"Revolution" aired its fall finale Monday night and then it turned out the lights: NBC's post-apocalyptic drama won't return until March 25.
Here are a few things I'll be wondering about until then.
6. Will they run?
In the closing minutes of the fall finale, as Charlie, Miles, Rachel, Danny, Nora and Aaron stood in the field next to the power plant and a newly powered helicopter rose into the sky -- well, what exactly nailed the feet of the plucky rebels to the ground? Sure, it was odd to see a motorized contraption aloft after 15 years of clear skies, I get that. But if you're anything like me, you spent that scene mumbling warnings to the characters: "Now would be a good time to run. You know, think about running, guys. Oh look, a close-up of the machine gun attached to the helicopter. Maybe run now? For the love of God, are you going to run?!"
Eventually, I'm betting, they ran, but it has to be said, "Revolution's" rebels often produce the reaction I had to Rick Grimes' band of survivors during "The Walking Dead's" first and second seasons: How are these people still alive? In "Revolution's" case, I think it's partly due to the magical armor the characters seem to be wearing: No matter how many times they faced gunfire in the finale, they all walked away from the fight intact -- rather, they ran away from the bad guys for a little while, and then they stood around in a field.
Watching them stand there, slackjawed, was an oddly anti-climactic ending to a finale that contained plenty of fighting but not much in the way of truly pulse-pounding moments. "Revolution" is, on paper, efficient, but, like the show itself, the quests of Miles and Charlie are often rather bloodless affairs, all things considered.
5. Will Air Monroe offer reasonably priced flights between Boston and Philly?
As Sebastian Monroe's helicopter took to the skies, you have to wonder if Miles was thinking, "Finally, no more trudging through muddy fields -- we can steal one of these birds and travel in style!" After all, Sebastian Monroe seems to have quite a fleet of helicopters stashed at the power plant -- surely he won't mind a friend borrowing one for the occasional vacation. More seriously, though (as serious as I can get about a show with magic necklaces): Did Monroe's troops transfer the power amplifier to the helicopter, or was the range of the amplifier big enough to allow the 'copter to fly a reasonable distance? Speaking of Air Monroe, does each aircraft need its own pendant? And why didn't Rachel grab the one pendant Monroe had instead of making googly eyes at Miles when she spotted him?
Yes, I know she slapped him, and I know goons showed up with machine guns, but there was a long moment of staring during which I was muttering, "Grab the pendant already!" In any event, I certainly detected some love-hate vibes going on there, enough to power another nine episodes, perhaps -- especially given that Elizabeth Mitchell and Billy Burke are occasionally able to make the show's workmanlike scripts moderately interesting.
4. How will the accessorizing go?
Will the next arc on the show be about Monroe's war against the South and his attempt to get more pendants? Will we grow weary of the search for shiny jewelry? Well, at least the plucky band is not searching for Danny anymore, so there's that.
Sidebar: I didn't feel much when Rachel was reunited with her children. This is proof that: A) I am an unfeeling bastard or B) The show hasn't done enough to make the emotional stakes matter. I don't think A is true, given that "Parenthood" makes me cry every damn week. Perhaps some of the Bravermans could show up on "Revolution" in order to make me care about what happens to Miles and company? There are tons of Bravermans, surely they could spare a few in order to raise the emotional stakes on Monday nights.
3. Why did the show make Andrea so stupid?
Wait, sorry, wrong post-apocalyptic drama. Moving on ...
2. Will Neville remain trapped in the closet?
Here's an idea: Next spring, when the show returns, Neville finally escapes the closet Miles put him and his wife in, and the militia man abandons Monroe and opens a chain of fast-food restaurants offering an array of delicious chicken meals. It's just an idea.
1. Will anyone care about any of this in March?
This is the big question. Why is NBC putting this show on a four-month hiatus? It's a hell of a risk to take with the network's only successful scripted drama in years. According to various news reports on the "Revolution" break, executives want to power up the second half of the season with the return of "The Voice," but who knows if the singing show will be as much of a draw then, given how strenuously NBC has flogged the musical competition in the last year or two.
As I pointed out on an earlier piece on "Revolution's" successes (and flaws), this freshman drama isn't as mythology-heavy as other series, such as "The Event," "FlashFoward" and "V" -- shows that ultimately failed after taking ill-timed breaks. (Granted, scheduling breaks weren't those shows only problems.)
If "Revolution" wanted to linger for months in our memories, the confrontation between Miles and "Bass" Monroe should have resonated more. Watching the reunion of Rachel and her children should have made my living room a little dusty. I should be able to remember the name of the guy Zak Orth plays by now, but I generally think of him as "the guy Zak Orth plays." Even though the show has done a partially successful job of making Charlie less enormously annoying and the drama "works" on a purely mechanical level, that may not be enough to power my interest in the rest of the season.
But sometimes we don't get to choose: My 10 year old son has decided that "Revolution" is his show and we are watching every episode. Hey, it could be worse -- the last network drama he picked as a break from "Adventure Time" and "Regular Show" was "Terra Nova."
Farewell for a while, "Revolution." Whatever else I have to say about you, I can definitely say that you've never made me want to stab a dinosaur in the face.
