Revolution

[Colleen27]

I think a lot of the annoying things could have been fixed by just saying it's 5 years later instead of 15.
Second episode was definitely more interesting than the first.
But the first 15 minutes still had me shaking my head and yelling at the TV. I like the Nora character a lot more than any of the other characters, so I'm hoping she will be a big part of the show.

Five years wouldn't be enough time for the people to be as settled into a "new normal" as they are. The first few years after an event like that would be brutal - disease, starvation, unrest - and it would take many years to start seeing villages and farms and people thinking about more than just how to get through the next winter or protect their supplies from those who choose theft/violence over farming/production.

I'm irritated with Aaron for showing the 'locket of power' to the step-mom. If the dad had wanted her to know about it, he would have told her a long time ago...after all they were lovers.

I agree. I suspect there's something more to her than we're seeing right now and that the dad didn't fully trust her. The poison whiskey was just too slick for her not to have an interesting past.

DH, on the other hand, thinks that Aaron just happened to be in the right place at the right time - that the father didn't tell anyone because he knew it was safer that way, and couldn't tell her when the militia was there because running across the farm area to hand it off to her would have drawn attention to what he was doing. Time will tell, right?

 

[Coconut36]

Five years wouldn't be enough time for the people to be as settled into a "new normal" as they are. The first few years after an event like that would be brutal - disease, starvation, unrest - and it would take many years to start seeing villages and farms and people thinking about more than just how to get through the next winter or protect their supplies from those who choose theft/violence over farming/production.



I agree. I suspect there's something more to her than we're seeing right now and that the dad didn't fully trust her. The poison whiskey was just too slick for her not to have an interesting past.

DH, on the other hand, thinks that Aaron just happened to be in the right place at the right time - that the father didn't tell anyone because he knew it was safer that way, and couldn't tell her when the militia was there because running across the farm area to hand it off to her would have drawn attention to what he was doing. Time will tell, right?

I am torn..I do think there is more to the step mom than we know right now but I also agree with your DH to some extent as well. Rachel (the mom) might know about the locket..it could be that even she didn't know. It's likely he (and anyone else with one) probably knew that they put their loved ones at risk if they had knowledge of it. I do think it's possible that Ben knew he had to pass it on and Aaron was conveniently there to give it to..step mom, daughter, son were not options at the time.

 

[SAHDad]

I'm not sure 15 years is long enough to get out of basic survival mode when there are so few people in the world who have even a fundamental level of experience with or knowledge of the skills that would be required in a powered-down world. There is also a great deal of conditioned helplessness in our culture (the "wait for FEMA" mindset that shines through in the wake of natural disasters) that I think would prolong the initial chaos and delay any meaningful efforts to move forward.

Look at what happened after the fall of Rome... Europe saw centuries go by without real progress or advancement, and that was in an age where a far greater share of the population was accustomed to subsistence living and knew far more about providing for their own basic needs than we do today.

I think the deaths (from the initial loss of power, then the subsequent collapse of the food industry, the plagues from unburied dead, etc) would weed out a lot of the "Wait for FEMA" crowd.

I'm not annoyed so much that the heroes don't have a functioning steam tractor on their farm, but that no one seems to have them. Anyone who can build one is likely to be picked up by the local warlord, sure. But you don't kill the person/persons who can move you from a pre-industrial society to an industrial one - you force them to work for you.

One reason that I do not think comparisons with the fall of Rome, Middle Ages, etc, work - they appear to still be a literate society. Many of the older steam inventions are (1) still around (mostly in museums); and (2) well-documented in libraries.

I'd have been a lot happier if I had seen some sign of the local warlord having steam power, or if Chicago had some evidence of steam power, than it not appearing at all.

FWIW - I'd have built a still too. I want to distill water (for purity's sake), and then moving on to making corn alcohol is just a natural step forward.

 

[Colleen27]

I am torn..I do think there is more to the step mom than we know right now but I also agree with your DH to some extent as well. Rachel (the mom) might know about the locket..it could be that even she didn't know. It's likely he (and anyone else with one) probably knew that they put their loved ones at risk if they had knowledge of it. I do think it's possible that Ben knew he had to pass it on and Aaron was conveniently there to give it to..step mom, daughter, son were not options at the time.

I'm pretty sure Rachel knows because in the scene where the power went out she asked Ben "Its happening, isn't it?", making it clear that whatever caused the power to go out was something they'd discussed before it happened.

Something else that crossed my mind, mainly because of having to explain the locket to my technophobe DH, is that he gave it to Aaron because no one else in their world would be likely to recognize the locket for what it is - a concealed flash drive. The kids certainly wouldn't figure that out, even if they did realize it came apart they wouldn't know what it was. But a Google geek would know and would probably be familiar enough with fancy/decorative/novelty flash drives to know one when he saw one, at least if he took the time to think about it.

 

[mill4023]

Five years wouldn't be enough time for the people to be as settled into a "new normal" as they are. The first few years after an event like that would be brutal - disease, starvation, unrest - and it would take many years to start seeing villages and farms and people thinking about more than just how to get through the next winter or protect their supplies from those who choose theft/violence over farming/production.

I don't know. I think after the first year or two, those who survived would be starting to go into rebuilding mode. I could easily see that "new normal" being 5 years after.

To be honest, the biggest disappointment for me came in the first 5 minutes of the pilot. I hadn't realized the show was going to start 15 years later and I was much more excited about seeing what happened right after the lights went out. I recently read One Second After and it was absolutely fascinating and disturbing. That's what I had expected this series to be about.

 

[sam_gordon]

Something else that bothered me...

The lady with the computer... the computer is a 'kludge' of various parts... meaning no personal desktops (at least none she could get to) survived, but the monitor worked? Also, it sure sounded like modem tones when she was connecting to whoever else, which means the phone system works (or there's a direct connection somewhere... highly unlikely).

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

Oh how I want this show to be better. Are DH and I the only ones who don't care for Charlie? She gets on my nerves.

I think we are going to give it 2 weeks and if it doesn't improve then we are done.

 

[torinsmom]

I think a lot of the annoying things could have been fixed by just saying it's 5 years later instead of 15.
Second episode was definitely more interesting than the first.
But the first 15 minutes still had me shaking my head and yelling at the TV. I like the Nora character a lot more than any of the other characters, so I'm hoping she will be a big part of the show.

The kids would have been too young to play a major role if it was only 5 years later. At the same time, they would have known more about things that are supposed to be mysteries.

 

[mill4023]

The kids would have been too young to play a major role if it was only 5 years later. At the same time, they would have known more about things that are supposed to be mysteries.

Well sure, unless they made them older when it happened.

 

[Coconut36]

Something else that bothered me...

The lady with the computer... the computer is a 'kludge' of various parts... meaning no personal desktops (at least none she could get to) survived, but the monitor worked? Also, it sure sounded like modem tones when she was connecting to whoever else, which means the phone system works (or there's a direct connection somewhere... highly unlikely).

Well considering the little locket thingy can power up the computer I would think it could do more than that in regards to things like phone lines as well. At this point we really don't know the cause of all of this, thus we don't know what would be required to make things operational again either.

I am guessing she built what she needed out of what she could find..it's possible computers were taken away, damaged by people, she fled to a home/area and left hers behind..etc. Her having a homemade computer is the least of my "questions" about things in the show.

Well sure, unless they made them older when it happened.

I don't think they wanted to do that because they want these kids to have grown up really not knowing any other way (as that likely influences their behavior, decisions, abilities..etc)...Charlie was probably what..4 and Danny a toddler so they really aren't going to know any other way of life and will have skills (hunting, ability to use a crossbow and lack of knowledge or ability to use a gun) that they wouldn't have if they had been older.

I just can't believe they couldn't have aged the parents/uncle for the 15 years later part.

 

[SpecialK]

Oh how I want this show to be better. Are DH and I the only ones who don't care for Charlie? She gets on my nerves.

I think we are going to give it 2 weeks and if it doesn't improve then we are done.

You're not alone! We stopped watching because we couldn't stand that character.

 

[skater]

My DH really likes this show, but Charlie really annoys me. I'm going to try to keep watching it with my husband, but its getting on my nerves.

 

[Claudia1]

Anybody else think that the guy running up the stairs to attack the computer lady is the Google geek?

Just wondering who it might be.......

 

[sam_gordon]

Anybody else think that the guy running up the stairs to attack the computer lady is the Google geek?

Just wondering who it might be.......

No, I think it's a new character.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Anybody else think that the guy running up the stairs to attack the computer lady is the Google geek?

Just wondering who it might be.......

I don't think so, the group he was with were a ways away from that ladies house, and I don't think he could "run" up any stairs.

(which is another strange thing, considering food would become scarce, and after 15 years you would lose weight, if nothing else, from tilling fields, etc.) but I digress.

they already jumped the shark a couple of times, and now that the "uncle" is know to be the founder of the militia, its just gonna get even goofier than WDW!

 

[Coconut36]

Anybody else think that the guy running up the stairs to attack the computer lady is the Google geek?

Just wondering who it might be.......

No I don't think it is him at all. I don't think Aaron was close enough at that point to have made it there (and then where is step mom?). I suspect what we will see next is Aaron and step mom (why can't I remember her name?) arriving at the house to find the door busted, maybe the broken up computer parts and her missing. It would likely clear up questions way too soon if they found her right away, ya know

I don't think so, the group he was with were a ways away from that ladies house, and I don't think he could "run" up any stairs.

(which is another strange thing, considering food would become scarce, and after 15 years you would lose weight, if nothing else, from tilling fields, etc.) but I digress.

they already jumped the shark a couple of times, and now that the "uncle" is know to be the founder of the militia, its just gonna get even goofier than WDW!

Well Hurley never lost weight on Lost either

I am not remotely surprised about the Uncle being tied to the militia since we have learned that "Bass" in the car with him is actually Sebastian Monroe of the Monroe militia/republic.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

Oh how I want this show to be better. Are DH and I the only ones who don't care for Charlie? She gets on my nerves.

I think we are going to give it 2 weeks and if it doesn't improve then we are done.

I told DH that if I hear "Because we're family" one more time, I hope Miles shoots her with one of her own arrows.

 

[sbell111]

I'm not sure 15 years is long enough to get out of basic survival mode when there are so few people in the world who have even a fundamental level of experience with or knowledge of the skills that would be required in a powered-down world. There is also a great deal of conditioned helplessness in our culture (the "wait for FEMA" mindset that shines through in the wake of natural disasters) that I think would prolong the initial chaos and delay any meaningful efforts to move forward.

Look at what happened after the fall of Rome... Europe saw centuries go by without real progress or advancement, and that was in an age where a far greater share of the population was accustomed to subsistence living and knew far more about providing for their own basic needs than we do today.

I disagree. The difference between this situation and that experienced by Europe when Rome fell is that no one needs to actually invent anything. The knowledge is already here.

In fact, there are enough old-school diesel generators still in use ( and production in Asia) that a good chunk of the population would either still have or would soon have electricity and refrigeration. Give a person electricity, a library, and a shop full of machines and he can build most anything that he needs. Its true that the computer controlled mills and such wouldn't work, but all of the old school tools would survive an EMP wave, especially the ones that are still in the warehouse awaiting sale, since if they weren't plugged in, they wouldn't have suffered an energy spike when the grid overloaded.

 

[sbell111]

One could argue that this is still largely the case... but that is another thread!

On another board

 

[sbell111]

I am guessing she built what she needed out of what she could find..it's possible computers were taken away, damaged by people, she fled to a home/area and left hers behind..etc. Her having a homemade computer is the least of my "questions" about things in the show.

The popular theory of the ahow is that an EMP fried everything with an IC, so her old computer would have no longer been functional and one would have had to be cobbled out of low-tech parts. this fits with the opening scene as he rushed to get the flash drive in the housing prior to lights out. The housing could have been made to shield the drive. Of course, with Abrams, the real answer is probably space aliens.