J.J. Abrams to start a Revolution?
Just when you thought J.J. Abrams was working on so many projects he'd need a time machine to complete them all, Entertainment Weekly reports that the intrepid producer/director/writer of all things sci-fi has just sold a pilot to NBC entitled Revolution. The more detailed of the series' loglines read as such: "In this epic adventure thriller, a family struggles to reunite in a post-apocalyptic American landscape: a world of empty cities, local militias and heroic freedom fighters, where every single piece of technology — computers, planes, cars, phones, even lights — has mysteriously blacked out … forever.” Now, I don't know about you, but I think that sounds pretty intriguing.
The two major caveats that prevent me from getting too excited for this show are that A. the market for sci-fi shows, apocalyptic shows, and sci-fi/apocalyptic shows is quite packed right now, and B. for every serialized sci-fi drama to hit it big, there are 10 more that flop spectacularly and are forgotten by the following season. The major factor here is Abrams. Ever since the Lost train took off in 2004, just about every thing J.J. has touched has turned to gold. Which is precisely what NBC has to be banking on here. They're in a distant last place in the big four network race, and have been desperately throwing dismal fare like Whitney, The Playboy Club, and Free Agents at the wall and watching hopelessly as none of them stick with either critics or audiences. A new high profile J.J. Abrams production could be the spark that finally starts to get them back on track.
Before I go, I have one question pertaining to the plot synopsis that I think some of you guys may share. What about solar power? Not that most people have it, but you'd think it would still operate. Unless the sun is gone too. If that's the case, the series may end up being short seeing as life on Earth wouldn't survive long. Anyway, it's just a musing I thought I'd pass along. So what do you think? Will you participate in this Revolution?
Anamon
So, basically, Falling Skies again. I honestly can't see the intrigue, to me it sounds like a completely generic outline. It's what Hollywood has done for the past 30 years straight, which is probably why he was able to sell it.
To be honest I'm not a big fan of J.J. Abrams' work. I had some fun with Alias, and I somewhat like Person of Interest as a mindless, oldschool action thingie. I absolutely disliked Fringe (although I was probably a bit put off also by its low budget), and I fear that Abrams' influence on Lost was felt most where I stopped liking it (its final 1-2 seasons). What I associate with Abrams' series is what people call "typically Hollywood" in a condescending way -- shallow, stereotypical characters, predictable plots and a complete disregard for real-world logic and physics. There's shows where this doesn't bother me (again, Alias or Person of Interest), but most of the time it does.
What this one-sentence plot outline of Revolution tells me is Falling Skies or Terra Nova. The former was at least somewhat suspenseful, so I ended up watching it, but the latter was so hackneyed that I didn't last through the pilot. So I'm twofold and threefold more skeptical of Revolution.
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