The NBC television show Revolution. We finally got around to watching it, and the story starts out with both a bang and a whimper. Sort of like watching it.
Make no mistake, the story is quite interesting. An "enough to keep watching the show" sort of interesting. However, this show has some major problems. Perhaps you've noticed them. Perhaps they've upset you as well.
We'll get into all that after the fold. There will be spoilers.
So here's a mandatory. *Spoiler Alert * There.
The writing isn't bad. Well, overall, usually. The dialog pretty good, the characters are somewhat compelling, the story intriguing. Buddies, with the mean one (or at least the driving force, the instigator) suddenly realizing what they've put in place is just simply wrong, the cure worse than the disease. One trying to stop the madness. Unable at the time to kill his best friend (well really not so much) to the detriment of humanity. And to the detriment of his new friends and to his acquaintances, not just casual passers-by. All against a backdrop of post-apocalyptic survival, in a world that's been without any power at all for 15 or so years.
A planet-wide technology dampening field, or something with that effect essentially. Not even batteries work any more, nor do engines because of the spark. No electricity works. Nobody really explains why compression engines don't work though, perhaps that's foretelling what things will be like in the series, since steam engines do work. Half a dozen of one, six of the other.
The plot isn't bad either, but there are some holes in it. With the writers punching in more and larger ones in as we go along. Too, a number of the behaviors and actions of the participants are, even taking into account a world fallen apart, perplexing at best, vexing at worst.
It starts out this way too, but the first time or two you maybe can't see the trend that really isn't there yet. Depending on if you're paying that much attention; there's some pretty good diversions going on as we begin. Yes, we all expect the heroes of the story to be at least somewhat indestructible, to overcome the surprising setbacks and obstacles. But what slowly (or quickly, depending on what you're paying how much attention to when) dawns on you is the main characters are fairly invincible. The usual sort of action hero thing, running unscathed through the machinegun fire. Invincible until the writers decide that a character will no longer be a main character that is. Or in other words, until the writers kill the character off. This is one of the main problems with the show, the characters don't 100% of the time do things because of what's happening and internal consistency. No, the characters often do things because the writers make the characters do them.
In retrospect, it was quite obvious that after the somewhat puny asthmatic son with a crossbow stands up to the jack-booted thugs with pistols and muskets. Somebody was going to die, and that somebody was the father. Of course he would, we need the kids out alone on a quest. It's only the first time this happens, but not the last. Sooner or later, depending, it is quite annoying and very unrealistic. Maddening even. Two, four, eight, twelve episodes. Maybe it'll take you until things start flying, maybe even later, who knows. It's almost guaranteed to happen though.
What does an insane violent man who has randomly just killed people for looking at him wrong, or even for no reason, do with a woman he no longer has use for? Why, of course, nothing! How about a different violent insane man who has in his grasp a rebel and a criminal and her sister? Why of course, he lets them go, after all, he promised. Now we too could ask for what reason, but that's pretty clear. We need these women for the plot, so they live.
When the son Danny gives his sister Charlie essentially a "I might as well say goodbye now, because I'm toast." speech, we feel the icy hands of the writers pulling the puppet strings. Sure, we just spent the bulk of the story so far trying to get him back, where you never get the feeling anything fatal will happen to him, and of course nothing does. But hey, time for a little dramatic effect, and of course the set up for some new secret, another gizmo.
So Danny plays the hero.
Usually while others who are main characters are trying to escape, a number of men with automatic rifles can't hit somebody straight in front of them, people that they appear to be trying to kill. Lots of sparks, lots of rifles not accurate at pistol range. As long as it's our heroes, we've got Stormtrooper aim all the way. Pretty typical. But when it's a crashing helicopter, random shots from the thing take Danny right out. Certainly; he's no longer essential, and aim, even randomly, gets normal. Pretty powerful bullets too, they blast holes right through him. (Although hint to the people making the show; if you're going to do slo-mo raking across shots, make the pack far less obvious. Put the guy in a jacket, edit it more smoothly, CGI it, whatever.)
Who knows what the writers were thinking here with this in-your-face obviousness and puppetry. Maybe they were thinking that we wouldn't notice how bogus this was? Perhaps we're supposed to consider that this makes up for all the times Miles and his two swords have taken out ten or twenty guys, some with muskets, with nary a scratch on himself, okay, maybe a nick and scratch here and there. (Note to writers: It does not make up for it.) One thing we do know, is the answer to the question "Why did this happen." That answer is along the lines of "Because the writers wanted it to." or "Because that's part of the plot and provides some drama." and so on. Artificial convenient drama by lazy scripts that kick the stuffing out of the willful suspension of disbelief, but hey. Although I believe out west they call this sort of thing "fucking bullshit".
Yes, the mother Rachel. You know, the whoa, she was the one who shot the guy who threatened the daughter and was taking the supplies, surprise. Oh, yeah, right, she's not dead, of course not, surprise. She's as obvious walking up to the corpse of Danny she's there for something. Another gift from the writers.
Just as it's obvious that when the band rescues Nora's sister Mia it's far too easy a rescue. Boom bang, even the über-competent psychopathic torturer is gone from the scene. Gee, do you think she's a mole? Which they handle with little skill; we know something is going to happen once they switch back to the two after all the tearful goodbyes. See, if Nora is not coming back, no need to show them conversing as they walk off for Texas to find the dad Mia says is still alive.
Back to the mother though. She's supposedly this genius, yet who can't design and build a bomb that looks like the amplifier she's supposed to be building. Who can't cave Monroe's skull in when it's just him and her, any number of times she has the opportunity. Hey, her daughter knocks out an Irish gang boss with a tea kettle and almost plunges a knife into him, him "surprisingly" being saved at the last minute by Miles. And mom kills, by herself, the man who's the only troop that ever scared Miles.
Now see, maybe Monroe is too much of a badass. But she's capable of it. When things get rough, mom is perfectly capable of shoving a screwdriver into the heart of an ex-colleague. Why not Monroe the evil power mad lunatic? Maybe we shouldn't blame her, the mass-murder Miles can't bring himself to blast apart the man that will soon order everyone to kill Miles. Or actually, will soon order the militia to slaughter every rebel with his helicopters. Who knew what he'd do with the choppers on the roof if he got power. Getting power, that would be impossible. Well except, you know. (And gee, that was lucky they were all standing up in that headquarters, wasn't it.) No, if Miles couldn't shoot Monroe, how could Rachel stab Monroe instead of stabbing the scientist that she herself put in the situation he's in. Hey, she didn't know, cut her some slack.
Nora gets stabbed in the stomach, she's not indestructible totally, but don't worry; it's not hit anything important. Um, okay... But the wound gets infected. Wait, I know this insane heroin dealer (don't worry, it's legal) who has a doctor; what could go wrong. Although we do learn a 50/50 chance to live is not at all hurt by mainlining some adrenaline. Sure, it flows better when you're watching it, well unless you think about it later. (Note to writers; people think about these sorts of things in aggregate later.) It sure was convenient that guy knew his way through the subway, you know, the one who talked them into listening to Mile.
Oh, and by the way, when there's this ultra-dangerous indestructible locket with software on a USB stick that somehow wipes out the electricity-eating nanobots around it, that can be tracked by the mastermind and source of the apocalypse. So dangerous, Charlie tells Rachel to just let them all be killed rather than help amplify it. What does Rachel do when she's got the chance to take it with her, or even booby-trap the device. Of course, she leaves it all there. So Monroe can power the helicopters that kill all these rebels including, it turns out, her son. Who to blame for the destruction and death? Why of course, the writers. Not Rachel; nobody would really be that stupid unless somebody else made them. (There's a lot of that in the show with the characters, and you all know how life imitates art.)
For that matter, what does Charlie do when she's got the opportunity to kill Randall? Kill him, if not take his locket and a Humvee with amplifier, etc. Maybe more than killing him is too dangerous, but we don't even get that. But instead of killing him, the guy that just kidnapped the mother she just rescued, Charlie shoots at his feet and they all run off. Did Charlie suddenly turn retarded or something? Just like her mom and the amplifier and necklace I guess.
Not everything is so obvious or so stupid. Sometimes there doesn't seem to be deus ex machina and what have you going on. Yes, Charlie is in a death trap, a chair with a crossbow tied to the door aimed at her head, and they're coming to open the door. They sure have a lot of loose bolts in the world here, and she barely gets out of the way. It was even a bit nerve wracking.
Then on the other hand you've got Maggie. Although that does set up for Charlie to get taken by the guy with the attack dogs, it was actually fairly random (that is, essentially believable) not foretold and a bit of a surprise she gets stabbed in the leg. Even more so that it hits badly. Then she does rather miraculously get stitched up. Sadly though, she's lost too much blood. Even if she hadn't, that sort of thing is very likely to very badly get infected, far worse than Nora does later. So that's all pretty much on the up and up. Although I still did at least get the impression they could have decided to let her live, it was only a small impression, and not a huge smoking crater hundreds of feet deep and yards wide. It felt like a random tragic unforetold event. It didn't feel like a plot point.
Unlike everyone standing up in front of the window when the chopper that shouldn't have been powered arrived. Come to think of it, the leader should have known exactly what he was hearing, even if he had no idea why. Yet it takes him until "too late" to realize it. We digress though.
Now, this realism with what happens to Maggie sounds all fine and dandy, and nothing to be upset about. Well except they've chosen this time to get real by getting rid of what was probably the nicest most realistic character. Sure in real life bad things happen to good people. Also sure that it smacks of an attempt to show they can be impromptu and not obvious. The problem there is, we already know they often are yanking ropes. So it makes one at least wonder if this wasn't just a diversion, or maybe just a case of the actress having to leave the show and getting written out.
Which is perhaps the real problem. We don't know why they're doing what they do, these writers. Or to be fair, what is probably the producers and scripting people and authors telling the writers to do it this way. So maybe not why, or always when and in what way, but usually that the creative team overall is up to something. Which rather demolishes the fourth wall, and maybe the third and the fifth for all we know.
The question is; will the story and characters continue to be so interesting as to make most viewers ignore all the rest? Or will it in the second season be like ABC's Revenge was in the second season. To the point where the nonsense makes you wonder if you'll even go back for the story, or just read a summary, or even stop bothering with the making up of characters and resolutions on the spot and just stop.
Some shows (like NBC's Grimm for example) learn from their first season mistakes. They do things like clear up the boring, liven up the pace, remove the unbelievable (in context), make the characters more real, and so on. Other shows don't learn in their second, or third, or ever. Sometimes it doesn't even matter, and people keep watching it in spite of the same mistakes for any number of other reasons. One question is, will Revolution be like that? If not, and it matters, another question is, will Revolution figure out how to be smooth and seamless. Or will it continue to trundle down the BS road until the viewers can't take it any more.
P.S. I think the answer was "No."
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