by Amy K. Bredemeyer
Seeing the pilot for Beauty and the Beast really improved my outlook on the show, and I must say that something similar happened with the pilot for Revolution as well. However, I only went from "why are they even making this show?" to "I don't think this will sell but I'll give it a try." I mean, it's a post-apocalyptic-type show where the hook is that the only person with any idea how the planet can get electricity again is immediately hauled off, leaving his teenage daughter to find her long-lost uncle and follow his lead. The drama was pushed pretty heavily during those Quadrennial Hot-Weather Events, but I haven't actually heard anybody say that "oh yeah, I really want to check out THAT show!" because of those promotions. I think that the only thing this show can bank on is that there is quite the contingent who still believe that the Mayan calendar means that the end of the world is in a few months. I'm still not pulling for this show, but we'll probably cover a couple more episodes after the pilot (which, by the way, is subject to change before it actually airs, so this recap may not be 100% accurate).
Revolution "Pilot" (S01E01): In Chicago, Ben comes home from work and tells his family that the power will go out in just a few minutes... forever. [we don't yet know why or how he knew that.] He downloads something to a USB drive just seconds before everything goes dark. [problematically, the planes that fell from the sky still had lights on them...] It's immediately fifteen years later, and siblings Charlie and Danny are out hunting, but Danny has an asthma attack. The only thing they can administer is herbal medicine - luckily, after their mother died, Ben hooked up with a doctor, Maggie. [building animosity already...] No time to focus on that, however, as a soldier shows up, sent by Monroe to retrieve Ben and his brother, Miles, whom nobody has seen in years. Though Ben isn't necessarily against surrendering, Danny won't put down his bow, and Ben winds up getting shot, which starts a violent frenzy, with Danny being taken away. [you know, the old attitude that if you can't capture the enemy, you take his family.] Before Ben dies, he tells Charlie to go to Chicago and find Miles, because he will know how to get back Danny. Maggie insists on coming, and so does Ben's best friend, Aaron (a former Google millionaire), with whom he entrusted the USB drive. [$80M reduced to nothing... I can't imagine how much that must suck!]
They set out and stop at a river where Charlie meets Nate, whom we later learn is in the militia. The trio crash in a plane for the night, but rogue criminals come upon them and plan to rape Charlie when Nate saves her. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Maggie had poisoned the whiskey she carries, so they won't run into those bad guys again! [I guess this is the kind of primitive junk that we're going to be subjected to over and over, eh?] They arrive in Chicago in no time and find Miles bartending at the Grant Hotel. [were they really that close to Chicago or did days go by and we didn't know?] But, he wants to maintain his low profile, so he isn't interested in helping the family. [probably not the worst idea.]
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| (Photo by: Bob Mahoney/NBC) |
Well, some soldiers show up to get Miles, but Charlie wouldn't leave him so he has some help fighting them off. PLUS, Nate saves Charlie again when it comes down to it. [oh, "the power of family." apparently that's going to be a thing on this show...] We also learn that Monroe used to be military buds with Miles before the power went out. [I'm dying for some flashbacks...]
Anyway, while Charlie & Co. are in Chicago, Danny manages to escape, but soon has an asthma attack and falls to the ground. [so he's the "sick kid" who is always going to make the group move too slowly for their own good, huh?"] A woman, Grace, brings him to her home and introduces him to the inhaler, which her son used years ago. It's not long until he's hunted down, though, and he's captured once again.
Some random fun facts from the episode: Charlie is always collecting treasures to keep in her metal Return of the Jedi lunchbox; owning a firearm is a hanging offense; Grace has some type of internet access. [that last one is particularly intriguing...]
1 comment:
My supervisor at Dish has been talking about this show for months, so I watched the pilot episode last night. This show is going to be awesome! There were a few holes in the plot but nothing that makes the show horrible. Like when they went to Chicago. I thought it was kind of odd that it only took a couple of seconds for them to get to get there too. I wanted to know where they set up the village as well, but I suppose a pilot is only supposed to show you the questions and not the answers. My Hopper automatically records all of NBC’s prime time shows so when I get back in town on the 30th Revolution is going to be waiting for me. I just wish the day would come sooner.
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