iZombie

The series premier of this series put me on the fence.

I was expecting a comedy, or at least a dramedy, something akin to Buffy. The first episode didn't provide much humor, coming across as more of a crime mystery. The main character, Liv, uses her position as an ME and her zombie “powers” to help a police detective investigating a murder.

Liv, it seems, is able to tune into the victim's memories, as well as acquire her bad habits, after she has dined on her brain (a fringe benefit of working in the morgue) but must masquerade as a psychic to explain her ability. This would severely limit her usefulness in investigating any crimes without an available dead body.

Liv also reveals that if she doesn't get her minimum daily portion of brain (no interest shown in any other tasty treats offered by the human body), she tends to become increasingly cranky – just like a real zombie. Call me a zombie purist, but I've never encountered a zombie theory which includes a transition period between death and full-fledged muncher of the living. Liv's boss also offers the possibility of a cure for her condition.

By the end of the episode Liv finds a new purpose in life as one of the undead. I'll give the show another episode or two to decide if I find a purpose for watching.
 
I think I'd got the concept from the trailers, and the first episode wasn't bad, but not really stellar either I agree.

Enjoyed how the relationship with the cop was built up, and her boss is sympathetic. Boyfriend is too perfect, inevitably (do they base these characters on me I wonder?!) and the pressure she's getting for "throwing her life away" seems to paint her family as uncaring, or they would have been more sympathetic.

Quite cliché, but something to build from hopefully.
 
Probably not a good idea to watch this while eating chili but that's what I did - I liked it a lot anyway. :) It is very conventional in many ways - everything has to be a cop show, so this is, and it's a "don't slack, cup half full, sunny side of death" thing, besides. But the title character actress is a winner and her morgue boss is good, too - even the cop grew on me a little though he's not quite as much fun. But I found plenty of humor - it's not laugh out loud, but still askew slanted quirky wry humor or even just dumb lines. Speaking of the cop, I liked the "do that voodoo that you do" line. It's not un-Buffy. She, too, wanted a certain kind of life and didn't get it and ended up hanging out away from normal life while trying to save the world a lot. And it is dramedy, fairly light on the explicit grue and violence so far, though obviously not dealing with sitting around in a coffee shop making jokes. I don't know what it's got for legs - if she ends up speaking 200 languages and being master of all martial arts and a Nobel-caliber physicist and so on it may get just a tiny bit implausible and lacking in drama - but I'll definitely watch it next time (on the computer again, as the CW, in its infinite wisdom, is airing this opposite Agents of SHIELD - though, if Shield weren't on, I would watch Flash and Zombie back to back, so it makes sense in that regard).

This is US network TV - after years of reality show crap and nighttime soap operas (still plenty of both) this does sort of seem like a mini-golden age for fantasy "sci fi" comic book horror stuff. Still no real SF or even space opera, but lots of good weird stuff. At least, I've been watching far more TV lately than I did for years before in that wasteland after Buffy went off.
 
After the first episode, I didn't know if I would keep watching. After the second, I'm hooked.

I'm intrigued by the development of the rules which seem to apply to these neo-Zombies.

  1. You can prevent yourself from becoming a full-fledged Walking Dead-type zombie if you get a regular helping of brains.

  2. Eating a healthy portion of someone's brain includes the side-effect of installing that individual's memories and personality traits in your zombie brain.

  3. These effects are temporary, which is a good thing because a growing collection of fragments from other people's minds could eventually lead to insanity, which is probably a bad thing when you're a zombie.

  4. A zombie needs to learn which emotions are hers and which are on loan from her most recently ingested grey matter, or she might find herself hitting on her past fiance, who she had wisely dumped to insure that she would not zombify him
These rules lend a whole new meaning to the adage “You are what you eat.” Liv might want to get a full biography of her next meal provider before chowing down.
 
:LOL: I recorded the 1st ep, and after watching it, put the series on the DVR recording schedule. But, I must wait until Friday to see #2 (as it is repeated then), as the recording priority was too low, and even after manually having deleted other programs from last night's schedule, they were on the DVR, while #2 was not. :eek:

Though I tried to persuade my mother that this show was nothing like THE WALKING DEAD, she still was not interested in it. As for me, I think J-Sun's description/analysis is dead-on, so, I will say no more.
 
REBerg said:
After the first episode, I didn't know if I would keep watching. After the second, I'm hooked.
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After the first, I was sure I'd tune in again but didn't know if I'd keep watching indefinitely. After the second, I'm about like you - the show would have to turn very disappointing for me to tune out. I like it. It's a very odd show. :)

And what a role for the actress playing Liv. We were talking Buffy but there's also definitely some Dollhouse in the single aspect of Liv being a slightly different person (though with her same core) in each episode. I was never that big a fan of Dollhouse but I'm just saying I think it could be a very cool aspect of this show.
 
I enjoyed episode 2 a lot.. (yay for Carla from Scrubs!)

Introducing the "bad guy" this early and having him be highly likeable was a good move. It makes things muddier, especially as Liv is experiencing the emotional highs of the artist's brain and rediscovering a side of herself she thought lost. But from Major's POV I can understand his recoil after being shut out for so long.
 
I watched and enjoyed #2, & suppose that this series will continue to entertain me.
 
Another characteristic I forgot to mention: these zombies, unlike the rotted, mushy, animated, easily decapitated corpses of The Walking Dead, have superhuman strength, not unlike that of vampires. Not creatures to be messed with.
 
Hat trick. I've liked all three episodes now, and possibly in increasing order.

Vague references to ep #3 but no outright spoilers: It's funny how some shows can get away with things I don't let other shows get away with. I mean, the cop is supposed to be pretty smart and level-headed and yet I'm supposed to believe he believes Liv's a psychic. I mean, sure, in the context of the show, he's got plenty of evidence but he still accepts it too easily. And, "Being a psychopath's bayud, m'kay?" I mean, it's not really going out on a limb there - feelings are useful, if sometimes painful. But, still, the way the show is able to explore things with such a variety in each episode (despite plenty of boilerplate) and in such a whacked out way is just great. Plus I loved Liv's Popeye/Pinky & the Brain refs and her chemistry shirt. Plus the - well, this might be kind of spoilery, so safety tags:
the scene with Liv in the "well" with the other zombie was pretty freakin' intense.

This ep also made me realize the other girl is pretty good - I didn't get clear on her: she's just a roommate/best friend, not a sister or anything, right? But she was alright in this one, too.

Not getting carried away and saying I love it yet - maybe it's just all shiny and new - but I actually look forward to it more than any other show along with PoI.
 
Only watched the first two episodes so far. Some obvious plot holes, but the main character is somewhat compelling and the little bits of self-accompanying monologue make it fun. As already noted, some obvious Dollhouse parallels, but no big deal. Just hope it doesn't come to a screeching halt the way DH did.
 
I guess it's got to stop some time but that's four in a row where they just keep getting better and better to me. (There was even a direct call out where she did "the Buffy move" as she was realizing she knew kung fu. (The Asian/kung fu thing is a little tired, of course but, still, it was just a hugely entertaining episode to me.) The feigned shock. The "so-called dog".

It's not losing viewers (there's usually a long dropoff from a premiere until a show bottoms out) but it's not really gaining either and where it's flat is a little low for comfort, even for the CW. C'mon, folks - watch it. (If you're metered, just leave the TV on for my sake, even if you don't watch it. :D)
 
J-Sun said:
I guess it's got to stop some time but that's four in a row where they just keep getting better and better to me. (There was even a direct call out where she did "the Buffy move" as she was realizing she knew kung fu. (The Asian/kung fu thing is a little tired, of course but, still, it was just a hugely entertaining episode to me.) The feigned shock. The "so-called dog".

It's not losing viewers (there's usually a long dropoff from a premiere until a show bottoms out) but it's not really gaining either and where it's flat is a little low for comfort, even for the CW. C'mon, folks - watch it. (If you're metered, just leave the TV on for my sake, even if you don't watch it. :D)
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It's in the same time slot as Marvels Agent of Shield.
 
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