Revolution - The Complete Second and Final Season

Eric Kripke ("Supernatural") and Tom Favreau's (the "Iron Man" films) sci-fi TV series about life after a total loss of electrical power matures somewhat in its second year. There's still a "Hunger Games"-meets-"Lost" feel about the show (not a surprise since the show is a production of "Lost" creator J.J. Abram's company, Bad Robot), and there are plenty of silly sci-fi twists and soapy plot lines, but "Revolution: The Complete Second and Final Season" has a gratifying narrative density and offers a well-produced show.

New faces populate the second season, which picks up six months after two American cities are nuked by the U.S. Government in exile in Cuba. The main characters -- crossbow-toting wild child Charlie (Tacy Spiridakos), her mother Rachel (Elizabeth Mitchell), uncle Miles (Billy Burke), and family friend Aaron (Zak Orth) -- have relocated to Rachel's small Texas home town, where her father (Stephen Collins) has survived the post-blackout upheaval. (The show's production moved from its Season One North Carolina location to Texas, lending the locales authenticity.) Former bad guy Sebastian Monroe (David Lyons) is now an ally, as the group spearheads resistance against both the totalitarian "Patriots" -- latter-day brownshirts under command of a pretender to the U.S. presidency -- and the "nano," the collective artificial consciousness of the ubiquitous, molecule-sized machines that suppress electrical function across the globe.

Season Two ends with a cliffhanger, which would be understandable for the broadcast (NBC canceled the show in May) but which is too bad on the Blu-ray release, especially since if last couple of scenes were trimmed from the last episode the series would more or less end neatly. As it is, the story is left forever dangling.

The Blu-ray set contains all 22 season two episodes, plus a small slate of special features. "Revolution - Heading West" is a fairly static video record of a meeting of the show's writer and producers, headed by Favreau and Kripke. The guys behind the series analyze Seasons One and Two with fanboy relish. Much the same tone continues in the "2013 Comic-Con Panel Q&A with Cast and Creators."

A broader, more informative look at the show's themes in real life is offered by "Impact Revolution: Conversations with the United Nations," in which the topic of "energy poverty" is taken up. One in five of the world's 7 billion inhabitants live without electricity, and the UN is working on raising awareness and seeking solutions; "Revolution" tied into that, as the show's producers worked with the UN to research life without electrical power. A PSA titled "United Nations: The Mission Continues" is a slick, chipper promotional video that details how the United Nations Development Program is working in nations like Nepal to transform quiet nights in the third world into the same sort of electric-light illuminated, Internet-cafe culture that Western nations enjoy. (The viewer is left to ponder whether this is a good thing.) More importantly, "micro-hydro projects" that harness water power enable communities to generate electricity for medical uses.

There are also a gag reel and selected scenes.

"Revolution - The Complete Second and Final Season"
Blu-ray
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