NBC’s ‘Revolution’ review: Still searching for the power

When “Revolution” first came on the air, we looked to its, despite its story being about a world without power, as an ironic sort of glimmer of hope that we could have another great sci-fi series on network TV following the end of “Lost,” the impending end of “Fringe,” and such failures as “FlashForward” and “The Event.”

Now that we are three episodes in, however, we are starting to have some serious doubts that this show is really going to be the genre’s saving grace on TV. Even if the premise is not something that is greatly based on reality, the characters and the decisions that they make must be … and this is where we are currently lost. Even though we did have some major revelations this week, including that Miles helped to create the militia and the temporary discovery of power back at the now-famous house, much of the hour still felt like an episode of “Falling Skies” in that there was a lot of wandering around but no real means to justify it. It’s almost as though the show does know where it is fully going yet, or if it does it is choosing to meander a bit first before lifting up and showing us what is behind the curtain.

These revelations were also somewhat diminished someone thanks to characters that we are still not invested in. Charlie still seems somewhat disconnected and is hard to root for, while Miles feels almost like a less cool version of Sawyer from “Lost” except with more history as a leader. The most compelling characters to to us are Rachel,Captain Neville, and Danny, and two of them were pretty much absent this entire episode.

The moment the iPhone turned on after more than a decade off, especially since it would have presumably needed a good charging, we started to wonder if the fan of us would be leaving “Revolution” in the dust at this point while the critic in us sticks around. The truth is that there is still hope here: “Fringe” struggled really until season 2, and not every show can be a “Lost” and knock people out right away. However, this is a show with a large budget on a network that needs this sort of hit; if the quality does not improve soon, we worry that there may not be enough of audience still around for when the show really starts to get better. Had “Heroes” not fizzled after a great season 1, it could still be on the air now, and we just want to see this show live up to the names in its credits.

What do you think is the biggest issue with “Revolution,” or are you really liking the show so far?