'Revolution's' Sophomore Slump

"I'm not Harry Potter, okay? I'm an agnostic Jew from Minnesota." — Aaron, "Revolution"

When "Revolution" premiered last fall it was to great fanfare. The show comes from J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke, and had an interesting premise. I liked the pilot a lot, and I wasn't surprised that the show — which NBC wisely placed behind "The Voice" on Monday nights — did well in the ratings.

The rest of the first season was uneven. In the latter half of the season, the ratings swooned. I think it's in no small part to a plot that felt repetitive. Though this is a serialized drama, the plots felt a little too routine. A crisis would emerge, there would be some fighting, some people would die, the core characters would live, episode over.

The first season had another problem. While it provided some answers, it didn't do a lot to expand the world. That's a problem when you keep killing off your cast of characters. One of the wise things that "The Walking Dead" does is introduce a bunch of new characters all the time. That way when they have to kill characters off, there is still enough people to carry forward the plot.

"Revolution" has gone another way. Outside of the core five characters — Aaron, Miles, Charlie, Rachel, and Monroe — there isn't a lot of depth. Some people might be interested in Tom and his son, but I'm not one of them. The world of the show feels too small, as do the stakes. It's hard to believe a network show is going to sacrifice a lead when they only have a handful of them left.

In addition, this second season has felt stuck in the mud. There is little compelling about the plot turns, and some of the major points — like Aaron's newfound magical powers — seem a little far-fetched. I'm hopeful that some answers are coming, but right now it feels like "Revolution" is careening off the tracks.

The ratings back that up. Each week sees the show seemingly posting a new ratings low in its new timeslot — kicking off Wednesday nights for NBC. In addition to missing a killer lead-in, it sort of bothers me that a show this violent is on during the so-called "family access hour" of prime time. It's hardly unique in its level of violence for the timeslot, but it still feels off.

Only a handful of second season episodes have aired, so there's time for improvement, but this show needs to get back on track. If it doesn't find its creative and narrative footing soon, the "Revolution" could come to a sudden halt this May.