JJ Abrams Revolution picked up for broadcast

Posted by CB Droege

NBC has ordered a season of the J.J. Abrams created sci-fi drama.

The post-apocalyptic serial is being produced by Abrams (who everyone knows by now as the creator of LOST, and Star Trek’s new head honcho) and written by Erik Kripke (the creator and lead writer for Supernatural). The pilot was directed by Jon Favreau, who also directed the first Iron Man and the more recent Cowboys vs. Aliens.

That is quite the geek triumvirate. With this much genre talent the show’s got to be good, even if the concept is a bit silly. 

In Revolution, a mysterious event (of course) has caused "all forms of energy" on earth to cease functioning.

Obviously, the basic concept needs a lot of clarification to make any sense, for if all forms of energy really stopped, people and plants would die right alongside the machines.

There would also be no more fire to keep warm at night, and sunlight wouldn’t warm our skin. Pretty much everything that goes on around us in the world is a form of ‘energy’, so it can’t be that simple.

So what the premise probably means in the context of the Revolution is that all technology from the Renaissance and beyond has basically stopped working. Of course, there isn't a (known) category of energy cessation that could cause this to happen, so Revolution's explanation likely won't be all that plausible.

Looking past this huge hole, however, the show should be fun. I have a soft-spot for any dystopian tales, especially post-apocalyptic ones, so I know I’ll be checking it out at least. The only further information we have is a cast list (Billy Burke, David Lyons, Giancarlo Esposito, Tracy Spiradakos, Graham Rogers, Anna Lise Phillips, Tim Guinee, Andrea Roth, JD Pardo and Zak Orth) which has few names we recognize.

It’s a good look at the flavor of the show which has a sort of ‘Firefly in a Victorian library’ vibe with enough cast members to make it as twisted and complex as LOST. Considering our showrunners, this is not a surprise. Interestingly, there appear to be some lights on in the background, so maybe the set they're standing on is not in-character? Or perhaps the description we have of the plot is old and wrong? I guess we’ll just have to see, as there are no further official details.

Revolution will begin this fall on NBC, though an official timeslot has yet to be announced.