We know Master Kripke is obsessed with Led Zeppelin. Supernatural references a lot of Zeppelin, the titles of their tracks and lyrics in the script, but their songs were never played. One of the most memorable references is when Dean channeled Kripke's obsession in episode 4.18 The Monster At The End Of This Book. Dean was asked about his favourite songs, and his answer was "a tie between Zeppelin's Ramble On and Traveling Riverside Blues." And now with Revolution, Master Kripke can finally get the opportunity to use not one but two Zeppelin's tracks -- Kashmir and Since I’ve Been Loving You -- in an upcoming episode which airs next week, November 19th. Apparently, an email was sent from Warner-Chappell Music to studio producers and see if anyone wanted to use Zeppelin's music on their shows. I can imagine Kripke's reaction at the time of receiving and reading this email. If anyone is writing a scene depicting this moment, please send link!
This is part of the Led Zeppelin’s Celebration Day album initiative, a companion documentary on DVD will also be released next week. That's right, same week as the Revolution episode.
I didn't miss Supernatural 8.04 Bitten and Arrow 1.3 Lone Gunman. In fact I got back to the hotel earlier than usual to catch Arrow and Supernatural. I had the BEST BURGER EVER IN MY LIFE! Thank you Shake Shack, your Shack Stack was amazing, I cannot get over how yummy it was! The 'shroom' is hands down the best thing a burger joint can cook.
Supernatural's Bitten was pretty good. Jensen talked about this episode a bit during the Chicon Breakfast. There are a lot of criticism and also a lot of love from fans. The show has to take risks and think outside the square. I love that fact that Supernatural does and not afraid to go creative. As much I love to see more Dean and Sam, it wasn't all bad to see a group of teenagers doing their own investigation the Cloverfield way. And through that, we witnessed the transformation of werewolves. The story was revealed to us from a different perspective. The documentation of the process of werewolves transformation reminded me a little bit about The Fly, the movie. It is one of those most-debated episodes, I think mainly because Dean and Sam weren't in the episode much, but the story wasn't bad. But if I am turning into a werewolf or my friend is, I am not sure if I will document it. My first impression was that it was a weak episode -- forgetful yes, but not a bad episode at all. Good effort! Other than that, Bitten still holds a special in my heart because I don't often get to watch a live Supernatural episode on my TV with East Coast viewers. And it was great to watch Dean on my screen during this time.
What happened in Arrowthat week? Lone Gunman was pretty cool! He revealed his secret to Diggle. I didn't see that coming at all, at least not this soon. Considering Chloe or Pete didn't know about Clark's secret until later in Smallville. But I like it! And I like the introduction of Felicity, who really reminds me of Lucius Fox in Batman and the Watch Tower Chloe. The only deadshot I know was from Smallville, but I like Arrow's take on it. Speaking of Arrow, there are loads of Arrow street ads in New York and Chicago. I've taken a few photos. Watch this space for more!!! Here is one on Michigan Ave.
While I was in New York, I was hoping to get up early to go to the NBC Studios at Rockefeller to catch all the live action during The Today Show. I did go, but not until in the afternoon. LOL! But it's my holiday habit to turn on the TV and watch NBC as I woke up. It's always good to watch the local news and weather.
When I was in Chicago, I turned to CNN. Timing could not work out better! I left New York a few before the Super Storm, and I got into Chicago without trouble. When I planned my trip, I thought about going to New York after the convention in Chicago. Lucky I didn't go with this plan!!! Very lucky!! And also very lucky that the weather was all good during my transit to Chicago for the convention. Should Sandy hit earlier, I might not be able to make it to Chicago. Not that I was in the hotel all the time, but whenever I turned on the TV, Anderson Cooper was always there!! Does he sleep at all? I mean, the coverage has been brilliantly and I do appropriate how hard journalists work during horrible events such as Sandy to bring us stories. I hope everyone can get some sleep.
I also caught an episode of Chicago Fire and Park Avenue 666. Park Avenue 666 didn't grab me at all. Chicago Fire has potential, it looks like one of those shows that Australia will love. I hope it will air in Australia soon. I also managed to finish the entire season of Smash during my flight to New York. Thank you Qantas!!! The last few episodes weren't too bad. I try not to be too negative about the story line, but it is not one of the best things ever on TV. In fact, the only reason I keep watching it is because I WANT this to pick itself up and show me something epic. And it should be epic. This show should have been great. But Smash fell short in many ways I cannot even bother to write about. When I compare Glee and Smash, I know why Glee was so much better. It connects with viewers, the characters are more interesting, the songs are great, the stories are better. There is always something I like about each episode. I hope season two of Smash will be better. PS -- I am finally convinced to download Let Me Be Your Star.
Revolution is a brand new drama created by Eric Kripke, who also serves as an Executive Producer with J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk and Jon Favreau. The premiere is written by Kripke and directed by Favreau. The story takes place in the post-apocalyptic world without electricity. Revolution definitely reminds me of a number of recent dramas such as Jericho, Terra Nova, Falling Skies, Lost and Terminator Salvation. I have also previously blogged about the documentary Life After People which may or may not have inspired the theme and the landscape of the story. Despite the familiar elements, Revolution shows great promise and I will definitely keep tuning in. The premiere sets up a great journey for our group of heroes including the series stars Billy Burke as Uncle Miles, Tracy Spiridakos as Charlie, Graham Rogers as Charlie's brother Danny and Zak Orth as Arron. We then have the Militia soldiers Giancarlo Esposito as Neville and David Lyons as Monroe. We also have the 'not sure if they are the good guys or the bad guys' including Maria Howell as Grace and J. D. Pardo as a militia solider Nate. The cast is not as big as Lost, but there are enough there to build a great plot. A few characters definitely have some prior history between them, the story is set to give it a reasonable attention. The premiere raises a lot of questions which will be answered through out the season. Kripke is the kind of writer who doesn't just throw questions without answering them. He doesn't just create characters who serve no purpose to the bigger picture.
Revolution focuses on the 'WHAT IF' story -- What if the electricity is turned off? What kind of world would we be living in? And what kind of human beings would we become? How do we pick ourselves up after the apocalypse? The last scene of the episode contains one of the biggest questions of all "WHAT NOW?" which in itself contains a lot of other questions -- What causes the blackout? Who is behind the blackout? What is their agenda? What happen in the past 15 years? What is the relationship between Ben (Charlie's father), Uncle Milies and Monroe? What's with the amulet? What's the deal with Grace and her Dharma Initiative-like workstation? Who is on the other side of the communication? What happens to Charlie's mum Rachel? Played by Elizabeth Mitchell, Rachel is said to have died, but I seriously doubt that she is dead. Clearly, Rachel is aware of the big 'problem' and I can't wait to see Mitchell's return to the show. Of course, these are just some of the questions to be answered by Kripke and the team this season. No way I am letting this show off my radar.
In an recent interview, Kripke speaks of some of the similarities between Revolution and Supernatural, and everything else that influences hi such as Lords of the Rings, Star Wars and Joseph Campbell's concept of the hero's journey. While Favreau reckons Kripke's work goes beyond these influences, it is a post-apocalyptic version A Game of Thrones. I can only assume he is referring to the epicness and the complexity of the hero's journey, and relationship between characters, and how everything intertwines in the grand scheme of things.
The premiere ticks a lot of boxes. The story is very well paced, well directed, well written and well performed. I enjoy the dialogues and the interactions between characters, there is a lot of good chemistry. The main characters are well defined and I think this show will be very heavy on character development. I love the fact that Charlie is this female version of Luke Skywalker or simply Arya Stark in A Game of Thrones, and Uncle Miles is the 'older version of Dean Winchester and Han Solo'. The way he takes down the entire team of Militia soldiers all by himself is like John McClane in Die Hard or Lara Croft in Tomb Raider or MacGyver. The post-apocalyptic landscape is believable and beautiful. The sword and bow fighting scenes are quite awesome. We are in the future but our tools are back to basic. The music is composed by Christopher Lennertz, who also did Supernatural. Revolution's soundtrack is not overpowering the main plot and it is very subtle. The closing credit music is definitely in the spirit of A Game of Throne. There are a few scenes which remind me of Lost -- the airplane Charlie and co discover in the field trip; the turned over bus that Charlie and Danny investigate at the beginning of the episode is like the hatch; the computer Grace uses in the last scene looks just like the one used by the Dharma Initiative; the journey across towns is very Lost-like. There are also a few scenes remind me of Supernatural -- the muscle car and AD/DC at the beginning of the episode is a treat for Kripke's fans, and the amulet in Supernatural went to the bin but the one in Revolution is established as an important piece of power source or a key. And then there is the family theme -- Ben is like John Winchester and Rachel is like Mary Winchester; the sibling relationship of Charlie and Danny is like Dean and Sam; and the whole "You're supposed to look after him" speech between Ben and Charlie reminds me of John Winchester and Dean.
There is something for everyone. Personally, I love the post-apocalyptic kind of stories. I think Revolution is intriguing, it's mysterious, it has a lot of questions, it is character driven, it is about family, and it is about the near future we could find ourselves in. What would Apple and Google do? Overall, I am very happy with Revolution. Having comparing the show with Lost and Supernatural, Revolution deserves to be viewed independently from the previous work of Kripke and Abrams. I think the show will prove its worth to fans and critics. I am a big fan of Eric Kripke's work and I will definitely keep watching it. There is so much there to keep me coming back for more. What do you think of Revolution? PS: Seeing Supernatural is the priority of this blog, I will review Revolution every few weeks rather than giving an in depth review every week. I hope you can come back and let me share my thoughts with you.
It is like watching a movie trailer, except it isn't a movie trailer. It is the extended trailer for Eric Kripke's new epic baby. Although I am not sure if 'baby' can be epic.. but there is always a first time. So here it is, the extended trailer of NBC's Revolution, premiering on Monday, September 17th on NBC. Check your local guide for details.
I don't know Tracy Spiridakos who plays Charlie in Revolution, she was on Syfy's Being Human, but I don't remember her at all. It seems that Charlie could be similar to A Game of Thrones' Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke) in terms of the journey of becoming a strong female character. Charlie is prominently featured in the trailer, and for some weird reason I really like that take on the strong female character. Tracy Spiridakos, like Emilia Clarke, can be a superstar by the end of the season!
I have NOT watched the finale of Once Upon A Time, what does it mean to Giancarlo Esposito's character? Intriguing! I am three episodes away from the season one finale of OUAT, I may or may not start writing about it as fairytale is not my usual forte.
There is a documentary by the History Channel which I got into a few years called Life After People. It is probably one of the most intriguing documentaries I have seen ever! It is features a series of amazing computer generated footages on what might happen on Earth if humanity suddenly disappear. Real life scientists, structural engineers and other experts also talk about a number of scenarios, and the impact of human extinction on the environment and the civilization humans left behind. If you are really into the post-apocalyptic genre, I highly recommend this documentary. You won't be disappointed with the footages and the scenarios the document presents. I got the DVD from a local store, I am sure it is easy enough to find a copy.
PS -- I have been swamped with writing papers for my study, which is good in a way because I really want to do well and I am really a lot about writing process. I have a few fun special feature ideas which I would like to focus on in the next few months for the Impala's Trunk, and don't forget the Supernatural season seven awards feature (written by my Twitter friends and myself). So busy! Before we know it, season eight of Supernatural will be here!
I watched the newly released clips of NBC's new show Revolution. Long time visitors know that I've been covering the story from the moment Kripke and Abrams started working on the story. I think Jon Favreau is brilliant choice to direct the Pilot.. You go big or you go home.
You can watch all the clips here. Revolution is certain looking very big, very epic and very Lost/ I Am Legend/ Supernatural/ Jericho. (But no zombies.) I am really looking forward to this show and there will be reviews, news etc.. While I don't know the cast too well, I'm in for Kripke, Abrams and Favreau. I am a huge fan!
Kripke being the master of writing and ideas, Abrams being the seasoned producer and Favreau being the director of the first Iron Man movies, and producer for The Avengers and the up-coming Iron Man. This formula has success and epic written all over it!
In an interview at yesterday's Up-Front, Favreau gave us some insights into his involvement and how the team dynamic going to work this season:
"I’m going to be involved. I’m going to be a producer on the show, and I’m as soon as I’m done out here, I’m going to go back and hit the writers room and Eric is going to be breaking stories for the new season with J.J. and myself, and then hopefully either direct or be involved some way for future episodes." -- Jon Favreau. Full interview is on The Hollywood Reporter.
Revolution is coming this Fall on Monday nights on NBC. Glad the show is not on FOX!
The Revolution website is up, you can also follow the show on Twitter @NBCRevolution
Surprise..! NOT! I knew NBC would pick up the series Revolution! Jon Favreau actually tweeted before I went to bed last night that he had some happy news. I knew it!! So excited about this new Abrams and Kripke adventure! I am just so excited! I can't wait to watch it.
Of course, it's a bit pre-mature to love it, but I don't care! I hope it's good! But seriously, on paper, it looks like a winning team -- Abrams, Kripke and Favreau. Favreau has only directed the Pilot of the show, but it's a good start, right?! Not sure how many episodes have been ordered but the show is heading to New York on May 14th to attract a group of potential advertisers. I guess we'll know soon!
AND... here is an Easter Egg for you. Favreau has been tweeting recently about working on the score for the show with Christopher Lennertz. Lennertz previously worked on the score for Supernatural, which earned him a nomination for an Emmy for Outstanding Musical Composition in a Series for his score for the pilot in 2006.
Revolution follows a group of people struggling to survive in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously disappeared. Cast includes Billy Burke (Twilight), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) and David Lyons (The Cape). It does sound very much a cross between Fallen Skies and Jericho, but who cares?! It's Kripke's new baby!
