I take my show-watching fairly seriously. In fact, I think investing in a show is like investing in a relationship: it requires time and commitment. And you hope it keeps things interesting. Otherwise, it's just a TV fling that leaves you with thoughts of 'what could have been...'
**A note before I move on. This post will contain some mild spoilers. So if you don't want to know anything about the show and be totally surprised, go watch then come back to this post.**
So far, the CW series iZombie has been the former. Although initially, it wasn't really a show that interested me. The zombie genre never really appealed to me (I fell asleep during a zombie movie in college, true story). But then I learned that the show's creator was Rob Thomas of Veronica Mars fame, I thought I would give it a chance. I have to say that I am very glad I did. The general premise of the show is Liv Moore, a medical resident, is turned into a zombie at a party. Rather than kill innocent people, Liv decides to use her power for good and works in a morgue in Seattle. Liv eats the brains of murder victims, then taking on the victim's personality, and helps the local police solve crimes.
There are many things I'm enjoying about this show (I just finished season 3 on Netflix) but there are three reasons that are at the forefront:
1) The dialogue. One of the qualities I really liked about Veronica Mars is that it was sharply written. The dialogue was witty and quick (much like Buffy, actually. I call VM "the most Buffy-like show after Buffy was over"). So seeing as iZombie had the same show-runner, I was hoping for more of the same. And it delivers on that promise:
One of my favorite scenes is from season 2's "Pour Some Zombie on Me". The scene: Liv (on stripper brain) and her friend Peyton enter, talking to Blaine, one of the antagonists of the show:
Blaine: Can I interest you ladies in a cup of decaf java? Organic, fair trade, shade-grown, barely discernible carbon footprint.
Liv: There's going to be a discernible carbon footprint on your ass if you don't cut the crap.
(quote credit: IMDB)
That is sharp stuff! Plus the fair trade, environmentally responsible detail is fun and specific.
2) Liv Moore as a character. The whole premise of her taking on the personalities of the person's brain she eats? Gross but pretty brilliant. Rose McIver, who plays Liv, does an excellent job portraying a different 'character' each episode.One of my favorite performances so far comes from the show's second season, in the episode entitled "Cape Town" where Liv takes on the personality of a vigilante superhero (I was SO hoping for an Arrow "you have failed this city" reference, but perhaps there are copyright issues there). But I'll settle for this exchange where Liv tells her detective partner, Clive, about bad people in the world:
Clive: Our mugging victim ID'd her assailants. They're both in the system.
Liv (with a deep, Batman-y voice): They're not in the system. They are the system.
Clive: Yeah, not really following.
Liv (still with the same deep voice): There are bad people in this world. We put them in cages, expect them to change, they never do.
(quote credit: IMDB) (parenthetical comments mine)
And finally...
3) The pop culture references. Did I ever think a show about zombies would reference Downton Abbey? ("Conspiracy Weary", season 3). No. But this one did. (Also can we have Liv eat someone aristocratic from the Edwardian period and say "what is a weekend?") How about a play on the creator's name Rob Thomas by having the lead singer of Matchbox 20, also named Rob Thomas, have a cameo? (see finale of season 2, "Salvation Army"). Anddd a direct reference to Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name"? ("Shot through the heart?" "And who's to blame?" from the season two episode "Love and Basketball"). That's quite the range! Heck, they even make the occasional literary reference (twice there are references to Hamlet) which always delights me.
So, dear readers. If you have seen the show, what do you think? What are specific things that you enjoy about it? If you haven't seen it, are you intrigued? Let me know in the comments.
Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed the post!
I cancelled my cable subscription after I moved to College Town, and I don't have Netflix or Hulu either; I did it because the only shows I watched on a regular basis were Law and Order reruns and Elementary. But your description of the show about zombies is very intriguing, and I remember Rose McIver from Once Upon a Time. She's a really good actress. Like you said, watching a show is like making an investment; I think that's one reason I like watching crime dramas because they're usually plot-centered and I can get away with missing a few episodes and still be able to enjoy the show.
ReplyDeleteIt's really a fun show. I read that Rose McIver was in OUAT (which is another show I need to watch) and would be curious to see her performance. I never got into crime shows. Wait, I take that back, I used to watch CSI but then it got to graphic for my tastes. But I agree that some of the best shows are ones where you can miss an episode and not be behind. I wish more shows were like that.
DeleteBy the way, I wanted to follow your blog, but when I clicked on it it said that I would be identified by my real name, rather than my screenname; the problem is that when I first registered my blog, I used the same e-mail address that I use to communicate with my students. So if I change the name of my Google account to my screenname, they might find out about my blog. But I'll update my blogroll to include this new one you've been writing.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry. Is there a setting I need to change so you can follow? I haven't used Blogger is so long that I am still re-learning some of the functions. Thank you for commenting and reading! It is much-appreciated :)
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