Zoo (CBS series)

The CBS adaptation of the James Patterson novel, premiers June 30.

Could be good; could be bad. At the very least, it's an interesting premise.

I kind of like the idea of coordinated animal retaliation against the humans who have wronged them for centuries.

I hope Ted Nugent is at the top of their hit list.

A global, organized animal movement to eradicate the species which is destroying the earth is a premise more worthy of a Syfy movie than a CBS series, but I was starting to get over that by the end of "First Blood."


OK, I can accept animals somehow being in telepathic touch to get the job done. I can't help but think that something or someone, possibly a misanthropic human, is calling the shots. Without a leader, most groups, animal or other, are generally just a collection of opinions.

This TV adaptation of James Patterson's best-selling science fiction thriller got off to a slow start, but that's not unusual for a series opener. It seemed to gaining momentum by the end. I want to see if it continues to pick up speed, as well as credence, in the next episode or two.

I watched the first episode and thought: "Meh."

The premise sounds absolutely dreadful; something like the film Cats and Dogs but for adults. I would hope that the execution of the idea is a little better, but as REBerg said, you need leaders to be successful. A movement against humans in general just isn't going to work, otherwise "Lions, Tigers and Bears" would have already eaten up all the humans. Dolphins with guns and spy tech is just going to be childish.

It sounds like 1977 film Day of The Animals .

It didn't catch my interest. I started watching, then ended up skipping through the first episode and felt the overall production value quite weak and the plot rather forced.

Never read the book, so don't know how the show stacks up to it.

Two episodes in, and I'm still underwhelmed. Could be a three strikes and out situation.

REBerg said:

Two episodes in, and I'm still underwhelmed. Could be a three strikes and out situation.

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Same here.

I'm out! (I think I heard my DVR breathe a sigh of relief and murmur "thank-you.")

I have a suggestion for CBS executive decision-makers. (I'm certain they have been closely monitoring this thread.) Why try something like James Patterson's Zoo, when you obviously prefer the more economic alternative of reality shows and endlessly recycling participants among them?

The new Zoo, minus the book author's name, of course, would feature 16 of the nastiest contestants who ever graced the likes of Big Brother, Survivor and The Amazing Race. It's a big pool for selection.

The show would be set in (you guessed it) a zoo. Each week, contestants would face some sort of task involving an animal -- taming a lion, dancing with a bear, walking an angry pitbull. The loser would be put in cage with a hungry big cat, given a chair and a whip and challenged to survive for 5 minutes.
Those who did would be given another shot the following week. Those who did not, well, that would just be "good television."

Thanks for the warning. I'll avoid it like a hungry lion.

The powers-that-be in network television are strange creatures - they cancel CONSTANTINE (NBC) and FOREVER (ABC) which are excellent with much potential and a loyal/fast-growing fan base... and leave viewers with dreck.

FEH!

I can understand Constantine getting cancelled. While the concept of it was good, I personally found the production quality wasn't right for me. I'm usually pretty forgiving when it comes to TV shows. So while I still watched Constantine until the end, I found it hard for me to enjoy fully.

But Forever, that was such a charming, lovable show. Cancelling Forever made zero sense.


But Zoo? This show should never have been greenlit. Waste of money.

The Bluestocking said:

The powers-that-be in network television are strange creatures - they cancel CONSTANTINE (NBC) and FOREVER (ABC) which are excellent with much potential and a loyal/fast-growing fan base... and leave viewers with dreck.

FEH!

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The likelihood of cancellation is inversely proportional to quality.

This is a Murphy Law Corollary (that I just made up) that explains why shows like Firefly die and shows like Zoo are even born. If it holds true, we can expect Zoo to be renewed indefinitely.

I think CBS owes Syfy royalties. All CBS has done is substitute normal (well, except for that blown pupil telecommunication thing) animals for the standard giant dinocrocodilepythonsharktopusspiranhasaurus featured on Syfy every Saturday. Now, if CBS would have their animals delivered by tornado, they could have a smash hit.