It's April, and I'm watching...

It's impossible to review everything I watch on a daily basis these days, so here are my broad thoughts on the TV shows I'm still watching every week, have started queueing on my TiVo, or have sadly dropped from regular viewing, as of 2 April...

It's March, so I'm watching...

It's impossible finding time to review everything I watch on a daily basis, so here are my broad thoughts on the TV shows I'm watching every week, started queueing on my TiVo, or have dropped from viewing, as of 3 March...

MSN TV: Sky1's REVOLUTION

Today over at MSN TV: I've reviewed the double-bill premiere of Sky1's new US sci-fi import REVOLUTION, which concerns a near-future society living without electricity. (Long-time readers of DMD perhaps don't need to click through, as this is an amalgamation of reviews written during its US airings.)

Whenever a TV show (invariably American) arrives with an attention-grabbing high concept, there's a feeling it won't be able to ration its story over the desired five years or more. Revolution, airing on NBC in the US and Sky1 here in the UK, follows in the footsteps of 'big idea' shows like FlashForward and The Event. Its premise easily sustains a cinematic-like TV pilot (here directed by Iron Man's Jon Favreau), but it leaves you uncertain as to whether there's enough material for multiple seasons on telly. Revolution's pilot hit the ground running, as Ben Matheson (Tim Guinee) and his wife Rachel (Lost's Elizabeth Mitchell) comfort their young daughter as the world's power turns off. City lights wink out, radio and television stop broadcasting, batteries become useless (huh?), planes fall from the sky, and vehicles coast to a standstill.

Continue reading at MSN TV...

REVOLUTION, 1.6 – 'Sex & Drugs'

written by David Rambo / directed by Steve Boyum

The worst episode of Revolution yet, by some distance, "Sex & Drugs" provided too much of its biggest problem: co-lead Tracy Spiridakos; an atrocious actress who should be headlining an Asylum "mockbuster", whose agent has somehow landed her a plum role on a big network drama. I have no explanation for her casting, because every expression Spiridakos attempts screams "I CAN'T ACT" down the camera lens.

REVOLUTION, 1.5 – 'Soul Train'

written by Paul Grellong / directed by Jon Cassar

Another decent episode of Revolution—which has become this TV season's nicest surprise. That said, the writing was noticeably blunter in many ways; particularly the pre-blackout flashbacks to Neville (Giancarlo Esposito), where it was revealed he was once a mild-mannered salesman with a noisy teenage neighbour problem. I appreciate the idea that this post-apocalypse has changed people—or allowed them to indulge dark impulses or chase power—but the script was a bit heavy-handed with Neville's back-story; So the quiet family man, who took out his daily frustrations on a punch bag, only became a bad-ass when a neighbour was caught looting his home and almost beat him to death in front of his wife (24's Kim Raver) and son (J.D Pardo)? Okay, I guess. Esposito made it work because he's a fine actor, but it just felt too predictable to me. Better was the climax's surprise, where Neville's comrade Nate was revealed to be his grown-up son Jason from the episode's flashbacks—which, I'll be honest, I didn't see coming. But even if you did realise this, you can't disagree that's a great way to bring Nate/Jason closer to the drama.

REVOLUTION, 1.4 – 'The Plague Dogs'

written by Anne Cofell Saunders / directed by Felix Alcala

I know what you're thinking: Revolution should be on weekly rotation seeing as I've reviewed every episode that's aired so far. I must admit, I wasn't planning to cover this show beyond its average pilot, but it's doing a good job making me overlook the conceptual flaws and focus on character and story. "The Plague Dogs" was another strong episode that, while overloading and underlining far too much, wasn't boring for a second and contained some memorable moments. NBC have given Revolution a full season order, in the wake of consistently good ratings on Monday nights... and I can see myself sticking with it for awhile, too.

REVOLUTION, 1.3 - 'No Quarter'

written by Monica Owusu-Breen / directed by Sanford Bookstaver

I'm the first to admit people don't give television shows enough of a chance these days. There was a time when I routinely didn't expect many shows to get good until their second seasons, and was prepared to watch them try and find themselves until everything clicked. (The modern Star Trek's routinely never got good until season 3 or 4!) These days, viewers make snap judgements based on pilots (which are largely just a marketing tool to get a show off the ground), and bloggers like myself have to be selective about what they review because you simply can't cover everything. Revolution struck me as another show with a Big Idea that will get progressively harder to sustain, so I was prepared to stop writing about it after episode 2. The reason I'm now blogging about the third episode, "No Quarter", is simply because it feels right to show positivity when something deserves it.

REVOLUTION, 1.2 – 'Chained Heat'

written by Eric Kripke / directed by Charles Beeson

I'm probably not going to review Revolution weekly, but thought I'd offer some brief thoughts on its second episode. Post-apocalypses are very hard to do on television, and not just for monetary reasons associated with bringing that kind of world to life. Unless the survivors are complex and interesting people, they just don't work. It helps if there's an on-going threat to them (like the zombies in The Walking Dead), but I'm not sure if Revolution's militia is enough—despite the fact Giancarlo Esposita's doing a good job as the show's primary villain. Beyond that there's the problem that the high-concept (someone switched the entire planet's electricity off and it won't restart) will start to bore the audience, once the intrigue has worn off. Deep down, everyone knows the writers are very unlikely to bring the power back until late in the show's run, so immediately it feels like the story is working towards a goal that will keep being moved back indefinitely. In some ways, it might actually be a good thing if Revolution's ratings drop this season, because there's chance the writers will be forced to answer questions for the finale in 11 weeks' time.

REVOLUTION: did you pull the plug?

NBC's big sci-fi drama Revolution aired last night in the US, and I reviewed the pilot last week. But what did you make of it? Did the concept grab your interest and leave you desperate for more, or are you pretty sure NBC will pull the plug sooner rather than later? The next Lost, or should it just get lost? Over to you!

NBC's REVOLUTION preview

Below is a review of NBC's upcoming Revolution, which contains a few tiny spoilers and allusions to events some readers may prefer to avoid. It's certainly nothing that will ruin the story, or anything that wasn't given away in the show's teasers/trailers, but this is fair warning.

Whenever a TV show comes shackled to a "high concept" idea, there's a chance it won't be able to tease out its story over a potential five years or more. NBC's Revolution follows in the footsteps of ABC's FlashForward, in having a a premise that nimbly sustains a workmanlike pilot (directed by Iron Man's Jon Favreau), but which leaves you uncertain its Big Idea will sustain itself for more than a season.