Revolution season 1 thread (1 Viewer)

[Patrick_S]

I generally enjoy post apocalyptic survival stories so I’m trying to give this show a chance. I posted in the past that I thought the core plot device that drives us into the new era was flawed and after viewing the pilot that opinion has not change. There appears to be no logical end game that would have motivated a group of individuals to turn off the power.
Without giving any spoilers, here is one major production mistake from the pilot. The show takes place fifteen years from the turn off and everyone is running around in pretty nice cloths factory produced cloths which is somewhat out of place considering nothing has been manufactured for 15 years. Before someone replies that the one person is obviously in an old tee shirt that is just one character.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I generally enjoy post apocalyptic survival stories so I’m trying to give this show a chance. I posted in the past that I thought the core plot device that drives us into the new era was flawed and after viewing the pilot that opinion has not change. There appears to be no logical end game that would have motivated a group of individuals to turn off the power.
Without giving any spoilers, here is one major production mistake from the pilot. The show takes place fifteen years from the turn off and everyone is running around in pretty nice cloths factory produced cloths which is somewhat out of place considering nothing has been manufactured for 15 years. Before someone replies that the one person is obviously in an old tee shirt that is just one character.

you do know that the population is supposedly greatly reduced and that there are any number of well stocked clothing stores to plunder?

 

[Patrick_S]

I knew someone would chime in with that reply but it does not hold up because the population did not decline over night. Those stores would have been completely plundered in the first few months. There would definitely not be any cloths just sitting around fifteen years later.
Now for us already grown individuals fifteen years later we just might have some decent cloths but probably not since we would have been doing a lot of dirty hands on labor to just survive and our cloths would have taken a lot of abuse.
For young people that grow up in this period it is a real credibility stretch to think they would have nicely manufactured cloths with no wear on them.

 

[Lucia Duran]

Watched the pilot on demand and .... I'm not gonna hold my breath. It's interesing to some degree, but like someone else stated earlier, the plot has too many holes and doesn't altogether make sense.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

As a pilot, Revolution certainly intrigues me with the initial conceit and given the scope of the idea I'm willing to give it several episodes to gain traction.
I am more concerned about the handling of the characters out of the gate. As mentioned the best performance was Giancarlo Esposito as Captain Neville but I give full disclosure I am a Breaking Bad fan and and am colored in my reactions to his performance.
The lead girl worries me - her performance is strained at times as she is trying too hard to get emotional beats across, she needs to relax, and let the material do the heavy lifting for her. Hopefully she will improve.
The major action set piece was disconcerting. It was, for me, the most unbelievable aspect of the pilot on several fronts. It did not gibe with the character's motivations and ended up being a wasted sequence as no one else witnessed it.
Definitely a mixed bag at this point.
Fingers crossed for upward progress. Once Fringe finishes this season I really need a SF show to take its place.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Watched the pilot episode on demand last night. I enjoy survival stories and the notion of a post-apocalyptic America not littered with radioactive waste and nuked out cities is an interesting environment to explore. I kind of agree with some of Lou's criticisms but the setting is enough to keep me around. I kind of rolled my eyes that Danny would just happen to stumble upon the homestead of someone who was connected with the larger conspiracy - but a) they only have so much time to tell the story and b) she might have been there due to the proximity of Danny's father.
I'm a big fan of Supernatural so Eric Kripke's involvement is a big plus. I read an interview with Kripke where he indicated that they had investigated the plausibility of the central premise of the show; namely that electricity stops working; and that they had a workable concept. I''m not convinced just yet, but I'll try to keep an open mind.
The clothes didn't bother me at all; seemed like a mix of older stuff and fairly rugged materials that would hold up - esp. the jackets. The freshly shampooed look of Charlie seems a little out of place - but that is one of the givens of entertainment. (See The Last of the Mohicans for attractive people going through the brush with no apparent detriment to their appearance.)
BTW, Patrick - the narration mentions the fires with no firefighters to attend them, so
A solid B+ for the pilot from me and I plan on sticking around.
- Walter.

 

[todbnla]

The big issue I have with this show out of the box is how easy some things just fall into place when I watched the first episode via streaming.
SPOILER ALERT ! if you dont want to know, Do not read below!

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

When the "group" begins their trek, they walk for awhile and they arrive in Chicago, first place they walk in to and almost the first person in there they talk to is one of the key figures in the story, come on really, that easy?

 

[Patrick_S]

BTW, Patrick - the narration mentions the fires with no firefighters to attend them, so

Just like tornados always hit trailer parks I bet those fires made a bee line to the libraries.
The cloths issue and as you mentioned the freshly shampooed hair are way over the top but it’s TV, most of the people are going to look good.
Where do I get one of those USB flash drives because I just have to have one of those?

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The big issue I have with this show out of the box is how easy some things just fall into place when I watched the first episode via streaming.
SPOILER ALERT ! if you dont want to know, Do not read below!

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

When the "group" begins their trek, they walk for awhile and they arrive in Chicago, first place they walk in to and almost the first person in there they talk to is one of the key figures in the story, come on really, that easy?

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

When the father was dying, he told the daughter the name of the hotel in Chicago. So while the journey to Chicago felt way too easy, all things considered, them going straight to the hotel was logically accounted for.

 

[TonyD]

Plus it's a tv show I wouldn't want to watch weeks of them talking to people who have no idea about who they are looking for.

 

[Patrick Sun]

For those who haven't seen the pilot, it airs tonight at 10p.m. EDT on NBC after "The Voice".

 

[mattCR]

The plot for me is pretty hard to swallow.. I mean "all batteries, everything stopped" fine. But I can generate electricity with a bicycle and a pulley.. or solar.. or hydraulic... actually, if we were to assume this went as wide as the show makes it, there would have been vast nuclear meltdown, etc.. How we account for everything not working is so wildly universal that it just doesn't make any sense.

I just don't know what to make of it just yet

 

[Stan]

This is one of the few new fall shows I'm giving a chance. DRVing the pilot tonight, so will see how it goes. Interesting idea, could work out if done properly.
My track record on the major network shows has been pretty bad the past few years, so this is probably doomed to failure.
Cable/Satellite channels I'm actually pretty good at, or it's just the fact that they are much better shows. Alphas, Falling Skies and a lot of the USA and TNT shows are on my list and have been doing quite well.

 

[Greg.K]

I liked it. Nice mystery set up, likeable heroes and some appropriately creepy villains. Good action sequences, and the post apocalyptic effects are great. Remains to be seen if they can keep that level up for a series run.
The science is of the "check your brain at the door" variety to some extent but I can suspend disbelief if the story is compelling enough.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Pure speculation in this post, and not interested in starting a debate over global warming, but...
I began wondering about the motives of the entity that initiates the 'change'. Could the rationale for blunting technology be ecological in nature? Forestall global warming by suspending technology - esp. automobiles and power generation. Ensure a die back of the population to reduce human biomass without eradicating the species? Give the planet a breather from mankind's presence? Is there a master plan to restart a technology based society in a more responsible manner? (That last one seems unlikely given human nature, but this is all speculation.)
- Walter.

 

[Joe Bernardi]

I gave up after ten minutes. I would watch if the power loss was caused by enemy or alien attacks, but after 15 years nobody know what caused it? I'm not following a Lost-like series with many questions and few if any answers.

 

[WillG]

Watched it last night. Not sure if I'm going to stick with it. I figure that the show will end up getting cancelled and we'll be left with no answers, or the show survives but we'll have to wait 6 seasons before finding out why the power went out.
I've debated this point with others in the past, but thought I would ask here. Do airplanes, even Jets, just fall out of the sky? I argue that they don't because of those things they have....I think are called...wings.
Also, I am wondering if there is any sort of angle that the lead militia guy has (IMO) a fair resemblance to Obama.

I began wondering about the motives of the entity that initiates the 'change'. Could the rationale for blunting technology be ecological in nature? Forestall global warming by suspending technology - esp. automobiles and power generation. Ensure a die back of the population to reduce human biomass without eradicating the species? Give the planet a breather from mankind's presence? Is there a master plan to restart a technology based society in a more responsible manner? (That last one seems unlikely given human nature, but this is all speculation.)

Could be anything I suppose, but what could (assuming an earth borne entity) cause a permanent total shutdown of any electrical energy (including batteries). Some kind of super EMP?
I thought I heard that one of the 2012 doomsday theories was that some kind of super Solar flare (that bases on past cycles was due in 2012) would fry all electrical grids on Earth.

 

[Steve Berger]

Many of you are looking at the show from the wrong angle. IMHO
It is not really a science fiction show in the strictest sense.
The sci-fi aspect is just an excuse to drop their (hopefully) interesting characters into a semi-medieval/feudal society. The science aspect just can't hold up to any intelligent scrutiny.
If that is your type of show, then great. You'll probably love it if it is well written.
Personally, I like science fiction but usually dislike post apocalyptic settings since there is often no "science" left.
I'm tired of "dark human dramas" that have no payoff until the end of the series.
I'll record the show (and dump to DVDs), track the comments, and pick it up later if it turns out to be a real science fiction show.

 

[Patrick_S]

I've debated this point with others in the past, but thought I would ask here. Do airplanes, even Jets, just fall out of the sky? I argue that they don't because of those things they have....I think are called...wings.

It is extraordinarily rare for a plane to go into a dead spin. Its great theater but you are right in that even when the power goes out planes do still have glide ratios so they just don't fall straight down like the one did last night.
Even with a very poor glide ratio a plane’s forward motion would still be pushing it forward even if the power totally shut off.

 

[Jeff Brooks]

Anyone remember "Dark Angel"? The way they handled the electromagnetic pulse that wiped out all electricity seemed to be more logical and believable than in "Revolution".
It does seem like they are trying to say there was a motive, and people knew it would happen. That sort of reminds of another series, "Flash Forward", and we know what happened to that show.
I am just not sure about being motivated to watch this show. At least "Falling Skies" and "The Walking Dead" have a hook, you know?