Not sure how many of ya’ll have been following NBC’s new show Revolution the last few weeks, but it so far is half good to me and interesting for sure.
Basically some unknown manmade super EMP blast has stopped all electricity everywhere around the world except for some random “algebra teachers” that have a weird pendant thumbdrive thing that can cause localized electrical bursts. Never mind the fact that physics of the chemical reaction of a battery doesn’t work, but central nervous systems still do. Or 15 years later all the girls hair still looks silky smooth…
Anyway, episode one I was screamin’ two things. People obviously didn’t stock up on primers for reloading capibilities, and WHERE ARE THE STEAM ENGINES?
Apparently the producers seam to think that before electricity we all just banged the rocks together. I also thought that was an enormous hole in the plotline, some parts of the world, GREAT BIG SWATHES of the world in fact, would barely NOTICE the loss of electricity, even here in THIS country. So I find the shows premise ridiculous as you cannot just ‘shut off’ a basic rule of physics, electrons will ALWAYS flow thru conductive material, did all lightning ALSO disappear as well? If this mysterious force blocks all electrical activity then wouldn’t every living creature would have their hearts, nervous system and brains suddenly cease to function as well. Right? I would REALLY LOVE to see the writers for Big Bang Theory have the cast watching an episode and have Sheldon rip the show for every logical flaw in it.
But yes, the human race got by on steam and coal for almost 250 years before Mr Edison brought electricity to the masses. Why hasnt someone gotten one of them preserved steam engines back up and running after 15 years? What about water wheels to run steel mills and machining equipement via belt drives, worked before? Lots of people still know how it all works…I just find the premise that we are all doomed without our I-phones kind of insulting.
For sure. Oh well, interesting breakdown of society though. I just got my order of 5000 pistol primers, so I think I’ll be good for a long while with makin .45 acp.
I can swallow and follow the show Person of Interest…but Revolution is just too much with too many juxtopositions and contradictions: clean, modern clothes; styled hair and make up. Little things like that that distract and cause me to be disinterested.
Don’t you know that you’re supposed to turn off your critical thinking functions when you turn on the tv? After all, if you didn’t, then all those political ads would be a waste of money.
Watch the next episode, #5, and then you can stop watching if you want to. You should see a 4-6-0 that belongs to the South Carolina Railroad Museum in that episode. Check out the Steam and Preservation section of this forum and look for Hampton and Branchville #44.
Unfortunately, I can’t - and as a result, they are.
The TV writers and producers assume, possibly with some justice, that their audience is as technologically challenged as a collection of pet rocks. They simply write off the small percentage of people with backgrounds in engineering, math and sciences - the same group that’s taking potshots here.
Well-styled hair and fancy clothes aren’t dependent on electricity or electronics (Madame Pompadour never had a hair drier or a Blackberry…) IMHO, the weak and dependent would all die off in the first few years, while those savvy enough to adapt would do whatever is necessary to get the machinery turning. Yankee ingenuity might have gone out of style as a catch phrase, but it’s still out there - and would surge to the fore once all the freeloaders found out that they couldn’t freeload any more.
If this makes the Old Sarge (Ex USMMA Cadet, retired USAF MSgt) sound elitist, so be it.
I haven’t seen “Revolution”, haven’t been planning to. The only TV drama I watch is “NCIS”. OK, that’s the old Marine coming out. But somehow I wonder if the premise of “Revolution” is the producers taking a gentle jab at all the people addicted to electronics nowadays.
If the high-tech stuff disappeared tomorrow I’d adapt to life without it, although I’d miss you folks terribly! I’ve had a lot of fun on this website.
I enjoy the show,though it is hardly true Science Fiction…
Most Science Fiction on television tends more towards the fantasy genre.
As far as “Revolution” goes, I was wondering when steam powered technology would show up,in an earlier episode a character made reference to the fact that all the steam powered ships and boats (presumably restored antiques as more modern steamships require electrical systems to operate,I doubt you could sail a Liberty Ship with no electricity) were either destroyed or captured by warlords…
I would also point out that most of the Forensics/crime scene type shows on TV play just as loose with scientific fact…
It should also be noted that this is the first time #44 has left South Carolina since she was delivered to the Hampton & Branchville back in the 1920s. She is now back at the SC Railroad museum in Winsboro, SC where she has been undergoing restoration to operating condition
Pretty still undecided on how well the show is written, but at least they are runnin’ steam now. Wonder how they found clear track all the way to Philly?
Zardoz, you also need to turn off the memory banks. The new show “VEGAS” is supposedly set in 1960, but every police car I’ve seen so far is a 1963 Ford Galaxie. Our mail carrier at that time drove a 1963 Galaxie, and my folks had a 1964 Galaxie, so I know whereof I speak. One of the main characters drives a Dodge pickup that I think came along after 1960, but there weren’t any Dodge pickups of that vintage in my hometown when I was growing up, so I’m not sure.
At least that’s one question the writer of the Episode tried to answer…
At one point a Militia officer speaks to a RR supervisor who mentions the difficulty and amount of labor necessary to clear the line. However he only complains about clearing highway vehicles like buses from the tracks…guess the writer didn’t think about all the railcars and locomotives between there and Philly…
Anyone know the identity of the 2-8-0 used in the Episode and where it the RR scenes were filmed? I would imagine they film it in Canada.
I’m right there with you. Do TV and movie directors not grasp that people back in the day were usually FILTHY? Watch a TV show or a movie and people are always well groomed and clean. No stringy hair or dirt under the fingernails. It just drives me up the wall. Must be why I much prefer books to television or movies.
The question of the steam engine identity was already answered in this thread a few times. It’s ex-Hampton & Branchville 4-6-0 #44 which is now owned by the South Carolina Railroad Museum. The railroad scenes were filmed in Chadbourn, NC on the Carolina Southern. In an earlier episode, there was a sword fight in the same railyard where a few of the Carolina Southern engines played a cameo. The producers didn’t have to age the yard and locomotives too much to make them look like they had been sitting for fifteen years.
The series is filmed in eastern North Carolina, so coming over to the Carolina Southern was easy and made sense as the railroad is basically not running at tis point.
I heard they have 2 deficient bridges. The railroad doesn’t have the money to have repairs done but is attempting to secure the necessary funds. They voluntarily shut down August 2011.