Drama
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Captain Pike finally gets his time in the Star Trek spotlight, but his story is one filled with tragedy and foreboding.
Sheriff Wayne Cypress’s phone won’t stop ringing.
“The apocalypse start or something?” His daughter, Det. Dana, quips.
In a manner of speaking. Dana witnesses it firsthand as she sees multiple men and women crawl out of their graves. But they’re not craving brains: The formerly deceased are just as confused as the living.
A month passes. They count 47 “Revivers” so far, all of whom had passed away within two weeks of what they’re calling “Revival Day.” It’s not long before the CDC arrives, preventing anyone from entering or leaving their Wisconsin town. They soon discern that the Revivers are immortal: While they don’t heal from any injuries they had before their deaths, their bodies quickly mend whatever cuts, scrapes and bruises they receive afterwards.
But though the Revivers act the same otherwise, distrust of them nevertheless fills the air. Religious theories fly, and haunting sounds call from the nearby woods. Some townsfolk worry that the people are zombies or demons. Others cling to hope that their own recently departed loved ones might make a similar return.
And some worry that the secrets they hoped had died with the deceased might be brought back to life, too.
Syfy’s Revival, in a way, brings its spiritual story back from the dead.
It’s based on a comic series of the same name, wherein a Wisconsin town grapples with exposed secrets and supernatural happenings following the sudden resurrection of a handful of its citizens.
If this story follows the same storyline as its comic book predecessor, viewers can expect those spiritual concerns to include radical religious groups who come to eat the flesh of Revivers, as well as other groups who believe the Revivers are demons who must be slain. We may also hear whispers of possession and hauntings.
And though these “zombies” don’t tear into human flesh with an undead hunger, there’s still a lot of violence to go around: The Revivers suffer a variety of cringe-inducing wounds, from nasty cuts and gunshot wounds to being burned alive and decapitation. Others meet blood-gushing grisly ends, too.
Sexual content, so far, includes male backside nudity and others who strip to their underwear—as well as a few suggestive scenes. The comic, however, includes a vital plot point involving a college student’s affair with her professor—which will likely make its way into the show. Finally, viewers will frequently hear the s-word and misuses of God’s name.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
As the dead come back to life, a Wisconsin town grapples with public fear and government investigations. Meanwhile, the local police force looks into connected strange happenings around town.
When the revival happens, one poor corpse resuscitates at the start of his cremation. He bursts out of the furnace on fire with melting skin, and he runs off into the night. Another man emerges from the cemetery missing an eye.
Someone gets thrown through the air and is impaled in the head by a metal post, killing her. A man swings an axe at Dana, who dodges and kicks the man, causing his arm to get stuck in a bear trap. A woman forcefully pulls a tooth out of her mouth. A Revived person survives multiple gunshot wounds and chokes someone. Another Revived individual survives being run through with a sickle. Someone uses a sickle to slice off the top part of a Revived woman’s head—it’s unclear if this ultimately kills the woman or not.
We see a man’s decaying corpse in a chair, his wife hoping that he’ll return to life like the others. Dana investigates a dead horse with large amounts of its flesh missing (which we also see onscreen). Nearby, Dana finds dead coyotes, pierced by hunting traps, as well as human teeth.
A naked man, recently revived, runs past Dana, covering his genitals from viewers with his hand; we still see his naked rear. Dana passionately kisses a man, and she sits atop the guy in a car as they intend to go further before they’re stopped by a phone call. Later, Dana learns that she’ll be working with him and awkwardly apologizes for the encounter. Dana takes a bath, though the water is too cloudy to see anything critical.
A man drinks liquor.
We hear the s-word 12 times. Other profanities include liberal uses of “a–,” “d–n” and “h—.” God’s name is taken in vain 13 times, including six instances paired with “d–n.” Jesus’ name is likewise used as a swear word seven times.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
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