Watch the full pilot for JJ Abrams’ Revolution online now

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

With the fall season beginning to air new episodes this week, the networks are trotting out certain premieres online to try and lure viewers. It worked last year for NBC’s SMASH but not so well for AWAKE. You run a big risk putting a full episode online, but it could also pay off huge if your show is good.

REVOLUTION has the pedigree associated with JJ Abrams but with a couple of flops under his belt, that may not be enough anymore. Maybe having a pilot directed by IRON MAN’s Jon Favreau may do the trick.

Plot: Our entire way of life depends on electricity. So what would happen if it just stopped working? Well, one day, like a switch turned off, the world is suddenly thrust back into the dark ages. Planes fall from the sky, hospitals shut down, and communication is impossible. And without any modern technology, who can tell us why? Now, 15 years later, life is back to what it once was long before the industrial revolution: families living in quiet cul-de-sacs, and when the sun goes down, the lanterns and candles are lit. Life is slower and sweeter. Or is it? On the fringes of small farming communities, danger lurks. And a young woman’s life is dramatically changed when a local militia arrives and kills her father, who mysteriously – and unbeknownst to her – had something to do with the blackout. This brutal encounter sets her and two unlikely companions off on a daring coming-of-age journey to find answers about the past in the hopes of reclaiming the future.

I watched the pilot and it reminds me quite a bit of TERRA NOVA. The show does not seem to be utilizing its budget in the right places. This show has a lot more money than any show on AMC and yet still looks pretty cheap. The acting is not nearly as good as it should be. I am going to give it a shot beyond this pilot, but if they have not worked out the kinks in the show by episode 3, I am out. I mean, you cannot give a girl a bow and arrow and expect fans of THE HUNGER GAMES to tune in.

REVOLUTION stars BREAKING BAD’s Giancarlo Esposito, LOST’s Elizabeth Mitchell, and TWILIGHT’s Billy Burke. It premieres on September 17th.