NBC's Revolution - Thoughts?


Another_Fan

 

Posted

So last Monday and replayed on Wednesday was the latest attempt by a network to recapture the success of Lost, NBC's post-apocalyptic drama Revolution.

So .... did anyone else watch it? What did you think?

Hello?
Bueller ... Bueller ... Bueller ...


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Posted

I liked it, but much like The River and Terra Nova, I don't think it's going to last more than a season at most.

One massive WTF...you have guys who mark themselves with a brand, but you don't think to check any potential party members for said brand? That should be a no brainer.



 

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If there's combustion - YUNOSTEAMPUNK?!

Also having a magguffin in the pilot MIGHT be a new record.


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I just realized that this show is probably the closest that we'll get to a Fallout-esque tv series.



 

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No electrical devices work anywhere on the planet but human life still manages ?

Little hard to work past.


 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Another_Fan View Post
No electrical devices work anywhere on the planet but human life still manages ?

Little hard to work past.
We done it before but you're right as that was waaaaay back in the day and wonder if modern man actualy can survive like that.


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Originally Posted by Evil_Legacy View Post
We done it before but you're right as that was waaaaay back in the day and wonder if modern man actualy can survive like that.
Lotsa people do without the stuff that we deem "necessary" to life. What it would do is cause a rather drastic initial die-off as those who are literally dependent on modern technology (medical devices like pacemakers and dialysis) along with those who are living in major metropolitan areas that need modern tech to provide food and water.

Then there will be the rather drastic changes in diet that we'd have to go through. Vegans will be in for one helluva rude shock when they find out they can't get their fair trade, organic, free range tofu.

Then there will be areas like Las Vegas that are simply not sustainable without modern tech. Nature will reclaim those places.

I do wonder though, how 15 years of agrarian-type living can still leave someone like that fat guy still being fat and out of shape. It's not like Lost where they can explain Hurley still being fat by having Dharma food drops.



 

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Originally Posted by Dark One View Post
Lotsa people do without the stuff that we deem "necessary" to life. What it would do is cause a rather drastic initial die-off as those who are literally dependent on modern technology (medical devices like pacemakers and dialysis) along with those who are living in major metropolitan areas that need modern tech to provide food and water.

Then there will be the rather drastic changes in diet that we'd have to go through. Vegans will be in for one helluva rude shock when they find out they can't get their fair trade, organic, free range tofu.

Then there will be areas like Las Vegas that are simply not sustainable without modern tech. Nature will reclaim those places.

I do wonder though, how 15 years of agrarian-type living can still leave someone like that fat guy still being fat and out of shape. It's not like Lost where they can explain Hurley still being fat by having Dharma food drops.
Hear, hear


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Quote:
Originally Posted by Evil_Legacy View Post
We done it before but you're right as that was waaaaay back in the day and wonder if modern man actualy can survive like that.
The problem isn't "oh no, we can't use anything electronic", it's "what's the impact on living things if some sort of field is operating that stops anything from a one-cell flashlight to a hydro-electric plant".


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Originally Posted by GadgetDon View Post
The problem isn't "oh no, we can't use anything electronic", it's "what's the impact on living things if some sort of field is operating that stops anything from a one-cell flashlight to a hydro-electric plant".
Well, it obviously does suppress the brain functions somewhat since every single person kept making phenomenally stupid decisions.

I thought the show was ok but had a bunch of little things that pulled me out of the story.

Crossbow bolt that lifts a charging guy off his feet and throws him backwards.

Super combat guy who lets some kid easily get a knife to his throat.

The Goldilocks squad being surprised that the three bears actually showed up when she fell asleep in their house.

Where were the freaking bicycles?

Muskets?


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Posted

Muskets, or at least muzzle loader rifles, make a good amount of sense. Primers for reloading modern-day bullets are going to be hard to come by after a while so it makes sense to save the 'good' rifles/guns for conflicts rather than day-to-day operations, unless you're a higher ranking guy like that captain or whatever he was.



 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandu View Post
Crossbow bolt that lifts a charging guy off his feet and throws him backwards.
Classic Hollywood physics.

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Super combat guy who lets some kid easily get a knife to his throat.
I think at that point he was just the nameless barkeep.

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The Goldilocks squad being surprised that the three bears actually showed up when she fell asleep in their house.
To be fair it didn't look like anyone was living there. The poisoned hooch was a nice touch.

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Where were the freaking bicycles?
Where's the freaking steam engines? Or an old diesel engine, baring fuel supply problems. As for bikes, if that part of the US in anything like my part, not a lot of adult sized bikes sold anymore. Plenty of kids/tween bikes but I rarely see an teen/adult on a bike anymore and when I do, 9 out of 10 times it's a Armstrong wannabe in spandex and I imagine those bikes won't do well on unimproved/decaying road surfaces.

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Muskets?
While it's relatively easy to make gunpowder, I imagine the kind you would want to use reloading modern ammunition is much more difficult to make and supplies of the good stuff have been used up after 15 years (or is being horded for major battles or for high officers only). I also imagine older guns like a Winchester riffle have been seized by the various militias. Remember owning a firearm is a hanging offense in Monroe land.

As for other points people have brought up. There were fat people in the 1800s as well. X-Google's "job" seems to be teacher so I don't expect a lot of field labor on a daily basis. I assume he's around to do something when they find a computer that'll boot up with the anti-electric field nullifier on.

The Uncle Scrapper's battle was humorous. You would think that at some point the militia leader would try to retreat and regroup once 2/3rds of his men were killed instead of fighting to the last man.

Pretty Militia Boy is probably Monroe's son, actual or adopted, so he's trying to impress daddy while having second thoughts on the brutal dictatorship of the militia. Plus he and Katniss Clone make such a cute Romeo and Juliet.

I'm surprised that Hot Doc and Katniss Clone have such nicely styled hair after 15 years. Obviously some hair stylists with 100% all natural organic hair products survived the great power down.

Best character so far, besides Uncle Scrapper, is the Former Insurance Guy. Reads a lot like The Operative from Serenity.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by GadgetDon View Post
The problem isn't "oh no, we can't use anything electronic", it's "what's the impact on living things if some sort of field is operating that stops anything from a one-cell flashlight to a hydro-electric plant".
Got it.

Didn't think I would have to explain that changing basic physical processes would kill everything on the planet.


 

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I find it a little odd about the whole electricity being gone. Electric current going through wires is usually either generated from nuclear processes or from burning coal plants. However, batteries are a chemical process that generates electric current.

How does someone/something block that different of a source? Why does gunpowder work (chemical process) but batteries don't? You'd have to have a hell of a good reason why this is so selective...


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Something seems to be inhibiting free electrons from flowing beyond a certain threshold.

Of course that's the mystery. Why did Katniss Clone's Dad know the power was going to go out and why did he wait until he got home to assemble the nullifier? Why are their others who have similar nullifiers? The blackout is obviously man made but why? Secret government/military project goes terribly wrong? Eco-terrorists wanting to restore Gaia? Quickest way to stop an impending nuclear exchange? Hiding from Aliens? Preserving the electrical infrastructure due to massive continuous geomagnetic storms because the Sun went super active (opposite of the Maunder Minima)? Not sure if we'll ever find out the truth or even if it's important.


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Posted

The dad probably worked on the project that caused the black out. It was most likely. IMO, a military project designed to remove an opponent's major defenses and got out of hand/did more damage than was theorized.

The 'nullifier' wasn't so much a nullifier as it was (apparently) a data repository. He was downloading a bunch of data into a usb stick and then putting the stick into the pendant. He was just barely able to finish before the lights went out.



 

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I'm talking about nullifing locally the power dampening field.

The other doctor lady used her fancy broach to start up a computer and communicate with someone else. And it looks just like the one Dad assembled at the last second and later gave to X-Google.

Ever see the movie The Quiet Earth? Odd little Kiwi SciFi movie from the mid 80s that reminds me of Revolution for some reason. Maybe it's the "science experiment goes horribly wrong" as a possible explanation in this series.


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I like Revolution, except I am a Hard-SciFi person. I get that this is a "hunger Games" genre, but...

All the world Electricity shut down for many years; why have they not rebuilt their power? There is still obviously Magnetism as the Birds can still Navigate and the Atmosphere/Ionosphere is still intact. So... Why no Electricity yet?


 

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I liked it since post-Apocalyptic fiction is right up my alley. I'm just not gonna think about it too much it since it really doesn't stand up to that. I'm not gonna get too attached to the show either.


 

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All I shall say is read the books by S M Stirling and it will start to make a bit of sense including a big discusion on WTF how is it possible [nope they dont know] best guess they came up with is some super powerd being god alien etc.....

Maybe Hami?????


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Another_Fan View Post
No electrical devices work anywhere on the planet but human life still manages ?

Little hard to work past.
Just taking this at face value but are you suggesting we have evolved ina relatively short time to the point where humans are completely reliant on technology to survive?



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Quote:
Originally Posted by ebon3 View Post
Just taking this at face value but are you suggesting we have evolved ina relatively short time to the point where humans are completely reliant on technology to survive?
Some are, some aren't. Let's face facts. There are some people on this planet that would have absolutely NO idea on how to actually survive if they were bereft of technology. If they couldn't google how to build a campfire, they would freeze and even if they could google it, if they didn't have magnesium firestarters and matches, would still freeze.

Conversely, for the less developed nations on the planet, not much would change.



 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dark One View Post
Some are, some aren't. Let's face facts. There are some people on this planet that would have absolutely NO idea on how to actually survive if they were bereft of technology. If they couldn't google how to build a campfire, they would freeze and even if they could google it, if they didn't have magnesium firestarters and matches, would still freeze.

Conversely, for the less developed nations on the planet, not much would change.
Sigh... your probably right, moreso than I would like to admit on an individual basis



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Posted

First off the massive agriculture conglomerates that supply nearly all the food here in the US would be shut down overnight without electrical power. Small time farmers and meat producers could probably still be in business however milk production will also be seriously curtailed without electricity to operate the automated milking machines.

You aren't going to feed 300 million with ox and plow. The chaos in the first few years after the outage is going to make The Walking Dead look like a vacation in Disneyworld. Mass starvation is going to make things ugly really quick.

New aluminum production would vanish overnight, it's a process that entirely relies on electricity. A lot of smaller steel smelting plants are now electric and not coal.

It'll take time to build the infrastructure needed to build down to a pre-electric society. Given the fact that no power tools will work, how do you build a steam engine from scratch? And once you have a steam engine, we're talking belt pulley central drive for drills, saws, lathes, etc for manufacturing anything in quantity. And of course you are going to need peace for that to flourish so you might start to see that starting some 15 years after the black out.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by ebon3 View Post
Just taking this at face value but are you suggesting we have evolved ina relatively short time to the point where humans are completely reliant on technology to survive?
Mutters

no anything that stops electricity from happening is going to instantly kill everything everywhere it affects. Electricity isn't primarily electrons traveling through wires. It's the action of the electric force through a wave guide on the electrons in the conductor. To stop electricity you have to stop the electric force from affecting electrons. Electrons actually travel very slowly in conductors the speed is in feet per second its the force that makes it through quickly.

DEAD DEAD EVERYTHING DEAD IN MANY MANY WAYS.

Let me put to you like this if you want a weapon deadlier than anything you have ever conceived of take a penny and nullify the charge on or just spontaneously convert all the protons into neutrons. The potential energy release will kill everything a few solar systems over.