Revolution

[mercydisney]

My nearly 13 year old DD LOVED it....and I think the Hunger Games audience is definitely the target for this show. I thought it was ridiculously predictable, and absurdly "out there" in terms of what would happen. Planes falling out of the sky when the lights go out?!?! Really? LOL!

Given CMEs (Coronal Mass Ejections), it is possible that a direct hit of sufficient magnitude would shut down the grid for quite some time, BUT there is no known phenomena that would result in the simultaneous shutting down of all vehicles (no explanation why this would happen). The science part of me was rolling my eyes at the absurdity of it all.

But, as I say, it is definitely a "must watch" for DD.

I would think because it is for a Hunger Game audience they would have an early time slot, 10pm is killing me.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

I liked, it hoping it stays around. They need to do some explaining in regards to why their are no steam or diesel engines. And why did the one lady's laptop work, I guess it could have something to do with the funny looking chip.

 

[tabby1881]

I'm going to try Revolution, but I agree with pps who have said that they don't like investing in a show just to have it be too convoluted to follow, or the show just disappears. I can't even remember some of the shows that I've tried. I tried V, The Event, Alcatraz, etc. The one that I can't recall was the show where the entire world blacked out for a short period of time? What was that show? I just lost track of it!

 

[Ephany]

I'm going to try Revolution, but I agree with pps who have said that they don't like investing in a show just to have it be too convoluted to follow, or the show just disappears. I can't even remember some of the shows that I've tried. I tried V, The Event, Alcatraz, etc. The one that I can't recall was the show where the entire world blacked out for a short period of time? What was that show? I just lost track of it!

Fast Forward?

 

[tabby1881]

Fast Forward?

I think that was it Thanks!

 

[SAHDad]

My husband (who is a geek) says that they said the laws of physics had changed. He is guessing that the explanation will have something to do with the Earths core and electo magnetism. (or something...it was a loooong explanation and half my brain was wandering) He said that with out the electro magnetic pulse (or something) it would be impossible to create electricity.

They could still have steam engines though.

I suspect that the explanation will bug me even more. Mess with the Earth's magnetic field, and you affect the Van Allen belt, which means life goes bye-bye. An EMP would take out anything unshielded, but there is actually a lot of EMP-shielded electronics out there - the military (and others) have been working on it for years.

Plus, even without electricity - the industrial revolution ran on steam, not electricity. There are steam locomotives running now, and I suspect that, in some parts of America, you could still find steamships. If not, both would be fabricated within a matter of months, if not less.

I'll watch it, but I suspect that I will have to accept that it is due to "magic," and leave it at that.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I'm going to try Revolution, but I agree with pps who have said that they don't like investing in a show just to have it be too convoluted to follow, or the show just disappears. I can't even remember some of the shows that I've tried. I tried V, The Event, Alcatraz, etc. The one that I can't recall was the show where the entire world blacked out for a short period of time? What was that show? I just lost track of it!

What burned me was Caprica and Sarah Connor Chronicles. I loved those shows so MUCH! Terra Nova was good too.

Of course all of them said the same thing, that they were too costly to produce.

 

[DeaverTex]

I think that the show improved as it went along, although it did start off really, really slow. I also agree that it's very definitely intended to tap the Hunger Games audience.

I think that the explanation for no electricity would have to be that something happened, or is continuing to happen, that makes electricity not work. (Sounds odd to me too.) The little teardrop shaped chips certainly have something to do with it. Remember that the guy who was killed by the militia barely finished downloading to one of those before the power started going out?

There would certainly still be steam engines, though. Diesel works without electricity too, and you can build airplanes with diesel engines and non-electrical instruments. All you'd lack would be radio and radar. Oh, and lights.

I do understand why there are no modern firearms, though. In 15 years, you could burn through all of the existing ammunition. No smokeless powder, but anybody can make black powder. I don't understand why they don't use black powder breech loaders, though. The first cartridge firearms still used blackpowder.

 

[yoopermom]

Wasn't overwhelmed by it, but we'll give it a few more episodes. Reminded me of S.M. Stirling's 'Change' book series

OMG someone else who has read that series! It's one of my favorite of all times (although they got weirder as they went along). That's an author who has really thought out the implications of this kind of event....

Terri

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

I thought it was okay. I'll give it a couple more weeks to see if it picks up though.

One thing I wondered about was clothing. They have no machines to make clothing yet everyone had on decent clothing, not ripped up worn, old clothes from 15 years ago and not hand sewn clothes like Little House on the Prairie days.

 

[torinsmom]

My husband told me that even the most basic car engine requires electricity to make the spark that ignites the engine, so if the laws of physics had changed, and there was no electricity then the car wouldn't work.

Don't most modern cars run off computers? I know an EMP would supposedly take out all computers as well. This is also the case for commercial planes.

I read a fiction book called "One Second After" about an EMP and it scared the crap out of me. The author has done a lot of research on the subject and has a lot of info on his website. Great book, by the way.

http://www.onesecondafter.com/

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I thought it was okay. I'll give it a couple more weeks to see if it picks up though.

One thing I wondered about was clothing. They have no machines to make clothing yet everyone had on decent clothing, not ripped up worn, old clothes from 15 years ago and not hand sewn clothes like Little House on the Prairie days.

Nice catch! You are right. Plus people would be less shaven I would think. They look too clean.

I think "Falling Skies" did a better job of the "end of the world" look.

 

[HM]

I thought it was okay. I'll give it a couple more weeks to see if it picks up though.

One thing I wondered about was clothing. They have no machines to make clothing yet everyone had on decent clothing, not ripped up worn, old clothes from 15 years ago and not hand sewn clothes like Little House on the Prairie days.

DH mentioned this as well.

 

[mdsoccermom]

Don't most modern cars run off computers? I know an EMP would supposedly take out all computers as well. This is also the case for commercial planes.

I read a fiction book called "One Second After" about an EMP and it scared the crap out of me. The author has done a lot of research on the subject and has a lot of info on his website. Great book, by the way.

http://www.onesecondafter.com/

I just read that book. It was excellent and also scared the crap out of me. From what I understand, it is a very realistic look at what would happen if we were affected by an EMP. I've also done a lot of reading about EMPs.

So, while I liked Revolution, there are things that didn't mesh. 15 years later, you would think they'd have found alternative power sources.

 

[BDL]

.

I do understand why there are no modern firearms, though. In 15 years, you could burn through all of the existing ammunition. No smokeless powder, but anybody can make black powder. I don't understand why they don't use black powder breech loaders, though. The first cartridge firearms still used blackpowder.

The show never said there were no firearms. The captain just said it "was a hangable offense". This would keep the ruling power IN power.

I'd imagine that the first thing all the militias did was stock pile and hoard as much weaponry and ammunition they could. And in a decade and a half of fighting for dominance, it wouldn't be that hard to run through both. Reducing the number of modern firearms and forcing those that wished to have a firearm, to use the muskets that we saw.

But we know from the show, that there are still some modern firearms. The captain had a Desert Eagle (I believe) and Monroe's guards had fully automatic weapons.

If anyone on this thread is a fan-boy like me, you may have read Batman's "No Man's Land" arc (which was touched on in the latest Batman movie). Issues like this came up all the time.

 

[DeaverTex]

The show never said there were no firearms. The captain just said it "was a hangable offense". This would keep the ruling power IN power.

I'd imagine that the first thing all the militias did was stock pile and hoard as much weaponry and ammunition they could. And in a decade and a half of fighting for dominance, it wouldn't be that hard to run through both. Reducing the number of modern firearms and forcing those that wished to have a firearm, to use the muskets that we saw.

But we know from the show, that there are still some modern firearms. The captain had a Desert Eagle (I believe) and Monroe's guards had fully automatic weapons.

If anyone on this thread is a fan-boy like me, you may have read Batman's "No Man's Land" arc (which was touched on in the latest Batman movie). Issues like this came up all the time.

It looked like a Desert Eagle to me too. Modern firearms wouldn't go away, true. They'd just become more and more useless as ammunition supplies dwindled, since nobody is making more. It's sort of odd that nobody has figured out making smokeless powder though. That predates industrial electrical power.

As far as some other comments about clothes, there are still quite a number of treadle-powered sewing machines around. With a supply of fabric and thread (both of which can be manufactured without electrical power) you can make darned spiffy looking duds with those babies.

Me? I'm still waiting for the aliens to make an appearance.

 

[KerriSue]

I really wanted to like this show. My daughter and I were so excited. Of course she was thrilled with it, as for myself, not so much. Everything happened so fast. I was given no time to like the characters and become invested. I know that it has only been one show but I didnt get immediately hooked like I did with Lost.

 

[laura.anne]

I actually really loved it. I hope that the show's creators are setting up these little questions (the biggest one being how the power is still off 15 years later, but other smaller things, like the clothing issue... maybe lol) in hopes we will keep watching. I will definitely give the show a chance.
Also, I think some of the things were predictable (them running into bad guys on the plane... duh), but I liked how they managed to do a pretty impressive (IMO) amount of characterization in the first episode and it seemed fairly natural. I wasn't expecting that doctor-lady to have poison alcohol, for example. It made me think she might just be a little more than someone who knows how to use herbs. Who knows. I'll be watching next week.

 

[mill4023]

Don't most modern cars run off computers? I know an EMP would supposedly take out all computers as well. This is also the case for commercial planes.

I read a fiction book called "One Second After" about an EMP and it scared the crap out of me. The author has done a lot of research on the subject and has a lot of info on his website. Great book, by the way.

http://www.onesecondafter.com/

Outstanding book.

But the cause in Revolution is definitely not an EMP. If it was, people would still be driving old cars and there would still be electricity, just no modern electronics.
Remember, this is a JJ Abrams production. It's not like everyone complained about the impossible things that happened in Lost. I think we need to accept that they aren't going for anything scientifically plausible.

I was pretty disappointed. It was boring, had a lame script, bad actors, and predictable plot lines. Actually, my biggest disappointment was that they skipped the time right after the event. That would have been far more exciting. But I'll give it a chance and continue to watch, at least for now, to see if it gets any good.

 

[mill4023]

I was disappointed in the cancellation of Terra Nova as well, but I was much more disappointed with the show. It just wasn't up to par.

The thing about a high concept genre show is that it has a lot more working parts and a lot more potential to mess up. That said, if done right, it can be amazing. Lets hope Revolution can avoid the pitfalls.

Terra Nova was pretty good in the beginning and end of the season. The problem was that the middle part of the season sucked. It felt like a 70's or 80's sci-fi show, where every episode is like a sitcom, with it's own little story, that isn't particularly interesting and has very little to do with the continuing storyline of the show.

Oh no, there's an unknown disease making people crazy.
What are we going to do?
Here's an idea.
Problem Solved

Oh no, a bunch of flying creatures are attacking us.
What are we going to do?
Here's an idea.
Problem solved.

I think people lost interest and the ratings just weren't good enough considering the cost of making the show. Very disappointing because I actually thought it got much better in the last few episodes and the finale was the best episode of all.