Imagine living in a world with no electricity, no phones, iPods, computers, or tv’s. A world with no Facebook, no Myspace or even Twitter. A place where, if you wanted to reach out to a relative that lived far away, you would have to pack up your bags and walk to visit them. No, this is not the 1700’s, this the post-apocalyptic world of NBC’s new thriller Revolution.
Revolution, which airs on NBC on Mondays at 10p.m., is about a future post-apocalyptic, dystopian society where the ‘world has gone dark.’ The show is produced by the successful J.J. Abrams ( of “Lost” and “Fringe”), so viewers should know the show is going to be full of suspense and action. As well as having star producer Abrams, the show has some well known actors, including Giancarlo Esposito (from Breaking Bad) and Elizabeth Mitchell ( of Lost). However, while the show has a solid plot and a few well-known actors, it is the show’s characters that have so far disappointed. It seems as if the casting crew for Revolution went out and looked for a bunch of good looking actors and actresses in hopes that their attractive faces could make up for the shallow, boring characters. This is where the show went wrong. By focusing on looks rather than strong characters with interesting back stories, the result is a bunch of models (who somehow look just as good after the apocalypse as before) running around killing each other with guns and crossbows.
Revolution begins in modern day Chicago and shows all the electricity and technology in the world being simultaneously turned off. The show then forwards fifteen years into the future where government has collapsed and areas are now ruled by Militia and Warlords. Once the show flash-forwards, we meet Ben Matheson (Tim Guinee) who is killed by a local Militia led by Captain Tom Neville (Giancarlo Esposito). The Militia then takes Ben’s son Danny with them. Ben’s last words are telling his daughter Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) to go to Chicago and find her uncle so they can save her brother. Along the way, Charlie meets up with a doctor, a teacher, a former Google billionaire, and another man named Nate. The group goes to Chicago and meets up with Charlie’s uncle where it is revealed that Nate is actually a member of the Militia and a thrilling fight ensues, providing some much appreciated action.
The episode concludes with Danny escaping his captors before being overcome by another asthma attack. A woman discovers Danny sprawled on the ground and continues to assist him, and Danny notices a peculiar object reminiscent of his father’s flash drive around her neck.
With J.J. Abrams on board, as well as a few well known actors like Giancarlo Esposito, Revolution looked like it had the opportunity to be popular among viewers throughout the country— something that NBC has desperately been looking for over the past few years, as they have axed some well liked and acclaimed shows that were not getting great ratings. However, amidst all the promos NBC has put out, the show lacks the character depth to be a Lost type show that NBC so dearly covets. While NBC thinks (and desperately hopes) to have found a new hit series that will be a mainstay in their weekly lineup, they seem to have made a big flaw in having shallow characters that all just happen to look like models. Therefore, NBC has taken a show with great promise and squashed it by making the show unrealistic.
