something like Lost, only stupider?" This shit was almost 'Heroes' bad.
That said, there was still *just* enough entertainment value that I might stick around for a couple eps and see what happens. I still can't quite figure out how sincere this show is trying to be, so maybe the hamfistedness and ridiculously convenient plot holes are supposed to be part of the 'charm'.