Revolution
Introduction
“We lived in an electric world. We relied on it for everything. And then the power went out. Everything
stopped working. We weren't prepared. Fear and confusion led to panic. The lucky ones made it out of
the cities. The government collapsed. Militias took over, controlling the food supply and stockpiling
weapons. We still don't know why the power went out. But we're hopeful someone will come and light the
way.”
This was the premise of Revolution, a post-apocalyptic Sc-Fi TV series. It takes place in the USA 15
years after the start of a worldwide, permanent electrical blackout. The show was produced by J.J.
Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and the pilot episode was directed by film director Jon Favreau
(director of Iron Man).
The show makes extensive use of flashbacks to flesh out the story (in a similar way to Lost), focusing
on the pre-blackout and early blackout lives of the characters, and also the causes of the blackout.
Sadly NBC decided to cancel the show at the end of season two, however if you didn’t catch it (it aired
on Sky 1 in the UK) it’s worth keeping an eye out for when it inevitably resurfaces somewhere (Netflix,
SyFy or in an HMV sale!) Therefore I have kept spoilers to a minimum in this article, although there
are a few hints as to how the story develops…
The Plot
The series is set in a post-apocalyptic near-future of the year 2027. Fifteen years ago, in the year 2012
all of the electricity on Earth was permanently disabled. Everything from computers and electronics to
car and jet engines suddenly stopped working. Trains and cars died where they were, ships went dead
in the water, and aircraft fell from the sky. This event came to be known by everybody in this new
world as "The Blackout". Over the next fifteen years, people have adapted to a world without
electricity and due to the collapse of government and public order, several areas are ruled by militias
and their generals.
At the start of the series North America is divided into six "Republics" (parts of Canada and Mexico
became part of the contiguous United States): the Monroe Republic, the Georgia Federation, the Plains
Nation, Texas, the California Commonwealth, and the Wasteland.
The show is centered on the surviving Matheson family: Ben Matheson and his two children: daughter
Charlie and son Danny, who now live in a village near to what used to be Chicago. Ben possesses a