Revolution (TV series)

Revolution
Genre Action/Adventure
Science fiction
Drama
Created by Eric Kripke
Starring
Theme music composer J.J. Abrams
Composer(s) Christopher Lennertz
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 42 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s)
Location(s)
Cinematography Michael Bonvillain
Camera setup Multiple-camera
Running time 43 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network NBC
Picture format 16:9
Audio format Dolby Digital
Original release September 17, 2012 (2012-09-17) – May 21, 2014 (2014-05-21)
External links
Official website www.nbc.com/revolution

Revolution is an American post-apocalyptic science fiction television series that ran from September 17, 2012 until May 21, 2014; it was cancelled by NBC in May 2014.[1][2] The show takes place in the post-apocalyptic near-future of the year 2027, 15 years after the start of a worldwide, permanent electrical-power blackout in 2012. Created by Eric Kripke and produced by J. J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions for the NBC network, it originally aired on Mondays at 10:00 pm (ET)[2] doing well enough that NBC ordered a second season shortly after the first season finale.[3]

Film director Jon Favreau directed the pilot episode. In October 2012, NBC picked it up for a full season of 22 episodes,[4] which was later reduced to 20 episodes. Season 1 of the show was filmed in and around Wilmington, North Carolina. Many of the scenes were shot in historic downtown Wilmington and on the campus of the University of North Carolina Wilmington.[5] On April 26, 2013, the series was renewed by NBC for a second season of 22 episodes to air in a new time slot of Wednesdays at 8 pm. Season 2 of Revolution was filmed in and around Bartlett and Granger, Texas. The second season premiere aired on September 25, 2013, and the finale aired on May 21, 2014.[6]

Fans started a petition to renew or relocate Revolution and as of July 2017, the petition gathered over 100,700 signatures.[7] The TV series was never renewed, but a four-part comic book series appeared in May and June 2015, and wrapped up the story.

Plot

Season 1

The series is set in a post-apocalyptic near-future, in the year 2027. Fifteen years earlier, in the year 2012, a worldwide event known as "The Blackout" caused all electricity on Earth, ranging from computers and electronics to car and jet engines, to be disabled permanently. As a result, trains and cars stopped where they were, ships went dead in the water, and aircraft plummeted from the sky and crashed. In the years after the Blackout, people adapted to this new world without electricity. Because government and public order collapsed, several areas are ruled by militias and their generals.

The series begins with the surviving Matheson family: Ben and his two young adult children: daughter Charlie and son Danny, who now live in a village near Chicago. He wears a small pendant around his neck that is the key to not only finding out what happened fifteen years ago, but also a possible way to reverse its effects. Sebastian Monroe, Monroe Militia general and self-appointed President of the Monroe Republic, whose borders are the Mississippi River and the old states of Kentucky and the Carolinas, is searching for the pendants so he can use their power to take control of the entire North American continent. In the series' pilot, Ben Matheson is killed and Danny is abducted by Captain Tom Neville of the Militia. The remaining Matheson family, joined initially by Miles Matheson, Aaron Pittman, and Nora Clayton, now are on the run from the Monroe Militia. Monroe's new benefactor, Randall Flynn, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense who fifteen years earlier ordered deployment of the weaponized technology that caused the blackout, now works with Monroe in his efforts after Ben's wife Rachel (working under duress for Monroe) escapes from his custody. This technology is later revealed to be a form of nanotechnology whose ability to drain electricity can be countered by the pendant.[8]

Opening Introduction:

We lived in an electric world. We relied on it for everything. And then the power went out. Everything stopped working. We weren't prepared. Fear and confusion led to panic. The lucky ones made it out of the cities. The government collapsed. Militias took over, controlling the food supply and stockpiling weapons. We still don't know why the power went out. But we're hopeful someone will come and light the way.

In Season 1 Episode 5, "Soul Train", a map of the former continental United States, Canada, and Mexico is shown[9] and shows the continent of North America divided into six "republics" (including parts of present-day Canada and Mexico along with the contiguous United States): the Monroe Republic in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions and some of Eastern Canada, the Georgia Federation encompassing the Southeast, the Plains Nation in the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the Canadian plains, Texas, the California Commonwealth all along the West Coast with British Columbia and Baja California and the Wasteland.[10] In the same episode, it indicates that the Georgia Federation and Plains Nation have allied against the Monroe Republic; border skirmishing in southwest Illinois, near St. Louis, is also mentioned. According to the wife of Captain Thomas Neville (Julia) in a letter to her husband, the Monroe Republic capital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is relatively safe; however, life outside west of Pittsburgh is subject to rebel attacks and other dangers such as bandits.[8]

Season 2

In April 2013, the series was renewed for a second season of 22 episodes. The new season aired on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm (ET) as opposed to the previous time slot of Monday at 10:00 pm (ET).[11] The season premiered on September 25, 2013, took a mid-season break before Thanksgiving 2013, and returned with new episodes on January 8, 2014.[12]

Nicole Ari Parker was cast in a recurring role as Secretary Justine Allenford. Patrick Heusinger and Jessie Collins were also signed.[13] Supernatural alumnus Jim Beaver was cast as John Franklin Fry, "a hard-ass, whip smart Texas Ranger who allies with Miles."[14] The second season takes place six months after the events of the first season.

The themes and settings of the series change significantly in the second season. The Monroe Republic is no longer the primary enemy, being replaced by the Patriots. Sebastian Monroe becomes an ally (albeit an uneasy one) of the Matheson family, while the Nevilles are largely isolated from this group. The action of the main group of characters is centered on the town of Willoughby, in the nation of Texas. There is still considerable travel from this location (to the Plains Nation, the outpost called New Vegas, and to Mexico) but there is not a single continuing odyssey, as in the first season. The pendants and the Tower are no longer significant, with self-willed nanites becoming the major science-fictional element.

Planned Season 3

According to the show's creator, Eric Kripke, the third season was going to be different from the first two seasons: "It was going to be great. It was gonna be this kind of treasure story where they were going to hear a legend of a very mythic treasure. It wasn't gonna be gold, it was gonna be supplies. It was gonna be this incredible stockpile of supplies. All the good guys and all the bad guys in the show were going to fight for this gold mine of material and supplies. It was going to be fun. It wasn't going to be a war season. It was going to be a treasure hunt season, which would have been fun and mixed up the show in a really interesting way".[7]

Cast and characters

Promotional image showing the main characters of the 1st season

Main characters

Recurring characters

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
120September 17, 2012 (2012-09-17)June 3, 2013 (2013-06-03)
222September 25, 2013 (2013-09-25)May 21, 2014 (2014-05-21)

Production

Executive producer J. J. Abrams told the Los Angeles Times' Hero Complex blog that series creator Eric Kripke:

came to us with an idea that was undeniably good. It was such a great premise for a series that it was just that feeling of the misery that you'd feel if you had a chance to be part of that and didn't take advantage of it. I'm really looking forward to that show. He's so obviously the real deal, and we're just really lucky and honored that he wanted to collaborate with us on it.[16]

The series – described by its creators as a "romantic swashbuckling sci-fi adventure"[17] – debuted in the United States on September 17, 2012.[2] In October 2012, NBC announced it would pick up the series for an additional nine episodes after achieving an average of 9.8 million viewers for the first three episodes.[18] After November 26, 2012, Revolution went on hiatus for a holiday break and to catch up on post-production. Following this, the show resumed broadcast on March 25, 2013 for the remaining episodes of season 1.[19]

The role of Rachel Matheson was originally played by Andrea Roth until she was replaced by Elizabeth Mitchell.[20]

A portion of episode 4 of season 1 was filmed at Freestyle Music Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.[21][22]

Eric Kripke says: "I definitely like to know where it's going. I know what Season 1 is. I have a really solid idea about what Season 2 is, and I'm starting to think about notions for Season 3, knock on wood."

Revolution was renewed for a full 22 episode second season in April 2013.[23]

Production for season two moved to Austin, Texas.[24][25]

Revolution was canceled on May 9, 2014.[26]

Digital comic

In May 2015, DC Comics started releasing a new digital comic book which picks up where the television series left off.[27] Eric Kripke announced the digital comics revival, on April 15, 2015. Between May 4 and June 15, 2015, four separate digital chapters were released fortnightly. Each of the four chapters have a specifically designed cover, all illustrated by DC Comics artist Angel Hernandez.[27]
The four chapters are available here:

  1. Chapter One
  2. Chapter Two
  3. Chapter Three
  4. Chapter Four

Broadcast

Season Timeslot (ET) Episodes First aired Last aired TV season Rank Avg. viewers
(millions)
Date Viewers
(millions)
Date Viewers
(millions)
1 Monday 10:00pm 20 September 17, 2012 (2012-09-17) 11.65[28] June 3, 2013 (2013-06-03) 6.17[29] 2012–13 33 10.53[30]
2 Wednesday 8:00pm 22 September 25, 2013 (2013-09-25) 6.81[31] May 21, 2014 (2014-05-21) 4.13[32] 2013–14 63 6.96[33]

In Canada, the series aired simultaneously with the American broadcast on City.[34] It premiered in Australia on Fox8 in September 2012[35] and re-screened on free-to-air on Nine and Go! from November 2013.[36] It premiered in New Zealand on TV2 on October 16, 2012.[37] The series is being broadcast by DSTV in South Africa and to the rest of Africa via satellite; it is delayed by a week from the USA broadcast. In the United Kingdom, the series started airing on Sky1 from March 29, 2013.[38] The episode "The Plague Dogs" was watched by 1.191 million UK viewers, with an additional 123,000 on +1. The episode "Soul Train" was watched by 1.058 million UK viewers, with an additional 172,000 on +1.

Advance screenings

In the summer of 2012, NBC had a voting campaign on Revolution's Facebook page where visitors could vote for which American city should have an advance screening of the series' pilot in early September.[39] The top-10 markets selected were: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Seattle.[39] New York City's screening was held on September 4 for 1,000 guests; 80 of them seated on stationary bicycles to generate electricity for lighting. The remaining cities' screenings were held on September 6, 2012.[39]

Critical reception

The first season had Metacritic score of 64 out of 100 based on 32 reviews, indicating generally positive reviews.[40] Glen Garvin of The Miami Herald described the show as "big, bold and brassy adventure, a cowboys-and-Indians story for end times".[41] Dorothy Rabinowitz of The Wall Street Journal praised the production quality of the pilot: "If the quality of this one, so irresistible in its vitality and suspense, does fail to hold up, its creators will have delivered, at the least, one remarkably fine hour."[42] Ed Bark observed that the show "has the overall look and feel of a big budget feature, delivers some consistently terrific action scenes".[43] Some have compared the show to Dies the Fire, The Hunger Games, and Lost.[44]

Verne Gay of Newsday, however, gave the premiere a negative review: "There's an almost overwhelming been-there-seen-that feel to the pilot, which doesn't really offer any suggestion of 'well, you haven't seen this.'"[45]

The second season received more positive reviews. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 78% approval rating with an average rating of 7.8/10, based on 9 reviews.[46]

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for Revolution
Year Association Category Nominee Result
2012 People's Choice Awards Favorite New TV Drama Crew Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Television Series, Genre Revolution Nominated
2013 Saturn Awards Best Network Television Series Revolution Won
Best Actor on Television Billy Burke Nominated
Best Actress on Television Tracy Spiridakos Nominated
Best Supporting Actor on Television Giancarlo Esposito Nominated
Emmy Awards Outstanding Visual Effects in a Supporting Role Episode: Pilot Nominated
Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a drama series, miniseries or movie Episode: Nobody's Fault But Mine Won
BMI TV Music Awards Composer Christopher Lennertz Won
TV Guide Awards Favorite New Series Revolution Nominated
2014 Emmy Awards Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a drama series, miniseries or movie Jeff Wolfe Nominated

See also

References

  1. Kondolojy, Amanda (May 9, 2014). "'Revolution', 'Growing Up Fisher', 'Believe', 'Crisis' & 'Community' Canceled by NBC". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Bibel, Sara (June 14, 2012). "NBC Announces Fall 2012 Premiere Dates for 'Grimm', 'Revolution', 'The Voice,' 'Animal Practice' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  3. Andreeva, Nellie (May 7, 2012). "2ND UPDATE: '1600 Penn', 'Animal Practice', 'New Normal', 'Revolution' & 'Save Me' Picked Up To Series At NBC". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  4. "Nbc Picks Up Full Seasons Of Three Acclaimed Freshman Series - ‘Revolution,’ ‘Go On’ And ‘The New Normal’". Nbcumv.com. Retrieved 2013-03-31.
  5. Brian Ford Sullivan. "NBC at TCA: "Deception" and "Revolution" Get Reduced Orders". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  6. Kondolojy, Amanda (April 26, 2013). "'Revolution', 'Chicago Fire', 'Parenthood', 'Law and Order: SVU' and 'Grimm' Renewed by NBC". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Day, Carla (25 October 2014). "'Revolution' Creator Eric Kripke Answers: Will the Story Live On?". BuddyTV. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Revolution about page". NBC. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  9. "Monroe Republic Revolution Map". revolution-show.com. 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  10. Rome, Emily (October 17, 2012). "'Revolution': Check out a map of North America 15 years after the blackout". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  11. Berkshire, Geoff (June 3, 2013). "'Revolution': Billy Burke & Tracy Spiridakos talk Season 2 timeslot change". zap2it.com. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  12. "Revolution | Wednesdays 8/7c". NBC. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  13. Andreeva, Nellie. "Nicole Ari Parker To Recur On ‘Revolution’, Roger Cross Joins FX Pilot ‘The Strain’". Deadline. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  14. Gelman, Vlada (23 August 2013). "Revolution Exclusive: Jim Beaver Books Guest Spot, Reunites With Supernatural Producers". TVLine. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  15. Ausiello, Michael (January 18, 2013). "Revolution Scoop: 24‘s Leslie Hope Lands Multi-Episode Arc as ‘President’". TV Line. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  16. Rome, Emily (November 7, 2011). "‘Revolution’: J.J. Abrams on Eric Kripke’s ‘undeniably good’ pilot". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  17. "Twitter / NBCRevolution: Q6: B) To be specific, I consider". Twitter.com. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  18. Pennington, Gail (2 October 2012). "NBC picks up three new series for full season". St. Louis Post-Dispatch website StlToday.com. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  19. Bibel, Sara (October 31, 2012). "How Will a Four-Month Hiatus Impact 'Revolution' - Poll?". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  20. Goldberg, Lesley (June 30, 2012). "'Revolution's' 'Lost' Reunion: Elizabeth Mitchell Joins J.J. Abrams Drama as Series Regular". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  21. "Freestyle/Hard Rock Amusement Park on NBC’s Revolution". The Coaster Critic. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  22. Bryant, Dawn (3 November 2012). "Myrtle Beach hitting up the small screen". The Sun News. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  23. Ausiello, Michael (April 26, 2013). "NBC Renews 5 Series, Including Parenthood and Law & Order: SVU; What About Parks and Rec?". TV Line. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  24. "Production for SEASON 2 of #Revolution will move to Austin, Texas!". NBC Revolution. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  25. Hidek, Jeff (May 11, 2013). "'Revolution' production leaving Wilmington for Texas". Star News Online. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  26. Hibberd, James (May 9, 2014). "'Revolution' over: NBC cancels apocalyptic drama". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  27. 1 2 Stanhope, Kate (April 15, 2015). "'Revolution' to Be Resurrected Online". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  28. Bibel, Sara (September 18, 2012). "Monday Final Ratings: 'The Voice' Adjusted Up; 'CMA Music Festival' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  29. Kondolojy, Amanda (June 4, 2013). "Monday Final Ratings: 'The Voice' & 'The Goodwin Games' Adjusted Up + No Adjustment for 'Revolution' Finale". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  30. "Complete List Of 2012-13 Season TV Show Viewership: ‘Sunday Night Football’ Tops, Followed By ‘NCIS,’ ‘The Big Bang Theory’ & ‘NCIS: Los Angeles’ - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. May 29, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  31. Kondolojy, Amanda (September 26, 2013). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'The Middle', 'Modern Family' and 'Survivor' Adjusted Up; 'Nashville' & 'CSI' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  32. Kondolojy, Amanda (May 22, 2014). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'Survivor', 'The Middle' & 'Modern Family' Adjusted Up; 'Survivor' Reunion Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  33. Deadline Team, The (May 23, 2014). "Full 2013-14 Series Rankings". Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  34. "Better. Every. Day. Citytv Unveils Strongest Prime-Time Schedule for 2012-13 Season". Newswire.ca. May 29, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  35. Knox, David (August 13, 2012). "FOX8 fast-tracks Revolution & 666 Park Avenue". TV Tonight. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  36. Knox, David (November 16, 2013). "Bumped: Revolution". TV Tonight. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  37. "Revolution". Television New Zealand. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  38. "Revolution on Sky 1". Sky.com. Retrieved 7 March 2013.. In Poland, the series started on nC+ in November 2012.
  39. 1 2 3 Bibel, Sara (August 20, 2012). "NBC Gives Power to the People Via Nationwide Voting Contest on Facebook That Rewards Top 10 Cities With Advance Screening of 'Revolution'". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  40. "Revolution Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  41. Garvin, Glenn. "Medical drama and post-apocalyptic tale". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  42. Rabinowitz, Dorothy. "And Darkness Fell on the World". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  43. Bark, Ed. "Can the futuristic Revolution give NBC a future as well?". Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  44. Stasi, Linda (September 17, 2012). "'Revolution' is 'Lost' meets 'Hunger Games'". New York Post. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  45. Gay, Verne. "'Revolution' review: not so revolutionary". Newsday. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  46. "Revolution: Season 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
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