(Photo courtesy of Revolution-Show.com)

Comic Con is one of those miraculous media events that I really would love to attend at some point, hopefully with a press pass and a cute little tape recorder or video recorder (ok, or maybe just my iPhone) to get to talk to the people who make our shows the shows that we love.  I was not able to go this year, but because of that wonderful invention known as YouTube, I was able to stream the entire panel!

This social media thing has really become a wonderful addition to all our fandom needs.   Remember back in the 90s when FOX network’s sole mission on Earth seemed to be to shut down as many fan sites as they could and only allow sanctioned boards at TVGuide.com and FOX.com? The networks thankfully seem a lot more open to social media involvement.  Hey, look what it did for SharkNado! Actually, NBC actually encourages social media and has been trying to get fans involved through mediums like facebook, twitter, tumblr and YouTube.

 
I really enjoyed the panel.  We got to see so many of the actors that we love. We got to hear from Kripke himself (and through his talking we could see just how much he loves his new creation and how invested he is in its success. SCORE!). We also got to meet the new kids on the block as far as producing and writing Revo is concerned–Rockne O’Bannon and` Ben Edlund.

 
Forty-five minutes was allotted for the Revolution panel and it began with a new trailer for season two.  My understanding was that they only had filmed the first episode of the second season, so it seems that Revolution will continue to have a lot going on in each episode! After the trailer, the panelists were introduced!  In attendance were: Eric Kripke (creator, also creator of the CW’s Supernatural), Ben Edlund (writer, Kripke got him from the Supernatural writers’ room), Rockne O’Bannon (Farscape, Triangle, Cult, now Executive Producer and second in command for Revo), Billy Burke (Miles Matheson), Tracey Spiridakos (Charlotte Matheson), Giancarlo Esposito (Tom Neville), David Lyons (Sebastian Monroe) and J.D. Pardo (Jason Neville).
 
Kripke spoke first, in fact he introduced Edlund and O’Bannon, so without further ado, here are some of the new things we found out are coming this fall!
 
  • Yes, the power is back–but not for very long.  In fact, only long enough to guide those ICBMs to Philadelphia and Atlanta and nuke both cities to kingdom come…and apparently in the first 15 seconds of the episode!  Kripke said they wanted to do something really shocking that had never been done before on TV and taking out two major American cities in pretty much the first 15 seconds of the opening episode seemed to fit the bill.
  • Yes, we are going back to the premise.  Kripke, going back and watching the second half of the first season noted that there was an awful lot of power in the show with no power…so we’re going back to the “In a world with no power” opening idea the show had.  Kripke felt they really haven’t explored all they could with the lack of power.  He did say there would be a more expansive canvas though.  According to O’Bannon, we are looking at a mythic saga.
  • The show will be about the Soul of America, God, Faith, Family and Destiny.
  • Where last season seemed more defined with specific wars and confrontations, season two will be shrouded in mystery.  Kripke says that for season two, there will be a “Bigger Bad”.  The people coming out of Cuba that claim to be “Americans” are “really bad dudes”.  His idea was to create an insidious threat that uses patriotism as a mask. The mystery will be an unfolding conspiracy.
  • Linked to that is the idea that the intent was to create a villain so insidious that even our heroes and past villains have to work together to defeat it.  Kripke stated that they eventually want to see Miles and Monroe kicking ass together. 
  • Charlie has branched out on her own.  She has had enough of Rachel.  Her moral compass is shattered and she questions what she is fighting for.
  • The Miles/Rachel relationship will be explored and expanded.  It has been described as very push/pull–also as like “When Harry Met Sally but with a ton of torture”.
  • The new time slot will not effect the amount of violence on the show.
  • The pendant will emerge later in the season
  • The show will be grittier for season two.  Kripke explained that he would get upset with how everyone looked so clean– like they’re on a Noxema commercial!
 
What was really fun was that the actors were finding out a lot about the season from what Kripke was telling US! They didn’t know! As someone who has done some acting myself, I think I might find that disconcerting..but that’s probably why they get paid the big bucks…
 
 
There was time left for questions from the audience.  Giancarlo and JD talked a bit about acceptance and the father/son relationship of Tom and Jason.  We get the idea that Neville, who may be a great chess player and made a brilliant play to depose Monroe may not actually enjoy that stolen power for very long.  Also, they do not know if Julia is alive or dead.  Following the holocaust effectuated on the East Coast, many have lost track of loved ones.  They have not found her yet.  From the comments by the actors, it appears that after the nukes go off, we will pick up a few months down the road…but don’t quote me on that…
 
Kripke talked a bit about the Miles and Monroe Bromance…of course voicing how they wanted the two of them to kick ass together…but also Kripke admitted that he is comfortable working with the brotherly stories.  He said that after kidding about them being deeply and sexually in love…Miles and Monroe aren’t actual brothers, but life has essentially made them brothers.  Their relationship is that close.  Kripke likes working with that kind of story–guys who have history, but they are real manly guys–they can’t just talk out their feelings, they pretty much have to fight them out.  Yep, sounds like another pair of brothers Kripke created!  (Although I have tried to keep this review strictly informative, I’ll put my own two cents in here to comment that I am very ecstatic about the Miles and Monroe storyline and love to see their dynamic.  They are not Sam and Dean, they are their own unique crazicakes bromance and I love to see the similarities as well as how the differences are played up!)
 
Someone asked about all The Stand references.  Kripke indicated that there were many inspirations, but that The Stand greatly inspired the writers and producers as being a mythic post apocalyptic Lord of the Rings kind of story. He also commented on Richard Matheson being a big inspiration–and where they got the name for the Mathesons, and the name Neville is from “I am Legend”. He indicated that season two will have many Twilight Zone references.
 
All in all, I am very excited for Season Two!  Season One will be released on blu ray and DVD on September 3, and the new episodes will begin airing on September 25th at 8pm.  Remember the new time is Wednesday at 8pm! Let me know what you hope to see in Season Two and where you think this will all go!
 
You can watch the panel for yourself here:

http://youtu.be/t_iUcosFQ2o

 

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