Giant Freakin Robot

NBC’s Revolution is one of my most anticipated upcoming shows, and the reason can be pared down to two little words: Eric Kripke. Sure, some would argue that Revolution exec producer J.J. Abrams has more name recognition, but let’s face it, Abrams’ name on a show doesn’t always guarantee success these days (ahem, Alcatraz). Kripke, on the other hand, created and shepherded five damn-near-perfect seasons of the CW’s Supernatural, a show that defied the odds by continually getting better over the course of those years. So yeah, I’ll be tuning in to Revolution, and from the sound of things, Kripke’s put just as much work into crafting the characters and ongoing mythology of the show as he did for Supernatural.

Speaking at the Television Critics Association summer press tour earlier this week (as reported by TV Line), Kripke provided a few more specifics as to Revolution‘s mysterious blackout setup. “Anything that throws a spark, any circuit that carries an electrical charge [stops working] …. That’s the simple, clean rule,” said Kripke. Good news for anybody in line for the electric chair; bad news for everybody else.

But what actually causes the blackout? Oh come now, you didn’t think he was seriously going to explain the show’s core mystery before it has even premiered, did you? But for anyone still stung by LOST‘s parade of unanswered – or unsatisfactorily answered – questions, fear not: like Battlestar Galactica‘s Cylons, Kripke has a plan. While we’ll (hopefully) have to wait a while before those questions are forthcoming, Kripke says he worked out the cause and then even ran it by an expert.

I had an answer that explains all the different facets – why the power went off, and why certain people are able to turn it back on — but of course that was coming from just a writer’s imagination … So we brought in a physicist and asked him very specific questions – if this technology were possible, and if this happened and this happened, would such a thing be possible? And he said that it would, that it actually explains it and makes sense.”

Kripke did, however, rule out one likely suspect for flipping the Earth’s off switch: it wasn’t caused by a solar storm. “There, hot off the presses!” said Kripke. “Ours is not a solar storm.”

Revolution premieres September 17th on NBC.