I’ve been trying to watch shows that I normally wouldn’t care about…. so, I started to watch iZombie. Why not, right? It kind of holds my attention at the gym.
iZombie is loosely based on the iZombie comic book series from Vertigo. Growing up, I loved Vertigo. They published Sandman, Books of Magic, and other awesome titles. The parent company, DC, didn’t really hold my interest that much. So, iZombie is really just another show that’s trying to cash in on the current comic book craze, but since it’s really not super saturated like other comics, it comes across kind of unique.
… Unique, but frustrating at times. I like to think that the comic is a lot better than the show. I wouldn’t want my image of Vertigo tarnished.
This show must be doing something right since it was renewed for a fifth season, but maybe it just appeals to the masses as most shows seem to do nowadays.
I don’t like the Murder She Wrote story side. Someone dies. Brain gets eaten. Zombie wanna-be doctor solves the murder. That’s pretty much the main character and supporting good guy characters in a nutshell. I was never big into Murder She Wrote. Found it a bit boring and the main character more than a little snobby, which is how I find the main character, Liv Moore, to be. But, maybe just a little less snobby because she does eat brains.
But, Liv is seen cooking brains into a variety of meals and has a certain culinary enjoyment when eating them. I could understand this after the first season, but she’s relished eating brains from the start while being upset at becoming a monster. A girl has to eat to survive. I’m anorexic. I understand, but that doesn’t mean she has to enjoy one of the very things that define her as being a monster. I had/have a revulsion to eating anything, brains or not, and would not eat unless the food was literally forced down my throat. Liv sautees and gulps those brains without a second thought.
After the second season, I could understand. All of the main characters are introduced and she finds her purpose — solving mysteries — then being a monster may not be so bad as she attempts to capture monsters of the human kind. This is the Murder She Wrote angle.
It’s just not solving murders that’s annoying but the little ‘life lesson learned’ that’s at the end of episodes. Never been fond of “I learned today is… ” Doesn’t one of the kids South Park say something similar? Stan, maybe? Anyway, serious nix on the life lesson BS.
Outside of the stair stepper and elliptical, what has really kept me watching for nearly four seasons is the ‘bigger picture’ story. How the zombie virus was created and distributed. How the government was involved or, at least, a government contractor. The two ways of handling the outbreak – Zombie Island – which didn’t happen or attempting to create a zombie/human society.
I also thought the wall going up around Seattle, zombie ground zero, was a nice touch. It really fits in with what’s going on with the news. I could see a wall being used to help keep the zombie virus from spreading.
Does anyone else remember Alien Nation and how it dealt with alien/human relations? It’s kind of like that, but a little more fluffy.
But, Liv kind of spoils that too. Seattle’s zombie population is starving. Baby zombies. Zombie children. Zombie mothers, the whole she-bang. Instead of taking some of the murder victim’s brain and distributing it to several zombies to help solve cases, Liv chows down on it all.
There are plenty of well-educated zombies in Seattle and I’m sure a lot of them would be happy to help the police, especially if it meant that they’d never go hungry again. But… nope. I haven’t quite figured out what makes Liv so special. I know there’s the ‘ain’t broken, don’t fix it’ way of doing things. But, there was even an episode where three of the zombies shared the same brain and — all three — helped out. Somehow, Liv just has the stockmarket cornered.
Well, it’s either that or the uneasy reasoning that she’s become the human’s personal pet – especially Clive. I like Clive’s character… actually, I like most of the characters… but Liv is his personal ladder to promotions and becoming captain. To Protect and Serve doesn’t seem to be his top priority.
He and the assistant DA (at one point) expect Liv to subject herself to unknown brains and situations without giving two hoots about what it might do to her personally or even if she really wants too.
Outside of the Seattle wall, I watch for the bad guy, who sometimes, isn’t the bad guy.
For me, the opposition of the main characters is what makes a story. I don’t care who sleeps with who or how they felt about that. Who cares, really? Without a bad guy, the good guys are just boring, horny, and overly dramatic.
For iZombie, the bad guy is Blaine as played by David Anders. That name might sound familiar. According to Wiki, this guy has been in a lot of stuff like Charmed, Once Upon a Time, and The Vampire Diaries. Shows I’ve never really watched, but have heard of. If I’ve heard of them, they must have had some popularity.
So, Blaine was part of the problem, tried to atone, and fell in love with the assistant DA. When he confessed… which he didn’t have too… about a secret, the DA rejected him – harshly. Despite her prior professed fascination with Blaine, she selfishly destroyed his self-exploration and improvement.
If she really did care for him, you’d think that she’d take a moment to consider the sacrifice he made to have an honest relationship with her. Instead, she goes into Blaine’s bar and claims that she gets to drink for free. Uncaring, deceiving, and entitled. Yep, this DA is a politician in the making.
I guess the main appeal of this show is that it has a little bit for everyone. There’s a decent overall arching storyline. Love triangles and, sometimes, love squares, happen which probably appeal to the soap opera crowd. Then, of course, there are the ‘mysteries’ which appeal to this generation of Jessica Fletcher viewers. Although… this iZombie Jessica Fletcher has many lovers.
I could go on a bit further about this show, but I’ve already reached 1000 words. =) j
I’ll spare you the rest.
So, if want to watch something that is a little bit of everything a nearly a whole lot of nothing, iZombie is for you. Otherwise, watch Supernatural. Much better and the guys are cuter.
after thoughts 