Z Nation

[MagSeven]

Why the hell aren't they bottling vials of Murphy's saliva and blood? At least as back up. It's the Asylum so I can forgive them. Also, what happened to DJ Qualls' dog? I don't think we've seen it in a couple of episodes.

[Jack Flag]

Why the hell aren't they bottling vials of Murphy's saliva and blood? At least as back up. It's the Asylum so I can forgive them. Also, what happened to DJ Qualls' dog? I don't think we've seen it in a couple of episodes.

I am pretty sure serums don't work like that (how will they even keep it fresh from spoiling?) But it may work the way cow pox vaccines worked back 300 years ago. The thing is the survivors don't know Murphy bit the man - and Murphy won't tell them he did if he can help it because they may kill him as a zombie in his mind. So the Asylum people got that right.

[Enigmatic Undead]

Episode 8 "Zunami" The DJ Quall scenes were outstanding, his best yet. Yuri turning out to be a hallucination was an excellent twist although you could see it coming. The mass zombie migration is an interesting idea. Doc's thoughts when he was locked in the morgue made me laugh. Murphy is a huge *******, at least he came back for the group though. I'm expecting him to be able to control the zombies even more as time goes on.

[Jack Flag]

Episode 8 "Zunami" is the best one yet and just wow. The Murphy twist and what he did was both disturbing and understandable (its the mark of good writing and acting that you sympathize with something you should not sympathize with) - it was really great drama - this episode is better than anything I have seen from the Walking Dead episodes in a long time. Fast paced, depressing, disturbing and dark humor. Some of the early episodes were cheesy but this episode hit hard. Well done.

[Calighoula]

This series has shaken off any fluff it opened at the gate with. What Murphy did (no spoiler) is indeed a characterization high water mark for the show so far. That was something else.

Btw, Jack, you're not liking the new season of TWD?

[Jack Flag]

This series has shaken off any fluff it opened at the gate with. What Murphy did (no spoiler) is indeed a characterization high water mark for the show so far. That was something else.

Btw, Jack, you're not liking the new season of TWD?

I like the TV show Walking Dead but I don't love it - just a lot of contrivances to move the plot along. My critiques on there explain why in more detail.

Z Nation is not exactly Shakespeare but it is hella fun to watch and what's great is you maybe enjoying a comedic twist then they kick you in the guts. In any case I agree - what they did with the Murphy character and what he did in that last episode is friggin genius characterization!

Also, I guessed what was happening with the DJ Quall scenes but he knocked them out of the park! And having Citizen Z act as a narrator helps fill exposition and moves the plot along. I like that there is still a world community of survivors and with a minimum of budget they created a multi million like herd of zombies that move around as written by Max Brooks in World War Z. It makes the so called "herds" shown in The Walking Dead look anemic.

Hats off to Asylum - it shows that they can step up beyond their schlock origins.

[MagSeven]

This series has shaken off any fluff it opened at the gate with. What Murphy did (no spoiler) is indeed a characterization high water mark for the show so far. That was something else.

Btw, Jack, you're not liking the new season of TWD?

I wonder if what Murphy did was because he's a bad guy opportunist or if the serum is actually affecting his mind and humanity? So far really liking the show. It's my favorite "original" show on Sy-Fy

[Legato]

I like this show, it has got me into watching Sy-Fy again

[Jack Flag]

This series has shaken off any fluff it opened at the gate with. What Murphy did (no spoiler) is indeed a characterization high water mark for the show so far. That was something else.

Btw, Jack, you're not liking the new season of TWD?

My opinion of The Walking Dead is not unique and the Washington Post review petty much is saying the Walking Dead fails in some aspects compared to the Z Nation - and the critic apologizes to the Asylum people.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/postev...-zombie-genre/

I have a confession, an apology, and an appreciation to make.

The confession is that I haven’t been a huge fan of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” during much of its run. While the acting and the action has generally been of a high quality, the same could not be said of the plot and the writing. The show made a total hash of the best villain from the comic book series, “The Governor.” There were halves of seasons in which the pacing was just awful. The show is also emblematic of a larger “grimmification” trend in popular culture, in which genre work is made to be ponderous and humorless in order to achieve mainstream acceptance as “serious.” To be honest, if I wasn’t trying to maintain my zombie street cred, I probably would have given up the show after Season 3. There, I said it.

My apology is to the creators of SyFy’s “Z Nation.” I fretted the week of its premiere that I was pretty dubious about The Asylum’s ability to make a viable zombie show. It turns out I was wrong. This clip, which incorporates a rather creative use of one of America’s iconic landmarks in the fight against the undead, pretty much encapsulates the show:

“Z Nation” is pretty far from perfect: the effects are as cheesy as a “Sharknado” sequel, and its zombie rules seem awfully inconsistent at times. That said, in just half a season this show has demonstrated that it is not at all derivative of “The Walking Dead,” but rather forging its own path. It has cleverly and adroitly set up key elements of a post-zombie apocalypse culture: the importance of giving compatriots “mercy” before they turn into zombies, for example. Unlike “The Walking Dead,” “Z Nation” understands that economics will survive the apocalypse. As our main characters traverse the country, they encounter various ad hoc trading posts to get what they want (and, realistically, the currencies of choice in “Z Nation” are bullets and Oxycontin). Finally, the best thing The Asylum has done to “Z Nation” is give it a decent sense of humor, as the above clip demonstrates.

Finally, my appreciation is that, since I kinda have to watch all the zombie stuff on television, I should acknowledge that I’m living in the golden age of the genre. “Z Nation” is chugging along, and after a few torpid seasons, season five of “The Walking Dead” is off to a crackling start.

[fmvgamer]

My opinion of The Walking Dead is not unique and the Washington Post review petty much is saying the Walking Dead fails in some aspects compared to the Z Nation - and the critic apologizes to the Asylum people.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/postev...-zombie-genre/

I have a confession, an apology, and an appreciation to make.

The confession is that I haven’t been a huge fan of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” during much of its run. While the acting and the action has generally been of a high quality, the same could not be said of the plot and the writing. The show made a total hash of the best villain from the comic book series, “The Governor.” There were halves of seasons in which the pacing was just awful. The show is also emblematic of a larger “grimmification” trend in popular culture, in which genre work is made to be ponderous and humorless in order to achieve mainstream acceptance as “serious.” To be honest, if I wasn’t trying to maintain my zombie street cred, I probably would have given up the show after Season 3. There, I said it.

My apology is to the creators of SyFy’s “Z Nation.” I fretted the week of its premiere that I was pretty dubious about The Asylum’s ability to make a viable zombie show. It turns out I was wrong. This clip, which incorporates a rather creative use of one of America’s iconic landmarks in the fight against the undead, pretty much encapsulates the show:

“Z Nation” is pretty far from perfect: the effects are as cheesy as a “Sharknado” sequel, and its zombie rules seem awfully inconsistent at times. That said, in just half a season this show has demonstrated that it is not at all derivative of “The Walking Dead,” but rather forging its own path. It has cleverly and adroitly set up key elements of a post-zombie apocalypse culture: the importance of giving compatriots “mercy” before they turn into zombies, for example. Unlike “The Walking Dead,” “Z Nation” understands that economics will survive the apocalypse. As our main characters traverse the country, they encounter various ad hoc trading posts to get what they want (and, realistically, the currencies of choice in “Z Nation” are bullets and Oxycontin). Finally, the best thing The Asylum has done to “Z Nation” is give it a decent sense of humor, as the above clip demonstrates.

Finally, my appreciation is that, since I kinda have to watch all the zombie stuff on television, I should acknowledge that I’m living in the golden age of the genre. “Z Nation” is chugging along, and after a few torpid seasons, season five of “The Walking Dead” is off to a crackling start.

The critic at least acknowledge that he hasn't been a fan of walking dead and yet he praised season five as off to a crackling start. You on the other hand just criticised.
Z-nation is cheesy as heck and it knows that. It's not taken too seriously because the show itself doesn't take itself too seriously.

[Jack Flag]

The critic at least acknowledge that he hasn't been a fan of walking dead and yet he praised season five as off to a crackling start. You on the other hand just criticised.
Z-nation is cheesy as heck and it knows that. It's not taken too seriously because the show itself doesn't take itself too seriously.

I also stated that the new season TWD episodes were fast paced. I stand by my past criticisms - we have yet to see many episodes of this new Walking Dead season. TWD is like a 7 on the entertainment scale while Z Nation is a lot of fun.

[Enigmatic Undead]

I wonder if what Murphy did was because he's a bad guy opportunist or if the serum is actually affecting his mind and humanity?

IIRC the patients that the "cure" were being tested on at the beginning of the pilot were prisoners.

[Jack Flag]

IIRC the patients that the "cure" were being tested on at the beginning of the pilot were prisoners.

Murphy stated he was in jail for mail fraud - it could be a lie of course and probably is. In any case I don't think he was a saint - and of course if they would use prisoners for experimenting you would assume they were the bad kind.

In any case, given his dubious background - Murphy is freaking out over the fact he is changing and changing fast into something that scares him - remember he urged the group to take him to the California bases fast and he keeps looking at himself in the mirror monitoring the changes.

Murphy killed for reasons that seem to further the mission along.

[Jack Flag]

Trippy episode tonight. It dealt with the trauma of the human mental condition better than the Walking Dead did with Rick's ghost wife.

[Calighoula]

It dealt with the trauma of the human mental condition better than the Walking Dead did with Rick's ghost wife.

I like the show, too. But let's keep it real. This was a filler episode spoilers:

designed to keep expenses down via utility of existing sets, a bare minimum of CGI, two principal cast members, one "acting" zombie, several dead zombies (extras told to lie there and play dead), and a rattlesnake (filmed around the legs of the wrangler), all scripted in a "Groundhog Day" format.

end of spoilers

I think they could have done it in half the episode's time. I like Anastasia ("Addy"), but her boyfriend is the least interesting player out of the entire cast.