ABC is the last of the major networks to unveil a new TV series this season. While the network still has several successful shows on the air, the execs are very aware that they need to find some new hits. Time will tell if Revenge will help fill that need.
Revenge follows the story of Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp), a mysterious young woman who arrives in the Hamptons. She’s actually lived there before, as a child, and returns incognito to seek revenge on the people who killed her father and destroyed her family. Others in the cast include Madeleine Stowe, Gabriel Mann, Henry Czerny, Ashley Madekwe, Nick Wechsler, Josh Bowman, Christa B. Allen, and Connor Paolo.
Here’s what the critics think of Revenge:
Chicago Tribune: “Emily and [Stowe’s] Victoria may be the most conniving characters in this fall’s crop of new TV shows, and you really don’t want to miss their scrumptious scheming. VanCamp gives Emily equal amounts of cold resolve, guilt and vengeful glee as she plots her vengeance. Stowe’s Victoria embodies all those qualities, plus an imposing nature that would have the Real Housewives of anywhere shaking in their Louboutins.”
“I don’t want to give too much away, but when Emily and Victoria take aim at the same target in the premiere — well, I squealed just a little bit. They say Revenge is a dish best served cold, and here it’s downright delicious.”
NY Daily News: “The bigger challenge for the show, of course, is to make us understand the things Emily now does. The most famous male vengeance seekers over the years have often followed an unspoken code that says you’re not only allowed to seek revenge, you’re almost obligated.”
“That cuts them a lot of slack in the behavior and morality departments, and it will be interesting to see if Emily seems to be accorded similar leniency. Whether she is or not, she quickly moves beyond the point where she is purely a sympathetic victim.”
“That means Revenge will bank more on creating a compelling and complex psychological and investigative drama than on simply setting up good guys and bad guys and counting on the viewer to root for the good guys to win. The show is asking viewers, then, to invest some time and not expect a clean resolution of some black-and-white drama each week. That’s a gamble and a risk. Revenge seems confident it can be taken and won.”
USA Today: “And they’ve also twisted the story a bit so it can fit the confines of a weekly Leverage-type con. Each week, while she’s working her way toward the Graysons, Emily destroys one of their accomplices. Surely you can see the rub. How many accomplices can there be, and how many can Emily destroy before someone starts to catch on — or before viewers start to notice that innocent people are inevitably being hurt?”
“Yet for fans of soaps, there is reason for hope. The show looks great, and it often sounds good, particularly when Emily is delivering a line we know is nasty but her victim doesn’t. It also boasts a decent cast, with Stowe making a particularly formidable foe. And she’ll have to be if she’s going to survive Emily — not to mention CSI and Law & Order: SVU. With competition like that, Revenge may end up going cold faster than ABC would like.”
LA Times: “As is often the case with melodrama, I find Revenge essentially unconvincing and also quite likable. At times, it has something of the sound and silliness of kids playing at being sophisticated adults.” …
“That the atmosphere of let’s-pretend never quite dissipates is not really a hindrance; the show seems happy to breathe in that air. The Phillip Noyce-directed pilot is quite handsome — Chris Manley, from Mad Men, photographed it — with a chilly-looking North Carolina standing in for the Hamptons. The production has since moved to Southern California, and we’ll see how that impersonation works out.”
Boston Herald: “In perhaps its biggest misfire, the show opens a few months in the future, showing what seems to be the culmination of Emily’s work, delivering the kind of blow from which her nemesis will never recover. Or have events just spiraled out of her control?”
“There are guilty pleasures and then there are ones for which you just feel guilty about sacrificing your valuable time. Revenge is the latter.”
What do you think? Will you give Revenge a chance? If you’ve seen it, is it worth watching again or should it be quickly cancelled?
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Image courtesy ABC.
I Love the show Revenge but I cannot watch it any more because of the loud music. It is like trying to read a book while someone is singing loudly in your ear to the point it hurts . Do the people who produce the show even watch it. Not only is it too loud but the choice of music is horrible. I find myself getting nervous and irritated watching it.
JUST FIX IT!!!!!!!!!
My wife and I love the show, but the music is so loud in drowns-out the dialog. I realize that they all want to win some type of award for the best music in a night-time drama, but if people stop watching because of the music, the award will be worthless.
TURN DOWN THE MUSIC!!
I love revenge and can hear everything fine. It will be a huge disappointment if the show is canceled!
I love revenge but I cant hear the dialouge because the bck ground music is to loud. Emily sounds like she is talking with a gag over her mouth. If this problem is not fixed Iwill have to stop watching not worth my time if I can’t hear.
I have the same problem, too loud!!
I can’t understand half of the dialogue. There is too much base in the sound. Stopped watching the show for this reason alone.
I agree with may comments on this site and others about the music. Way too loud!! Frustrating…..can’t hear dialogue way too often…and Emily speaks softly. I’m in TV myself…I know how production values should be. Please CHANGE IT!!!
love the show need to keep it
love it keep it the best on the network
One of the only shows worth watching on tv. I am hooked on it and look forward to finding out when it is going to air this FALL.
This was the best show on TV for all of 2011. I am anxious to see when it will be on this fall 2012. I’m truly hooked on it as it is so superior to the other reality shows . Bring it back quickly.
Please bring it back, my wife, me and the rest of my family are totally hooked with this show!
This has been the best show in years, everyone I told about it that watched loved it too, love the drama and not knowing what scheme she is going to come up with. Love the flirtation between her and Jack. Love the intensity!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love the show bring it back.
I love this show please don’t cancel it. I don’t like all of the rality shows so there isn’t much to watch but when this is on I’m glued to the tv.
amazing show! this show and scandal are the best shows on any network right now. if they arent renewed, that would be a huge mistake!