The Revolution Will Be Televised

Tonight was the debut of the new series Revolution on NBC. 15 years after a global disaster that terminates all power and renders all electronics useless, a family struggles to survive... and perhaps expose the cause of the blackout.

This is another "high concept" show, of the sort that pops up every fall trying to be "the next Lost." This one is even executive produced by J.J. Abrams and his company, Bad Robot. But that's not what really drew my attention. Instead, I felt compelled to check out the series because it was created by Eric Kripke, the creator of Supernatural.

Supernatural is still going strong over on the CW, and is about to begin its eighth season. It came on the scene arguably trying to be "the next X-Files," and debuted in the same year as a host of one-season-and-out sci-fi dramas including Invasion, Threshold, and Surface. I remember being excited at the concepts of many of those shows, and thoroughly disappointed in the results. At the same time, I remember not being very enthusiastic about the potential of Supernatural, but pleasantly surprised at what it turned out to be.

Revolution seems very clearly made of the same DNA, judging from the first episode. The trappings of the plot are important, but not as much as the exploration of an unusual family dynamic in extraordinary circumstances. The stakes are apocalyptic. And the characters are serious fighters that can kick some ass, promising some impressive action every week.

Supernatural wasn't exceptional right out of the gate, but it was intriguing, and grew to be great by the end of the first season. Maybe Revolution shares that bit of DNA too, because I wasn't amazed by this first episode. But I sure saw a lot of promise in what was there. If Revolution can grow on the same arc (and have the luxury of enough episodes), I think it really could be something.

Among the things I liked best about the pilot: Giancarlo Esposito, who brings shades of his intimidating heavy from Breaking Bad, but with a light undercurrent too that already is starting to carve out different territory for the character; Billy Burke, who sold badass every bit as well as the Wincesters on Supernatural; and the solid and fast-paced direction from Jon Favreau (though we probably can't count on him to set aside his film career much in the future to keep directing more episodes).

We'll see if the show can grow into its potential... and survive the cutthroat network TV landscape long enough to get there.