What's it about?
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, and her brother Danny. When Danny is kidnapped by militia leaders for a darker purpose, Charlie must reconnect with her estranged uncle Miles, 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.
(from NBC.com)
You should watch if...
•...you're still on that quest for the next LOST.
•...you're still on that quest for the next HUNGER GAMES.
•...you're still on that quest for the next post-apocalyptic-family-adventure-mystery-action-science-fiction-drama-journey-futuristic-crossbow-wielding-romantic-sword-fight-mythology-show.
So, how was it?
Every year since LOST vacated the airwaves, it has become a tradition for at least one network to try their hand at the sweeping science-fiction mystery show with a large cast of characters and deep mythology. First there was FLASHFORWARD. And then there was THE EVENT. And then TERRA NOVA happened. What else do these shows have in common? Oh that's right. None of them made it past one season. (The exception being V, if you include it in this category, which made it a whopping TWO SEASONS.) The question is: Will this season's FLASHFORWARD TO THE EVENT OF THE LOST TERRA NOVA be the one that survives? Get your bets in now.
I will go right ahead and say that I did not find REVOLUTION as horrendous as some of those other LOST-wannabes. That being said, it is definitely still in their category and shares many of their same traits. Like last season's TERRA NOVA, it wants to be a dark, epic sci-fi adventure while still cultivating a family-friendly audience. Folks, you can't craft a decent sci-fi story if you're afraid of alienating viewers. Sci-fi by its definition is a niche genre, and you will only be successful if you embrace that quality and cater to the audience of people who love it. Look at FRINGE. It has survived five whole seasons by embracing its weirdness and not being afraid to take risks (and the show is decidedly un-family-friendly in its gross-out sci-fi cases). Is it the highest-rated show on television? No, but it is critically-acclaimed, passionately loved by its audience, and survived literally five times longer than TERRA NOVA did.
Anyway, back to REVOLUTION. At the same time as it tries to capitalize on the audience still looking for the next LOST, it also capitalizes on the audience still rife with HUNGER GAMES fever. Our heroine, Charlie, is a resourceful young woman who ventures into the woods outside her ramshackle village with a bow to hunt. Ring any bells? The character breakdown for casting Charlie was probably lifted word-for-word from Suzanne Collins' description of Katniss. She is spunky, has a rebellious nature, and is always trying to take care of her family. She is deeply affected by the death of her father and the absence of her mother, and takes action to protect her younger sibling. She ventures with a bow through a post-apocalyptic terrain, confronting a ruthless futuristic government to protect her family, which will -- I'm sure -- lead to the sparking of a revolution. This is not to say the actress, Tracy Spiridakos (BEING HUMAN), is less than capable. She does a fine job, but her character is such a carbon-copy, it's impossible not to compare her performance to that of Oscar-nominated Jennifer Lawrence.
She's joined by Billy Burke (TWILIGHT, 24) as Charlie's caustic uncle Miles who is hesitant to join his niece on her trek, but is impressively capable with a katana when spurred to action. Giancarlo Esposito (BREAKING BAD, ONCE UPON A TIME) does a typically fine job as the leader of the militia that kidnaps Charlie's brother, although his character is thus far so blandly eeeeevil that he does all but rub his hands together while chuckling menacingly. Zak Orth is Aaron, a former Google-billionaire who plays REVOLUTION's version of Hurley's chubby-comedic-relief. Then there's sci-fi goddess Elizabeth Mitchell (LOST, V) as Charlie's mother. She's briefly glimpsed in the opening sequence and then assumed dead...but we all know you don't cast Elizabeth Mitchell in your show if she's not going to be important and kick some sci-fi butt.
The big question of the pilot is why technology has stopped working. It's not just electricity, as society skips anything like steam engines and immediately reverts back to medieval times complete with horses and swords (and yet everyone looks like the just finished shopping at J Crew...interesting...). I feel like this is a big missed opportunity, as steampunk is such a cool genre that hasn't been effectively portrayed on TV in a while. But whatever. The only explanation that is given is this: "Physics went insane." Well okay then. I assume we'll get more of an explanation as the show progresses, and that actually worries me. It was the too-complicated mythology as much as anything that was the downfall of FLASHFORWARD and THE EVENT, and I would almost prefer the blackout remain a mystery than have some uninteresting-techy-gobbledegook thrown at me down the line.
All this probably makes it sound like I hated REVOLUTION. I didn't. I found Ms. Spiridakos an appealing lead (even with her stolen character), Mr. Esposito is always a welcome presence on my screen (even though he hasn't been given much to do yet), and the difference between REVOLUTION and other LOST-ripoffs is that REVOLUTION actually has LOST's creator as part of the team. So I'm hoping that REVOLUTION finds its stride and survives for longer than one season, although I won't be terribly surprised if it doesn't.
And the verdict is:
Okay. I may give it another episode or two to see if it gets better.
It is often difficult to judge an entire show by its pilot alone, and this problem is only compounded when the show is as ambitious as REVOLUTION. So I'm definitely willing to keep giving it a chance (I did, admittedly, watch every episode of TERRA NOVA last season, continually hoping it would improve). My love for J.J. Abrams and my hope that this will be the show that finally survives, will keep me tuning in at least for a few weeks. Maybe this will be the one that breaks the post-LOST sci-fi curse. Only time will tell.
Your turn, Fellow Addicts! Are you giving REVOLUTION a chance? Did you like it better or worse than TERRA NOVA/THE EVENT/FLASHFORWARD? Vote in the poll below and then hit the comments!
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