It's a Series!! Revenge

So with this preview I actually have something besides commercials and reviews to go off of. I discovered that I could download on my iPad the pilot script for "Revenge." And upon finishing said pilot, there was a code for me to use to screen the first episode online! One of my favorite things about working at Showtime is that I get to read scripts, watch the final product, and see how things change in between! This was no different. There were many many changes--names, flashback scenes, plot points, some of which I agreed with and some for which I wish I could have had some input! In any case, here are my thoughts on "Revenge."

Photo from ABC.com

Very first impression: "This is not a story about forgiveness" is a line on page 2 of the script, and it is used in the premiere episode. Well, duh. The title is "Revenge." Moving on.

Emily Van Camp ("Everwood," "Brothers and Sisters") is Emily Thorne, formerly Amanda Clark, who spends her summer exacting revenge on those who betrayed her father. In all the commercials for this show, it's impossible to figure out whether her father is dead or in jail, or anything surrounding what happened. The pilot explains it all. If we are to believe that he was, in fact, innocent (which we are expected to), it is explained via flashback that he was convicted of channeling money to a terrorist group that took down an commercial flight in 1995. In the script, he is given the death sentence. Not so in the episode. But he's dead anyway, which is how Emily has come into massive amounts of money (and can pay for a Hamptons summer rental and buy a $10K ticket to a society gala her first day there). If I try to explain everything, you won't want to watch. So some of the connections I'll leave you to find out for yourself. And this show if FULL of twisty turny connections. But to say the least, Emily's father was betrayed by a ring of his co-workers, friends and lovers. And they're all still friends...for now.

I will say that there are some overly dramatic and poorly acted moments in this show, maybe to be smoothed out as it gains momentum. It also has the potential to get boring. Watching Emily circling this intertwined group of Hamptonites and "eliminating" them one by one could get old. (Isn't anyone else tired of watching Blair, Serena and Chuck try to out-do one another? I'm hoping this show doesn't mirror the "Gossip Girl" shenanigans) But in an interview with Van Camp, she promises that not every episode will follow that pattern. It is also a show about emotions and romance and summer in the Hamptons. Lots to work with there.

As I mentioned, some of the acting is slightly less than stellar. I'm not sure I bought into the evilness of Victoria Grayson (Madeline Stowe) and they may have played off of her more vulnerable moments in the premiere episode, making her seem almost sympathetic. There's also a scene with Emily and Nolan (a Mark Zuckerberg-type played by Gabriel Mann) that could've used a re-shoot.  Not to mention--ABC, why do you continue to use horrendous wigs on these actresses??? You couldn't spring for a decent blond wig for Claire on "Lost," and then you put Emily in a ridiculous black wig (to show how badass she was??) in this show. Shell out a few more bucks for something realistic. Or stop using wigs. Thanks.

I've been an Emily Van Camp fan since "Everwood" so I was excited to see that she landed a lead role on a major network show. I'm also intrigued to see how she handles not being the girl next door type, though technically she IS the girl next door in this show...just a twisted girl. After watching the premiere episode, I'll be giving this show a shot. I'm digging the hows and whens of Emily's plan to avenge her father. The first episode sets up the season so you know certain elements, are left guessing at others, and definitely wanting to know more.

Revenge premieres on ABC on Wednesday, September 21, at 10:00 PM