"Revolution" on NBC

I saw the premier last night at 10-PM and I think this could be an interesting who-dunnit, what-happened if it doesn't run out of money and gets cut early the way some of my other recent TV series got cut like Pan Am on ABC, and Terra Nova on Fox, and Jericho on CBS.

In fact, I saw an immediate connection between Revolution and Jericho.

In Jericho a nuclear strike hits the country, and a nuclear pulse wipes out all communication and anything electrical.

In Revolution, someone pulls the plug on everything electronic.

But in Jericho a "secret group" still has power and computers, and in Revolution the premier show ends with someone in some "underground group" using a computer and still having power.

I keep hoping that Terra Nova will return to Fox but that is unlikely now after so much time. What killed Terra Nova was the high cost of production.

Pan Am which followed Pan Am pilots and flight attendants in the 1960s had a lot of potential especially since the show was getting sexy with love interests in every city, and dramatic with flight attendants and pilots doing double-duty as spies for the CIA and smugglers.

I fear that Revolution is only going to be with us for a season. How much bows and arrows, and militia with horses do we need before we find out how someone flipped the switch that turned the world "off"??

But I know this: the final episode will end with the heroine reaching for the button that switches the world to "on" again.

I watched the first half hour and was bored to tears.

Second episode of Revolution: this is really "for mature audiences" and deals with a lot of complex issues in a post holocaust world. Housewives killing intruders who steal groceries, children losing parents then forced to kill themselves to survive, suicide because of a lack of medical care. It's pretty tough TV viewing for 10-PM.

Third episode and now I'm addicted. This has become appointment television for me and now I schedule Mondays to be sure I get to see Revolution. And as the back stories are presented, the drama becomes better. And with each new episode the program really demands a "mature audience" branding. Third episode presented an example of how the militia's were created -- to try to keep order with a military, without a police, without a government.

Speaking of government -- we know that government broke down and I am hoping that soon we will have the flashbacks that explain the breakdown in government. Even without "electricity" and communications governments would not break down. Governments have more resources than the general population would have.

So the missing link in the story is the breakdown of the government. And tonight we got a hint that electric power can be restored. That's the cliffhanger to make us keep next week's TV appointment.

Episode number four and one of the major characters dies. Yet, there is no indication that an end is close. On NBC's website is word that a full season of shows has been ordered.

Meanwhile this continues to be an "adult show." With adult situations, adult language, and plenty of blood and violence. And the back story adds to a very intense plot. Best show I've seen on TV in years.

The latest episode really proves that this is the best written and may also be the best acted series on TV. For those of you who missed it, watch on www.nbc.com/revolution . We found out more about two key characters in the latest episode called "Soul Train" including the Captain. We find out more about his life before the blackout and when he killed for the first time. There were a lot of surprises in this episode and we got our first clue into the blackout's cause. It appears it was intentional, and we have to wonder who would cause it and why?

The series is starting to raise a lot of philosophical questions such as how far do you go to protect your family? When are you willing to change your values to protect your family? And why would someone cause such a world wide catastophe with a world-wide blackout. Was the blackout caused to prevent a bigger calamity such as the launch of a nuclear war?

I'm not sure how many people watched Revolution tonight because of the storm in the northeast, and because the rest of the country is probably watching the news about the superstorm. But I took a break from the news coverage to watch Revolution tonight and it was probably the most intense episode of the show yet. Personal sacrifice of life and morals was the at the center of this episode. This is an incredibly complex story about human nature. And I know now that this never could have been a motion picture -- it had to be developed as a mini series or as a television series as it is now. It really is tremendous television.

Next week we are supposed to find out the reason for the world-wide power outage, according to the teaser at the end of the program. I don't know what will be more dramatic -- the reason for the blackout or the electoral vote results next week?

Yowza. I don't know what is more exciting -- what happened tonight on the election-eve broadcast of the latest installment of Revolution and a partial explanation about how the world's power was turned off -- or what will happen on Election Day. Both have me on the edge of my seat.

Tonight we got a hint about what happened with the world's power... but there is more to come and whether we will find it all out in the next three shows of this season is another mystery.

But fans like me can only hope that there will be a second season, and no one pulls the plug on this show turning out the lights.

One more episode for this season, and tonight we are starting to see some of the back stories wrap up and reach their focus points. Of course, these back story moments will help next season when we are likely to see Aaron meet up with his wife, and so forth.

What I am going to hate is that next week's show will probably leave us with a cliffhanger and we'll have to wait till next September to see the second season. It's already been announced there will be a second season.

The first season is over -- and we were left with a cliffhanger, all right. General Monroe has an attack helicopter in the air and the good guys are trying to escape Monroe's fortified compound while it appears that the attack helicopter is about to fire its machine guns at them. The final season episode also developed some more of the back story of the major characters, but it also introduced us to some new "back stories" that will feed the story line in the next season.

Fortunately, there will be a second season. NBC has committed to a second season and why not? This show is the best thing on TV. And fortunately, we can also watch the episodes online -- just as I watched the season finale this morning because I missed the actual broadcast Monday night.

Really good show for network TV. Looking forward to next year. I just hope whatever year it gets cancelled, we get a real ending instead of it just going away.

Revolution is supposed to return to NBC sometime in March and from what I've read the show will expand its focus to more about what's going on outside the "Monroe Republic" and how the rest of the world is progressing without electricity. This extends the life of the story line, but it also means we might never see the lights turned back on.

This was a pretty good show-glad it's returning. Always some risk in expanding the range of characters and story so hope they can pull it off.

Wow!! Just saw the video on NBC.com of the first 8 minutes of Revolution which returns Monday night, March 25th. I won't spoil it for you... go to the net's website and watch it. Just remember the cliffhanger at the end of this season was that Monroe had a helicopter gunship in the air ready to fire on our group of heroes, and....

Well, if NBC would let this first 8 minutes get on the web early, the rest of the show must be absolutely dynamite... or airworthy, so to speak.

I knew it... when NBC put the first 8 minutes of the new season's first episode online and resolved the first season's cliffhanger, I knew that the rest of the show had to be absolutely dramatic. And it was. New twists, new turns, new clues about why the lights went out and what will get them back on... and did I catch a love triangle from the past?

The April 1st episode brought us closer to finding out the cause of the blackout. The way it looks is that a weapon designed to stop Taliban forces in Afghanistan got out of control and instead of an isolated blackout, the blackout spread around the world in some sort of chain reaction.

What is interesting is that this is the same thing that was feared when the United States developed and tested the first atomic bomb during World War II. There were fears that the atomic explosion would not be contained and it would cause a chain reaction that would wipe out the planet.

We will find out the true cause next week and what can be done to reverse it. The idea probably is that whatever went wrong in the "Tower" or command post for the blackout can be reversed. Well, if it's reversed too quickly this might mean the show will end this season unless the show takes a dramatic turn and continues with power coming back on around the world. But, I don't think that will happen.

April 8th... we found out how the "blackout" spread... through tiny electronics the size of a virus that spread like a virus. And I am getting the feeling that Miles is really Charlie's father, and Rachel and Miles were more than in-laws.

April 29th... more twists and turns than a bowl of spaghetti. I've been saying this was the best show on TV... and after tonight's show, what's better than best?

After watching the latest episode I have to ask if Miles is Charlie's father after an affair with Rachel?

What a great season finale. The lights are on, power is restored, nuclear warheads are headed for Atlanta and Philadelphia as part of a plan to restore the United States Government and the President of the United States has been hiding out in Guantanamo, Cuba and now is getting ready to return to reunited the States into a United States. Let's not forget that Monroe is now a dictator without an army, and Nora is dead, and we got more clues about a love affair between Miles and Rachel and I still think we will find out that Miles is Charley's father. Can you pack anything else into an hour?

Now that Revolution is on hiatus I have time to think back on the plot and what might happen in the next season... and what went "wrong" with the story line so far.

Here are the two big points that stand out:

1. When all of the electrical power failed in the world, what kept the nuclear power plants from all going into meltdown? Or did they, and we just don't know it yet?

2. In the last episode of this past season the lights came on -- but were the power plants around the world ready to turn back on as soon as the "little power suckers" were all switched to off?

Any ideas?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson

What a great season finale. The lights are on, power is restored, nuclear warheads are headed for Atlanta and Philadelphia as part of a plan to restore the United States Government and the President of the United States has been hiding out in Guantanamo, Cuba and now is getting ready to return to reunite the States into a United States. Let's not forget that Monroe is now a dictator without an army, and Nora is dead, and we got more clues about a love affair between Miles and Rachel and I still think we will find out that Miles is Charley's father. Can you pack anything else into an hour?

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NBC has a "preview" video on its website: http://www.nbc.com/revolution/

Somehow I get the impression that the nukes get disarmed, Aaron dies, there is a struggle to reunite the country, but the power is switched off again. Could it be??

But were the power plants around the world ready to turn back.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Adamman39

But were the power plants around the world ready to turn back.

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This was the question I asked. Of course, it's only TV... and you have to give a little "creative license" to the show for having the power generators ready to go.

Revolution is back for season #2. And somehow I wish it had ended with season #1. Aaron is killed but comes back to life after two and a half years. Charlie has sex and destroys her image as an innocent girl who just happened to kill people in the previous season. And yes, there really is some kind of a romance between Rachel and Miles. Too many tangents, sorry.

Agree totally. It is confusing now as who is good or evil. Is Charlie planning revenge or going over to the dark side? Who is the dark side?

Charlie is still trying to kill Monroe but the rest of the story is now totally off track. They should have kept the power on and finished the show with the bombs wiping out the two armies.

Essentially, by the end of this episode, she'll have a whole new character to play, because there's no going back after something like this,.. It's the first of back to back episodes kicking off "SVU"'s 15th season...


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I watched Revolution again this week and again I am disappointed. It now appears to be a story about a "post cataclysmic" world rather than a story about how to turn the lights back on. What made the original series interesting was the mystery of why the lights went off and how to turn them back on and now it's just a battle of survivors.

I hope the series will get "back on track" and somehow, someway, bring back the theme of getting the lights back on.

Somehow I think (at least hope) that will be the case. Otherwise, I am quickly losing interest.

Monroe is not dead. Drug. Buried. But not dead.

About the season finale: There were certainly a lot of "mini cliffhangers" in the season finale on Wednesday night's show. I say "mini cliffhangers" because we already know what will happen next. Aaron's girlfriend was saved by the nanotech kid before he disappeared; Aaron will be reunited with the rest of the group; Miles will have his near fatal infection cured; Tom Neville and his wife will continue their plotting to take over; Rachel will re-energize her romance with Miles, Charlie and Monroe will continue to distrust each other.

What I want to know is are they any closer to getting the lights turned back on? And I think the answer is... not until they pull the plug on the series.

I think the series has run its course and when Miles said what is happening is now like something out of the X Files it was very prophetic about the direction of the show. It went from sci fi to drama to X Files fiction.