Corrina: To be clear right off: zombies are not my thing. I don’t watch Walking Dead, I don’t read a lot of horror stuff, and I’ve never read the iZombie comic.
Therefore, I went into watching the premiere of iZombie with the attitude of “show me something.”
Mordechai: I too am not a zombie or horror guy. I am, however, a huge Rob Thomas mark. Loved Veronica Mars. I’m also a tremendous fan of Mike Allred, the artist from the iZombie comic, and have tremendous respect for the Chris Roberson (who was fired by DC Comics for speaking his mind).
The thing is, the comic is really, really different than the show’s pitch. The comic is about magic. Liv lives in a crypt, with a ghost for a best friend. They hang out in a diner with a gay were-terrier. It’s kind of out there and awesome. Turning that into a science-based police procedural, that made me want it to impress me.
Source: CW.
Corrina: Did it?
It had a lot going for it.
The lead is likable and interesting. I enjoyed her wisecracks and her “whatever” attitude, and the ending with her at the haunted house was amusing. The coroner’s job reminded me of Tru Calling, another show about a wisecracking young woman with a supernatural power, but her colleague’s interest in her zombie-ness felt perfect. Diverse casting is also always a plus.
Source: CW.
Mordechai: Rose McIver very much brings Liv to life (ha ha ha). It’s perfect. Everything from the narration to facial expressions just sells every scene. Her eager boss is instantly likable (did they even name him?) and the show does a great job of setting up her work and family dynamic. Well done there.
Source: CW.
As for shows it reminds me of, I never saw Tru Calling, but it came to mind. As did Pushing Daisies and Psych (because of the fake psychic aspect). It’s like to make the show more palatable (lots of eating and dead puns here, eh?) they had to lift from a lot of sources.
Corrina: The police plot was just “meh” as it was immediately clear who was the culprit when the second cop stepped in. Going all “zombie” on the dude was fun to watch.
But nothing grabbed me by the throat and said “this is a must watch.” It was enjoyable and fine but nothing outstanding.
Source: CW.
Mordechai: You know what grabbed me here? The set design and costume. Every single character look like they stepped off of a Mike Allred panel. From the outfit on the neighbor of the call girl to the mother’s necklace to the haunted house. This was a live-action Allred comic. That and that alone has me wanting to watch every week.
Source: CW.
Also, my daughter loved it. Not liked, loved.
What did you guys think? Should we keep going? Would you want to see us handle this show every week?
I like the show. Keep watching or else.
I would leave a “like’, but I refuse to register for WordPress.
at the request of my nagging Jewish MeMaw (here’s what I commented elsewhere):
I plan to absolutely keep watching it, tho the set up was sort of weak, and despite assurances it wouldn’t be Veronica Mars as a zombie. .that’s EXACTLY what it is.
But still that doesn’t bother me. So I plan to continue watching
I thought the plot was “meh.” Actually it screamed “pilot episode to show the network!”
I enjoyed the interaction with the three main characters and thought it was well cast. I will be giving it more episodes to win me over.
I loved the original comic, and I actually liked the first episode more than I thought I would. It lost a lot of the kitsch from the source material, but it managed to replace it with a lightheartedness that reminded me a lot of Reaper.