NBC recently released a trailer for (above) and several clips from the post-apocalyptic Revolution slated for Mondays this fall. The series purportedly follows a group of survivors 15 years after a mysterious EMP-like event permanently takes out all power in the world. NBC puts it this way:
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.
As I've said before, dystopian stories intrigue me. While they tend to be thrilling and compelling in and of themselves, they also reflect something of our current world--in particular, the basic truth that we and the world we live in are deeply and horrifically broken. The stories literally tear us from our cloistered homes and neighborhoods, confront us with the reality of suffering, evil and brokenness and challenge us to examine and deal with the issues that result from it. But in the best of the stories, there is another truth that weaves its way through the darkness: the reality of hope--and that brings God-talk into these open spaces.
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| NBC |
Dystopian stories continue to be popular on both the big and small screen. Of those on television, Revolution has the feel of Jericho (which Netflix is rumored to be considering rebirthing) more than the current Falling Skies, Walking Dead or SyFy's upcoming Defiance, in which the human race is pitted against aliens or zombies in their dystopian post-apocalyptic worlds. Like Jericho, there is no outside force in Revolution's world, only ourselves. In addition, the cause of the world's devastation is not so far-fetched (in Jericho, it was targeted nuclear bombs), which tends to shrink the degrees of separation between our two worlds.
So, it will be interesting to see where this series will go--and if it brings God-talk into open spaces.