Revolution is a new tv show made by NBC and airs in Australia on Fox8. It is a story about the possibility of what the world could be like with no electricity. The start of the pilot shows the common modern world we are used to, before all of it seemingly goes wrong as all electricity around the world goes off. No cars, no computers, guns don’t seem to work, no planes. Pretty much most things we are used to stop working.
We are then placed 15 years into the future where the world has adapted and changed and sort of settled. Governments no longer exist in America and are instead replaced by the much feared it seems; militia who rule for the time being. While others have settled into an Amish like town and live there to moderate happiness. The trailer below for the pilot pretty much sums up the entire episodes plot.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwfCRAtkYEI[/youtube]
The pilot comes directed by Iron Man director Jon Favreau and is produced by Lost’s J.J Abrams the mix of the two is easily seen in the pilot. Favreau actually managed to fit ACDC in there with a character wearing a t-shirt of them in a scene (much like how it is heavily featured in Iron Man) while the music in the background during chase scenes to me is oddly similar to that of the Lost music in that show.
Where the pilot falls down however is the writing and positioning of characters. For the most part I felt like they were taking it so seriously that it ended up appearing less serious in tone than it probably was meant to be. While a lot of characters in there seem to look like they haven’t spent 15 years without power, it looks more like a year at most. I never really felt like there was any sense of struggle for any character in the show. They all just fit in, nice and easy.
All is not well however for them the militia eventually arrives and kills Ben Matheson and takes his son Danny Matheson to see general Monroe. It then from this point becomes an adventure series that is goal driven the main character Charlie Matheson (Tracey Spiridakos) must recruit her uncle Miles Matheson (Bully Burke) to rescue her captured brother.
Another problem that this series and the pilot has I think is that the main character Charlie Matheson (Tracey Spiridakos) is so so similar the main character in the Hunger games movies/books Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence). They both have bows, they both have an adventure, though sadly though the Hunger games character has much more depth than revolutions But I guess this could be developed over time. I’m not sure how much if any the Hunger games influenced the show, but the bows and arrows in the forest are all to similar.
What the pilot does well however is enough to make someone watch the next episode or maybe even the rest of the series. By the end of it the viewer is left wondering. There is a question about that USB like pendant that is being passed around, that can some how, reason unknown for now turn the electricity back on. The final scene shows it being used to turn on a computer, which is used to send an IM of course to some unknown. Just what is this pendant exactly? I guess the viewer will just have to stay tuned for the next episode to find out.
Revolution the pilot was a good enough effort for a first episode but much needs to be improved from this point to make the show last the test of time and also to maintain audience interest. I think they have a long way to go in terms of character development, while they have placed mystery in the audiences mind it’s the characters that are important to keep an audience attached.
