New telly shows thread

[Darkflame]

Enjoyed the first season of iZombie. Definitely going for a bit of a buffy vibe.

[Governmentyard]

Right, right right - the Sci-Fi Channel (yes it is) are now doing another night of Spacey programs. The rundown is as follows:

Defiance: Now in its third season, this show is a favourite of mine due to it improving throughout. Boring plotlines, episodes and characters never get too much leeway, it always comes back round just when you are thinking you might have had enough. It has become more bloodthirsty due to the success of your GoT type stuff, opening episode of the new series sees a small boy get a fucking great spike right through his face for being a dick. The main characters are cool, Series 3 really red-weddings its cast down from the get-go in order to tighten it all up, I just can't dislike it. Even the new entities went from really fucking annoying purple space vampires at the start of the episode to being interesting, fun characters in the end.

Dark Matter: By them wot did "Stargate: Begbie Voyager" or whatever it was called, this tells the tale of a ship whose attractive stereotype occupants come out of stasis with no idea who the fuck they are. There's a commanding model with a ridiculous arse, a gun-loving lecherous jerk, an avuncular and selfless big black guy, a space martial artist who just happens to be oriental, a 'do the right thing' Ted Moseby sort and a cute teenage girl who is good with technology and a bit psychic or whatever and more mysterious than the rest. And a pretty Lt. Cdr. Data type Android called Android. If it was any more by-the-numbers it would literally be a series of numbers scrolling up the screen for 45 minutes. It's low budget, the dialogue only rarely transcends the formulaic and the pacing is, to put it bluntly, fucked. Well worth a watch as the filler series though, but come prepared for some 'B' Sci-Fi so you won't be disappointed. It might get renewed seeing as it only costs 50p and people will watch it with all the rest.

Killjoys: Now then. Did you like Firefly? This isn't that good, or that clever, but it's as close as you are going to get for now. 3 Wisecracking Space Bounty Hunters operate in a 4-planet system. you've got the youthful, beautiful chief bounty hunnter lady who was a sort of Nikita figure growing up and has an accent that makes my dick hurt, her youthful beautiful assistant guy who is basically Chris Pratt in GotG and his beautiful, youthful brother who has a mysterious past and was an soldier. But it's fucking cool. And someone spent money on the CGI.

Get on that lot.

[Darkflame]

I dunno, personally I thought both Dark Mater and Kill Joys (from the first episode) had every cliche under the sun in their setups. Dont see much distinction in originality.
Kill Joys certainly trying to be more "fun" but non of the banter made me laugh yet. Nice to see the warehouse 13 actor get work anyway.
Dark Mater certainly lost points for the oriental with a sword bit (I was really hoping he would pick the swords up try to do something fancy and fuck up badly).
On the other hand, to be fair to the show, I actually didnt see that ending coming. If they stick with that it could go places.

Spoiler: show

Oh, don't get me wrong, its obvious that one of them would have been a "very bad person" here. But all of them? A Total-Recall esq "previous persona was a arse" has a bit more potential then "oh, we want to get lives back"

I notice that log didnt mention the kid either.

I'll keep watching both mind. Because they are Sci-fi shows SET IN FUCKING SPACE. Which have been a rare thing for a long time now.
--
Defiance meanwhile continues to be the closest we got to B5. Sure, modern influences have made it more violent and "gritty", but past seasons have got quite political in parts and they do a good job with making most species be well motivated.

[Mark]

I've been catching up on Victoria Coren Mitchell's How To Be Bohemian from BBC4. It's a 3-parter and I'm mid-way through part 2 as I type. It's basically a profile of eccentrics and weirdos, and as such has been really enjoyable so far (but then I could watch VCM read a phone book and still enjoy it).

It's all still available on BBC iPlayer if you want to give it a pop.

And honestly, the first 30 seconds of episode 2 are perhaps the funniest thing I've seen so far this year. Even if you're not interested in the show, give it a watch...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... -episode-2

[Misfit]

Enjoyed the first season of iZombie. Definitely going for a bit of a buffy vibe.

Well Buffy crossed with Veronica Mars (it's by Rob Thomas of VM fame). So cue plenty of voice overs as our hero takes on the world.

Your post reminded me of the existence of the series and as a big VM van decided to give it a go. So I've binged this over the last couple of weeks.

Starts off a bit twee, but descends into much darker waters as the series progresses and I found it became that I needed to watch the next episode asap. Of course the problem with binging is that Season 2 doesn't air to October and there are a few good cliffhangers we need to see play out.

For those who don't know, Zombies are real, but they stay almost human (if a tad albino) as long as they get a good supply of brains. No brains then you start to revert, no brains for too long and there is no coming back. The side effect of eating brains is you get visions of the past life of the original 'owner' and also pick up a few of the personality characteristics for a while. Cue our hero, ex doc turned zombie who gets a job in a morgue to get her brain fix and then helps police solve the murders (And there is an underlying arc where bad zombie guy infects rich people and then supplies them with brains for cash).

Sounds stupid, works well.

[Jonesey]

I've got yer 'kin zombies right here -

[Misfit]

I've got yer 'kin zombies right here -

Oh, please let it be good, please let it be good, please let it be good...

[Darkflame]

Enjoyed the first season of iZombie. Definitely going for a bit of a buffy vibe.

Well Buffy crossed with Veronica Mars (it's by Rob Thomas of VM fame). So cue plenty of voice overs as our hero takes on the world.

Your post reminded me of the existence of the series and as a big VM van decided to give it a go. So I've binged this over the last couple of weeks.

Starts off a bit twee, but descends into much darker waters as the series progresses and I found it became that I needed to watch the next episode asap. Of course the problem with binging is that Season 2 doesn't air to October and there are a few good cliffhangers we need to see play out.

For those who don't know, Zombies are real, but they stay almost human (if a tad albino) as long as they get a good supply of brains. No brains then you start to revert, no brains for too long and there is no coming back. The side effect of eating brains is you get visions of the past life of the original 'owner' and also pick up a few of the personality characteristics for a while. Cue our hero, ex doc turned zombie who gets a job in a morgue to get her brain fix and then helps police solve the murders (And there is an underlying arc where bad zombie guy infects rich people and then supplies them with brains for cash).

Sounds stupid, works well.

Yeah, that's pretty much my assessment of the series.

I was a bit scared of it being too "police-procedural" going in. That it would all be "brain of the week" solving "murder of the week". But fortunately it became quite a bit more then that.

I read the comic its based on as well. Actually just happened to read it before the series was announced. The comics quite a different thing - she works as a gravedigger, for example. Also its a bit more nuts. Maybe too nuts for a tv budget;


I do like the fact the shows inter-titles are the exact style of the comic, that was a nice nod.

[Misfit]

I do like the fact the shows inter-titles are the exact style of the comic, that was a nice nod.

Yes, very cool.

That one page does make the comic seem completely different! So 'Liv Moore' didn't come from the comic then? Then there is no excuse for the silly play on name!

Decided I needed more of a zombie fix so started on the Walking Dead. Now there is a tonal shift!

[Darkflame]

Yeah, I groaned hard at the renaming. Nothing wrong with Gwen. But clearly someone thought Liv Moore was a genius idea.

Basically the comic gave the idea of having to eat the brains, gaining personality/memories and some of the visuals. Not much else really.
I guess Ravi is also vaguely based personality wise on the Wereterror from the comics, alluded too when he mentioned his MMO character was one.

Anywho...Zombies and Vampires on TV a plenty. I wonder if mummy's are feeling left out right now.

[gumboot]

Anywho...Zombies and Vampires on TV a plenty. I wonder if mummy's are feeling left out right now.

I thought mummies were zombies. Just reinforced; to keep the bits together.

[Darkflame]

Well, there all variations on the undead idea from different cultures.
Basically, yeah, their Zombies.
I guess a bit more held together, but also more vulnerable to fire.

The other difference I think is its genuinely taken that their organs are kept somewhere else - in urns and such. And they want to piece themselves back together.
Or maybe just deliberately kept separate to keep themselves invincible?
Probably for a tv show some of that could be played with.

[snaff]

In Scooby Doo when they unwrapped a mummy there was nothing in there, suggesting it's more a ghost with clothes on.

[Jonesey]

Zombiesare all about mindlessly eating flesh. Mummies can have an agenda either by their own will or the will of - another.

Maybe..

Both undead, though.

[Harlequin]

I have never read the comic but have just finished the first season of iZombie. From what Darkflame posted I feel the Buffiness comes solely from the comic but is very toned down and mostly overridden by the Veronica Mars elements, which is not necessarily a bad thing in this case. Also from Darkflame's post I see that another plot thread from the comic does seem to have been used in the series,

Spoiler: show

although only for a few episodes near the end: the romantic attachment to an unknowing monster hunter.