Television: Revolution, "Ghosts"

I've realized I'm, like, the Mr. Cranky of television reviewers. I'm difficult to please. I don't mean to be. It would be fair of you to ask, "Then why do you watch it, if you hate it so much?" But I don't hate it. Not Revolution, nor any of the other shows I watch. Life's too short to waste time on bad TV.

There's not much really great television out there. There are good shows, and there are shows that are sometimes good and sometimes not . . . Then there are shows where I feel there's potential, and I watch them in the hopes they will eventually fulfill that potential. Revolution is one of those shows.

My problem is, I have a hard time determining when to give up and let go. When do I pull the plug on the life support? For Revolution, I'll probably at least see out the season. Maybe they'll have some great cliffhanger that compels me to return. Or maybe I'll just wander off.

Anyway, "Ghosts" has Miles vowing to help the rebels bring down Monroe. He and Nora take off while Rachel and Charlie are left with other rebels to be awkward with each other. After all, Charlie hasn't had a real mom in a long time; how should Rachel re-assert her parental authority when she doesn't want Charlie to go off on a raid?

Miles and Nora visit the Stephen King wing of the library in Culpeper, Virginia, as they search for Jim Hudson. Turns out he's remade himself into a librarian named Henry. Jim/Henry had once helped Miles attempt to assassinate Monroe, but you can see how that turned out. So Miles tells Jim he wants to finish the job.

Randall Flagg Flynn descends on the rebel camp where Charlie and Rachel are staying; he's been tracking the pendants. (Then why didn't he collect them a long time ago?) Rachel destroys the flash drives inside the pendants to prevent Randall and Monroe making use of them.

Backstory for Randall attempts to give him a reason for wanting to have this blackout weapon: his soldier son was killed in Kabul. But this doesn't really make him any more sympathetic a character. I think it's the actor; Colm Feore is just too mean looking to feel sorry for.

A kill squad of Monroe's men enter Culpeper in search of Miles, Nora, and Jim. Hilarity Violence ensues. Guy on the horse just kinda sits there, though, until Jim gives away the location of his wife—which happens to be a very visible window.

Look, I have a degree in radio-television-film. But even before college I had watched enough movies and TV shows to be able to take them apart. The reason I write about the flaws in these things is because there's more to say about where things go wrong than when they go right. An example follows.

Regarding something I really like: "Wow! This is a great show/movie!"

Regarding something I have mixed feelings about: "Well, some of it is good but . . . [list of things that aren't so good]."

Statistics show that people are more likely to review something (a book, a show, a restaurant) if they don't like it or had a bad experience with it than if they do like it. Because when something goes wrong, there's more to be said. There's a story there. No one watches a TV show about a bunch of people who are completely happy and have no problems. That would be boring. And a review about a show that's perfect would be just as dull.

So if I come off harsh or negative, keep in mind that I'm picking out the flaws because that's where the points of discussion lie. Not because I'm "down on" a show or movie or whatever. Anything I take the time to watch, and the additional time to write about besides, I at least like a little.