TV Review: "Revolution"

I don't usually review TV shows until I've seen at least two episodes but the pilot episode of J.J. Abrams' new NBC show "Revolution" has proven to be the exception to my rule.

The premise starts in the contemporary world. Two young children are watching 'Bugs Bunny' cartoons while their mother ("Lost" and "V" alum Elizabeth Mitchell) is on her iPhone with her own mother when her husband Ben (ubiquitous guest star Tim Guinee) rushes in and tells her to fill the sinks and tubs. "It's happening, isn't it?" she asks. Ben calls his brother while downloading a file onto a flash drive. Brother Miles (Billy Burke - most recently seen on "The Closer" and "Rizzoli and Isles") is in the car with a buddy when he gets the call. Soon, reception is lost; lights and engines are failing and planes are falling from the sky.

Flash forward 15 years and Ben and family are living in what appears to be an agrarian suburb, growing their own food and raising livestock in a gated cul-de-sac. His now young adult children are adept bowmen and his new companion is the "Village Doctor." When the Militia arrives and demands that  Ben come with them, all hell breaks loose: Ben is shot and his son Danny is taken. Before he dies, Ben implores his daughter Charlie to seek out Uncle Miles in Chicago, while entrusting the flash drive with best friend, Aaron (Zak Orth). 

What follows is a trek through an overgrown Illinois (complete with a vine-infested Wrigley Field) and some excellent swordplay as impetuous daughter Charlie seeks out her uncle while brother Danny escapes the militia to find solace with the mysterious Grace (Maria Howell) who possesses an amulet exactly like the one in which Guinee hid the flash drive, and which apparently provides electricity to both a lamp and a computer which she uses to communicate with an unknown entity,

There's tons more that I haven't covered here, but I must admit that I am very intrigued to find out what is going to happen next. Why did the electricity go out? What's on that flash drive? Why does Grace have power (limited as it may be)? How did Miles' drinking buddy gain control of the local militia and why does he want to capture Miles? Who is the mysterious Nate and why does he help Charlie in a fight against one of his own? 

Much like the massively popular "Lost," Abrams and company ask questions to which we may or may not find the answers. Directed by Iron Man's Jon Favreau, the pilot for "Revolution" set up a series of puzzles that may well prove as intriguing as those in "Lost." I hope they don't lose the momentum they set in motion with the pilot. I just know that I'll be tuning in to see where it goes.

Of course, Uncle P and his sister share a mild obsession for abandoned amusement parks; theatres; hospitals;  monuments and cities, so the sets and visuals impart a particular resonance with me.

So far, I give "Revolution" ***1/2 (Three and a Half Stars Out of Four). "Revolution" airs Monday nights on NBC. Check your local listings for air times.

More, anon.

Prospero

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TV Review: "Missing"

I See What They Did There...

Ashley Judd stars in ABC's latest thriller. "Missing." She plays former CIA Operative Rebecca Winstone who, after her husband (Sean Bean) is assassinated while on assignment in Austria, leaves the Agency to raise her son Michael. When Michael (Nick Eversman) leaves for Rome to study architecture, he is abducted by persons unknown for reasons unknown and Becca is off to search for him.

Once in Rome, Becca makes contact with former lover Giancarlo (Ocean's Twelve's  Adriano Giannini), who helps her evade both the police and Interpol. She is being tracked by European CIA deputy Dax Miller (Maori hottie Cliff Curtis, most recently seen on TV in "Body of Proof"), who has been instructed to bring her in, no matter what. It is through Miller that we learn that Becca was one of the Agency's best operatives (because her file is so slim).

Known for big-screen thrillers like Kiss the Girls; High Crimes and Double Jeopardy, Judd has transitioned nicely into the "Mom" role, while maintaining her tough-girl attitude. The last time I saw her, she was in the terrible 2006 film adaptation of Tracy Lett's play Bug, unsuccessfully playing against type as a woman who allows herself to get caught up in her lover's madness. She's done a few things since, most recently appearing in the family film A Dolphin's Tale. Judd is also one of the co-producers of "Missing." She's fine her as a desperate and resourceful mother, but doesn't do much to add to her resume of desperate and resourceful characters. And Curtis also seems to simply be playing yet another stock character from his cop resume. 

The best part of "Missing" so far, has been the European locations. It can't be a cheap show to produce, though I fear it may go the way of NBC's world-wide locale CIA show, "Undercovers" (which starred the impossibly gorgeous Boris Kodjoe). Pilot director Steve Shill ("Dexter") may have an eye for locations, but the fight scenes in the "Missing" pilot (particularly the one on the train) are a muddied mess, shot in low light and filled with multiple jump cuts that leave viewers wondering just what the heck is happening.

I'll probably keep watching, if only to figure out why Michael has apparently been targeted since he was 8 and to see some gorgeous footage of Europe's most beautiful cities, if for no other reasons. I can't say that the first episode got me intrigued enough to fully invest my time in yet another TV series, unlike the pilot episode of "The Walking Dead," which immediately got me hooked. As a mid-season replacement series, it's not bad. But it's not particularly good, either. ** (Two Stars Out of Four).

More, anon.
Prospero

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