The grit and occasional gore of “The Walking Dead” is fine, but sometimes we need the sorbet of fun and witty storytelling without giving up our beloved zombies. This is what the new CW series “iZombie” is hoping to give us. The series, which is written, directed and produced by Rob Thomas of “Veronica Mars” fame, premiered on March 17 with a lot of buzz from the zedhead community.
Photo by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons
The SXSW Debut
You can tell a lot about a show and its vibe by the place it is debuts. This year’s South by SouthWest Festival gave us a preview of “iZombie” as part of its cutting-edge lineup. To understand why this is telling, we need to look at the sort of things that happen at the event.
SXSW is an indie event with hundreds of musicians performing every style from hip-hop to grunge. As a film festival, SXSW is one of the big ones, running new shorts competitions and only showing us the newest and brightest minds. This year’s media lineup includes a comedy about a trust fund man-child and an anti-obesity crusader trying to win the heart of a reclusive animal activist. This is one of around 100 quirky, sad, funny and just plain weird shows that are spotlighted at the festival. Making this the debut for “iZombie” gives us a clue as to the tone and audience that the show will have.
A Bit of Plot
Olivia “Liv” was a driven, straight-arrow young doctor until she reluctantly attended a party that became snack central for a zombie horde. As part of the newly undead, Liv becomes a coroner and distances herself from the world of the living as she tries to get a grip on her waning humanity.
Since this is a Rob Thomas show, we spend a lot of time in Liv’s head as narration. Though it has the same smart banter and cultural references, “iZombie” is not Veronica Mars with a shamble. She eats brains, as zombies are known to do, and acquires some of the memories and abilities of the victim. This makes her a great de facto detective and drives most of the external action of the show. This is a DC Vertigo and Warner Bros production, so when Liv goes full zombie, she has all of the powers you would expect, including strength and invulnerability at the cost of brain-eating rage.
The Natural Comparison
“iZombie” is an adaptation of the DC Vertigo comic book, so it is normal for a fan to compare the two. Like Liv, you may want to fight your nature. The series is a very, very loose adaptation, notably with a name change for the main character. Where the comic explores the whole of the otherworld, there is no feeling that the series will introduce werewolves, vampires or ghosts anytime soon. We will see some other zombies though, so we can hold out hope for the second season.
What Others Are Saying
The reviews of the pilot seem promising. Entertainment Weekly gave it a B+, which is admirable for a Thomas premier (“Veronica Mars” came in with an A-). IGN says that it is worth watching and IMDB has it as at 7.3 out of 10. Let’s see where Thomas takes the show and if it becomes a mainstream favorite or only plays to the fan base.
