But I'm seeing lots of hopeful speculation--people trying to find explanations that mean they don't have to hate the show like they did based on the first descriptions.

I think I'm more likely to hate it because of other stupidities. Like the low-rise leather pants and the blonde's infeasibly perfect curls. All the men but the geek seem to have access to really good razors, nobody's teeth have rotted out, and Eric Kripke has been bingeing on The Hunger Games and Lord of the Rings and Jericho (down to the suspiciously-informed black person with an internet connection). Oh, and Twilight, since that Nate fella is a dead ringer for the werewolf kid.

I liked the visuals, but... well, I guess we'll see. At least there are more women doing things already than we got in the entire first two seasons of Falling Skies.

... I would forgive a lot if they were to cast Lennie James, though!

nobody's teeth have rotted out,

They probably have less access to sugar, which might help with this.

Does whatever knocked out electricity also transmute all the baking soda in the world into something people couldn't brush their teeth with?

Does whatever knocked out electricity also transmute all the baking soda in the world into something people couldn't brush their teeth with?

True, but I bet dentists are thinner on the ground. And anesthesia. And x-rays, and anti-biotics, etc.

If you have good genes and brush your teeth and floss regularly, you're probably mostly okay for a while. But there's nobody around to repair a cracked or broken tooth, no orthodontists to straighten the kids' teeth, no one to effectively kill the pain of doing what little dentistry can be done. No flouride in the water. The likely diet of whole grains and vegetables is harder on the teeth than ours is. And anyone unlucky enough to inherit bad teeth is going to be in bad shape.

That said, I don't really expect any television show to acknowledge the myriad medical & logistical problems of a post-apocalyptic scenario--it's too unattractive and too much work. They're just looking at the romantic aspects of ruined cities and rebuilding civilization.

I still think the leather low-rise pants are ludicrous: why on earth are all the clothes the exact same fashions we are wearing today? Even after half the planet dies off, fashions change.

why on earth are all the clothes the exact same fashions we are wearing today?

No electricity = no Lucky magazine?

What I want to know is, where did the kindly black lady get an inhaler? Her son's yeah, but it's been 15 years since blackout. Nobody is manufacturing new inhalers for asthma without power, and whatever the kid had back 15 years ago is long expired.

But yeah, not as distracting as the low-rise pants and the perfect hair. So irritating. While I did not think much of a Charlie actress, a practical non-fashionista wardrobe and hair in a braid would have made me a lot less annoyed.

the kindly black lady is obviously "in the know" though since she had one of those doohickeys and could make her power come back on. so maybe she's connected to people still making things like inhalers.

can't believe i'm talking about this show. it was stupid and boring.

Um, maybe whatever magic maguffin killed electricity also killed dental caries?

I haven't even seen the show yet but I can already tell that at least half the fun for me is poking holes in the scenario.

half the fun for me is poking holes

Watch for the flat-spinning passenger jets with the nav-lights still shining.

Still, it has Giancarlo Esposito, and it is fun to watch what he can do with a character who can be either charming or scary or both.

Watch for the flat-spinning passenger jets with the nav-lights still shining

Oh, yeah! And from a physics point of view, wouldn't the planes keep going forward for a while, rather than dropping like rocks? After all, they would have had pretty impressive forward momentum...

Also, the way the lights went out in a very orderly progression across the landscape & the globe. That was definitely a case of someone sacrificing logic in favor of drama. Pretty, but stupid.