At first glance, “Revolution” (9 p.m. Central Mondays, NBC, starts Monday) can be safely categorized with “Dark Angel,” “Lost,” “Terra Nova,” “Falling Skies” and “The Walking Dead” as a post-apocalyptic show (in the case of “Lost,” it was post-apocalyptic for the characters, not for the world at large). Basically, the world exists as we viewers know it, but then something goes horribly wrong and the world is fundamentally changed. (The events of the series sometimes take place in the wake of the apocalypse, sometimes a period of time later. In the case of “Revolution,” it’s 15 years later.)
We, as viewers, are asked to buy into something science-fictiony, but not beyond the realm of plausibility. In “Dark Angel,” an electromagnetic pulse turns the U.S. into a third-world country overnight — and also, there are genetically engineered humans. On “Falling Skies,” it’s basically the same thing, but replace superhumans with aliens. On “Lost,” a plane crashes on an island, and people have to learn to live without modern technology (until they make key discoveries, of course). On “Terra Nova,” people have to learn to live safely with dinosaurs roaming around. And on “The Walking Dead,” replace dinosaurs with zombies and restore the “no modern tech” element.
Here’s why “Revolution” — created by “Supernatural’s” Eric Kripke and produced by J.J. Abrams of “Lost” and “Fringe” fame — is different from those shows and, I’d argue, fundamentally flawed. The premise is that electricity, battery power and fuel power suddenly cease to exist. Whereas those other shows added something to what we know of science, “Revolution” inexplicably removes something from physical, scientific reality. This is harder for me to accept as a viewer. (SPOILER if you haven’t watched the pilot online: At the end of the first hour, we do see electricity again, thanks to some sort of magical device that looks like a flash drive. But that only leads to more questions. Is “Revolution” treating electricity like magic? If so, it’s better categorized as fantasy than sci-fi.)
Maybe that’s a failure of imagination on my part, and I suppose there’s a chance it could be logically explained as the series progresses, but I don’t think so. Right off that bat, that’s a major stumbling block for me liking “Revolution.”
Beyond that, I have to give the pilot episode some credit. Everything we see reflects what the world would look like without power. Tarmacs become fields of grass. Cities become forests with old buildings sticking up through the foliage. People learn to cook with fire and illuminate rooms with lanterns. Bows and arrows are the preferred hunting and defense tools, because bullets and guns can’t be efficiently manufactured.
The villains are so unredeemably nasty that they’re hard to watch (the main reason I couldn’t embrace “Falling Skies”) — particularly Giancarlo Esposito’s Capt. Tom Neville, a former insurance adjuster who now leads the militia of the Monroe Republic and takes one of our heroes, Danny, into custody for unknown reasons.
We don’t know a lot about Danny other than that he has asthma, which is a problem in this future without high-tech medicine production. His friend, Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) is likable in a typical spunky heroine sort of way. And Charlie’s uncle, Miles (Billy Burke), is functional enough as a guy who’d rather be left alone but gets sucked into Charlie’s mission to rescue Danny. After one episode, we also meet the girlfriend of Charlie’s now-deceased father, plus a Monroe Republic soldier who secretly helps Charlie and might be a decent guy after all.
“Revolution” gets high marks for its set design — shots of people walking through almost-otherworldly overgrown areas haven’t looked this good since “Lost” — and respectable marks for its characters. As far as what “Revolution” is actually about (beyond rescuing Danny), it looks like we’ll need a few more episodes. That’s not necessarily a criticism, because there have been good shows that take awhile to establish a defined objective (“Lost,” “The Walking Dead”). Even then, I suspect the problem of the nonsensical premise will remain, and the degree to which that bothers you will probably determine whether or not you embrace this series.
What were your thoughts on the pilot episode of “Revolution?” Share your comments in the thread below.