Some thoughts on the Revolution pilot

The other day I saw that the pilot episode of NBC's new post-apocalyptic TV show Revolution was streaming for free on Hulu. As I'm interested in all things apocalyptic of late, I decided to check it out. Just as I had figured, the pilot was all right, in a dumb, thrilling kind of way, but left a lot to be desired.

This particular apocalyptic scenario involves all electronic devices and systems powered by electricity going out at the same time, resulting in a massive, irreversible blackout. As this blackout would affect North America more adversely than in other parts of the world where most people don't even have electric lighting, and this is a US TV show, it takes place in the Chicago area, 15 years after the blackout ends civilization as we know it. After main character Charlie's younger brother, Danny, attacks a militia marshal, their father is killed and Danny is taken into custody. Charlie leaves with her stepmother and a guy who used to work for Google to find her brother and her uncle. They find him, and are ambushed by militia--but thanks to Miles's mad killing skillz, and the hunky militia boy who betrayed them, they come out alive. Meanwhile, Danny escapes his captors and takes refuge at a mysterious recluse's home, only to be found by the marshal. The recluse, however, is more than what she seems.

They look good--too good.

It does just fine with building the tension and intrigue, but the premise and presentation is weak. for one, the characters are remarkably clean and well-fitted for a post-apocalyptic scenario, and I think the showrunners could have done a bit more research into how electricity works--like, what makes the gadgets work isn't the same thing as what makes the lights work. Planes would no just drop out of the sky, and apparently they've gone back to the 1800s--with crossbows, swords, and muskets--except for the whole steam engine thing. I also found it implausible that vegetation would take over cities that quickly--I guess there was also a lot of rain? And a person's cell phone wouldn't literally turn off (along with other battery-powered devices) when everything stopped working, would it? Possibly some of this will be explained later on, though I hope that the show doesn't get too involved with the mystery/putting things back the way they were. Why not forge ahead without electricity, and rediscover the things they had lost whilst burrowed in the blue-lit screens of their electronic devices? But old habits die hard, I guess.

Most disturbing of all, there was a surprising amount of violence and killing in the first episode: Miles, the character Charlie and co. have been searching for, slaughters practically the entire militia that has come after him. Everybody else kills at least one person too, acting like it's no big thing. Which makes me think that they've all killed before. That's an unsettling development, because what kind of person isn't disturbed by killing other humans?

The acting isn't stellar, but I don't expect much from these types of TV shows, and it's the pilot. When was the last time a TV pilot blew you away? (Believe me, if I was a TV exec, less than one percent of the shows put on today would never get the green light.) There's a hint of a future romance across enemy lines, but they don't get much screen time together, aside from the times when the militia man saves Charlie. Just because they're two young, attractive people who aren't related doesn't mean they're into each other, and I'm not buying it.

I also think the pilot was rushed, since we don't get to know the characters very well. Too many of the scenes are plot-advancing, and few really show the characters interacting normally. (and the few that do are far too short) Without knowing the characters, it's hard to care whether or not they get killed. From my limited viewing of sci-fi and fantasy shows, I've come to the conclusion that these benefit from 90-minute or 2-hour pilots, so the audience is adequately introduced to the characters and the strange world in which they live. I might watch a few episodes, like I did of Terra Nova last year, but ultimately lose interest if it devolves into plot points and action sequences.

I rate the pilot 2 stars out of 5. If you're interested, Revolution will be airing Tuesdays on NBC starting next week.