So, the big new network science fiction show is Revolution. It has decent backend support with the creator, Eric Kripke, who was the creator and producer for Supernatural and the pilot directed by Jon Favreau. The basic concept is interesting and there is a bit of a mystery behind the scenes. So, on the surface, it looks like it has some potential. But the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Lets check out what happened.

We start off with a short teaser when a man runs into his house one night and yells at his wife to fill the tubs with water because they’re almost out of time. Then he calls his brother, who’s driving a car to tell him to get safe. Then all the lights go out and a plane crashes* and the world as we know it has changed.

*There is much discussion about whether or not a plane would crash when it loses electricity because planes (even without electricity) are just giant gliders.

Flash forward 15 years and people are living in small towns/communes. A posse comes into town and wants someone (the man from the intro scene) because they believe he knows something. After a brief struggle, the man dies and his daughter is sent with a couple other people to go find her uncle (the man’s brother). The son is kidnapped and escapes before being kidnapped again. There is a journey where they find a mole and make it to the brother (who does his best Kill Bill impression with a sword fighting off a bunch of attackers). And we find the woman who helped the son when he escaped has a magic key that allows electricity to work.

Overall the show had a decent premise and not much else to offer. The characters are bland, the physics is suspect (why do the musket rifles work, but there aren’t any other types of firearms) and the setup 15 years later is a little weird. We had large organized cities prior to electricity, but the show has everyone in almost a medieval setting. I’ll probably check out a couple more episodes, but it’s not too promising so far.