What happened to Nuclear Power Plants after the Blackout in Revolution?

   A lot of fans have complained that Revolution's producers and writers didn't do their homework when writing the show. Some of the complaints over the first episodes were the lack of steam machines. Of course this stoped after the steam-train appearance in episode 5, "Soul Train". Clearly, writers and producers knew from the begining that steam machines and steam engines must be used, simply because it's the most advanced technology out there that doesn't work with electricity. But, among this complaints was one that caught my attention: "what happened to Nuclear Power Plants after the Blackout?". Some say that a complete blackout like in Revolution, would cause a catastrophic nuclear crisis, probably like Chernobyl.

   The explanation of what could happen in this scenario is quite long but this article explains it extremely well using Japan's nuclear crisis caused by the earthquake of 2011.

How Japan's Nuclear Crisis Works

   Commercial nuclear reactors are a fact of life in many parts of the developed world. Because they do make use of a radioactive fuel source, these reactors are designed and built to the highest standards of the engineering profession, with the perceived ability to handle nearly anything that nature or mankind can dish out. Earthquakes? No problem. Hurricanes? No problem. Direct strikes by jumbo jets? No problem. Terrorist attacks? No problem. Strength is built in, and layers of redundancy are meant to handle any operational abnormality.

Shortly after an earthquake hit Japan on March 11, 2011, however, those perceptions of safety began rapidly changing. Explosions rocked several different reactors in Japan, even though initial reports indicated that there were no problems from the quake itself. Fires broke out at the Onagawa plant, and there were explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

So what went wrong? How can such well-designed, highly redundant systems fail so catastrophically? Let's take a look.

Revolution Finale Interview, Spoilers on Monroe and More

   Revolution‘s band of fighters have finally reached Philadelphia, but the City of Brotherly Love it ain’t. In fact, the survivors’ troubles are only beginning now that they’re in enemy territory.

   Here, co-executive producer David Rambo previews Monday’s big midseason finale (NBC, 10/9c), which features an internal conflict for Miles, the reveal of Monroe’s plans and a possible mother/daughter reunion. The EP also teases what’s in store for the second half of Season 1 (hint: it involves travel), which kicks off on March 25.

TVLINE | What challenges lie ahead for Miles, Charlie and everyone now that they’re in Philadelphia?

Next week will be the first time that all the Mathesons are in the same city since the premiere. So there are lots of opportunities to see what could happen there. A big challenge for Miles is — [as] part of him revealed in the hallucination he had last [Monday] — if Monroe asked him to come back, he would like that. We are going to see Miles and Monroe come face-to-face, and Monroe is going to ask him to come back to the militia.

TVLINE | How does that meeting compare with the one that we saw in this past episode? (Granted, it was a hallucination.)

[Laughs] Well, the hallucinations pretty much express Miles’ own internal needs and wants. Really it was from Miles’ heart, the hallucination. But Monroe really means it when he says, “I want you back. Come back.” We’ll see that next week. Of course, that’s a crisis for Miles.

TVLINE | Despite the fact that obviously something really horrible went down between them and Miles tried to assassinate Monroe, is there a feeling of brotherhood and love when they meet again?

A lot of that’s going to be revealed in [Monday's] episode…. It’s really the heart of the episode. I can tell you we really go pretty deeply into how the bond was formed, how far back in their lives it goes and the crisis that that presents in the present for them both when they come face-to-face. And there is an epic sword fight. I have to say that. It’s fantastic.

Monroe Republic Part 1: Resources

   We have all seen the United States map shown on Revolution and how it is divided into several ‘Republics’ like Monroe Republic, Georgia Federation, Plains Nation, Texas, Wasteland and California Common Wealth. In this post I wanted to show you how are distributed the strategic resources in the US like fresh water sources, hunting areas, etc. These are the most important resources in this post-apocalyptic world and its distribution will allow us to understand better some aspects of Revolution’s story, for example, why the Georgia Federation and Plains Nations established an alliance to go to war with Monroe Republic as seen in episode 1x05 “Soul Train”.

'Monday's Death May Not Be the Most Surprising Moment'

Monday's episode of Revolution will claim the show's first victim.

The latest promo for NBC's new drama dropped the news that one member of our motley crew won't make it out of the episode alive. "Obviously, it's not Charlie [Tracy Spiridakos]," executive producer David Rambo tells TVGuide.com with a laugh. And although there are some clues as to who may be taking a dirt nap, Rambo believes the death will have a significant impact. "In every single cut of this episode that we've watched, there wasn't a dry eye here," Rambo says. "It's a really emotional episode. Tracy's performance is amazing. She really moved us all."

With a death coming so early in the show's run, can viewers expect Revolution's characters to start dropping as fast as the citizens of Game of Thrones' Westeros? "As we say, no one is safe," Rambo teases. "I don't know if it's a regular thing, but it's something we're not afraid to do, because this is a brutal world and this is a world where you step on a nail and you could die." And even if your favorite survivor is the one to go, there's always the ability to revisit him or her through flashbacks, Rambo confirmed.

However, Monday's death may not be the most surprising moment in the episode. "There is a bombshell about the family and Rachel," Rambo says. "The final moments are pretty shocking."

After learning that Rachel (Elizabeth Mitchell) is a hostage of Monroe (David Lyons) and that Miles (Billy Burke) founded the militia, what other revelations remain? Rambo says Monday's episode does include some information about why Rachel left her family, but he stopped short of saying how that plays into the shocking moment.

Revolution Map - The Monroe Republic

   This is the US 15 years after the Blackout. The Monroe Republic seems to be the only "Republic", but be sure that all the other zones are occupied by Militas... maybe there are some zones where the Rebels defeated the local Militia. This picture just raised the awesomeness level of Revolution!

Promo for Episode 1x03: "No Quarter"

Episode 2 and 3 details from Eric Kripke

   What’s scarier: Revolution‘s post-apocalyptic, militia-controlled future, or the days immediately following the blackout?

   While Capt. Tom Neville is certainly an imposing and imperious figure, flashbacks in the second episode of the NBC drama (airing Monday at 10/9c) — featuring Elizabeth Mitchell and Tim Guinee as Charlie and Danny’s parents — reveal that the aftermath of the power-down was no picnic either.

   “We get to see them trying to protect their kids a week or two after the blackout, when things are really getting hairy and violence and looting are starting to break out,” says series creator Eric Kripke. And as things get increasingly dangerous on the streets, “it becomes a more gripping, harrowing flashback.”

20 Burning Questions From Revolution's Pilot

   I can't say I was surprised that the premiere of Revolution Monday night left me with far more questions than answers (after all, the series is produced by Lost mastermind J.J. Abrams). Whether or not the NBC drama will actually resolve all these mysteries is something we'll have to wait and see. Until then, here are the 20 biggest questions that will be keeping me up at night, in no particular order. [Spoilers ahead]

1. How did Ben and Rachel know about the blackout beforehand?

   Minutes before the blackout hit, Ben (Tim Guinee) ran home with a box of supplies and told Rachel (Elizabeth Mitchell) to start stocking water. His wife wasn't too caught off guard, seemingly knowing about the impending light-pocalypse already (though, she didn't immediately start running the faucets like any sane person would do). How did this couple know about the blackout before it hit, while the rest of the world remained — pun fully intended — in the dark?

2. What was Ben's profession?

   With an apparent inside track to all the latest blackout knowledge, Ben's apocalypse expertise is most likely connected to his job pre-blackout. Was he a mad scientist? A spy? A station worker for the Dharma Initiative? Or — more likely — a government employee privy to some top-secret project?

The Monroe Republic, One of Many

UPDATE: Monroe Republic Part 1: Resources

   Now that we’ve all seen the Pilot Episode of Revolution we can go deeper in the theories and especially on the Monroe Republic and the Militia.

   A few weeks ago I wrote a post about the Monroe Republic speculating on the USB memory where Ben downloaded some files moments before the Blackout and gave it to Aaron when the Militia found him. We can say that the memory is in good hands, after all Aaron used to be a millionaire and a computer genius that worked for Google. The surprise came when we find out there are more of those devices like the one Grace uses to power up a computer in the end. Before watching the Pilot we assumed there was only one, what leaves us thinking that Ben and Grace used to work together or at least for the same company.

   Without pushing it too far, we could say that this company was responsible for the Blackout. Maybe they were working in a new technology and things went out of control. Another really interesting moment was when Rachel says to Ben in the beginning “It’s happening, isn’t it?”. She knew what was going on too!

   It also was pretty shocking hearing Miles talking about the Monroe Republic saying it wasn’t the only Republic, and that its goal was to restore the power so they could be superior. If Monroe manages to get the power back on, none of the other Republics would stand a chance against them and he could conquer the entire country with tanks and planes.

   It will be interesting to see the past of Miles and Bass, they used to be friends in the army and somehow ended up being enemies and Bass as the General of the Militia. The tattoo that Bass shows in the Episode with the M inside a circle is surely used at some point as a model to identify every member of his Militia.

Character Profile: Captain Neville

We have new video about the bad guy, Captain Neville. Check it out!

Monroe Republic: the Dictatorship.

UPDATE: Monroe Republic Part 1: Resources

   The official Revolution Trailer reveals that the U.S. government has fallen, probably because of the chaos and confusion generated by the blackout. Unable to control people, the Monroe Republic emerged, a military government led by General Monroe, first name: Bass