Revolution

Just watched the Season 1 finale, actually pretty satisfying. People have been really hard on this show, and early on for some good reasons. Eric Kripke, JJ Abrams and Jon Faveraeu combined to create a show that attempts to combine the mythology of 'Lost', the desolation of 'The Walking Dead' and the hubris of 'Game of Thrones' with mixed results. Riding the structure of a good premise, they made a horrible error by attempting to cast Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) as the star. While easy on the eyes, she just doesn't have the chops to carry a show, and with this ensemble cast she shouldn't have to. Following the Damon Lindelof model from 'Lost', the show runners listened to their audience and changed course for the 2nd half of the season. They finally let Giancarlo Esposito (Gus from 'Breaking Bad') be his awesome self rather than diluting his talent and refocused on Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet from 'Lost') as the real antagonist. This is much longer form story-telling (1st season was 20 episodes) and the writers need to be careful, however they seem to have righted the ship (characters need to die, TV audiences are too demanding these days and want more realism) and I will be watching Season 2.

"Revolution" has it all. Bad writing. Bad acting. Bad premise. The trifecta. Which probably means that, in the grand tradition of groundbreaking TV shows like "According To Jim', NBC is prepared to keep this turkey going for 7 or 8 years until it finds it footing.

Giancarlo Esposition is better than this.To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, " I knew Gus Fring. Gus Fring was a friend of mine. And you, my friend, are no Gus Fring". Never saw Mr. Esposito in a bad project before, but I guess there's always a first time.

This hodgepodge of "The Postman" and "Life After People" looks dead on arrival. And speaking of "dead on arrival", AMC's little zombie show seems to have a way to make this post-apocalyptic stuff a whole lot more palatable. Just add writers and some committed actors and you got yourself a winner. It CAN be done. But "Revolution" ain't doin' it.

"What's in the whiskey, bitch??" Man. If I had nickel for every time I've heard that.

For me it looked like a regurgitated "Lost". And as much as I love PAW fiction, I had a difficult thing with some things… not the how, what and where, but rather the softening up and romanticizing the harshness of a potential reality. Yeah, I know...its Hollywood.

I found the characters mainly looking like they came out of an Old Navy commercial…with perfect teeth and hair, and clothing that was amazingly stylish. Obviously someone had power to keep the straightening irons working...and the skills that survived well were dentistry, cosmetology and fashion design.

The planes falling from a flat spin from the sky instead of a diminished trajectory...still having navigation lights on didn't lend to realism in the beginning.

A detail that I laughed about was when they walked upon an RV on its side…with an open window to crawl into…and found the interior looking pretty much brand new after 15 years. There were others but I let them go at that point. Maybe I need to watch more episodes, but after the first show, I'm not sure if I have the time to watch it.

This is a good script well directed. Actors are talented and have chemistry, not the kind of one you usually see. but nevertheless they have a good thing going on.

People usually attack these kind of shows with plot-holes and technicalities. But countless shows with huge plot-holes managed to stay on air because of the level of entertainment they produced. Off the top of my head Stargate SG-1 which ran for 10 season made 2 spin-off shows and straight to DVD movies frequently showed English speaking aliens with American accents. In my opinion that hasn't got anything to do with science or fiction it's merely something they had to do to make the show work in long-term. Revolution is doing the same thing with "diesel engines not working without electricity" and "batteries working after just sitting there for years".

More about the show, Revolution has a very unique way of story-telling. Flash-backs often surprises with hard-to-guess past events that led each character to different points in present. Actor Billy Burke is a natural at portraying Miles Matheson, a highly trained ex-military man with unpredictable emotions towards his peers. Action scenes often include well choreographed sword fights, gun fights and a lot of explosions. The show in no-way seems low budget or badly directed and has the perfect balance of violence and family-friendliness.

If you skipped this show because of any technicalities or potential clichés of post-apocalyptic earth, you might have read. Take it from some who almost skipped it, you should give this show a chance because it will surprise you.

I was shocked to see all the negative reviews. Perhaps I feel different because I'm not really looking for reality when I watch TV. I'm looking for entertainment. I'm looking to take a break and relax. (Most generally I have enough reality in a normal day, but if I'm looking for more on TV, I'll turn on the news) As for Revolution, I really enjoy the Drama. I find myself drawn into what the writers, and actors give with this show each week. There are some characters, I love to hate, and others I'm cheering on! I now make it a point to watch it when it comes on, or if I can't - I make sure the DVR is set, and watch it later. :)