So I’ve just finished watching the first two episodes of Revolution on Sky last night and have had time to think about the programme and what is the most irritating about it. The first thing to say is that we about half a season behind the US so you can read the spoilers about what is going to happen…which is something I always do so I know a bit more about the way the story is going to develop. However, for me, the story line is not really the big issue with this series. It is hardly new, in fact it has been worked to death in one form or another over the past few years. No the thing that really annoys me about this series is the production and costume design.

For those of you who are not aware of the premis of the programme it is 15 years in the future and, for reasons yet to be explained, electricity no longer works. Now lets forget about that plot point as it is central to the whole thing. But the result of this electrical black out none of the modern world, well at least what the producers think of as the modern world as I suspect much of the world would shrug their shoulders and carry on much the same, works. No iPads, air travel, cars, factories anything that needs electricity to work. So the world, or at least America, is forced back into a pre industrial world. So that is the set up. So what just how does production and costume design spoil this?

Let us take clothing. We are lead to believe that there has been no factory produced clothing in 15 years yet the casts seem to be able to get hold of clean, lets not talk about soap just yet, designer jeans that look brand new. One of the characters is in some form of labour camp yet she has a wonderfully tight fitting brand new singlet top that shows off her figure wonderfully.

Now, of course, we come to subject of personal hygiene and dentistry. It is 15 years since the last dentist was able to treat people’s teeth and yet the cast all have perfect teeth, including a young woman who was only a young girl at the start of the crises. Also it would appear that hair conditioner is also readily available as all the women have perfect hair conditioning as well as well cut. Oh and in the future we don’t sweat, well at least from our armpits even when we are working hard. Or if we do it doesn’t stain our cloths.

Then we come the production design which is just a little too clean. America doesn’t appear to have descended into the levels of a third world country but is just a bit rough around the edges. Yes there are no cars or machines but somehow this world doesn’t seem to be anything than just a bit rustic. Everything appears to be fully saturated with little sign of too much faded paint. It has a can do colour scheme which is applied liberally by the colourist. Now I am not sure why this is – perhaps it is because it is on mainstream TV in the US and they don’t want people to realise the quick decent back to the 18th century would effect the American way of life too much, apart that is that they no longer have access to firearms. To see what I mean you can compare the production design for such series as Walking Dead or films like Book of Eli with Revolution and then tell me which one is peppy.

So in short the plot has some interesting hooks but they really should try and make the production design a lot more run down and perhaps ensure that the characters do look like they have had to adapt rather than still try and keep them looking beautiful. Mila Kunis is no less beautiful in the Book of Eli even though she does look pretty rough.

Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk