Revolution

:

Season 1
  • Network: NBC
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 17, 2012
Season #: 2, 1
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 369 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 178 out of 369
  2. Mixed: 87 out of 369
  3. Negative: 104 out of 369
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  1. TheBritishVault
    Apr 24, 2013
    8
    One of the most gripping American TV shows in Britain. But I really struggle with the characters, due to the shifts in different character plots. But overall the show is brilliant. Definitely worth watching.
  2. jake38
    Oct 6, 2013
    3
    one of the stupidest shows on TV right now. first off the acting is absolutely horrible and most of the characters are extremely annoying. second the concept is retarded for a tv show and its obvious these people had no idea what they were doing.
  3. Aaron--
    Oct 3, 2013
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Miles gets taken and tied up by Monroe gets taken and tied up by Both escape and kill (number of their captors). Fill in the blanks, and you've got any given episode of Revolution.… Expand
  4. daneyuleb
    Jun 6, 2013
    8
    Keep watching--it gets much better.

    The first half of the season for this initially promising-sounding series was, in a word, terrible. It basically had two modes--maudlin or implausible. I almost gave up on it many times, but there were hints of something lurking under all the melodrama and triteness that kept me hanging on, hoping. Then... after the mid-season hiatus, it finally    Keep watching--it gets much better.

    The first half of the season for this initially promising-sounding series was, in a word, terrible. It basically had two modes--maudlin or implausible. I almost gave up on it many times, but there were hints of something lurking under all the melodrama and triteness that kept me hanging on, hoping.

    Then... after the mid-season hiatus, it finally started to get its legs. It took a while--they had to kill off some characters, retool the story arc, start to concentrate on the more interesting elements while reducing the eye rolling silliness (not all gone yet, sadly, but getting there).

    With the last 5 or 6 episodes its started to realize some of its potential. It's been pared down to a very violent, action packed dystopian science fiction drama that, yeah, still can't quite get past relying on silly things to move the plot along. But the bones are there--an America carved into warring territories using 19th century tech, mysterious nano-bots, rail guns, power pendents, secret military bases. And happily, a finale that implies they're switching things up--alliances have shifted, goals have changed, and a nice WTF moment at the tail end. It should be very interesting to see where it goes.

    I'm glad I held on.

    PS Neville's comment to Monroe about me fall off my chair. I took that as a sign the writers are having fun and getting comfortable with the characters and material. I'm hopeful that means things will only get better.    … Expand
  5. liquefry
    Jul 13, 2013
    2
    Poor execution of an interesting premise. I love sci-fi and dystopia, so thought this one would be a safe bet. The show starts with some promise, but wooden acting, awful dialog and increasingly unbelievable characterisation and plot lines make this one to miss.
  6. Zero-Kelvin
    Sep 11, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This show had potential and it showed, but the execution of this was horrific. Not to mention some of the acting is just terrible. Tracy Spiridakos, or Charlie is an example of the acting going downhill. The most notable scene where her acting tanks is in the trailers where she asks Billy Burke, Miles, to help her look for her brother. Because her acting acts when it matters the most, I don't really believe the stuff they are trying to achieve.

    Beware of spoilers from here on in.
    Now, I can personally forgive terrible acting if the story is good. But, unfortunately, the story is a mess. The concept was full of potential than it got stabbed 37 times in the chest and left to die in the forest. Fifteen years before the official arc of the story, an even called the blackout happened, electricity seem to disappear as soon as a current is formed. For some unexplained reason, the United States fell from this even though they have enough men to send orders by horse-back to their military bases, but if the government didn't fall, we won't have this series. And so, a hand full of nations rose to power, one of them is the Monroe Republic.

    Here is plot hole number one: why does Charlie NOT know Miles was the general of the militia?! Here is the convenience to help explain that away: her village was isolated so she never really heard much of the militia or the Republic. I swear, these conveniences ruin the series for me as the writers couldn't write their way out of a giant paper bag.

    It seems the fate of every person in this series is determined by the writing gods. It seems every time the main characters are faced with a life or death fire fight, they seem to kill everyone and leave without a scratch. The only time they die or get injured is when the script calls for it or a sad attempt to make it believable. "Oh look, they haven't been injured in a while, we better hit them with a bullet now." The best example with this is the attempted assassination of President Monroe, Jeremy doesn't get hit, but the four men surrounding him does. This is to move the plot along, with failed attempts at emotion.

    Not only the father-daughter relationship between Miles and Charlie is unbelievable because of the acting on Tracy's side, it is also because of the lack of character development. Relationships pop out of the writer's asses. Jason and Charlie met in one of the first episodes, exchanged a couple of dialog than, he becomes a protective love sick puppy of Charlie. There is no reason for this so called love. There is none and there is no reason for it existing. It seems contrived like every relationship in this series. Miles and Nora, Miles and Rachel, Aaron and his wife, Miles and Monroe. We are always slapped with an underdeveloped situation with a quick sequence of why these relationships exist. Are we suppose to take these to heart, because there was no heart in any of them. Half way through the series I had forgotten who Maggie was. I am sure I'm going to forget Nora when season 2 comes.

    Contrived, convenient situations with no emotional backing. What's next for this nonsensical plot? Yeah, they kill off Danny, eliminating the whole point of the "saving Danny" arc. What they should done is to skip the whole saving Danny thing to begin with as it never mattered to me to begin with. Remember, as the characters are one-dimensional cardboard I didn't care for Danny.

    The whole "mystery" aura of the series actually works against them regarding Miles and Monroe. You are waiting to see what went wrong with their bromance and they possibly never even shown the tipping point yet. From what I can tell, this is another convenient point in the story as Miles never talked to Monroe about his troubles about him. Once he sensed Monroe was going too far, he just decides he wants to kill him. If you care for someone that much, especially when you're guilty of some of those atrocities yourself, can't you just talk it over?

    The thing with Randall Flynn, omg. He was working with the USA all along and was planning to destroy both Monroe and Georgia to make way for the government to come back. If all he needed to do was that, WHY ON EARTH DID HE GO TO MONROE IN THE FIRST PLACE? All that he had to do was to go to level 12 and launch the nukes. Than Monroe and Rachel won't have ever have got in. What about the Moe people? Don't worry about them, they can't hit stuff for their life and they let main antagonists go as Flynn CONVENIENTLY sneaks pass them to the launch room.

    Despite it all and more, I want to see what happens next. It is not a good show by any standard but, I'm interested to see what happens next. Like the majorly flawed shows like The Event and Terra Nova, they had good concepts, horrible execution, no emotion, yet the events that unfold are what hooks you. A war between two nations without power, but Monroe has working fighter drones. Not that I care about anything involving the characters, but I want to see what happens.    … Expand
  7. muntingprinsipe
    Oct 17, 2013
    10
    Revolution is a cross-breed of two of my most favorite series: Nikita and The Walking Dead. Screw all those scientific disapprovals others have about the settings. You don't watch Revolution because you care about the science, you watch it because you care about how the fates of the characters will turn out and how they deal their lives in a post-apocalyptic setup.
  8. Ian1
    Oct 17, 2013
    1
    It's difficult to hate this series, but it was so disappointing. I loved the idea, but it just wasn't done justice.

    As has been said before in these reviews, maybe our expectations were too high. I rented the series1 on blue ray and watched all 800+ minutes over 5 days. It sagged seriously In the middle and I almost gave up, then it picked up a bit, so I persevered. It was close    It's difficult to hate this series, but it was so disappointing. I loved the idea, but it just wasn't done justice.

    As has been said before in these reviews, maybe our expectations were too high. I rented the series1 on blue ray and watched all 800+ minutes over 5 days. It sagged seriously In the middle and I almost gave up, then it picked up a bit, so I persevered. It was close though, I almost canned it.

    The most annoying thing was the believeability, the actors don't age, the injuries are either life threatening too easily and they die or they shrug off serious injuries with apparent ease. The middle roaming episodes got very boring band arrives somewhere, walks unprepared into a fortress and defeats the baddies" again and again and again.

    The sets all started to look the same. I started playing the "Oh that was the hospital in the episode three, now it's a lab" game.

    One episode they are trapped in a huge network of underground tunnels and "the lack of oxygen" gives them
    plot flashbacks and physical manifestations...oh puleeez... Very lame, lazy writing.

    One other reviewer mentioned the fact that they overused the family are held hostige to force them to do something. Completely agree. The other was that everyone seems to get tied to a chair in an empty room and punched in the face, there are surely more imaginative ways. Really... Every time?

    The mom has been a prisoner of a psychopath for 7 years and talks about "what you did to me" but looks like she has spent a month at a spa. Also her annoying pout twitch did my head in.

    All in all, its like Fastfood, I was hungry, I ate it, I now regret it... I won't be tuning in to S2 even if Charlie gets her kit off.    … Expand
  9. bailchanis
    Nov 23, 2013
    5
    Despite subpar acting and a little too many plot twists this show is still watchable if you have a good capability of suspending your disbelief. Scenery is really good and the story really goes forward.
  10. 56832442
    Dec 22, 2013
    10
    Great TV series, lots of action and suspense. Love the story line and can't wait to see more. It's a movie for great minds and actors could be prettier but all in all it's an amazing tv series.
  11. mikrasov
    Mar 9, 2014
    8
    Very enjoyable show that combines civi war era tech with a post apocalyptic setting. Great exploration into human dependence on technology and the power it unleashes. Full of witty one liners and rich setting. Took a few episodes for characters to settle in but is currently definitely a show worth watching.
  12. CallOfGaming
    May 2, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I like this show a lot. The electricity going out is a cool thing, but it has some plot holes about its realism. One thing that really sucks in this show is how nails and screws are the answer to every problem. I'll explain: When Danny is captured by militia, he's attached by cuffs to a pipe. How does he escape? The screws are slightly loose, so he only needs to take them off. When Charlie is strapped to a chair that's attached to the floor. How does she escape? The screws are loose, so she just has to wave around a bit until they come off. When Charlie and Danny are inprisoned in a cell? They remove the screws off a ventilation shaft. When Neville is hostage by the Rebels and cuffed? There's a nail so conveniently on the ground.
    These cheesy solutions to trouble leaves frustrated as the writers couldn't find a way to make escapes smarter. But the plot and characters still rock, so a solid 6 should do it.    … Expand
  13. Donnae420
    May 12, 2014
    7
    Really enjoyed the original premise of the show. The characters were interesting and I wanted to see where this was going. It has now degenerated to nothing but fight scene followed by battle scene, followed by further gore. If the show would return to character development and the initial premise, I would stay with it. I don't want to watch a video game! But I don't want to see itReally enjoyed the original premise of the show. The characters were interesting and I wanted to see where this was going. It has now degenerated to nothing but fight scene followed by battle scene, followed by further gore. If the show would return to character development and the initial premise, I would stay with it. I don't want to watch a video game! But I don't want to see it cancelled without RESOLUTION.… Expand
  14. P-F-
    Jun 4, 2014
    3
    The concept is intriguing. The execution is dreadful. Now a lot of folks get hung up on "engines should still work" (gasoline engines need spark plugs to run), but in fact the consistency in this "high concept" area is one of the best parts of the show. Sadly, very little attention was paid to any other details of setting or internal consistency. Worse, Tracy Spiridakos absolutely ruinsThe concept is intriguing. The execution is dreadful. Now a lot of folks get hung up on "engines should still work" (gasoline engines need spark plugs to run), but in fact the consistency in this "high concept" area is one of the best parts of the show. Sadly, very little attention was paid to any other details of setting or internal consistency. Worse, Tracy Spiridakos absolutely ruins every scene she is in. When she's not providing incongrous comic relief with her all-purpose constipated brow furrow, she destroys any vestige of tension or drama with her vapid smirk. I want to scream at her through the screen, You're standing on a landmine seconds away from death! Wipe that smile off your face! What is wrong with you!?!?!… Expand
  15. staffordc16
    Jun 11, 2014
    10
    This is my favorite post-apocalyptic show! In addition, it's the most realistic post-apocalyptic show as well, and aside from that it has characters anyone can relate to played by a great cast!!!
  16. RichiMusha
    Nov 30, 2014
    0
    It's how the poster says, just one of this very bad moron sci-fi s**t like Falling Skies, Terra Nova or Defiance.
    A good example how stupid people think a apocalypse would be.
  17. juniorprofi
    Feb 26, 2015
    2
    Well, JJ Abrams does not **** into gold. But far worse is here: He can make gold into **** On Lost came JJ, towards the end, with blue eye thereof. But -Revolution- begins badly. The idea is good! But here everything fails. Very hectic and superficial and often unreliable. Then there are too many Walnut Grove-Ingalls family-parts (meaning -> is the eternal vale of tears). I hate theseWell, JJ Abrams does not **** into gold. But far worse is here: He can make gold into **** On Lost came JJ, towards the end, with blue eye thereof. But -Revolution- begins badly. The idea is good! But here everything fails. Very hectic and superficial and often unreliable. Then there are too many Walnut Grove-Ingalls family-parts (meaning -> is the eternal vale of tears). I hate these wide-eyed and completely exaggerated facial expressions. Is this so you know, here is cheap feeling to be created where content is missing. The story also loses more and more in depth. And even developed extremely ridiculous, approximately from the 10th episode. This truck was driven extensively against the wall!… Expand
  18. Megan_Orndoff69
    Mar 17, 2015
    2
    The acting, terrible. The story line started good now it's all over the place. The puns, terrible. The script, terrible. The accents, terrible. I'm solely watching this because, it is laugh worthy. Ohh, and try not get confused with the characters because, they all look alike. All the good reviews were totally bought. There's no way anyone is that stupid to miss any of the above issues.
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Awards & Rankings

73
#73 Best TV Season of 2012
6
#6 Most Discussed TV Season of 2012
26
#26 Most Shared TV Season of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
64

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: David Hiltbrand
    Sep 24, 2012
    60
    Revolution had better worry about generating some voltage of its own. The pilot was excellent, but where does it go from here?
    Read full review
  2. People Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tom Gliatto
    Sep 21, 2012
    50
    This is well-produced, but it could just as well be Mission:Colonial. [1 Oct 2012, p.38]
  3. Slate
    Reviewed by: Troy Patterson
    Sep 18, 2012
    40
    On the bright side, no one is in danger of having to watch this inert action show.
    Read full review
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