This is a series I’ve wanted to do for a while. Some shows do a fair job at portraying “What might happen if…” type scenarios…some fall very short though. The good news is that the more SHTF TV is shown, the more sheep start to think about the possibility of things going wrong, and hopefully, start them in taking personal responsibility.

Today’s topic is the TV series “Revolution“.
From Wikipedia:

Revolution takes place in a post-apocalyptic dystopian future. Fifteen years earlier, an unknown phenomenon disabled all technology dependent on electricity on the planet, ranging from computers and electronics to car engines, jet engines, and batteries. People were forced to adapt to a world without functioning technology. Due to the collapse of government and public order, many areas are ruled by warlords and militias.

Opening 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.”

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I like the premise, though I find it pretty far-fetched that something can basically stop the laws of physics concerning how electricity works. But then today’s science fiction is tomorrow’s common appliance. So, until they explain it, we’ll have to take it on faith that it happened. Let’s move along.

The main character, Charlotte “Charlie” Matheson, while cute, is an idiot. She has grown up in this scenario. She KNOWS what can and cannot be done, yet she consistently makes  choices that seem to be based on “the writers won’t kill me off”. Natural Selection would have weeded her out rather quickly, I’d say.

Another problem I have is that all guns are outlawed, and only the militia has them. This could have come about one of two ways – all guns were handed over peacefully, or no private citizen owned guns. Neither is realistic in this country.

A militia doesn’t just pop up, all organized and able to sweep through an area with enough force to take everything they want. It would start small (two military buddies walking along a road?) and grow as it evolved. But so would resistance.

And let’s face it, most people who own guns…own them to use them.

Let’s play a little game. Pick a quiet, mild-mannered adult from your childhood, one with kids of their own. Now take away their food, their shelter, and their security. Threatened their spouse and their children. Then put a gun in their hands. How would they react when pushed from that point? How would YOU respond?

Right. Like Charlton Heston repeated, “From my cold dead hands…”.

Another issues is the fact that almost everyone not in the militia is portrayed as weak. If there were 15 years of savagery like they’ve said, then the weak would be dead, and the strong would have survived. Again, natural selection would have made the remaining people MUCH stronger. And less likely to be cowed under by a militia. Or to give up their guns. Yes, I am repeating myself.

As to the militia, with no means of communications other than pony express, running a sizeable organization would be highly problematic. In our early days, the United States was able to accomplish it since most of us were FOR the controlling government. A high-handed, oppressive government that was remotely located would be almost impossible to stay in control. Notice they mention the resistance lightly in a recent episode. You saw what a group of high school kids could do in Red Dawn, didn’t you?

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On the bright side, the characters are mostly well thought out. The story line is intriguing and entertaining. There are some great knife and sword fights, and some sweet crossbows, both due to the lack of guns. I’m just hoping that the producer, J. J. Abrams doesn’t take this out past believability like I feel happened with Lost. This show has some potential…

Overall, I find it worth watching, at least when compared to the rest of the crap on TV. That’s assuming I don’t have something more pressing to do, like write for my blog, read a book, sharpen a knife…or clean a gun. While taking a break from reality is a good thing from time to time, no TV show is worth missing out on doing what needs to be done to be ready.

You know, just in case…

Peace,
db

Worth watching. And listen to what he says…