Warning: there will be spoilers for the pilot of Revolution in this post.

I’ll say this first off: I love me some post-apocalyptic science fiction. It’s pretty much my favorite subgenre of the… genre. Obviously there is a lot of overlap in science fiction,  but if a story is set after the end of civilization as we know it, it will appeal to me. Tank Girl, Mad Max, that Highlander cartoon from the 90s… you name it and I probably love it more than I ought to. I also love pretty people and melodrama. I may have said this before, but I am a fan of Grey’s Anatomy.

The least realistic thing in this image is actually Billy Burke.

As you can imagine, I was cautiously optimistic for Revolution, especially since they seemed to be playing up the Girl With the Bow as the Hero.  I checked out a sneak preview via Zune on my XBox (aside: I think it’s great that networks are finally starting to embrace technology and are making sneak previews of their fall shows available on a multitude of non-traditional platforms) and it managed to hold my attention for the full forty-something minute run time.  That’s saying something these days; I watch most shows in short bursts.

I found a lot of it pretty unbelievable, from the wardrobe to Billy Burke’s fighting abilities, the latter of which involved some of the most obvious Stunt Performer In The Role filming that I’ve seen in a long time.  I mean, make the guy get the same hair cut at least.  I have to suspend a significant amount of disbelief in order to even buy this premise in the first place, and every little extra bit of suspension makes me less and less interested in the effort.

I’m certainly no expert in what humanity would do in the event of a global energy crisis, but I’m guessing hair conditioner and fabric softener aren’t high up on the list of things people would start making.  I don’t understand why all these pretty people all wear clothes that look relatively clean and machine-made.  I’m lucky if I can get my occasionally-worn jeans to last me five years… but fifteen years after things stop getting made, they seem to have plenty of clothes to choose from.

These may be nitpicks, but when you’re trying to build a universe with certain rules, it’s nice if it seems like you’re going to follow those rules. It’s particularly grating when they bother to show attempted rape – something I think far too many stories set in situations like this ignore, as The Dark Knight Rises did – but don’t tell me how hard it is to find those awesome leather boots Charlie is wearing. Or how Zak Orth’s Token Nerd Guy manages to be overweight when nobody else is, while it looks like they eat mostly veggies and do a lot of manual labor.  It’s picking and choosing with “realism”, and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it.  They want Charlie to look good, so she gets cool clothes.  No explanation.  They want Aaron (the nerd) to be a fat nerd, so he’s a fat nerd, no explanation. Then again, this was a pilot and it wasn’t even an extended pilot.  They had to do a lot in less than an hour, and I think it was a fairly decent set up for the broader story, if not the details.  It remains to be seen what they’ll do with it.

As far as the story goes, I wasn’t particularly surprised by any of the twists, even the one they didn’t show in the trailers (involving Monroe, aka THE CAPE).  But I am interested to know how we got from where we are now to where they are now.  I hope we get more than just some exposition from characters.  Especially if that more involves more Elizabeth Mitchell, because I love her.

Speaking of characters, I counted three people of color with speaking parts, two of whom are (currently) villains, and one of whom may or may not be a villain, who knows.  That’s assuming we’re supposed to think Nate is Latino just because JD Pardo is.  I’ll go with it, until I’m told otherwise.  So far I think that makes this one of the most racially diverse scripted dramas that I’ve seen on network television.  I’m only being slightly facetious.

It’s nice to see some women in the lead roles, though.  Sort of.  I wish Charlie – despite the obvious push to Katnissize her – didn’t need to get rescued by Nate twice, but I already find Maggie extremely interesting.  So naturally (spoiler!), they’ve decided not to keep her around. That leaves threeish women with speaking parts, one whom may be dead and only available in flashbacks.  Sigh.

I really like most of the cast, actually, with the exception of Billy Burke.  Even ignoring the ridiculous idea that that guy was a Marine, and that he is the greatest martial artist on the planet, I’ve never been much of a fan of his acting.  I’ll say he was perfectly cast as Charlie Swan, and leave it at that. But everyone else seems fine so far, and, unsurprisingly, Giancarlo Esposito is a standout.  That man does understated villainy so well, but Tom Neville feels like a very different character than Sidney Glass or, more importantly, Gus Fring.

With so many shows on television – and the internet now, too – diversity in casting and storytelling has become something of a deal breaker for me.  I stopped watching Once Upon a Time because it didn’t live up to its promises.  I’m wary of Revolution, but I’m enough of a fan of the genre and this particular premise that I will tune in.  For now.

I read a few responses that thought the pilot was rushed, but I think it was a fairly good set up for what will probably end up being another too-long American season of twenty-two poorly-paced episodes that would be much better as a tight, thirteen episode arc.  But, cynicism aside, I remain as cautiously optimistic as I was before I watched the pilot.

Revolution is not without its flaws, but I’m intrigued enough to keep watching.