Revolution

[NormanF]

Just watched last nights episode. Next week someone knows how to run a steam train, so that's cool. Getting a little annoyed that half the show is flashbacks, ala Lost. The story is not too bad except for the central premise about the power. I think they might have been just as well off making this about about some mythical time, like a Lord of the Rings ripoff or something.

 

[groone]

There was lightning during the storm. Thunder is the sound lightning makes. This means there is static electricity. Maybe it isn't the electricity that is blocked but rather the means to control it...ala capacitor's, diodes, etc. Maybe it's a field that disrupts a certain component in electronics like silicate atoms or something to which they are no longer conducive. The field also makes everyone really dumb. And wtf is up with the moms leaving on her own accord only to be put in shackles?

 

[EyeofSauron]

is it just me or are all the characters as sympathetic as rock?

i dont care for any of them, i didnt mind that the doctor woman died. i think the lead actress cant act, the only one that is close to being interesting is miles. he is also the only one i remember the name of after watching 4 episodes.

there were again so many plotholes in this episode.
so the woman is supposed to be a doctor, she immediately knows that the artery is cut, yet she doesnt use a belt or similar to decrease the blood flow? every child knows that.
Also, whiskey to disinfect the needles. meh.

secondly, the guy sets up a booby trap with an arrow aiming for the head. yet she is only bound to the chair with hand and feet. move your head to the side, the arrow misses. no need to try and get the chair to tip. i mean, really. its not rocket science.

what also annoyed me was the comment about all the steam boats etc being dismantled due to the "war"
its not like someone would fight TO save those things, instead of destroying them.

 

[NormanF]

so the woman is supposed to be a doctor, she immediately knows that the artery is cut, yet she doesnt use a belt or similar to decrease the blood flow? every child knows that.
Also, whiskey to disinfect the needles. meh.

At one point she did say the tourniquet was not tight enough. I also wonder if she really died or just passed out. I thought the Google employee (expect him to have to hack something or figure out some unnecessarily complex communication protocol when they get to a working computer) said that they finished the surgery. Which sucks because she is one of the characters I actually like.

 

[Wes R]

Just because you CAN suspend your belief, doesn't you SHOULD have to.

Yes, there are certain movies, where it's expected - movies about monsters, aliens/alien planets, and wizards.

Revolution, doesn't seem to be working on any particular basis. There has been no mention of aliens knocking out the power (ala Falling Skies). No mention of monsters who suck the energy out of everything, or nutjob wizards who are controlling the powergrids. It's supposed to be taking place, in our universe, just a few years in the future.

This show is, bassically "For some reason, some power has stopped, but not all; some chemical reactions work, but not others; and everyone in the world, has become an imbecile, without the slightest bit of knowledge of pre-industrial age mechanics".

Do axes and rivers still work? Make paddlewheels. Does fire still work? Make steam powered devices.

I don't get the whole "bullets are precious" crap, either. Did every single person with the knowledge of gunpowder, just disappear? How about all the books written on making gunpowder? Did libraries just vanish?

Shell casing asre absolutely reusable. There are entire, non-electrical machines, dedicated to the home bullet-loading hobbyist. Get lead, melt it down, pour it into a wooden mold, pack the gunpowder and bullet into the casing, and move on. Lead, obviously isn't hard to come by - somebody is making all those musket balls.

This show is just poorly thought out.

-Fred

If this took place say 100-200 years after things went to hell I could see ammo being precious or if there was some massive hoarding operation but you could go house to house searching for supplies and find ammo in America. I agree it doesn't take a genius to make gunpowder even if not the best quality and there are so many books out there. It would be somethign that people would want to pass down like first aid knowledge.

 

[Kerr Avon]

there were again so many plotholes in this episode.
so the woman is supposed to be a doctor, she immediately knows that the artery is cut, yet she doesnt use a belt or similar to decrease the blood flow? every child knows that.
Also, whiskey to disinfect the needles. meh.

She specifically mentioned the tourniquet they put on her leg wasn't going to be enough. But honestly, I bet she knew she was a dead woman. A tourniquet doesn't fix anything, it just slows blood loss. If the artery is cut, you need a surgery team to fix that. It was a long shot at best for him to sew up the artery, but she knew she was dieing.

Whiskey will absolutely kill germs. They didn't have rubbing alcohol or anything else, so whiskey in a pinch will do.

 

[NormanF]

If this took place say 100-200 years after things went to hell I could see ammo being precious or if there was some massive hoarding operation but you could go house to house searching for supplies and find ammo in America. I agree it doesn't take a genius to make gunpowder even if not the best quality and there are so many books out there. It would be somethign that people would want to pass down like first aid knowledge.

Well, there is black powder and modern "smokeless" powder. Black powder fairly easy to make. Smokeless powder involves nitroglycerin.

 

[The Rock-a-who]

So apparently there is steam technology since the dock worker mentioned all of the steam ships were appropriated by the militia, and next week's episode has a steam train.

So, my guess is steam technology is prohibited and I guess hiding it from random patrols might be too difficult if you're going to have one of any substantial use which is why we just don't see any.

 

[charades]

So apparently there is steam technology since the dock worker mentioned all of the steam ships were appropriated by the militia, and next week's episode has a steam train.

So, my guess is steam technology is prohibited and I guess hiding it from random patrols might be too difficult if you're going to have one of any substantial use which is why we just don't see any.

I took what the dock worker said to mean that the militia appropriated even the 'historical' steam ships you see in most harbors. Those ones that are just for tours, or were made into restaurants, and are not operable for ocean voyage anymore. They'd likely find a way to get them on the water again.

Interesting that we'll see a steam train next week, as it's been all my sister and dad (pair of mechanical engineers) can talk about at home that the last operational steam engine was recently disassembled and placed in a museum. (I'm fuzzy on the details, haven't been paying attention to their conversations, but it's something to that effect) From what I could tell of what they talked about, the engine was taken apart and the locomotive "shell" put on display.

 

[charades]

Just watched last nights episode. Next week someone knows how to run a steam train, so that's cool. Getting a little annoyed that half the show is flashbacks, ala Lost. The story is not too bad except for the central premise about the power. I think they might have been just as well off making this about about some mythical time, like a Lord of the Rings ripoff or something.

As I was saying above, not too far a stretch if one could find a steam engine that was still operable, and had the fuel to run it. My pops used to work on steamships and all the mechanical engineering he studied in university was on steam engines and steam power technology because it was still relevant. I'd bet he'd still remember how to run a steam engine in theory even if the world went to ****. And he's no special snowflake, there are lots of other people out there with the knowledge to just figure it out.

The flashbacks kind of annoy me too. It feels like very choppy storytelling. I feel like I'm being told and not shown, and it's kind of like "well I'm not stupid, I can figure it out without you needing to spell it out for me." For some reason, my sister was surprised that I had correctly guessed Maggie's background by the second episode. I didn't need the show to tell me with a flashback that she was in the States for whatever reason, while her kids were in England, and that she'd been trapped when the power went out with no transportation back to the UK. The scene at the camp with Google-guy where she talks about her kids' pictures on her iPhone and trying and failing to get back to them pretty much gave me the entire backstory. It felt like this last episode with the flashbacks to her kids was just trying to force or ensure an emotional reaction out of the audience. :/

I'm still enjoying the show anyway for now though. It's too new for me to totally write it off.

 

[kibosh]

what also annoyed me was the comment about all the steam boats etc being dismantled due to the "war"
its not like someone would fight TO save those things, instead of destroying them.

Yeah, where did this "war" come from? Who waged it? I can't believe this was the first mention of something that seems like it would have been a big deal. And why would the militia destroy all the tall ships and steam engines? That wouldn't stop another militia from COMING to your land.

Interesting that we'll see a steam train next week, as it's been all my sister and dad (pair of mechanical engineers) can talk about at home that the last operational steam engine was recently disassembled and placed in a museum. (I'm fuzzy on the details, haven't been paying attention to their conversations, but it's something to that effect) From what I could tell of what they talked about, the engine was taken apart and the locomotive "shell" put on display.

That can't be accurate. My good friend has an autistic child who is totally into steam locomotives. They go to see steam engines on the tracks all the time. They're actually almost done refurbishing the 1225 not far from where we live. It's the train the Polar Express was based on. Maybe last one in actual everyday service?

 

[Riceball]

I could see the military forming their own local militias to keep order, but just like any organization without any line of communication it'd be pretty disorganized.

I agree, the military would probably try to from their own local militias or enclaves but only at large bases, I think that people assigned to smaller bases or Reserve centers would either try to link up with nearest major base or simply go their own way. I could also see bases trying to link up with other bases in the state and in neighboring states trying to form larger, state wide militias of sorts and try to impose order in their state. At the same time I could also see Governors trying to organize things and to try to bring in the military units stationed in their state under their control along with state police to try to offer some stability in their state. This would probably be more likely the smaller states, larger states like CA & TX would probably be too large and would probably break up into regional fiefdoms as it were with swaths of no man's lands in between.

I'm curious about one thing, has it been mentioned if there's any indication that this power outage is world wide or even nation wide and not just a localized event across one part of the US?

 

[Riceball]

As I was saying above, not too far a stretch if one could find a steam engine that was still operable, and had the fuel to run it. My pops used to work on steamships and all the mechanical engineering he studied in university was on steam engines and steam power technology because it was still relevant. I'd bet he'd still remember how to run a steam engine in theory even if the world went to ****. And he's no special snowflake, there are lots of other people out there with the knowledge to just figure it out.

I don't think that it would take much for your dad or anyone else with a similar background to figure out how to essentially re-invent steam technology. Reason being is that steam technology never really went away, it just changed forms but the base technology is still around. A lot of our locomotive tech these days isn't really all that much different from the steam engines of old, heck, a nuclear engine on a sub or carrier is nothing more than a steam engine that uses nuclear power to create the steam instead of burning wood or coal. Most other large power plants are pretty much the same, burning oil or coal to spin turbines to generate power.

Another funny thing about this show and its tech, people argue about how there maybe wouldn't be many people smart or knowledgeable enough to how to make gun powder and/or modern cartridges yet they seem to know how to make swords. I'd argue that there are far fewer people out there with the knowledge of how to hand forge a sword than there are people who could figure out gun power and reloading ammo for guns. Also, if they can forge a sword they could certainly make new shell and primer casings new cartridges

 

[Kerr Avon]

I'm curious about one thing, has it been mentioned if there's any indication that this power outage is world wide or even nation wide and not just a localized event across one part of the US?

Definitely covers the entire US. I imagine it'd have to be the world, or I'd think countries would send help or people to investigate. After the first few planes fell out of the sky, they'd figure out the power outage and then use sail or steam or something else. There's no way the world would completely ignore the US after such a bizarre event such as electricity being suppressed.

 

[Wes R]

I agree, the military would probably try to from their own local militias or enclaves but only at large bases, I think that people assigned to smaller bases or Reserve centers would either try to link up with nearest major base or simply go their own way. I could also see bases trying to link up with other bases in the state and in neighboring states trying to form larger, state wide militias of sorts and try to impose order in their state. At the same time I could also see Governors trying to organize things and to try to bring in the military units stationed in their state under their control along with state police to try to offer some stability in their state. This would probably be more likely the smaller states, larger states like CA & TX would probably be too large and would probably break up into regional fiefdoms as it were with swaths of no man's lands in between.

I'm curious about one thing, has it been mentioned if there's any indication that this power outage is world wide or even nation wide and not just a localized event across one part of the US?

i'd expect that old school messengers traveling by horse or bike would eventually come back into fashion at least between some communities.

 

[Kerr Avon]

i'd expect that old school messengers traveling by horse or bike would eventually come back into fashion at least between some communities.

Yeah, but then you get some conman actor who pretends to be the one after he finds an abandoned USPS truck, leads an insurrection and screws Olivia Williams and fights off a militia.

opcorn

 

[Lost21stJedi]

Yeah, but then you get some conman actor who pretends to be the one after he finds an abandoned USPS truck, leads an insurrection and screws Olivia Williams and fights off a militia.

opcorn

If you throw in a famous singer...I might actually watch that :lol

 

[NormanF]

For some reason, my sister was surprised that I had correctly guessed Maggie's background by the second episode.

Yeah, I thought it was pretty obvious too. But it seems like a lot of stuff on tv is now. Last week on Castle I knew where some crucial evidence was hidden ten minutes into the episode.

Sent from my Etch-A-Sketch

 

[Dexter2999]

I think they are missing opportunities to introduce other means of weaponry. I think they need to look up other types of weaponry, traps, snares, and even break out the Anarchists Cookbook.

The sabre fights just feel "one note". There is so much more depth. And there should really be more horses, it's been 15 years with no cars. They've had time to breed them.

As for comments about combustion engines working, well, maybe diesel? Average modern vehicles rely on spark plugs, batteries, and alternators to trigger the "combustion". The lack of electricity would impact these systems even if you bypassed onboard computers.

Overall, I don't see the show lasting more than one season. The acting seems a bit campy in tone. Things also strike me as too clean.

 

[Gigatron]

As for comments about combustion engines working, well, maybe diesel? Average modern vehicles rely on spark plugs, batteries, and alternators to trigger the "combustion".

Most modern diesel engines are designed around the glow plug. You'd have to find a way to make sure that the engine block is airtight, to generate the needed compression. Or build all new blocks.



By and by, I wonder if anyone in Revolutionsville, has tried to make a potato clock - or did potatos stop working, as well?

-Fred