Watch: SDCC Preview For JJ Abrams Mysterious Post-apocalyptic Series ‘Revolution’

This fall Star Trek director/producer (and co-creator of Lost and Fringe) JJ Abrams has another mysterious TV show headed to NBC, Revolution. The new series is set in a post-apocalypse world where all technology has stopped working. A new clip with footage and interview clips (including Abrams and pilot director Jon Favreau) was revealed at Comic Con and is now available from NBC. Watch it below  

 

Previews for JJ Abrams new mysterious post-apocalyptic TV series ‘Revolution’

New SDCC preview of Revolution.

More from executive producer JJ Abrams talking about Revolution.

Previously released extended trailer.

Revolution premieres on Monday September 17 at 10PM on NBC.

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An Abrams show is going to be competing against an Orci and Kurtzman show. LOL. I may record Revolution and watch Hawaii 5-0. Hawaii 5-0 is one of my favorite shows.

The only problem with this (if it could be called a problem) is that the production values look pretty high – if it doesn’t get a massive audience rating, it could just be another Terra Nova.

Still, looks promising!

I don’t know about this. Favreau said there’s a big mystery revealed over the course of the series. I’ve never watched a show that had a “big mystery” revealed at the end that didn’t disappoint me.

Interesting premise. The problem for me is that the cable series are sooo good these days (The Newsroom, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, and so on). They’re free from the constraints of network TV and feel more like original, mini-movies rather than traditional episodic television. Plus: no commercials! I’m sure it’ll be great ’cause it’s JJ but the competition will be stiff (agree with 2: Jeff).

I’ll certainly watch the episodes once it airs.

I’ll certainly be there for the premiere, and then who knows…
Best of luck!

Another high concept Twilight Zone spread thinly across a whole series.

Serling pumped a new one of these out every week. I’m always skeptical of these shows… it works in an anthology, but not long term. TNG had its multiple high concept eps along with a continuing serial narrative.

I want it to succeed. I wanted Jericho to succeed. But I’m not convinced this will last beyond a season.

Is that the Bridge set behind JJ?

#2 I wonder if Revolution fails that could be a test for big budget shows on TV and what that would mean for something like Star Trek on TV?

AJ, maybe its where the new Khan is born? LOL.

#8 I reckon it probably is – the problem with sci-fi is that you really have to have pretty substantial budgets to keep the audiences happy.

Trek has such a vast backstory and cannon that you not only have to pay for the actors, sets, props, vfx and anything else technical, but also the teams of writers, tech-dudes and bods who monitor the forums to make sure they don’t use the same forehead makeup twice in one season.

Huge, already established audiences can prove a hinderence as well as a bonus – just look what happened with Enterprise…….

#10 Makes me wonder if they will just keep Trek for feature films? Unless they can only do a Trek animated series for cheap but have SFX like the Clone Wars?

#11 considering what you can now do with pretty miniscule budgets and SFX, an animated or purely CG series would probably work better than live action; but having said that, If you want to have a look how to re-boot a sci fi series, just watch Battlestar Galactica which set the bar pretty f’ing high.

Wouldn’t surprise me if the studios did go down the route of BSG and do a TV movie pilot and then a series based on the reaction.

#4. Your right. Take Tnt’s Falling Sky’s. Almost like a movie every week with the fx and with a great story.
J.Js show which look’s good may not make it on network T.V. Think back to show’s like The event and Flash forward. great concept with great F.X But network’s and rating’s did not like.

looks interesting. will probably check it out.

i’ve kind of gotten into “falling skies” this summer. it has it’s weaknesses but overall is a good watch.

There was a book…can’t remember the title…but the exact same premise…
I do remember that. in the book, the first month 1/3 of humanity was dead…

Electricity “suddenly stopping working” is so ludicrously stupid, it’s impossible to suspend any reasonable scientific disbelief. I presume JJ doesn’t realize that flowing charge (a/k/a electricity) also causes electrons to orbit nuclei, and that if you “make electricity stop”, then all atoms fall apart? And batteries are no cop-out. Even if you blow out by EMP all capacitors and most electronics, there are plenty of things that still would work just fine: carbon-zinc batteries for example. Revolution is simply put, stupid.

#16 And a warp core is more believeable?

Just because something is stupid doesn’t mean it can’t be entertaining – it’s just how you present the suspension of disbelief……

#15: The book is called ‘Dies the Fire’ by S.M. Stirling. It’s an amazing series. The only thing JJ doesn’t seem to be ripping off is the fact that the laws of physics where changed as well by divine beings for their own “higher reasons.”

I’m in on this show.

I am underwhelmed by Revolution. In addition to what Daoud said in #16, I can sadly say that my initial suspicion (based on the publicity photo on the first thread this series was mentioned in) appears to be correct after I’ve had a chance to watch the trailers for some time now.

10 years after the lights go out and weeds are creeping up the sides of buildings, all the main characters are dressed like they know where the last fully functioning Target store is.

Come on.

They should have their feet wrapped in burlap using tire treads for soles.

This is the second JJ show (after Undercovers) I know of that appears to be telling audiences ‘U R tho thoopid!”

How did our ancestors survive before electricity? They ate cooked food, wore clothes, had blankets etc. Cooking and sewing are things a lot of people don’t do much of at all, but once the sewing machines stop working, hopefully there will be a few people about who are still skilled in the art of handsewing, knitting, crotcheting, weaving, shoe making and who will be able to pass on their skills to others… Time consuming, yes, but it also means that a good many people will still be able to wear something, enjoy a cooked meal, be reasonably warm at night.

Life will be a lot harder than what we are used to now, however a good many of our ancestors survived, otherwise few of us would be here now.

And would not electrical brain signs also die?….yes i know is chemo-elect but still?

@ 21. Keachick – July 16, 2012

Well that’s sort of my point. They might start looking more tribal. Textiles are fairly sophisticated, and people after an electrical failure like the one this scenario presents won’t be producing any new ones for a while. So I’d expect to see characters wearing a mixture of odd clothing. Clothing patched together from found fabrics and items made from animal skins.

They shouldn’t look like they just escaped from a JC Penney catalog photo shoot.

Looks good! Sounds interesting… I will have to tune in and check it out!

16. Daoud & 22. Ados

Ain’t It Cool News has posted a review of the pilot from someone who saw it at SDCC. One of the talk backers pointed out that in the series, even electrochemical reactions don’t work, through the failed demonstration of a potato battery. The talk backer then pointed out that this creates the massive plot hole that everyone should technically be dead.

@ #21- “… hopefully there will be a few people about who are still skilled in the art of handsewing, knitting, crotcheting, weaving, shoe making and who will be able to pass on their skills to others…”

Checked out any Renaissance Faires lately?

REVOLUTION: Rise of the Rennies

;)

25. Thomas

It’s fiction. You can fault with every TV show and movie out there if you nitpick it to death. You are supposed to suspend belief and enjoy it for it’s entertainment value.

I’ll watch the pilot. It’s possible there’s more right than wrong with it. So it’s possible I’ll still like it. I thought Terra Nova was going to suck, and after seeing it I thought it wasn’t that bad.

But I do wish there was more of an effort here to make the premise seem more plausible.

I mean I totally get the “what if” aspect of the show, and it’s artistically valid to mess with the science to explore an idea like this. But I also think it’s a rare case in which you can’t set up a “what if” more plausibly.

I think the rule is that when the context is realism, do not require more suspension of disbelief from your audience than is necessary. If you can write the SAME CORE STORY by a more or less credible route, choose the more credible route.

27…you are right…suspending reality..is wat TV is all about..the fun to watch factor..and who knows in this universe …someone can change physics

I have a slighly plausible explanation for electricity ceasing to function…

“Electricity” clearly still works, (brains, biological functions, etc) but what if electrical conduction in all metals was made impossible? Electrons (or holes) could not move, so there would be no current (ie no electricity). The easiest way to explain this phenomenon was that some “field” suddenly caused all metallic structures to “dimerize” but still maintain interatomic bonds. This would turn all metals into insulators or semiconductors. Either way, most powered devices would shut off.

How about all solder mysteriously turning into jello – or something like that.

dmduncan –

Hear! Hear! It’s always been a huge pet peeve of mine with these post-apocalyptic shows and films that the characters all walk around looking like they’re at anytime ready to stop and pose for a photo shoot. Too clean!

Sure clothes can be washed without electricity but some of those outfits seem to have been ironed. And Giancarlo Esposito’s character’s overcoat’s obviously has been dry cleaned! Maybe this’ll all be explained ‘in-story’ but that sort of thing seriously screws with my suspension of disbelief. And speaks to a lack of creative ‘boldness’ on the part of the production staff. IMHO

I’d like for a show of this type to be a success but, to quote a buddy of mine, “I got a problem with this already.” Prove me wrong. I beg you.

Look, if you just want to explore the question of what we are without our technology, then no scientific explanation is necessary at all.

But when the plot starts concerning itself with why it happened and how to fix it, then you have made a scientific problem for yourself and you have gone astray of the exploratory question.

If you want to do both, then I think it’s best to maintain plausibility as much as possible. At least if you want me as a viewer that’s what you should do. I loved Star Trek as a kid, so I buy what it does. But that doesn’t mean that my credibility charity is going to extend to every series that asks me for some, particularly when it’s a new series and I have no fond memories of it.

TNT picks up Michael Bay’s The Last Ship. Is this going to be Star Trek on Earth’s Oceans?

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tnt-the-last-ship-michael-bay-349617

32. crazydaystrom – July 16, 2012

Really. I can provide suspension of disbelief, and I even expect to. But my suspension of disbelief got torpedoed by how clean the main characters all looked.

Maybe I’m wrong, but it doesn’t seem that hard to me to at least dirty them up a bit. Put patches on the shirts. Tears that have been sewn. Make an EFFORT to make these guys look like they haven’t had any new factory made duds for 15 years. Because that’s what no electricity means.

If I think you are being lazy then as a viewer I am much less likely to give you anything in return. And this looks lazy to me.

Again, I could be wrong. I DO have to see it. But this is what I’m thinking based on what I’ve seen so far. So far it LOOKS rushed. I don’t care if it IS rushed. But try to make it NOT look that way.

@34: Sounds more like a variation of On the Beach. The Star Trek on the seas idea was already done on TV with Seaquest DSV. A show I’ve slowly been watching on Netflix.

#35 dmduncan –

Again – Hear! Hear!

And a – Yea, Brother!

Again with the snap decisions based on a show nobody’s seen.

#38. Jack –
MY opinion is based on what I did see. And I did say maybe it’ll be explained ‘in-story’. I want to be proved wrong about this.

And OMG… they have this movie coming out about a man that can fly!! And they just released one where a teen aged boy was bitten by a genetically engineered spider… and developed super human abilities! I can’t believe they expect us to believe that stuff!!

Say goodbye to toothpaste or dental floss or toilet tissue or soap or razors or shampoo or deodorant or hot showers or Rush Limbaugh.

Man, Favereau and JJ? This really looks good!

I will watch.

Thanks, TM!

38. Jack – July 16, 2012

Totally unfair as I already noted that there could be more that’s right than wrong, and that I still have to see it. But some of it HAS been seen, hence the criticism. Sure, maybe blue-shirt-guy and leather-jacket-girl have a truckload of brand new blue shirts and leather jackets that they are slowly working their way through. Which would not surprise me as the explanation.

And this is not a complaint that they didn’t make it convincing. I’m a charitable and forgiving fellow. This is a complaint that they didn’t try.

Whether the complaint is TRUE or not remains to be seen. But trailers are responsible for enticing you to watch the thing they are promoting. And they can create negative impressions as well as positive ones. And the trailers did nothing to counter the first impression I got from the publicity still when that was posted here.

I will watch the Revolution PILOT because I like the collective work of the people making it (huge fan of BOTH Favreau Iron Man movies here). Not because I think it has must-see qualities.

Also, if I can’t speak my honest opinion, then I’m just a JJ Abrams yes-man-fan, which makes my opinion worthless. I’d rather post nothing than be that.

40: I don’t believe such a comparison is helpful to your argument. You are basically arguing that since a person can suspend their disbelief in one situation, they should be able to suspend their disbelief in all situations. Different genres demand different levels of suspension of disbelief. This show certainly seems to have its foundation in a more scientific/reality based world than that of Marvel and DC comic books.

Now having said that, this new show, being science fiction, could certainly come up with some sort of basis for the “limited” effect of the electromagnetic negation. Creative writing certainly shouldn’t be curtailed by any sort of laws, even physical ones. But at some point you do have to ask if your intended audience will accept your conceits.

40. Montreal_Paul – July 16, 2012

Don’t worry, bro. Nobody is coming to pry the TV out of your hands. You are safe to watch whatever.

After not buying into the premise from the very beginning, I will still watch the pilot episode.
It took awhile for Falling Skies to reach my comfort zone; however,
the explanation behind the failure of electricity had better be crystal clear and rational from the getgo. If it’s a mystery, I’ll have no patience for it.

44. Mawazitus – July 16, 2012

Thank you. Very well said and that was going to be my next point. Different genres ARE different CONTEXTS with their own senses-of-reality and their own rules.

I too viewed Revolution as shooting for a greater sense of reality than Superman or Spiderman. And at the moment it does not appear to me that they succeeded in hitting their own mark.

43… They are plentiful now. Face it, we’re being phased out (no pun intended) for the dipshit “I loved the JJ movie so I watched a few episodes and Wrath of Khan. Didn’t get it.” crowd. Que sura, sura.

As for Revolution, I dig it. Yeah there’s science and plot holes right from the teaser but name me one good modern sci-fi or dystopian fictional work that doesn’t. Maybe it’s the Ron Paul/Snake Plissken side of me, but unlike most “new” shows I’m looking forward to it. Then again, I also enjoyed the Sarah Conner Chronicles.

It’s another show with a mysterious mythology. Spent five years watching Lost and being invited by the creators with mystery heaped upon mystery. Then comes year six. They decided they weren’t interested in answering the mysteries. Not going to get burned again. Won’t be watching.

Anyone else notice the “evil warlord” resembles a certain overbearing politician up for reelection?