New America Revolts Against The USA

In the 22nd century, there's a new America, on a new planet 50 light years away, and the colonists are planning another American Revolution. That's the premise of the Sci Fi Channel's next backdoor pilot, Revolution, which could make for an absorbing series, with challenging political issues and a hardscrabble alien planet. (Or it could be another Flash Gordon.) Depending on how you felt about his performance in Ghost Rider, the fact that Peter Fonda is starring as the "robber baron" grandfather of the Hart family is either a good sign, or not. The fact that the U.S.A. is now called the United State of America has a nice dystopian ring to it. Fingers crossed. [The Futon Critic]

12:49 PM on Mon May 5 2008
By Charlie Jane Anders
1,472 views
23 comments

Comments

Killa_Charlie at 12:53 PM on 05/05/08
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One America is enough for the universe, we don't need an annoying little brother bringing us down.
Aph at 12:57 PM on 05/05/08
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Pls pls pls decide on ONE place for the Manhattan links!!!!
tetracycloide at 01:05 PM on 05/05/08
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The fact that the U.S.A is now called the United State of America has a nice, contrived, ring to it.

The states are so bereft of power at this point and have been for so long a period that they idea that, at some point, it would ever actually be necessary to abolish them is implausable. Trying to be subtle by making an extreamly overt name change just makes the whole world sound more made up.
tamoko at 01:09 PM on 05/05/08
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Bring on the Fonda love!!! Bring it on, I can handle it!

Will there be Redcoats? or at least red spacesuited stormtroopers?
PVIII at 01:13 PM on 05/05/08
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Sounds so Browncoat, but really, any hard Science Fiction on Sci Fi is better than nothing.
Plague at 01:22 PM on 05/05/08
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Bringing up Ghost Rider is no way to sell anybody on anything.
NefariousNewt at 01:23 PM on 05/05/08
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That pic makes him like a retro-futuristic George Washington.
Kiamat at 01:30 PM on 05/05/08
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Didn't Joss Whedon do this already?! C'mon, Skiffy! Just pick up Firefly already!
shehanum at 01:34 PM on 05/05/08
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...meh I think it would have done better as a second American revolution on earth in the near future (like where Jericho was going) but at least SciFi is traveling down the right road with the plot (instead of man-sized mosquitos)
pinkiedeathhead at 01:43 PM on 05/05/08
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@shehanum: Hey, are you cracking on MANSQUITO?

This sounds rather interesting if they go all the way with it. But wouldn't it have been cheaper to just buy JERICHO?
Plague at 01:51 PM on 05/05/08
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@NefariousNewt:
Too bad that's supposed to be his take on The Devil.
Jeff-Minor at 02:19 PM on 05/05/08
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Couldn't they just have put it on Mars and used Greg Bear's Moving Mars as the Universe? So much great stuff and wouldn't haver required FTL, which I'm sure is just there for effects. Besides, Robinson, Bear and probably others, have revolutions in their stories. Bears was the best IMHO.
shehanum at 02:39 PM on 05/05/08
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@pinkiedeathhead: HEY! THEY STARTED IT FIRST! HEY SEYE-FEYE! DON'T BE MAKIN' NO MOVIES 'BOUT NO MAN-SKEETOS IF YOU DON'T WANNA BE MADE FUN OF!

Seriously, tho... I guess the alternate premise I offered was merely a Freudian Slip. But then, I've stopped waiting for SciFi to make any programming sense.
shehanum at 02:41 PM on 05/05/08
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@Kiamat: Agreed... please see above rant.
Charlie Jane Anders at 02:54 PM on 05/05/08
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@Plague: D00d! Ghost Rider was AWESOME! Plus, it's what Peter Fonda is famous for.
shehanum at 03:32 PM on 05/05/08
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@Charlie Jane Anders: Yeah, Dennis Hopper did a great job directing too
dOk at 05:49 PM on 05/05/08
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@Charlie Jane Anders

Yea I actually liked Ghost Rider more than I originally thought I would, especially since there was the mention that they trashed the original script which was supposed to have been darker and sadder.

Dark and Sad is how Ghost Rider is supposed to be.
dOk at 05:51 PM on 05/05/08
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@Charlie Jane Anders

"United State Of America" still isn't as good as "The American Empire" from GITS S.A.C.
Grey_Area at 07:15 PM on 05/05/08
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@Jeff-Minor: Moving Mars doesn't deserve the depredations of the SciFi Channel. Let them spew their hack. Someday all our favorite novels will be adapted into movies or miniseries worthy of them. Possibly in full sensory interactive threedee at the old folk's home orbiting Europa.
Someday...Someday...Someday...
Jeff-Minor at 04:51 AM on 05/06/08
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@Grey_Area: One can hope that someone decides to make some great sf instead of the crap that passes for sf.

I have some pals that make movies and we were all sitting around talking about a great new idea, which was based on a Greg Bear story. One of the guys from HBO asked if Bear would do a treatment and be part of the project. I emailed Bear and asked. He said his agent was already working on a project, so I said, "Okay." Well, it never happened. Bear might very well have sold the project if he had wanted to get involved. Or not. Most of these ideas never get past the first round of drinks.
Balius at 05:46 AM on 05/06/08
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I've been of the impression that Sci-Fi is putting out these movies to deliberately parody them on a MSTK3000 type show.

Until that day, never anticipate anything on the channel being anything but a catastrophic let down. A few shows are giving people false hope, and it needs to be crushed for the sake of sanity.
Klebert L. Hall at 09:39 AM on 05/06/08
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"The states are so bereft of power at this point and have been for so long a period that they idea that, at some point, it would ever actually be necessary to abolish them is implausable."

Nah.
The States are weak, but there are still important differences between having them and not having them. For example, different States, different laws. There would also be no reason to have State legislators or elected Governors if the States were to just become provinces.

-Kle.
Silver_Back at 03:01 PM on 05/06/08
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The South will rise again? :3