Now it is time for my review of one of my favourite TV series currently airing; Revolution. I am currently a few episodes in to season two so I thought it was time to review season one, this will contain MINOR SPOILERS so do not read if you have not watched it yet. However I won’t go in to the story or the characters too much so I won’t reveal any spoilers of major events.
This series is takes place fifteen years after the present day after a post apocalyptic event where all the electrical power all over the world has shut down. Humanity has been forced to adapt to a world without power but not without struggle; governments have collapsed, big cities lies in ruins and the people have had to get by without the technology we have become so dependent on. During all the chaos militia groups have risen up to claim what is left of America for themselves, taking over large territories and are at constant war with each other with the primitive weapons they have to make do with.
The main character in this series is Charlotte “Charlie” Matheson (Tracy Spiridakos) who sets off across the ruined world to find her brother who was kidnapped by the MonroeRepublic, one of the most powerful militia groups and commanded by the ruthless Sebastian “Bass” Monroe (David Lyons). Along the way she is aided by her uncle Miles Matheson (Billy Burke) a former US Marine with a shady past, Aaron Pittman (Zak Orth) a MIT graduate, former Google executive and millionaire who struggles in this new world and Nora Clayton (Daniella Alsono) a expert bomb maker and member or a rebel faction against the Monroe Republic. Through this twenty six episode series we see their struggles as they fight through the enemies of the new world and delve in to the mystery of how and why the power went out.
Overall I found the story very compelling, I have always been a fan of the post apocalyptic genre and this series does not disappoint. There is a lot of action in the episodes ranging from sword fighting to gun fights and it was a lot more violent than I would have thought. There are also some science fiction elements in there as well, especially when it revolves around how the power went out. There are also a lot of twists that you will not expect and it is not at all single minded; there is a lot of interesting sub plots that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
As for the characters they are all played really well by their respective actors and actresses and there are many who you can relate too. Charlie Matheson is a very good protagonist who starts off naïve about the world but eventually matures as the series goes on and of course Miles Matheson proves from the second he is introduced that he is a badass in terms of fighting but is also a very deep and conflicted character. One of my favourite characters is Aaron Pittman because I can relate to him more than of the others; Aaron I think represents the people of today who relies too much on technology and this series shows how much hardship that kind of person will go through if it was suddenly all taken away.
The villains are excellent in this as well; Monroe is not a typical one sided villain, as the series goes on you will see more sides to him and come to understand his cruelty. Another antagonist, who gives a standout performance, is the character Tom Neville (Giancarlo Esposito) a Major in the MonroeRepublic who is willing to do anything to protect his family.
There are also a lot of interesting minor characters in the series who even though may be in it for lots of episodes or just a few but will leave a lasting impression. There is one character (for the sake of spoilers no name will be revealed) who was only in it a short time but had such a well acted and emotional story arc that it was one of the highlights of the series.
The settings are magnificent in the series; there is really a lot of detail put in to trying to make the dystopian future seem as real as possible that is why there are quite a few establishing shots to show it off. One of the most interesting things about the series is the way they keep cutting to flashbacks about certain characters on how they survived the first few days, months and years after the power went out. Since the story immediately takes place fifteen years after the blackout, this is very welcoming and lets us have more insight in to the characters.
There is not much that I don’t like about this series but if I had to pick one is that the character played by Elizabeth Mitchell (not going to reveal who she plays on this because of spoilers) was very annoying at times. They try too much to make her out as a “Cold Bitch” (Monroe’s words) that I think they go over the top with it some times. Some of the things she does I just did not believe she could have really bring herself to do them so easily given her previous background of employment and what she did before blackout. She has a lack of facial expressions most of the time as well, which seems to be another effort in making her seem as detached as possible.
Overall I recommend this series to anyone to anyone who enjoys action mixed in with drama, adventure and science fiction. There is a lot of amazing character development and the stories are so well written that you will find yourself really immersed in this world. This is one of my favourite TV series for a really good reason; the first season was everything I good have wanted for a great watch and I am really enjoying the second season so far.
SCORE: 9/10
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