Category Archives: Z Nation

Sep19

September 18, 2015 — GH & Zombies on the Run

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

General Hospital

Ava asks Scotty how this could have happened. Judging by the flimsy door and lock, does she really need to ask? Ha-ha! Scotty is trying to say she still owes him the money. For what? He has no evidence anymore.

It’s the usual revolving door in the ICU.

Dillon has had a “cease and desist” letter about his film project. He needs yet one more permit. This isn’t surprising, since they live in the NYC/NJ area where everyone is fee’d to death. My problem here though, is that all he’s doing is holding auditions right now, so cease and desist what? Someone is jumping the shark or in this case, the cease and desist letter. Mayor Lomax’s signature is on the letter and Paul says he went to law school with her, and she’s always been both ambitious and ethically challenged. I’m geographically challenged, so please don’t ask me for any directions or even to name all the states.

Morgan can’t wait any longer, and is moving on from Julian’s place to hunt him down. Meanwhile, Carly and Michael are going slightly bonkers because they’re worried about him. Julian is with Alexis at her place and they’re planning on taking off to some cabin somewhere. As they leave, TJ emerges from…the bathroom? How come no one knew he was there? At any given time, I can guarantee that I know how many people (and dogs) are in my house. In Port Charles, nobody ever knows who’s lurking around where, but if you’re looking for someone, check the hospital. Lots of people like to wander around there.

Emma (another kid I love, even though I don’t love kids on soaps) has given Patrick a worry doll for his birthday. He’s going to be lending that out a lot. A low key birthday party is going on with Emma, Danny, Anna and Sam in attendance.

What the what? TJ is taking the info about the cabin. Why? Brilliant of them to just leave it there out in the open too. Oops! He runs into Morgan as he’s leaving. Once again, Morgan doesn’t want to take “no” for an answer and asks TJ another 12 times if he knows who shot Sonny. TJ doesn’t buy what Morgan is selling (i.e. that he’s there to find Alexis so she can help one of her many daughters) and Morgan has to admit why he’s really there. Apparently, in all the confusion, someone has forgotten to sign the commitment papers for him.

Oh no! Ava is changing her hair back to blonde, even though she looks smashing as a brunette. She’s also going to give herself a haircut. This is never a good idea IRL, but I’m sure the miracle of television will make it look like she went to a salon. “Denise” was actually supposed to be a hairdresser, so there’s some kind of irony here.

Paul calls Mayor Lomax to chat her up. She had a crush on him in law school and he gets her to retract the letter. Since it looked like Tracy and Paul were on the verge of rekindling their relationship, she is not too happy that the mayor has also asked to meet with Paul.

Morgan is nowhere to be found and Michael says that’s okay, even though he’s gunning for Julian, he won’t do anything stupid. Because, you know, he has the reputation of being completely level-headed.

Yep, perfect haircut on Ava. It looks like she has lowlights too. Whatever coloring product she used must be amazing. And quick, since this all took about five minutes. Fast birthday party also. Sam is already cleaning up. She’s given Patrick a guitar as a gift. Does this mean we’re putting on another show? It must have been what he really wanted, since he asks Sam to marry him.

Wow. The cabin looks just like both Alexis’s and Julian’s apartments. No surprise, after getting into his Star Trek transporter, Morgan shows up.

Z Nation

Now that Citizen Z’s compound has pretty much been blown apart, he has a lot more to worry about than the cosmonaut in his head. Because of the blast, a plane crashed nearby and zombies have been let loose in the North Pole. Please, oh please, don’t let anything happen to him and especially not to Pup. Unfortunately, in his zeal to try and keep Murphy safe, he’s created a whole host of other problems for our friends (otherwise known as Operation Bite Mark).

Zombies driving cars! Everyone is after Murphy (or “The Murphy,” as he’s being called by some), including a group who look like they’re part of a drug cartel and another who seem like hillbillies – they don’t want the bounty, they want to kill Murphy for sport. Everyone is shooting the place up and these ain’t your mother’s zombies. No matter how you die, you’ll turn into one. And God only knows what kind of zombies those nuclear bombs created. Operation Bite Mark is after Murphy too, and so far is surviving. A guy who looks like Pablo Escobar shoots Murphy, but then is shot by some random woman. Murphy asks her for help and she responds by shooting him in the stomach. I’m guessing she’s after the reward, but as she moves toward him, kind-of-zombie Cassandra grabs her from behind. Bye-bye. Cassandra also sees 10K, named for the amount of zombies he wants to kill, but leaves him alone.

I spend a lot of this show going, ohshitohshitohshit in my head and I’m doing it right now. I can’t imagine this episode ending without us losing someone. Shooting and running and zombies, oh my! Maybe Murphy should lose the disco coat he’s wearing so he can blend in better. He runs for cover into a hotel and is being trailed by his kind-of-zombie-girlfriend Cassandra, as well as a small band of “Zs.” Honestly, if this wasn’t so serious, it would seem like a Marx Brothers movie. The effects aren’t grandiose, but perfectly executed, and the scenes seem more intense because there is no background music – just the sounds of quiet running and breathing.

10K has lost his hearing from being too close to an explosion, and that doesn’t bode well for being on the defense, especially since he now tends to shout at inopportune times. Oooh, in a smart move, Murphy has given the disco jacket to another zombie.

Hillbilly Guy has found the room Murphy is hiding in, but doesn’t see him because Murphy is in the closet. In an earlier episode, Murphy discovered that he can not only control the zombies somewhat through thoughts, but can also tap into humans. I can’t be positive this is what he’s doing, but he stares hard through the door slats at Hillbilly Guy, who stops looking for him and turns his attention (and gun) to the window. Doc and 10K have also shown up, and 10K covers Doc while he gets into the hotel. Coming up behind Hillbilly Guy, Doc’s gun jams (my freakin’ heart!) and he throws it at Hillbilly Guy, making him drop his. Murphy, please come out of that closet – and I don’t mean that as a euphemism for anything.

A lot of back and forth fighting ensues, and I almost thought we were going to lose Doc as Hillbilly Guy is strangling him, but Doc has an out of body moment and sees a weapon at the top of the closet that he’s able to knock down before he’s knocked out, and kills Hillbilly Guy. Murphy dashes out, bidding Doc farewell. Gee, thanks for the help.

I swear if I don’t have a heart attack by the end of this episode, I’ll never have one.

The name of the episode is White Light, and there are weird glimpses into everyone’s childhood as they each have near death experiences. I’m not sure what this vehicle is being used for exactly. If anything.

Roberta, who has just missed getting killed by Hillbilly Guy 2, finds Murphy on the roof of the building. He jumps off, into a pool loaded with zombies, but since he heals pretty easily, walks out and is off like a dirty pair of underwear (as my dad used to say). Head Cartel Guy is watching everything from another roof, and covers what is possibly a bite mark on his wrist. (We also see he has a “Z” tattoo on his hand.) Murphy steals (is there such a thing as stealing anymore?) a car and tries to book, but Addy drags his ass out of it. Her anger is understandable, since she has just had to “give mercy” – a nice way of saying shoot in the head – to Mack, her kind-of-boyfriend and closest confidante, who had gotten locked in a stairwell full of zombies. If it hadn’t been for Murphy running in the first place, none of this would have happened. After Addy nearly beats Murphy to a pulp, Roberta asks where Mack is. Superb acting job here, as there is no dialogue, only exchanged glances, and the glances say everything.

In a way, it’s nice to see Citizen Z get some action and beat the crap out of some zombies. Apparently video games aren’t all bad. He seems prepared for this moment. The absence of Pup is making me nervous though. I’m also kind of sad that the compound got trashed. It was such an amazing place.

This show is relentless and fierce and funny, and is some of the most enjoyable television I’ve ever seen.

In playing “Six Degrees of Separation” with my entertainment, I just read that Game of Thrones author, George R.R. Martin, has confirmed that he will be appearing on the show as his zombie self signing his own books. How freaking cool is that? Nice plug too!

Sep12

September 12, 2015 — I Am My Own Zunami

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

Z Nation: Zunami

I was glad to see the Chiller network is running a Z Nation marathon amid the vast wasteland that is weekend television.This was my favorite episode in the first season. And I think a turning point for several characters.

At the beginning of the episode, the group has just lost their leader, Charlie. He’s also the love of Roberta’s life (at least this life), and she’s about to give up. Murphy, in his not-so-subtle way, tells her to get back with the program. A “zunami” is coming – a wall of zombies, headed south, and our friends are trying to stay a step ahead of them. Having had no water for a couple of days though, they’re not at the top of their game. Only Murphy is fine, since he can “retain his bodily fluids.”  They become trapped and the only choice is to hide inside the dead body chambers of a morgue, after ousting one of the inhabitants. Murphy, not having the same worries as the others, is able to remain among the zombies and goes out to find supplies. To distract themselves from what’s surrounding them, Roberta thinks about food and Doc thinks about bands from the ‘70s. One of the expendable characters they’ve picked up along the way can no longer take the claustrophobia, and busts out of his chamber, quickly getting eaten, while the others hold their collective breaths.

Citizen Z gets a visitor, cosmonaut Yuri, who has landed from a defunct space station. Although Citizen Z is cautious, the two become friends, sharing stories, having a nip of vodka, and playing golf.  Citizen Z has been alone a long time, so it’s a happy moment when he’s finally able to communicate with another human being face to face. Especially when he began this episode saying good-by to Charlie and saluting his bravery via webcam.

This episode is heartbreaking on a couple of levels.  One is the change we see in Murphy – becoming both braver and more hardened. He’s a reluctant anti-hero, starting to realize the power he has over the zombies. After stealing supplies from a living mother and child, he lets the zombie father back into the house. Why? I still don’t get that. Is there some method to that madness or does he have a cruel streak? After seeing season two’s premiere episode last night, I’m hoping Murphy comes back from the dark side. He isn’t entirely gone, but I don’t like where he’s headed.

And there’s also Citizen Z finally forging a real friendship, only to realize at the end, he’s still alone. Earlier in the episode, a carbon monoxide alarm has gone off.  Since it’s interfering with Citizen Z’s concentration on his golf game, he’s whacks it with the golf club, knocking it off the ceiling, rather than checking the air levels. This does seem a little contrary to Citizen Z’s personality, but creates the setting where we get to really know him.

Seeing it again was interesting in the way that watching The Sixth Sense a second time is. We can now look for “clues.” The first thing Yuri says to Citizen Z is that the air is not safe, even after Citizen Z has told him it’s all right to remove his helmet; Yuri having so many similarities to Citizen Z is no coincidence, but understandable, since he is Citizen Z; Citizen Z researching Yuri’s space station on his tablet (yes! we still have wifi!) and seeing that it had run out of air and all were presumed dead; Yuri’s continual questioning about Citizen Z’s dog sleeping the day away; Yuri knowing that Citizen Z’s real name is Simon, which even we didn’t know.

When Citizen Z discovers Yuri has put his space suit back on, he draws a gun and asks who Yuri really is and why he has intruded on the compound.  At first, Yuri tells him he’s asking the wrong question, but when Citizen Z asks why Yuri has put his suit back on, Yuri tells him he’s closer.

A physical fight ensues. Yuri is about to strangle Simon, cutting off his air, while continuing to badger him into remembering what he knows. What is different about today? What is wrong with dog? What do you know? When Yuri asks him why he can’t breathe, Simon says it’s because there is no oxygen. Yuri disappears and the figurative light bulb comes on. Citizen Z drags himself and his dog outside, where they both recover. (Whew!) Seeing Citizen Z standing at the entrance to the compound, alone with his dog (only known as Pup) was actually a little painful and brought tears to my eyes. I so wanted him to have some company.

While The Walking Dead is more like a combination of Orson Welles and Werner Herzog direction, Z Nation is like a Tarantino/Rodriguez effort. The terror is high, but the humanity and laughs continually bubble to the surface, somehow making it more personal. (The only advice my father gave me upon leaving home was, “Don’t lose your sense of humor.” He must have known how easy that would be to do in this world.) I’ve found myself invested in this diverse band of characters, rooting for them, laughing with them, holding my breath when it looks like there’s no way out for them, and weeping inside for them.

I love the horror genre, but zombies have always been my favorites, because zombie stories are rarely really about zombies; instead being representative of real life terrors. Sometimes it’s obvious, like those where humans became zombiefied because of biological warfare or some nuclear waste leak. Others contain more subtlety, like Colson Whitehead’s Zone One, which basically tells us that we need to leave a lot of our “dead” ways behind. (I read it while the electricity was out after Hurricane Sandy and I couldn’t have picked a more appropriate book.) While I haven’t made a definitive decision on what Z Nation is really about – and like The Walking Dead, we are not privy as to why this is happening – I tend to think they both involve the human struggle with ourselves, as well as those who are different from us, and trying to move forward in today’s ever-changing landscape.

Or as Pogo once so succinctly put it: We have met the enemy and he is us.