Plot: What’s it about?
Power. Who needs it? Well…how about everyone. In this day and age, essentially every aspect of our daily lives revolves around power in some way, shape or form. But what if it went out for good? No television, internet, radio and even batteries wouldn’t work? No way to cook food, keep things cool and life as we knew it would irrevocably change (for the worse, I’m guessing). Now this isn’t that far fetched as this was how life was a couple hundred years ago (before electricity was discovered). So is it really that big of a deal that we go back to the way things used to be? Well, the creators of the show thought so and so do I. The world is a different place now than it was then and with nearly everything that we own relying, in some way, on power, I think things would pretty much go to hell in a matter of days. The question that Revolution begs is…what happens when the power goes off? Indeed.
The first season of Revolution focuses on a select group of “survivors”, some are trying to maintain a low profile and others are leaders of a new militant regime that’s seeking to take over the world. We meet Miles Matheson (Billy Burke, best-known for playing Bella’s father in the Twilight films) and Sebastian Monroe (David Lyons), two former Marine Sergeants that, fifteen years later, are the leaders of the Monroe Republic – one of five factions that now occupies the United States. Miles, the co-leader, is now living in Chicago having fled after a former attempt on Monroe’s life. We then meet the survivors: Aaron Pittman (Zak Orth), a former executive at Google, Rachel Matheson (Elizabeth Mitchell), Miles’ sister-in-law, Charlie Matheson (Tracy Spiridakos) and Tom (Giancarlo Espisito), an officer in the Monroe Republic whose loyalty is always in question. Throughout the course of the season we follow this group as they avoid both bullets and swords, and try to figure out what can turn the power back on. It should be noted that the series takes place around 15 years in the future, and like Lost, we learn a lot more about the characters via some flashback sequences.
I sat down and watched Revolution as, well, there wasn’t a lot else on that night and rather liked what I saw. The show will be back for a second season and after having finished the first, I’m excited to see what they come up with. The same creative team that was a part of Lost and Supernatural is pulling the strings here, and that’s a good thing. When J.J. Abrams lends his name to a project, it’s done well in the past. While the show isn’t the most thought-provoking out there, it is entertaining. Granted, like a “Day” of 24, it seems that our heroes are always getting saved at the last minutes and seem to have an uncanny ability to avoid bullets as they whiz by, but the show needs stars, right? While it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, for me it’s entertaining and that’s about all I want out of a movie and/or television show.
Video: How’s it look?
The season is presented just as it aired on television showcasing a near perfect 1.78:1 AVC HD transfer. The episodes look pretty darn good, with detail taking front and center – we can see the facial hair on the male stars, the scrapes, scratches and bruises that seem to pop up after another battle and the CGI imagery of some of the landmarks makes it look super realistic. Being a new to Blu-ray television show, there’s no evidence of artifacting, black levels and contrast work well off one another and there’s nary an error that I could find. Having watched the episodes as they aired on television, I can say that this Blu-ray/DVD set looks as good, if not a little bit better than the HDTV broadcast. Fans will not be disappointed.
Audio: How’s it sound?
Showcasing a DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack, Revolution has some scenes that would rival some of Hollywood’s top feature films. There’s a plethora of bass, the surrounds are ever so active (especially during the battle scenes), adding some depth to these scenes. Dialogue and vocals sound rich and crisp, we get to hear Billy Burke’s voice as he lowers it a few notches and speaks with a grizzled tone. The clanging of swords clashes nicely with the high-pitched fire of a gun during some sequences. In short, this is a nice-sounding mix.
Supplements: What are the extras?
It might be said that buying this on Blu-ray and getting a DVD of the show to boot is an extra in itself. But there are some more traditional extras to be found on the discs as well. Additionally, UltraViolet copies of the season are also included. Here’s what to expect:
- “An In-Depth Look at the Revolution Pilot” – This features Producer Jon Faverau and Erik Kripke as they watch the pilot episode. It’s more of a “visual commentary” as they comment on some of the visual effects, the cast and crew and the general theme of the show. It’s pretty interesting to watch them react to what’s happening on screen. Though this feature isn’t “real time” (the show lasts 45 minutes while the feature is only 15″) it’s still nice to have.
- “Revolution Cast and Creative Team at 2013 PaleyFest” – A good majority of the cast and crew were at PaleyFest along with series Producers and creators J.J. Abrams, Jon Faverau and Erik Kripke. They were accompanied by some of the major cast members as well and we see the Q & A session as it played out.
- “Creating a Revolution” – We get some coverage with the technical members of the show as they show us what it was like to create a world in which roads weren’t used, monuments were destroyed and nature had started to reclaim the world in which we lived.
- “Webisodes” – Five online animated webisodes (all can be found online as well) are included.
- “Deleted Scenes” – Selected deleted and extended scenes can be found from a variety of episodes throughout the season.
