I take that "mysteriously blacked out forever" means that electronics stopped and no one knows why. Forever is a relative term the fix may be simple but if you have no clue, forever is a valid time period.

This is one of those shows I'll DVR and make any judgements about later.

OK, I can understand the appeal of a show dealing with a post-EMP-like event, but on the face of it, I don't see how any one event can negate the laws of physics. If a car is disabled, it still has an alternator full of wound copper wire and a magnet. It should be straight forward to rig a mechanical method of spinning it and to hook the output to a lightbulb, and then you have light. You can generate low milliamp currents from a lemon. All of these have been disabled too? Any EMP pulse will be widely disruptive but not 100% so -- there will be some percentage of the equipment that still functions. I'm just very skeptical of the premises, but I guess it will be easier to comment when we know what the event is, after the premiere.

Magnet? You mean the electro-magnet that is controlled by the semi-conductor based voltage regulator that controls the output of the alternator (it hasn't been a generator since the 1960's)?

It's always easy to do stuff in theory.

Agreed that some stuff may survive.
That'll be the stuff that's fought over or commandeered.

The first thing that came to my mind after seeing the previews was what's with the swords and crossbows? There are almost 3 guns for every person in this country, and they work just fine after an EMP.

It appears the sword and crossbow nonsense is trying to profit off of the Hunger Games mania.

I doubt it will last a whole season. Meh.

G

I finally got around to watching some of the trailers and now see there is a "sciency" reason for the blackout, not a supernatural one. I also didn't realize originally that this series is set 15 years after the lights went out.

It looks like the show's main character is the daughter of the man who knew why everything shut down and a fair bit of the plot seems like it will revolve around the secret of why this happened and, potentially, how to fix things (e.g., in the trailer you see the dad hiding something in a locket before the lights go out, then hands it off 15 years later before his death).

All that said, it looks like it could be a fun show but, in my opinion at least, is one of those shows that requires a healthy dose of suspended disbelief; for example, one of the interviews mentioned that even batteries stopped working.

That's not very far off.

I don't have very many batteries in my house that will last 15 years in use. And many (such as car batteries) won't last that long in storage unless stored without acid added. (as new - before delivered to the auto parts store)

My friend with the solar/wind powered house has to change house batteries every decade or so.

The only batteries I know of that last decades in use are those on satellites and they are managed continuously and VERY, very carefully,

The older type of lead acid cell with solid lead plates should last 20 years or more.
A basic lead acid battery is easy to make, and the materials keep indefinatly.

Nickel Iron batteries can last 50 years or more.

Disposable lithium cells are stated to last for 15 years from production, and would probably last for 30 years, though with declining reliability.

Alkaline cells of reputable make are warented to last 7 years from production, and most will work after being stored for 15 years, though not every cell will work, and the capacity will be appreciably reduced.

Wet Leclanche cells are easy to make, provided that you have the materials.
The materials are cheap and last indefinatly in storage.

The true doomer keeps stocks of materials to make batteries.

The issue with batteries, at least within the context of this show, isn't storage life or availability. According to the show, or at least what's been made available about it so far, batteries ceased working at the initial "event." Apparently everything electronic or electric simply stopped working.

Actually, it turns out batteries were mentioned in the Revolution trailer, not an interview (at least that I've found again). Around the 1:10 mark the narrator says: "... but after the blackout nothing worked ... not even car engines or jet turbines, hell even batteries ... all of it gone forever ..."

Oh, and apparently the blackout also caused passenger jets in mid-flight to loose all horizontal momentum and fall straight to the ground like rocks.

This is why figure this show, like many, will require a healthy dose of suspended disbelief. After all TV guys are worried about creating a good story, not technological realism.

Those items sound truly bogus.

Makes you wonder how screenwriters cope with real life, doesn't it?

I just watched the full pilot episode and came away very unimpressed and actually very underwhelmed by it. I don't want to reveal much as most have not yet seen the pilot episode but if you are expecting a "Jericho" type show, you will be very disappointed.

I really cannot see this show lasting long if the pilot episode is any indication which is full of fantasy plot lines, bad cliches, bad science, bad acting....then climaxing with a ridiculously bad and stereotypical B grade movie fight scene. Lastly, the ending was bad, bad and bad.

For those who are interested, NBC has streamed the pilot episode before the network TV release here on Hulu. Note that the show is only available in the USA but is also online in other places if you know where to look...