The Revolution pilot is online now...

[Mr. Laser Beam]

They a Revolutionary War aestetic, so the blackout must intelligently and selectively shut down any tech that interferes with that.

I haven't seen the show (don't have cable), but I have to ask:

So what is the "revolution" here, supposed to be revolting against?

If it's another "technology sucks" diatribe, like the Emberverse and nuDayEarthStoodStill, I'm afraid they're not gonna have many takers...

 

[Mister Fandango]

I haven't seen the show (don't have cable), but I have to ask:

So what is the "revolution" here, supposed to be revolting against?

They're trying to be clever somehow. They keep having the R flicker on and off rapidly. Not sure what either word is supposed to imply, though, since the whole bloody show is nonsensical to begin with.

Which boggles me because I really love what Kripke did with Supernatural, and Favreau tries to imbue that common sense vibe into what he does.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

So it's "revolution" against modern society, and "evolution" through the loss of technology, which in itself would kill off close to 90% of humanity?

I think I'll pass.

 

[Guy Gardener]

revolution doesn't just mean fighting.

"industrial revolution"

It just describes a changing phase in development.

The "O" in revolution is stylized to look like the off button (or maybe a sleep button, they're very similar.) on a computer.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I haven't seen the show (don't have cable), but I have to ask:

So what is the "revolution" here, supposed to be revolting against?

The series hasn't aired yet, the pilot is legally available online and commercial free, and the show is on NBC, so you don't need cable.

The "Revolution" is either metaphorical (as in returning to our pre-electrical roots) and/or it's literal and will probably be either against whomever caused the blackout in the first place, or more likely against the local militia government which calls itself the Munroe Republic (one of many such competing governments in the former United States according to dialogue in the show).

 

[FreezeC77]

Nope.

Clearly a physicist said it was possible, so it's real Science!. No magic at all. We've been reassured.

Depends on who the physicist is. We see both political parties trot out scientists agreeing with 'their' premise. Scientists saying Global Warming is a myth, scientists saying evolution is false, etc...

I don't really care as much if the premise is flawed, if the execution of the ideal is good. So far it's a mixed bag.

 

[The Green Mushroom]

...what if the sun goes dark?

One of the Twilight-y Zone shows made during the 90s did that. It was actually fairly interesting and seemed at least plausible to me. Fortunately for the characters, the sun came back on after a couple of days before the oxygen started to rain.

Nope.

Clearly a physicist said it was possible, so it's real Science!. No magic at all. We've been reassured.

Once a student asked me why the peasants never revolted and killed all of their feudal lords. I told him they did that fairly regularly, they just usually died quite painfully shortly after.

He then asked what would have happened if they used flamethrowers. I asked him where did he think they would get flamethrowers in the Middle Ages.

I hope five years from now he doesn't make a show about Medieval Communists conquering the world with flamethrowers because his history teacher said it was possible.

 

[tomalak301]

Just saw it and it was not bad. However, the characters came across as pretty flat and it didn't hold my interest that much. I a story of life right after the blackout would have been much better, like how society would have adapted instead of jumping ahead 15 years. There were some scenes where I forgot it was 15 years into the future, and I kept asking, what took everyone so long? What where they doing between when the blackouts happened and when they start this little revolution? Building Camp?

Not sure if I'll be back for the second episode. I could just see this series being like a lot of other arc shows. They keep dragging and dragging and the answers end up not being worth the payer they are written on.

 

[PsychoPere]

1. I have no problem with looney tunes militias taking over after a societal collapse. But if Doomsday Preppers has taught me anything...why would any of the militia types accept a black dude in their ranks?

It's probably as simple as "militia" being a catch-all term for armed, organized groups attempting to establish their own control over as much territory as possible. Some of those militias may be the whackjob white supremacist-type militias that exist now, but many others - like Munroe's? - could just as easily be modeled after militias from the timeframe of the American Revolution.

Did anyone else get a Jericho feeling from watching this? The overought family drama was clearly there....

Here's hoping Eric Kripke decides to nip that down to manageable levels as quickly as possible, rather than emulate Jericho in letting it overshadow any good stuff in the first season.

 

[JD]

1. I have no problem with looney tunes militias taking over after a societal collapse. But if Doomsday Preppers has taught me anything...why would any of the militia types accept a black dude in their ranks?

It's probably as simple as "militia" being a catch-all term for armed, organized groups attempting to establish their own control over as much territory as possible. Some of those militias may be the whackjob white supremacist-type militias that exist now, but many others - like Munroe's? - could just as easily be modeled after militias from the timeframe of the American Revolution.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the case. It's a militia in the traditional sense, not the modern anti-government/white supremacist types.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Because there's probably a few States out there calling themselves THE REAL America and saying that they have THE REAL army at their beck and call.

 

[SG-17]

Wasn't as mediocre as the previews made it out to be. Though if it turns into some campy family drama I'll drop it like a brick.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Monroe not Munroe.

 

[JarodRussell]

I hope five years from now he doesn't make a show about Medieval Communists conquering the world with flamethrowers because his history teacher said it was possible.

Actually, I'd watch that.

Where did all those women in Rome and Spartacus get their silicone implants?

 

[Gotham Central]

Does anyone have any theory about the ultimate point of the show?

I think that this show might have more in common with BSG than Jericho.

I suspect that the show is about the emergence of a malevolent AI. The implied "evolution" from in the shows name is about an AI that got loose. The audience is being led to believe that the folks that shut the power off might have been the bad guys, but in fact they were saving humanity for something they created (possibly by accident). This Colossus/Skynet like AI probably escaped its creators. Its possible that the father in the pilot was NOT one of the good guys but part of a cabal that was in league with the AI. The proverbial "Revolution" is that the AI survived the shutdown and humanity will eventually have to fight for its survival when it reemerges. It might also explain why Monroe want to find these folks. He might not be looking for the key to turning it all back on, but may be afraid that these scientist might do just that and doom the world.

What we may find out is that dear old dad lied about what happened to their mother. Either she left because she knew what the cabal was planing or she was taken and possibly held hostage by the same group hoping that he would help them restore the power. He might have said no and just assumed that they killed his wife.

It's a good bet that what he was keeping on his computer was literally the AI's off switch. So while all of the medallions have the power to nullify the EMP keeping the power off...his is the only one that can actually destroy the AI. That would explain why he was so intent on saving it for his daughter. It's possible that the Google guy has an idea what it might do, but has no clue how special it really is.

It might also explain why the tech level is so low. Monroe might actually be trying to suppress technology. They do not want a manufacturing base to reemerge that could be turned against humanity. It could also explain the gun ban. Monroe wants to horde fire arms and does not want to waste them on people sine he knows that they would need to be saved for a war against machines.

 

[Morpheus 02]

The overgrown vegetation did not really bother me. If Life After People has tought me anything its that plants would take over farly quickly without people to maintain the structures. (of course the shot of Wrigley Field seemed odd since it was TOO overgrown especially given that its located in a densely packed part of the city).
.

This is CHICAGO...the streets and concrete are made to be broken up easily, so they can spend millions each year repairing them by companies connected to politicians. Definitely weeds grown up out of parking lots fairly quickly around here. I have even seen a TREE grow OUT of an abandoned building, on the 2nd floor. That took about 3-4 years before I noticed it. What we saw after 15 years seems reasonable.

I think they were also going for the "I am Legend" look, which most people who aren't thinking too hard on it will accept.

Me & my wife saw it, and think it's worth following for at least the 1st half of the season.

I really like Giancarlo Esposito's character...very nuanced villan. And i didn't recognize him, as he looks very different from the last series he was in.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

The Hollywood Reporter has a positive review of Revolution

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Geez. How many times Hunger Games can a review mention Hunger Games without mentioning how bloody blatant the Hunger Games show is shamelessly capitalizing on the success of Hunger Games.

A: Four.

 

[Anwar]

Would Hunger Games be mentioned so much if the main female didn't use a bow type weapon?

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Would Hunger Games be mentioned so much if the teen, leather-jacket wearing, hunting-to-feed-her family while trying to survive in a dystopian society main female didn't use a bow type weapon?

Probably not nearly as much. Then again, there's the almost carbon-copy score Revolution uses.