ABC’s New Drama “Revenge” Leaves Viewers Wanting More

As current cable television is bringing us deeper into the world of "Law & Order"-like entertainment, the new ABC television series "Revenge" is just the newest installment of the "overly-dramatized" storyline of crime and deception.

The pilot episode debuted on Sept. 21 and brought over 10 million viewers; but were they satisfied?

If you're familiar with 19^th century author Alexandre Dumas's novel, "The Count of Monte Cristo," you may have experienced a sense of deja vu while watching "Revenge."

The show centers around Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp) who has recently returned to her hometown in the Hamptons after leading a not-so-ideal past. As a child, Thorne was known as Amanda Clarke, but was abruptly taken from her lavish lifestyle after her father, David Clarke (James Tupper), was arrested on charges of being involved in terrorist activities, and was later tried and convicted of treason.

After being released from a juvenile detention facility on her18th birthday, Amanda learns she has inherited the wealth of her father's investments. She also learns her father died in prison years earlier, and it's at this point in time that she decides to banish the existence of Amanda Clarke and forevermore use her alias of Emily Thorne. Her reason for doing so is simple and not so simple at the same time.

Emily has bought her childhood home and surrounds herself with the people of her past. She can't help but feel the life she and her father were supposed to have was shattered by a string of lies and deceit by the people her father trusted most. Emily has now taken it upon herself to exact revenge on those who betrayed her father by doing to them what they did to her.

Using memories from her past and information of her father 's trial, Emily will exile those involved with her father's conviction from their community. Through ways of anonymous threats and manipulation, she shatters the lives that they've come to love in the Hamptons.

Each episode focuses around the ultimate goal of getting "revenge" on Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe), the "Queen of the Hamptons" who was both the woman David loved and the betrayer whose testimony led to his conviction. Victoria isn't a woman to be crossed, and senses an ulterior motive in Emily, but has yet to figure it out. She therefore results to keeping tabs on Emily by glaring at her from a balcony in a bad imitation of the evil queen from "Snow White."

Similarly, VanCamp has found her "revenge" glare all too quickly; it may be best to keep looking. A typical ending of a scene will focus in on VanCamp's squinted eyes and pursed lips, creating a less-than-intimidating moment.

Although she does her best to be convincing, Emily is a 20- something who, with the help of her father's smart investment choices, is now able to afford a home in the exclusive sector of the Hamptons. It may simply be the ignorance of the wealthy to assume that there isn't anyone who can't afford their lifestyle,

but it's troubling to believe that not one person has questioned how a young girl living alone is able to keep up with the expenses of their lifestyle.

On a similar note of ignorance, only one person in the Hamptons knows Emily's true identity. Nolan Ross (Gabriel Mann) was appointed by David prior to his passing, that he should be the one to greet Amanda at the gates of the juvenile detention upon her release.

Nolan was to give her possessions that her father once owned, which would enable her to know exactly what led to her father 's arrest. Along with the help of Nolan, as her technological "go to guy," he soon becomes Emily's one and only ally. Even Emily's childhood friend, Jack Porter (Nick Wechsler), can't see the resemblance, but to her surprise, his dog does. It has become a sort of subplot of animal intuition, but are we really to believe that not one person sees something in Emily Thorne, which resembles that of Amanda Clarke?

Apart from the cast and continuity issues, the upscale props and wardrobe have dubbed the Hamptons well, but the scenery resembles a set location in Los Angeles, rather than the beautiful quaintness of Long Island. With that, we are thrown into a bad interpretation of it, with "Hollywood" shining through a bit much.

"Revenge" was released on Oct. 13, and has been picked up for a full season at the current time slot taking the place of other popular shows such as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Law & Order: SVU." It seems that the target audience is aimed towards a younger age group.

Much like "CSI" and "Law & Order," "Revenge" begins the pilot in the future (the season finale we can only assume) to a stage of utter chaos. We don't know who anybody is or what has happened. My one warning is... be prepared to be confused; but how long will the questions last? Once the last person has been exiled from life in the Hamptons, what can we expect for a storyline? That is, if there'll be a renewal for another season.

To those who mock the upscale, lavish lifestyles and the scandals they can find themselves tangled in, make note that ABC's 10 p.m. Wednesday time slot will be offlimits. Others who crave the entertainment

will without a doubt find all they're looking for in the new drama "Revenge."