Revolution TV Show Review - Why Did The Power Go Out?

The Revolution TV show asks some pretty important questions regarding our current lives. The main question is what would happen if the electricity was cut across the world tomorrow, forever?

We are so reliant on electricity and this is shown in the Revolution TV series airing on NBC on Monday evenings from September 17th 2012.

However, Revolution has a further twist in that it would seem that a small group of people knew about the upcoming electricity cut and took certain steps before it happened.

How could these people know such a thing? Does this mean the blackout was man-made? If it was man-made can the electricity be switched back on?

Audiences will be asking how long until they get some answers in the new Revolution tv show?

Revolution TV Show Plot

The Revolution TV show looks really cool and interesting. It's another Erik Kripke TV series (let's hope it's as good as Supernatural used to be) and it's produced by J. J. Abrams and Bryan Burk. They have made some of the best sci-fi/fantasy TV shows over the past decade including Alias, Lost, Fringe and Alcatraz (which is now on the cancelled TV shows 2012 list).

If the new Revolution series follows the normal sci-fi plot then expect there to be lots of underlying mysteries and the audience will have a number of questions to try to figure out. How long these questions take to be answered will probably determine how successful this TV show will be; get answers too quickly and audiences get bored, but drag it out to long and audiences get confused and lost (no pun intended).

The Revolution TV show starts off by having the electricity cut out. However, before the power is cut Ben Matheson calls his brother, Miles, and tries to warn him that the electricity is about to go out forever. Before the power completely powers down, Ben manages to download something off his laptop onto a special device.

When the power goes out everything stops working. Planes fall out the sky, cars stop and the effect is very similar to what happened in the pilot episode of Falling Skies, when the aliens dropped an EMP bomb.

The masses are confused and don't know what's going on. Life is about to change forever.

Revolution then skips forward 15 years and we find out what's happened since the blackout, to the Revolution characters. Governments have fallen and in their place are militias and war lords. Without electricity, they struggle to survive and have to go back to methods and lifestyles from the wild west times.

When the Militia comes to take Ben Matheson away he gives his friend his special device, that contains whatever it was that he downloaded from his laptop 15 years ago. Ben agrees to go with them, but his son Danny interferes resulting in Ben being shot. Danny is taken by the rebels, in place of his father.

When Charlie Matheson hears the gun shot she rushes home, but is too late. Her father realizes he is about to die and tells Charlie to find her Uncle Miles in Chicago. he will help her get Danny back.

Charlie treks across country to find her Uncle Miles. She takes two people with her from her village, including her father's friend, who now has the device.

Along the way Charlie meets a young man called Nate and he joins the group of travellers. When Charlie meets her Uncle she fails to recognize him as it's been 15 years since she saw him and she was a young child. However, her Uncle recognizes Nate as a member of the Militia.

Charlie convinces her Uncle to come with her, along with a little nudge from the Militia.

Charlie also finds out her dad may have known why the lights went out 15 years ago and the audience find out there are others with devices like the one Ben Matheson had. This device seems to have an electrical charge.

The Revolution series is like Falling Skies (without the aliens) meets Jericho (without the electricity and gadgets).

People have been asking why there are no guns in Revolution. I find this strange when you consider the dad gets shot near the beginning of the pilot episode.

However, I think the point is why doesn't everyone have guns. I can only assume it's because most of the show takes place many years in the future after the power was cut off. The time in-between has consisted of people adjusting to life without electricity. By this point there are militia's.

I can only assume it isn't easy to make new guns without electricity. I am pretty sure most people wouldn't know how to make a gun themselves. Also, last I checked there are very few blacksmiths around who could make bullets like they did back in the wild wild west era. These are skills that the general population lost many years ago.

Will the Revolution TV Series Be a Big Hit?

Revolution looks like they have a nice balance in the questions department. There are mysteries hinted to in the trailer such as an insight into the secret group that knew the electricity was being cut.

There's a special device that seems to be central to the mystery and has the Militia chasing down who they believe to be key members of the conspiracy theory.

There's a close look at familial relationships and the need for a sister to get her brother back.

There's the opportunity to look at what the world might look like without electricity and how our lives would be changed forever. How the laws of the wild west would be reinstated and no one would really be safe anymore.

There's an interesting blend of old world and more modern warfare. Expect guns along with bow and arrows and swords. If you like the odd ninja sequence then there's a little of that here and there in the Revolution TV series.

I really feel that Revolution will either be a big hit or a massive flop. It's not always easy to tell with these type of shows. It's in the sci-fi genre which is a negative right from the start, as these type of shows are most likely to be cancelled if they do not perform as well as expected. Also, bigger budgets are needed for these type of shows for the sets and special effects. This puts further pressure on the show to be a stand out success.

It could go either way with the Revolution TV show. I really enjoyed what I have seen of it so far. However, I really enjoyed Terra Nova and that was cancelled after one season, mainly for the reasons stated above.

Over 8 million people have already seen the trailer for Revolution which gives you an insight into how much NBC have been promoting this show. It seems to be the mentality of "go big or go home" and that's what will happen with this TV series. If audiences feel that the Revolution series lives up to the hype then it could do well. However, if audiences feel disappointed, or let down, then this will be another series for the cancellation bin.