In an earlier post I said my jury was still out on this new offering from ABC. Now, after four episodes I feel I can make a more intelligent comment.
'Revenge' reminds me strongly of 'Dallas' meets 'The Big Valley'. Ultra-rich people who never visit the office yet are constantly involved in protecting and expanding their asset base and political influence. The 'Victoria' characters of 'Revenge' and BV are almost identical save for the obvious differences between the Old West and modern Hamptons.
The storyline is intriguing. A twenty-something girl, the victim of a plot against her wealthy father, returns to her childhood home to reek revenge upon those who framed her father. To enjoy this story you have to suspend reality as the only living thing that is able to make the connection between young Amanda and older Emily is her childhood puppy Sam (now grown up as well and apparently setting records for canine longevity).
Also suspending reality is the interweaving of modern electronic devices throughout. Cell phones and laptops are a central focus of the stories and perform stunts that only writers of TV shows and cartoon animators would be capable of. Laptops that are always on and with webcams that just happen to be pointing at the bed where two of the misguided Hamptonites are doing the horizontal hula? Riiiight!
The main character is a wicked witch of a person who is deeply suspicious of our heroine but dumb as a basket of socks and is unable to identify the grown-up girl who she once committed to a juvenile detention center for a number of years and despite once being in love with Amanda's dad (which also makes you wonder how intelligent her father must have been). She apparently redeems herself continuously by hosting a succession of charity events most of which blow up in her face when she is duped by Amanda/Emily. Her husband is a philanderer who continues to cheat on her with another woman despite having been caught once. (Time to ask yourself how these people became rich when they were so obviously dumb.)
Central to the story is a cast of characters who have absolutely no redeeming qualities and participated, one way or the other, in the crimes against young Amanda and her father. We have the stock broker, a former partner of her father, who is gullible enough to accept Emily's story of wanting a huge investment and is greedy enough to try to corner the market on the stock. He, of course, gets his due when the "tip" is exposed and the stock value crashes. Through some sort of unexplained trickery Emily has gained access to his office computer by "memorizing" his password and stealing his ID badge. (Note to writers: don't most big corporate offices have security guards and can't those guards tell the difference between a 50-ish male and a 20-ish female?)
The cast is also littered with other improbable characters including one 20-something girl who seems to have cornered the market on all of the Hamptons' party set-ups. (Note to writers: people of the Hamptons do business with other people of their standing and age, not yuppy puppies.) Filling out the cast are tens of other 20-somethings, all but a few are the spoiled offspring of their scheming parents.
There is one person who has figured out who Amanda/Emily is/was and despite owning some sort of business of his own (with financial thanks to Amanda's father) never shows up at work but does continue to assist Amanda/Emily with his telepathic IT knowledge even though she disses him every time he shows his face. Did I mention besides being filthy rich Nolan is also devoid of any sort of social skills and is willing to pay anyone to be his "friend"? (Note to writers: a filthy rich yuppie of his caliber would be surrounded by admiring wanna-be's you'd have to beat them off with a stick.) One more sticking point - despite everyone having smartphones it seems that contact is more frequently made while walking down the main street of the local village or appearing late at night at the open window of someone's house. (Note to writers: Emily lives alone in a big beachfront house and leaves her windows open all night but keeps her pistol in a drawer by the front door. Apparently there are no single females on the writers staff.)
One more cast member is the consummate "good guy" who, despite knowing Amanda when they were kids and acquiring her dog after she was committed to juvie, has no clue who "Emily" is. He would be Jack the handsome but clueless son of a local bar owner who conveniently passed away of a heart attack and has become the new bar owner and guardian of his worthless younger brother Declean whose only interest is scoring with any girl who will have him. Jack thought so much of Amanda when they were young that he has now named his yacht after her (you just knew someone in the Hamptons would need a yacht, right?) despite not being able to recognize her.
One problem with this show is the number of characters. Most are not introduced in normal ways but through a series of "flashbacks" which come to life on Emily's laptop in the form of videos. And since virtually all the characters are white-bread White and always have a smirk on their lips and a glass of champagne in their hands are difficult to keep straight. I had to record all four episodes aired so far and replay them all at one time so continuity could be established (with considerable assistance from my wifey who seems to have the knack for tracking similar looking faces).
Overall, the stories are preposterous. Lots of holes and almost totally comprised of stereotypes. (Do people in The Hamptons really play polo?) Nothing in the way of a true mystery with one single caveat. Amanda/Emily has a box of keepsakes given her by her father (in addition, apparently, to an unlimited amount of wealth which wasn't confiscated by his business associates who sold him down the pike). In that box are photos and a notebook which give Emily a list of people who conspired against her father as well as some information on his supposed "crimes". This is how she is able to identify her victims.
Now, you think I've pretty well torpedoed this show with all my observations and criticism and you'd be correct....except....the Emily/Amanda character, played by the real Emily Vancamp is the ideal actress for this role and is fun to watch. She has just the right amount of bubbling innocence coupled with the dark side. Watching her is like watching a Black Widow having sex. It's fun now but you just know what is about to happen later. No one else in this virtual soaper has any huge attraction for me with the possible exception of Jack, the hard-working doofuss who eventually will discover who Emily really is. Not that there will be anyone left on the Hamptons to enjoy the discovery.
One other thing.....the first four episodes have blown by like a high wind over the plains of Kansas. Emily has eliminated four of her adversaries out of a dozen or so conveniently pictured in a photo in the "secret box". I wonder just how long the writers of this show expect it to stay on air? Unless they come up with another set of victims or some sort of improbable story line they have only until "Labor Day" (when the Hampton's season officially ends) or Emily runs out of targets. Not too long if the current pace continues.
'Revenge' reminds me strongly of 'Dallas' meets 'The Big Valley'. Ultra-rich people who never visit the office yet are constantly involved in protecting and expanding their asset base and political influence. The 'Victoria' characters of 'Revenge' and BV are almost identical save for the obvious differences between the Old West and modern Hamptons.
The storyline is intriguing. A twenty-something girl, the victim of a plot against her wealthy father, returns to her childhood home to reek revenge upon those who framed her father. To enjoy this story you have to suspend reality as the only living thing that is able to make the connection between young Amanda and older Emily is her childhood puppy Sam (now grown up as well and apparently setting records for canine longevity).
Also suspending reality is the interweaving of modern electronic devices throughout. Cell phones and laptops are a central focus of the stories and perform stunts that only writers of TV shows and cartoon animators would be capable of. Laptops that are always on and with webcams that just happen to be pointing at the bed where two of the misguided Hamptonites are doing the horizontal hula? Riiiight!
The main character is a wicked witch of a person who is deeply suspicious of our heroine but dumb as a basket of socks and is unable to identify the grown-up girl who she once committed to a juvenile detention center for a number of years and despite once being in love with Amanda's dad (which also makes you wonder how intelligent her father must have been). She apparently redeems herself continuously by hosting a succession of charity events most of which blow up in her face when she is duped by Amanda/Emily. Her husband is a philanderer who continues to cheat on her with another woman despite having been caught once. (Time to ask yourself how these people became rich when they were so obviously dumb.)
Central to the story is a cast of characters who have absolutely no redeeming qualities and participated, one way or the other, in the crimes against young Amanda and her father. We have the stock broker, a former partner of her father, who is gullible enough to accept Emily's story of wanting a huge investment and is greedy enough to try to corner the market on the stock. He, of course, gets his due when the "tip" is exposed and the stock value crashes. Through some sort of unexplained trickery Emily has gained access to his office computer by "memorizing" his password and stealing his ID badge. (Note to writers: don't most big corporate offices have security guards and can't those guards tell the difference between a 50-ish male and a 20-ish female?)
The cast is also littered with other improbable characters including one 20-something girl who seems to have cornered the market on all of the Hamptons' party set-ups. (Note to writers: people of the Hamptons do business with other people of their standing and age, not yuppy puppies.) Filling out the cast are tens of other 20-somethings, all but a few are the spoiled offspring of their scheming parents.
There is one person who has figured out who Amanda/Emily is/was and despite owning some sort of business of his own (with financial thanks to Amanda's father) never shows up at work but does continue to assist Amanda/Emily with his telepathic IT knowledge even though she disses him every time he shows his face. Did I mention besides being filthy rich Nolan is also devoid of any sort of social skills and is willing to pay anyone to be his "friend"? (Note to writers: a filthy rich yuppie of his caliber would be surrounded by admiring wanna-be's you'd have to beat them off with a stick.) One more sticking point - despite everyone having smartphones it seems that contact is more frequently made while walking down the main street of the local village or appearing late at night at the open window of someone's house. (Note to writers: Emily lives alone in a big beachfront house and leaves her windows open all night but keeps her pistol in a drawer by the front door. Apparently there are no single females on the writers staff.)
One more cast member is the consummate "good guy" who, despite knowing Amanda when they were kids and acquiring her dog after she was committed to juvie, has no clue who "Emily" is. He would be Jack the handsome but clueless son of a local bar owner who conveniently passed away of a heart attack and has become the new bar owner and guardian of his worthless younger brother Declean whose only interest is scoring with any girl who will have him. Jack thought so much of Amanda when they were young that he has now named his yacht after her (you just knew someone in the Hamptons would need a yacht, right?) despite not being able to recognize her.
One problem with this show is the number of characters. Most are not introduced in normal ways but through a series of "flashbacks" which come to life on Emily's laptop in the form of videos. And since virtually all the characters are white-bread White and always have a smirk on their lips and a glass of champagne in their hands are difficult to keep straight. I had to record all four episodes aired so far and replay them all at one time so continuity could be established (with considerable assistance from my wifey who seems to have the knack for tracking similar looking faces).
Overall, the stories are preposterous. Lots of holes and almost totally comprised of stereotypes. (Do people in The Hamptons really play polo?) Nothing in the way of a true mystery with one single caveat. Amanda/Emily has a box of keepsakes given her by her father (in addition, apparently, to an unlimited amount of wealth which wasn't confiscated by his business associates who sold him down the pike). In that box are photos and a notebook which give Emily a list of people who conspired against her father as well as some information on his supposed "crimes". This is how she is able to identify her victims.
Now, you think I've pretty well torpedoed this show with all my observations and criticism and you'd be correct....except....the Emily/Amanda character, played by the real Emily Vancamp is the ideal actress for this role and is fun to watch. She has just the right amount of bubbling innocence coupled with the dark side. Watching her is like watching a Black Widow having sex. It's fun now but you just know what is about to happen later. No one else in this virtual soaper has any huge attraction for me with the possible exception of Jack, the hard-working doofuss who eventually will discover who Emily really is. Not that there will be anyone left on the Hamptons to enjoy the discovery.
One other thing.....the first four episodes have blown by like a high wind over the plains of Kansas. Emily has eliminated four of her adversaries out of a dozen or so conveniently pictured in a photo in the "secret box". I wonder just how long the writers of this show expect it to stay on air? Unless they come up with another set of victims or some sort of improbable story line they have only until "Labor Day" (when the Hampton's season officially ends) or Emily runs out of targets. Not too long if the current pace continues.
