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Ok, I finally saw last weeks episode. Had to record it due to prepareing for a long vacation trip.
I do enjoy it while I'm watching it, much like a SyFy original. However, much like SyFy originals I get frustrated afterward. What was wrong with the military and the cops?
Or is it that the writers have no idea what either group really does? As a retired army person I assure you the military - any branch - would not just sit on their behinds waiting for orders. They already have contingency plans in place for disasters. As does the government at all levels. There might be a period of disorder but there is no reason for any level of government to have fallen as completely as that.
And, as my daughter pointed out steam engines should work. There were even computers, excuse me, analitical engines prior to Edison's contributions. Gliders would still work.
And, personally I'm waiting for the first 'mark of the beast' reference re those stupid tattoos/brands. First thing I thought of and I'm not that religious.
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Here is my thought on the uncle:
I am f-ing sick of listening to you whine every damn episode about how you should leave.
DO IT OR SHUT IT!
And, as my daughter pointed out steam engines should work. There were even computers, excuse me, analitical engines prior to Edison's contributions. Gliders would still work.
A locomotive is up next week...
Ep. 4 keeps doing what I thought. Flashbacks providing context, but no reveal.
We need drama, mama.
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Well, I usually give a TV show 4 episodes to grab or lose me. I was almost on board with Ep 3, but Ep 4 lost me completely.
First, Maggie was the only protagonist I easily liked, so I've got no one to root for now. That's a huge reason I will probably stop watching right there.
Also, so much made no sense, the writers are so clearly phoning it in seemingly even moreso than ever before? I was willing to give them a few episodes to work out the kinks of how their world works and I am willing to suspend a lot of disbelief, but this one made me lose it. Why does Danny have psychic weather sense? (I mean, I get sinus headaches when a storm comes in but I can't predict a tornado unless I use the same predictors other people use--the sky's a funny color, etc.) Why did the protags just stand there and stare at the dogs eating the deer, and wait for them to stop eating before they ran? Why did the dogs leave their nice safe huge meal to chase the people if the people were not disturbing them and were not rabid? Why didn't they shoot or kill all of the dogs right there? Why didn't they shoot or kill all of the dogs right there and then eat them? In a post apocalyptic world, them's good eatin'. Unless the Monroe Republic is a PETA member; otherwise kindness to animals isn't exactly a key trait of the post apocalypse, especially when said animals are trying to chew your leg off. Why didn't they use the magic amulet to activate some hot wires to cauterize Maggie's artery (the Bionic Woman can do it, so can you!)? Why didn't they let Charlie get shot in the face? Why didn't they at least leave the duct tape over her mouth? Why does the Crazy Dog Man have Leet Ninja Skills? Why have the whole thing take place in an awesome abandoned amusement park and not actually have something awesome like a chase through a shut down haunted house or across roller coaster tracks or something?
Most importantly, why aren't we instead watching a show about Maggie spending years walking from Seattle to New York in a post-apocalyptic universe being Dr. Maggie Medicine Woman to the Blackout Survivors along the way, because that would be the best TV show ever? The best TV show concept ever, lost in a flashback....
Anyway, done. I might check in a little later and see if it improves in recaps at least.
I will end on an amusing note: here is the map of Revolution-verse America. The West Coast looks like a shout out to Fallout. :)
I will end on an amusing note: here is the map of Revolution-verse America. The West Coast looks like a shout out to Fallout. :)
So something good did come from the show.... another fun alternate future America map for my collection.
danielc, that's gotta be an awesome collection! I love stuff like that too.
I'm not watching the show - it just kind of feels like a Lost-wannabe mixed with a Hunger Games wannabe ...
Plus, from what I understand, enough people are apparently watching that the show is beating Hawaii Five-0 in the ratings, which is a bummer because I LIKE Hawaii Five-0!
On the other hand, it looks like ratings overall are rising for Hawaii Five-0 and going down for Revolution.
And Castle beats them both roundly in live viewership by 2 million people.
The main thing is that Revolution is getting the bulk of that all important 18-49 share. (I assume it's important because of advertising money, otherwise who cares as long as people are watching?) It has a broader age appeal I think.
But after how bad last night's episode was--I've seen a lot of reviews that panned it--I will be interested to see if their ratings will drop.
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Going in to last night's episode, I was telling myself that unless they really impressed me that would be it. While the episode itself did little to impress, I was intrigued by the preview for the next episode, enough so that I'll give them one more.
Episode 3 finally grabbed me but Episode 4 lost me again.
I'll keep watching, just for the humor value.
DeathQuaker, I didn't see Danny-boy as having a psychic weather sense. I thought they'd shown lightning and wind picking up. He's been living on a farm for the last 15 years, I'm not surprised if he can figure out a storm is coming. Captain Insurance Man seemed not surprised and called one of his own people who confirmed it and said they had time to make the shelter they were aiming for. I think Danny-boy just wanted to be camped out so he could escape. Which he did try, anyway. Not what you'd expect of someone who 'knew' a tornado was approaching.
My biggest issue is that map. Seriously? 15 years and Uncle I Can't Commit personally trained enough folks to take over all of the Northeastern US? Right.
Oh, and so one of the folks who has those power amulets is named Randall? If they really want to lose me, his last name will be Flagg.
Going in to last night's episode, I was telling myself that unless they really impressed me that would be it. While the episode itself did little to impress, I was intrigued by the preview for the next episode, enough so that I'll give them one more.
** spoiler omitted **
The slow reveal of "what works now." Sure, there are ways to make things work, but who has the know-how and the resources? Not everybody. You could make a steam train, if you knew how, but who's gonna keep the tracks viable?
A post-apocalyptic world would be fraught with things that could work if only someone had the right tools to make it so. There's been little mention of the massive die-off that would be inevitable in that scenario, and how it affects the present.
I have a motorcycle that requires maintenance. I carry tools, but I can't fix major stuff on the road by myself. I can't carry replacement parts for everything that could go wrong.
In this world, a steam engine is one failed bearing away from not working ever again. Just keeping it lubricated is hard. Replacing it with a new one would be harder. Simple items like bearings or cartridge bullets are hard to make without power.
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I just want to see someone standing on the Atlantic beach looking out to sea, when over the horizon they see a ship with the Union Jack waving. A brit shouting on the bow, "We're taking it back biatches! We still have a flag!"
I mean, sure stupid Americans would wipe out their shipping fleet for housing or whatever (WTF? You don't believe in feeding your coastal population?). But you better believe that the Brits aren't going to do that. They have a history built on Naval Power.
As for the show, I just hope they don't ultimately make the whole damn power black out just about some stupid cork (F-ing Lost, screw you J. J. Abrams).
Can we frame our commentary in a way that does not insult other people's nationalities, please?
DeathQuaker, I didn't see Danny-boy as having a psychic weather sense. I thought they'd shown lightning and wind picking up. He's been living on a farm for the last 15 years, I'm not surprised if he can figure out a storm is coming. Captain Insurance Man seemed not surprised and called one of his own people who confirmed it and said they had time to make the shelter they were aiming for. I think Danny-boy just wanted to be camped out so he could escape. Which he did try, anyway. Not what you'd expect of someone who 'knew' a tornado was approaching.
The way I interpreted the scene was that while everyone noted a storm approaching, only Danny knew there was going to be a tornado. Neville's unit has been purportedly been traveling outdoors a very long time and likely they would also be experienced enough, like Danny, to be able to recognize the size of such a thing. They seemed to emphasize, to me, that Danny was somehow better at this than they were, which bothered me.
If it was as you interpret instead, it makes a lot more sense and is much less annoying.
Also on episode 4, a couple other things I read on Television Without Pity which also are a big "writers did not think at all about this" issues... (and please keep this spoilered if you respond...)
And the winner of the "utter fail at understanding that the world turns..." is the writer who decided it that Britain and Seattle are in the same time zone. Seriously, we see Maggie sitting in Seattle at nighttime, but she is lecturing her children that it is bedtime when it would in fact, likely be early in the morning for them. So the whole horror and tragedy that she failed to read her children that one last bedtime story is rather undercut by the fact that it wasn't actually their bedtime...
The whole ship situation is also yes, nonsensical. From the map, if the Monroe Republic seized control of all the tall ships in the New York area, looks like she could walk down to the Georgia Federation and see what they had to offer? I mean, if she already walked cross country, heading down the East Coast is nowhere near as bad. And ships wouldn't have been broken up, as most modern sailing ships have fiberglass hulls. And while it'd take some time and resources, there's historical records of how to build wooden tall ships. Cut down some trees and get to work people. If you want a reason for all the ships to be gone, they could have gone with a simple explanation than "the war..." just say everyone who had access to a sailing ship departed already, sailing for another part of the world where they hope things will be better, and there's no telling when or if they'll be back. That wouldn't stop people from building their own though. I can see why it would be highly unlikely why someone would be unable to sail across the ocean but they kind of overdo it a bit.
Can we frame our commentary in a way that does not insult other people's nationalities, please?
As an American, I can't see how I insulted "other people's" nationalities. ;) I have no problem insulting my own though. Seriously though, the story writers did more insulting than I did. LOL
Re: Danny and the storm.
I had another thought, one that's been peroclating as I've been watching the opening. It doesn't start with the title Revolution. It starts with evolution then adds the R.
What if the force behind this is trying to force the evolution of mankind and felt that dependence on the electronic/electric world was holding us back?
There are stories of folks with weather sense and some animals are supposed to be able to sense things like weather changes and earthquakes.
Maybe an Alphas variant is where this is going.
I'll stick with it and watch it tonight.
There's little doubt some people would be working on low-tech stuff like a steam train, somewhere. The barriers are the lack of power for making precision parts like bearings and bolts. It can be done, but it's labor-intensive, requires specific knowledge and tools, and it wouldn't be as reliable as machined stuff.
I knew there would be a downside to all that manufacturing outsourcing! Nobody knows how to make that stuff anymore! LOL
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Going in to last night's episode, I was telling myself that unless they really impressed me that would be it. While the episode itself did little to impress, I was intrigued by the preview for the next episode, enough so that I'll give them one more.
** spoiler omitted **
The slow reveal of "what works now." Sure, there are ways to make things work, but who has the know-how and the resources? Not everybody. You could make a steam train, if you knew how, but who's gonna keep the tracks viable?
A post-apocalyptic world would be fraught with things that could work if only someone had the right tools to make it so. There's been little mention of the massive die-off that would be inevitable in that scenario, and how it affects the present.
I have a motorcycle that requires maintenance. I carry tools, but I can't fix major stuff on the road by myself. I can't carry replacement parts for everything that could go wrong.
In this world, a steam engine is one failed bearing away from not working ever again. Just keeping it lubricated is hard. Replacing it with a new one would be harder. Simple items like bearings or cartridge bullets are hard to make without power.
A steam engine is one thing, but they could have at least shown some boilers being used for heating and such. That's a pretty basic and robust tech. And if Monroe has a lot of ex-army/military folk in his militia or working for him, then he would probably have enough expertise to at least keep some basic machinery in good repair. They seem to be doing it with weapons.
Not to mention maybe showing a few windmills to grind grain with and other basic tech.
I don't mind the slow reveal, but I think I'd have preferred they do more world setting up before delving too deeply into the sekrit conspiracy stuff!
Ok, now it's just getting weird.
I did like the log bomb, though it seemed to be suffering from 'plot exemption' in conveniently not going off til Uncle Miles tossed it off the train. Lots of tossing off the train. Or jumping.
Hah! I knew 'Nate' had to be plot related to someone. I should have picked it up when Captain Neville told Miles to kill him. Once I saw Neville's wife was white, I knew though.
OK, and as for the preview...don't go there. Period. Dude and all his issue would be forever unable to reproduce.
Personal issue while stationed in Germany in which I got really, really lucky.
Oh, and my comment on how do you turn it back on, if asked? "Simple. Shoot down the orbiting stations broadcasting the field. Oh, wait, missiles don't work. Too bad."
Chemical reactions still work (see weapons). You might not be able to fire a computer controlled missile, but given enough concerted effort between the remaining countries in the world, it should be possible to construct missiles that could hit them.
Chemical reactions still work (see weapons). You might not be able to fire a computer controlled missile, but given enough concerted effort between the remaining countries in the world, it should be possible to construct missiles that could hit them.
Good point. Now locate them.
Seriously, though, right now I don't really care about how the McGuffin works. I want WHY.
What were the idiots [the in-story people, not the scriptwriters ;)] who set this up thinking? What did they want to happen? Answer me that, folks.
Good point. Now locate them.
Well considering Galileo could identify moons around other planets, I don't think it is impossible to identify satellites in orbit without electricity, especially since people got nothing better to do at night.
What were the idiots [the in-story people, not the scriptwriters ;)] who set this up thinking? What did they want to happen? Answer me that, folks.
I just hope that it isn't something stupid like, "We were afraid that this group of wackos were going to take over the US and nuke everyone, destroying the human race."
Sorry, Aberzombie. I guess I figured anyone who cared had seen it. I'll be more careful in the future.
@pres man. Again, you're right. I was so busy thinking of the many modern telescopes that are electronic that I forgot the ones that aren't. It's interesting, when you stop to think, just what does -and what would- still work. Maybe we should start a list?
List of stuff that works/should work:
steam engines
guns & gun powder
gliders
hot air balloons
sailing ships
steam trains
steam boats
bows & crossbows
wood stoves
coal furnaces
forges
hand looms
horses (re: that scene of the slaves dragging the helicopter...horses are cheaper, stronger, less likely to shoot you in the face)
bikes
As I may have said before, this really isn't post apoc- it's a high fantasy show against a post apoc background. It's a lot less painful if you don't think about it as a post apoc show.
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Amish become the merchant lords of the new age. :D
Actually, Aberzombie, you know it's bad when the bad guy has a more interesting backstory than the protagonist.
I still want to kick his -behind- but his actions and attitude make sense. I'm so glad it wasn't just a 'the man kept me down and I'm getting payback" story.
If nothing else, it's fascinating to watch Abrams' production company slowly crash and burn:
- 3/4 of Lost
- the truly detestable Alcatraz (good riddance)
- now Revolution
It's somewhat shocking that his company had a hand in Fringe and Person of Interest (among the two best shows on TV).
If nothing else, it's fascinating to watch Abrams' production company slowly crash and burn:
- 3/4 of Lost
- the truly detestable Alcatraz (good riddance)
- now RevolutionIt's somewhat shocking that his company had a hand in Fringe and Person of Interest (among the two best shows on TV).
I can't see how you think it's going to crash and burn when it had a ratings surge and has generally been winning its time slot.
I stopped watching and I know other people did too after episode 4 who didn't like how it ended, but apparently other people filled in my/their place and then some, so to speak.
Or the other shows it's up against are doing so poorly that it can't help but succeed.
I am not defending the show--as I said, I stopped watching it--and I don't think it's a good show, but commercially the show is a success at the moment.
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Well, I watched the latest episode and I think I'm finally ready to give up on the show. Some of the acting is blah! There are plot holes galore. And I still find myself wanting to punch the faces in of Charlie, Danny, "Nate", and now even Google-boy.
And then there's.....
Suffice to say, I have been consistently underwhelmed.
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If nothing else, it's fascinating to watch Abrams' production company slowly crash and burn:
- 3/4 of Lost
- the truly detestable Alcatraz (good riddance)
- now RevolutionIt's somewhat shocking that his company had a hand in Fringe and Person of Interest (among the two best shows on TV).
I have to disagree here - Lost certainly had an episode or three that were so so, but taken as a series, Lost was an AMAZING show. In fact, I'd go so far as to say Lost will go down as one of (not THE, but certainly one of) the best, most interesting, ground breaking, innovative shows on TV.
Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinions and I know there are people that love to jump on the negativity train, but citing 3/4 of Lost as an example of crashing and burning? With all due respect - sorry, but no way.
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I'm going to save my brother. I choose to use my knife to kill the guy holding him, even though I have seen him be effective fighting hand-to-hand and I am a much better shot with my crossbow than with fighting with my knife. Good plan.
I am not defending the show--as I said, I stopped watching it--and I don't think it's a good show, but commercially the show is a success at the moment.
We'll see.
It's a bad show, and people will likely catch on when it continues to get further stuck in the mire of 'chase Danny, screw up royally, watch unnecessary and boring violence with overexposed obnoxious villains, lose yet again, wash rinse repeat'. (And I have no idea why you think it's winning it's time slot - it's losing to both Castle (being trounced by Castle, actually), and not even beating Hawaii 5-O right now... and what shouldn't be able to beat Hawaii 5-O??)
Make no mistake - a string of bad shows and not-so-great movies = "crash and burn" AFAIC. I stand by my statement.
Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinions and I know there are people that love to jump on the negativity train, but citing 3/4 of Lost as an example of crashing and burning? With all due respect - sorry, but no way.
Lost sucked, with one of the worst endings in modern TV. It was a waste of time after the 3rd season, and it was abundantly clear the writers had absolutely no clue as to where they were going (one of the cardinal sins of serial TV). It turned out to be just a bunch of unanswered drivel, and they weren't even intelligent unanswered questions. Lost was the opposite of "amazing".
As time goes on, I suspect most people will think of it badly as opposed to fond memories. I'm seeing it already.
But, indeed, everyone is definitely entitled to their opinions. I know there are Losties out there who will never be able to honestly critique the show, but citing Lost as a whole as an example of "amazing" TV? With all due respect - sorry, but no way. But I'm glad you liked it, for whatever reason.
Well, I watched the latest episode and I think I'm finally ready to give up on the show. Some of the acting is blah! There are plot holes galore. And I still find myself wanting to punch the faces in of Charlie, Danny, "Nate", and now even Google-boy.
And then there's.....
** spoiler omitted **
Suffice to say, I have been consistently underwhelmed.
The spoiler seals it as a high fantasy show for me. May have to start watching it for that alone - anything is better than another reality show or alphabet soup cop show. That said, the characters better wise up - this is tv, not a 90's jrpg.
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And lost was one of the most amazing shows on tv for exactly two seasons. Then the strike hit, I believe, and the story was over.
I am not defending the show--as I said, I stopped watching it--and I don't think it's a good show, but commercially the show is a success at the moment.We'll see.
It's a bad show, and people will likely catch on when it continues to get further stuck in the mire of 'chase Danny, screw up royally, watch unnecessary and boring violence with overexposed obnoxious villains, lose yet again, wash rinse repeat'. (And I have no idea why you think it's winning it's time slot - it's losing to both Castle (being trounced by Castle, actually), and not even beating Hawaii 5-O right now... and what shouldn't be able to beat Hawaii 5-O??)
My source is TV by the numbers and other ratings aggregator site.
According to this Revolution's ratings for the time slot are highest at 3.3, with a 9 share (which is way high).
The other 2 shows have more on-air viewers (which doesn't count Internet and DVR views), but the ratings and share are significantly lower (with Castle the LOWEST at 2.0 ratings and a 5 share), which has been the trend in general.
Now, how much value you consider ratings and share, that's a different conversation. :)
Look, not arguing with you on the quality of the show--in total agreement with you.
But IF the ratings and 18-49 share keep up, Revolution will be considered a success and will not cause Abrams to "crash and burn."
I was simply wondering why you thought that was. Perhaps it is that you value number of on-air viewers more. We'll see whether the networks and advertisers agree with you.
Now, the show is not a critical success, that's for certain.
I became less interested in this show in less time than it took for me to no longer care about Terra Nova, which is saying something. I definitely get the Lost meets Hunger Games vibe and it's not a vibe that hooked me in the slightest.
Ah well.
Re: Danny and the storm.
I had another thought, one that's been peroclating as I've been watching the opening. It doesn't start with the title Revolution. It starts with evolution then adds the R.
What if the force behind this is trying to force the evolution of mankind and felt that dependence on the electronic/electric world was holding us back?
There are stories of folks with weather sense and some animals are supposed to be able to sense things like weather changes and earthquakes.
Maybe an Alphas variant is where this is going.
I don't know about superpowers, but there was a "our gadget-crazed world is bad" vibe in the first scenes of the pilot.
Now, how much value you consider ratings and share, that's a different conversation. :)/ Perhaps it is that you value number of on-air viewers more. We'll see whether the networks and advertisers agree with you. / Now, the show is not a critical success, that's for certain.
Ah. Yeah, all that. (Certainly combined with critical success and combined with past history.)
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Going in to last night's episode, I was telling myself that unless they really impressed me that would be it. While the episode itself did little to impress, I was intrigued by the preview for the next episode, enough so that I'll give them one more.
** spoiler omitted **
What you need for steam tech is a lot of wood. The invention of the locomotive and steam vehicles sped up a lot of deforestation.
The other thing you need is WATER, and you need to maintain water towers at regular intervals. All kinds of tech need infrastructure to support them, even 19th century steam and that's what's completely broken down.
Yes, vehicles might be more difficult. But small steam boilers in communities might prove invaluable, especially during winter. And, presumably, since most people moved away from cities they would be closer to sources of wood. Maybe even coal - as I recall, coal has been mined for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
The only thing that's broken down is electricity. Everything else you need to run basic steam tech is still available. The show at least acknowledged that with the steam engine. But if they want a bit more realism, they'd have shown it in use in non-mobile ways.
And that's not even getting into more basic tech like windmills. Haven't seen much of them on the show.
To be fair, we haven't see a very big section of the country. I imagine as you head into the plains area, you'd see lots of windmills working. I live in the midwest and just driving around I still see lots of windmills used to pump water. Most have been replaced with more modern pumps, the windmills are still there and probably with a little work could be made to start working again.
As for deforestation, remember that a huge part of the population has died due to famine. I imagine plants are making quite a come back after 15 years.
Of course, the steam tech will not be equal to the height of the industrial revolution. But starting on smaller engines and working up seems more logical. Especially given the need to make replacement parts. If you are running a classic engine from the height of the industrial revolution, you won't be able to replace those parts. But if you build a more crude engine from scratch, you'll probably be able to make replacement parts yourself.