Elizabeth Mitchell - Revolution - Born In The USA (2x01) - Season 2 Premiere Discussion

Hawthorn · 09-23-2013, 11:21 AM

Born In The USA

Episode Description

IT'S A NEW WORLD FOR OUR HEROES, EVEN MORE DANGEROUS AND MYSTERIOUS THAN EVER - In last year's finale, our heroes made the treacherous journey to the Tower and were able to turn on the power, but at what cost? The effects of this move prove to be catastrophic for everyone. Now, Miles (Billy Burke), Aaron (Zak Orth) and Rachel (Elizabeth Mitchell) have found themselves in a mysterious small town, in the great nation of Texas where Rachel unexpectedly encounters an important figure from her past. Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) finds herself on a mission in the Plains Nation while Neville (Giancarlo Esposito) and Jason (JD Pardo) search a refugee camp for a lost loved one. Meanwhile, Monroe (David Lyons) has discovered a gritty role in his new environment.

Also starring: Stephen Collins, Adam Beach, Jessica Collins, Nicole Ari Parker, Patrick Heusinger.
(source)

Promos

S2 Comic Con Sizzle Reel (03:05)
S2 Promo #1 (00:30)
S2 Extented Promo (01:20)

Sneak Peeks

Miles, Gene, Rachel (01:58)
Gene, Rachel (01:27)
Tom, Jason (01:25)

Promotional Photos

You can check out the rest of the promo pics for this episode here.

Ratings

6.81 million viewers (18-49: 1.8/6)

Reviews

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severalmiles · 09-24-2013, 01:49 AM

Tftnt

Hamburgo1001 · 09-24-2013, 04:47 PM

Thanks for opening this thread, Fran.

severalmiles · 09-26-2013, 05:05 AM

I haven't seen the episode yet, I am hoping I will be able to watch it tomorrow though.

Hawthorn · 09-26-2013, 08:19 AM

Preliminary ratings:

Quote:

Revolution had 6.8 million viewers and a 1.8 rating. That’s down 56 percent from its series premiere, and a bit lower than where the show left off at the end of last season, as well.

source: EW

Hamburgo1001 · 09-26-2013, 09:10 AM

Thanks for the brief ratings report Fran. Here are the half hour numbers:

Quote:

8:00 p.m.

NBC – Revolution (season premiere): new day and time
Viewers: 6.96 million (#3), A18-49: 1.8/ 6 (#4)

8:30 p.m.

NBC – Revolution (season premiere): new day and time
Viewers: 6.61 million (#4), A18-49: 1.8/ 6 (#4)

Source

The good news is that Revolution did not crash and burn like Smash did, but a 1,8 for the premiere does not give them much room to manoeuvre. It seems as if the show is more older-skewing (more total viewers but a lower demo rating) than it was last year. The same thing happened to "V" in it's second season. I'm starting to think most people who are using Netflix streaming services are over 50 years old already.

I think the ratings in 2 weeks could get interesting because that's when Arrow returns on the CW. With both shows being genre/action shows, they might share a similar audience.

Hawthorn · 09-26-2013, 09:59 AM

Thanks for the detailed numbers!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamburgo1001 (View Post)

The good news is that Revolution did not crash and burn like Smash did, but a 1,8 for the premiere does not give them much room to manoeuvre. It seems as if the show is more older-skewing (more total viewers but a lower demo rating) than it was last year. The same thing happened to "V" in it's second season. I'm starting to think most people who are using Netflix streaming services are over 50 years old already.

Season 1 ended with a 2.0, and they had The Voice as lead in, so a 1.8 in a new day and timeslot is not bad at all. The problem is that premiere night usually scores higher numbers than the average for the rest of the season, so that 1.8 could start to go down in the next few weeks. If they can keep the numbers up, it should be safe.

Quote:

I think the ratings in 2 weeks could get interesting because that's when Arrow returns on the CW. With both shows being genre/action shows, they might share a similar audience.

How does Arrow usually fare in the ratings?

Hamburgo1001 · 09-26-2013, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawthorn (View Post)

Thanks for the detailed numbers!

Season 1 ended with a 2.0, and they had The Voice as lead in, so a 1.8 in a new day and timeslot is not bad at all. The problem is that premiere night usually scores higher numbers than the average for the rest of the season, so that 1.8 could start to go down in the next few weeks. If they can keep the numbers up, it should be safe.

I think I'm mostly worried about the spring ratings. Ratings generally suffer a sharp decline in spring because of DST and if it's already in the 1,6 - 1,8 range in the fall, it's not out of the realm of possibility that it could drop below a 1,5 next year.

Quote:

How does Arrow usually fare in the ratings?

It gets typical CW-ratings (2,5 million viewers and a 1,0 in the demo), but we could end up with a scenario where Arrow takes a bite out of Revolution's ratings or Revolution does that to Arrow. I hope not, though.

~Ross · 09-26-2013, 11:59 AM

I won't be able to watch the episode until tuesday but thanks for the ratings!

I hope Arrow and Revolution won't compete too much for ratings. I watch both shows and I don't want them in danger

Heiots · 09-27-2013, 08:25 AM

Hm, I thought at first the premiere did really well because of all I heard on Twitter. Now, it seems like there're mixed reactions to the first episode. Odd because I understand there's a solid team behind this show and some amazing actors. I haven't watched the episode (because I haven't found it) but I searched out some reviews.

Quote:

Revolution kicked off in a place that was much the same, yet it took more than a cursory glance at the world to show that everything was changing in "Born in the U.S.A."

And all of it for the better.

Flynn turning the power on and Rachel and Aaron being unable to stop the nukes from landing in the Monroe Republic and Georgia Federation sent the entirety of the east coast into chaos and ruin - and the event also plunged our characters into completely different head spaces.

The power coming back on, only to be a misdirection, sending the world into even more chaos was really the best course of action for the story, as we can now follow the power through to its own logical conclusion, exploring the aftermath of those who survived, those who didn’t and those who want to take over.

The characters are sharper and more focused; Charlie running off on her own, giving her a chance to really be an adult, to make adult choices (and some poor choices, no doubt) makes her likeable. For the girl who only wanted to bring her family back together in Revolution Season 1, she’s now the girl who can only flee from them.

Rachel is a shell of the woman she once was. She’s working hard to pull herself up from having a mental breakdown after trying to stop the nukes. Note the symmetry of going from a strong and capable woman to a woman who is just trying to survive and find some mental stability after having a hand in the nukes falling.

Her chemistry with Gene - watching her live a simpler life in the aftermath - is a welcome change for her character. After running for so long, and staying away from her family for so long, Rachel has found some tranquility returning to the basics and her family, yet she's still feeling the emotional fallout from ground zero.

There are some variables moving in to place with “The Patriots” and the war clan that attacked Willoughby. The Patriots want to restore The United States, but their “definitive proof” that the Monroe Republic and the Georgia Federation having WMDs sends up a giant red flag. Tom basically confirms as much. And he’s the inside man on both camps.

The power turning on and off temporarily is also doing some physically to the world (and its people potentially). The big lightning storm Monroe found himself in last season, and Aaron’s experiences with the fireflies here, is just the tip of the spear. Aaron ends up impersonating Captain Jack by coming back to life after dying in Rachel’s arms from his sword injury.

There’s no real way to scientifically analyze what is happening with the nanites, and if they are able to chew through electricity, it’s not difficult to make the leap that the nanites can affect much more – including humans.

Revolution Season 2 is off to an incredible start. It hasn’t been this much fun since the series premiered. Eric Kripke and company have really taken the criticism of the show to heart, and, without any protection behind The Voice, now is the time for Revolution to strike hard.

Revolution Review: Fallout - TV Fanatic

Quote:

As a child, I reacted strongly to those TV shows where the characters experienced extreme jeopardy. These sent me scurrying behind a chair until the 'danger' had passed. For entirely different reasons the return of Revolution gave me that same feeling again, that hiding might be a better option to confrontation.

It's not that anything that goes on in it is sufficiently dramatic enough to warrant a panic attack or even mild concern. It's just that I suffer with an inherent low incredulity level that if exceeded, makes me feel violently nauseated, and this TV show has a knack of sending me past that point within the first five minutes of each and every episode.

On that basis, you might reasonably wonder why I review it, as surely someone with a higher tolerance for garbage might be better placed to talk about it? My view is that I volunteered for this show, and I refuse to be bowed by its utter crassness, banality and Mr Ed level performances. I will endure, damn it!

That said, Born in the U.S.A. really tested my mettle for being at times unrelentingly tedious and yet at the same time pointlessly convoluted. From the outset the signal is sent strong and clear that whatever happened last season is mostly irrelevant to where the characters now find themselves.

Charlie has gone to shag her way across the Plains Nation, and found a guy for whom the lights coming on briefly while asleep was a more significant event than the dropping of two massive nuclear weapons. Obviously, it wasn't his brain that attracted her. Meanwhile Miles (or is that 'Stu' now?), Aaron and Rachel have gone to hang out with her father in Texas. And others wander around in the utter desolation caused by events at the end of season one. That ended in a cliff-hanger where the missiles were in flight, but they could be stopped by turning the power off again. They weren't, probably because they'd been rigged with amulets.

The nukes are used as a massive reset button, destroying both Philadelphia and Atlanta along with their respective armies. My reaction to all this destruction was pretty positive, because all the junk that went on with the militia last season was a narrative ball-and-chain the show could well do without.

But the brave new world didn't last long, because almost immediately we encountered our first head-scratching moments, when Rachel attends to an injured militia man. He has part of his clothes fused to his skin from the Atlanta nuke, the radiation from which he's apparently immune. Sorry, but if he was that close to the blast, he'd be dead six months later, trust me.

That scene did have one positive in it though, the appearance of Stephen Collins as Rachel's dad. He's a seasoned TV and film actor, who I remember most for being Decker in the painfully slow Star Trek: The Motion Picture. His small part was much more interesting that anything that Billy Burke or Tracy Spiradakos emailed in, and for a solid ten or fifteen seconds I forgot how abysmal this show could be.

From that point, the show then flipped back and forth between some marginally interesting interactions and others that had one foot stuck firmly in season one. It didn't help that they'd chosen to do flashbacks, and successive ones, so they kept issuing reminders that it was 'six months ago' and 'four months ago', and so on. As you don't get any message saying that they're back to 'now', it was often difficult to know the chronological order of events. It didn't even work very well as a mechanism to reveal key changes or explanations, because some of them were easily guessable.

And then, just like season one, it had the stupid and annoying bits, for good measure.

My favourite pet-hate of this week was the fireflies, because it seemed to suggest that the light effects in these were the result of the electricity coming back. It was like the writers thought that fireflies have little incandescent bulbs in them, and not a complex chemical process where luciferyl adenylate is combined with oxygen to create oxyluciferin, AMP and cold light. I may have this wrong and the writers aren't that allergic to doing proper research, but they were last season, so I'm not drawing these conclusions unjustifiably. I'd like the reason to be is that the radiations from the nukes had altered the nanites and they start doing unpredictable things, but that would probably make too much sense in this show's context.

I'm not going to give a script page by page account of the rest of what went on, other than to say that Charlie wasn't the only person looking to catch up with Bass. Miles also has a charming new nemesis whose people are inspired by Mad Max. They come and attack the town where Aaron and Rachel are living, and still sporting the same glasses from sixteen years back, the big fellow takes one in the chest for his new love interest.

I recall this is probably the third time that Aaron has died, or at least the second, and he's not dead long. The only real question this left was his resurrection a gift from the magic firefly colony for taking interest in them, or did Rachel stick her super-nanite suppository where the sun doesn't shine? I guess we'll find out next week, along with who Miles killed in the shed.

Overall, this was markedly better offering than last season, though they still need to make many of the scenes more believable. One they needed to work on was the crowd scene where the 'Secretary of State' told the assembled rabble that the President was making his way to the Whitehouse 'as we speak'. I'd of loved for someone to ask how he was still President, given his term had ended more than twelve years ago, but nobody did.

Better still, a person pointing out that given the relative proximately of Pennsylvania to Washington D.C., without a working geiger counter, the Oval Office might not be the best place to do business from. We need to see people challenged when they speak out of their backsides so blatantly.

Whatever we're likely to get from this point onwards must be an improvement, and at some point I might even be tempted to enjoy it. Those who liked season one, I feel your loss, as this is not that show any longer.

In a recent Comic-Con interview the creator and writer Eric Kripke admitted that in season one "there was a ****load that we did wrong". His solution to addressing the woes of Revolution was to recruit Ben Edlund (Supernatural, Angel, Firefly), along with Rockne O'Bannon (Farscape and Defiance) and Trey Callaway (CSI:NY). Between these talented people there must be a few good episodes on their way, surely? Not so far perhaps. But we have a long way to go down the Revolution road, yet.

Revolution season 2 episode 1 review: Born In The USA | Den of Geek

Quote:

[...]

The writing, acting, and dialogue that so hamstrung season one had shown no sign of improvement for the season two premiere: Revolution still seemed derivative. A last minute miracle, having saved Aaron from being a bookend causality (opposite Nora), might turn out to be akin to Rachel’s miracle capsule. The nanites had clearly been evolving; yes, they were in everyone; and yes, I thought of The Walking Dead‘s virus every time the nanites came up. J.J.Abram‘s involvement, the use of flashbacks (and occasional flash-forwards) for plot/character development, and the casting of Lost veterans, like Elizabeth Mitchell, only invited comparisons between these shows. Being able to contrast Mitchell’s performance on Lost, with her current role, made that comparison an unflattering one for Revolution.

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I just prefer character portrayals that draw me in rather than leap out at me. Maybe I just prefer story telling that captures my imagination rather than making me a passing spectator. Maybe I just prefer a show that puts some effort into telling a story rather than placating its audience with contrived violence and melodrama. I may just not be representative of Revolution‘s target audience.

That said, I did appreciate the show’s fresh start. We may finally get to see the rest of the country, maybe even get some sense of the blackout’s global fallout. If Revolution‘s take on blackout U.S.A. has been debatable up to this point, I really would like to see what they do with “the new world order.” Let’s see if the evolution will be televised.

TV Review: REVOLUTION: Season 2, Episode 1: Born in the U.S.A. | Film-Book.com

And more:
Revolution S2: “Born in the USA” Review | Three If By Space (This one pretty much tells you everything that's going on in the episode.)
‘Revolution’ Season 2 Premiere Review
Revolution: The Big Five - Born in the U.S.A. - Revolution: 15 Dark Years
REVOLUTION: Season Two Review- “Born In The USA” | Modern Myth Media (This author also doesn't think the infatuation that begin at Rachel's wedding worked.)
Revolution: Born in the U.S.A. Review - Mania.com

Hawthorn · 09-28-2013, 08:42 PM

Thanks for the reviews round-up, Grace! I'll skim through them tomorrow.

Don't have time to type a full review (it's ridiculously late), but just some bullet points:

- I know I asked for more female characters, but man was Aaron's girlfriend's introduction dull;
- I will regret getting excited over this, but I'm kinda curious to see what will happen with Charlie stalking Monroe;
- Finally dirty hair;
- I've resigned myself to Rachel/Miles - homegirl got it bad;
- Giancarlo Esposito is a gift and the only reason why I'm not rolling my eyes at this Patriots storyline: I want to see what he'll pull off;
- The character of Gene has potential, and he and Rachel have good chemistry.

IloveJules! · 09-30-2013, 02:10 AM

The episode was just okay, IMHO. I had to watch it for a second time to enjoy it though.

The writing didn't improve despite the new writers, which is not a surprise, but it's sad because I genuinely want the show to get better.

The actors kept saying 3 months have passed when it's actually 6 months.

Well, it looks like a complete new show anyway.

Now I can understand why Charlie had a one night stand with a stranger. She's been 4 months away on her own. I also understand why she wanted to get away for a while. I liked that she looked at Rachel when she was observing from the window. But I wish the mother and daughter relationship was more explored. It's mostly about Miles and Charlie and rarely about Rachel and Charlie.

When I thought the Rachel and Miles pairing couldn't get any worse, Rachel's father decides to tell us that his daughter Rachel was glancing at Miles on her very own wedding.

I don't like Ben that much, but that's very disrespectful to him, IMHO. I think we should see more about Rachel and Ben as a couple. And especially how Rachel feels about Ben and his death. She's still wearing her wedding ring after all these years away from him. It has to be meaningful.

Liz was very cute in those scenes with Miles though. She's the only thing making the scenes between them watchable. Really liked that Rachel apologizes for what happened with Nora.

Gene's comment about Rachel's attraction for the wrong guys was funny. I'd rather see Rachel with the ninja than with Miles.

I like Gene. Hopefully we will be able to see lots of Gene and Rachel. The scene of him meeting Rachel after 15 years and seeing Rachel in an almost catatonic state was really beautiful. My favorite scene of the episode.

By the way, Rachel broke my heart. I really like Rachel, despite her feelings for Miles.

I'm hoping against hope that Gene will frequently dislike Miles, especially when he finds out what general Miles did to his daughter.

And if Bass and Charlie will talk to each other, I'm also hoping against hope Bass will actually tell her what Miles did to her mother. I mean, hopefully, they will talk about Rachel.

The storyline of Tom and Jason doesn't seem so good because Julia is dead.

But I'm glad Tom was quickly back to his old self because suicidal and depressive Tom is not nice to watch.

I don't know how I feel about the nanofireflies. I thought (after the season 1 finale) the show wouldn't go back to the nanites and be more political. Of course, I was reading spoilers, so I knew they would go back to the nanites. So there is electricity out there. It isn't gone for good. Or at least some new kind of power. That's how Aaron was brought back to life. Some kind of power (maybe not exactly electricity) resurrected him. I read about scientists using nanotechnology to recreate the power of fireflies, so in the future they could be able to use this type of biologic power to replace batteries and maybe even electricity.

Revolution made me learn something new.

It's better than my last job.

I agree, Bass. For one, you can be completely shirtless now.

I feel the writers want us to think Bass has a megalomaniac personality. His pseudonym is Jimmy King. I disagree. I don't see him this way at all.

The little homage to Lost when Rachel was channeling Juliet for a brief moment was cool.

Hamburgo1001 · 10-03-2013, 11:39 AM

I figured I would quickly write down my thoughts on this episode. Overall, I thought this was an improvement compared to last season. The characters don't look like supermodels anymore, Charlie didn't annoy me and I kind of appreciate that they have taken the story more into a fantasy direction because honestly, the writers abandoned all sense of realism a long time ago.

@ Fran, I agree with you about Aaron's girlfriend. I have always said that we need more female characters on the show, but Jessica Collins' acting is bloody awful. Just another epic fail by the casting gods.

@ Grace, I think one of the main issues with Revolution (besides the writing of the characters, which we have discussed before) is that at it's core, it's basically just a glorified beat-em-up/shoot-em-up type of series. This show has a really intriguing premise, but instead of doing some proper world-building and truly exploring what a life without electricity would be like, the writers have decided that they would rather emulate Spartacus instead. It really is a shame. And I am not saying that there can't be any conflict or violence - of course there can - but it would be so much more effective if it only happened every tenth episode or so.

IloveJules! · 10-03-2013, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamburgo1001 (View Post)

I think one of the main issues with Revolution (besides the writing of the characters, which we have discussed before) is that at it's core, it's basically just a glorified beat-em-up/shoot-em-up type of series. This show has a really intriguing premise, but instead of doing some proper world-building and truly exploring what a life without electricity would be like, the writers have decided that they would rather emulate Spartacus instead. It really is a shame. And I am not saying that there can't be any conflict or violence - of course there can - but it would be so much more effective if it only happened every tenth episode or so.

Well, I totally agree with it.

I forgot to talk about one thing that I liked in this episode.

Music.

I mean, just because we don't have electricity, it doesn't mean we can't have music.

It was about time to hear some acoustic music.

And all the three songs played are very nice songs.


Fan Forum > Archived Celebrities > Elizabeth Mitchell > Revolution - Born In The USA (2x01) - Season 2 Premiere Discussion