S01.E01: The Thing in the Hole

[raven]

Quote

A normal day for the town of Mawinhaken takes a horrifying turn when the dead begin to rise. Cam and Lauren make a shocking discovery at the cemetery. Meanwhile, McDermott investigates a mystery under the Cleargenix fracking operation.

Airs 2021.10.15

[AnimeMania]

There was a "Special Preview" of Day of the Dead Episode 1: The Thing in the Hole on the SYFY channel, Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021 11 p.m. - 

I am guessing these are not your typical Zombies where damaging the head incapacitates them, and getting bitten or scratched doesn't turn you into a Walking Dead.

I would have sworn that the Black Mortician Lady, Lauren Howell, was bitten and scratched several times by the Zombie that was attacking her, yet she didn't turn. She smashed the Zombie's head and stabbed it with a microphone stand and it was still moving.

Lawnmower Man, the one with Cargo in his Shorts, Cam McDermott, ran over the head of a Zombie with his lawnmower and it still kept coming.

Here are the names of the other people on the show:

Paula Bowman, the rootinest, tootinest, fastest shootinest, Mayor of the city.

Luke Bowman, douchey son of the Mayor

Sarah Blackwood, who was fracking ex-Special Forces 
Amy, a life coach, and daughter of the town doctor (not sure if we saw her in this episode)

Detective McDermott, Cam's asshole cop father

Nicole, the Mayor's adulterous assistant
Luke Bowman, the Mayor's cheating husband
Lazlo, creepy funeral home owner
K-man, Luke's Black friend

They missed a comedy opportunity, there should have been someone at the funeral that was so happy that "Pepaw" wasn't dead that they shout "I prayed that you would come back to us!" and immediately run up and give him a big hug, only to be savagely ripped apart.

[Machiabelly]

Does anyone know who played Lazlo? He looked familiar. Maybe from Z-Nation.

[Terrafamilia]

I didn't know that Canada had a second amendment. Hah, I kid. All the Canadian actors made me geographically confused.

I know I shouldn't ask such questions of a show like this but why, when searching darkened rooms, does nobody turn on the light? And why do long desiccated corpses provide loads of liquid blood when being sent through the mower?

If we are to believe that disturbing the cave of the ur-zombie (an ancient pre-Columbian Viking explorer/colonist?) is what caused the outbreak back in town then those from the graveyard really wasted no time given that not only did they have to dig through several feet of packed dirt but through the coffin lid as well as any concrete/metal vault lid there may have been. That takes real dedication (they're indefatigable).

[kikicat]

Terrafamilia: Oh, you with your logic and common sense!

Yeah, mortician lady was definitely bit on the neck. Maybe it takes a while to turn?

I hadn't heard a thing about this show, but I'm on board for now, even though I prefer my zombies deadly serious.

I'm just hoping Lauren Boebert hobbles herself by accidentally shooting off her kneecap so the zombies can swarm.

[AnimeMania]

21 hours ago, Machiabelly said:

Does anyone know who played Lazlo? He looked familiar. Maybe from Z-Nation.

Peter New

[ZoqFotPik]

12 hours ago, Terrafamilia said:

If we are to believe that disturbing the cave of the ur-zombie (an ancient pre-Columbian Viking explorer/colonist?) is what caused the outbreak back in town then those from the graveyard really wasted no time given that not only did they have to dig through several feet of packed dirt but through the coffin lid as well as any concrete/metal vault lid there may have been. That takes real dedication (they're indefatigable).

They seem to have been fracking for a while, so it's possible that whatever is causing the zombies has been around for a bit. Also, the cemetery might be closer to the drilling site.

Well that certainly was something. I read a review that speculated that the opening scene was originally from a later episode that was slapped on just so there would be some gore right from the start. After watching the episode I agree. I hope they reveal the mayor knows about her husband and the assistant, otherwise she must be deaf. I also wish they didn't reveal that the kid's Dad gets turned.

I'll give it one more episode.

[raven]

16 hours ago, Terrafamilia said:

And why do long desiccated corpses provide loads of liquid blood when being sent through the mower?

I thought of this as well - same with PePaw - we saw mortician lady embalming him yet he was plenty juicy afterwards.

It was alright.  I liked that it didn't take itself too seriously.  We'll see how it goes.

[AnimeMania]

Not sure how the Zombie infection reanimates the corpses. Is it in the water, the air or just some kind of ancient curse. "Pepaw" never touched the ground water as a corpse, does everybody who dies turn into a Zombie, except those that are ripped apart by the Zombies? So far, Lauren is getting all the best scenes. It is way more exciting fighting Zombies hand-to-hand. I bet Sarah Blackwood will have some moves when it is her turn.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Haven't watched yet, but am wondering........

I know this series is inspired by the George Romero movies, but going by how its pitched and some of the comments in this thread about its premiere... would it be safe to say it also takes some inspiration from the Return of the Living Dead movies from the mid-to-late '80s, at least in terms of the humor? 

RotLD movies were comedic - in the coarse humor type of way - spoof-like versions of Romero's films.

[AnimeMania]

It is not that scary since most of the Zombie action happens during the day outside or in well-lit areas. The tone is not very serious. If you get scratched or bit nothing happens to you, you only die if the Zombies rip you apart.

[ZoqFotPik]

15 hours ago, raven said:

On 10/16/2021 at 12:40 PM, Terrafamilia said:

And why do long desiccated corpses provide loads of liquid blood when being sent through the mower?

I thought of this as well - same with PePaw - we saw mortician lady embalming him yet he was plenty juicy afterwards.

Maybe the reanimation process liquifies some of the remaining tissue.

4 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

I know this series is inspired by the George Romero movies, but going by how its pitched and some of the comments in this thread about its premiere... would it be safe to say it also takes some inspiration from the Return of the Living Dead movies from the mid-to-late '80s, at least in terms of the humor? 

Based on this episode, I would say that the name is about the only thing it takes from Romero and, yes, I'd agree that there are some elements of the "Return" series too.

2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

The tone is not very serious. If you get scratched or bit nothing happens to you,

Unless this has been stated somewhere else, we don't actually know this yet. Mortician Lady and Lazlo are the only characters that have been bitten and it's only been a short time. Lazlo might reanimate. Though Mortician Lady is still alive and well in the opening scene, Cargo Short's Dad is a zombie. He had to have been turned somehow.

 

 

[Zanne]

On 10/17/2021 at 7:08 AM, AnimeMania said:

Not sure how the Zombie infection reanimates the corpses. Is it in the water, the air or just some kind of ancient curse. "Pepaw" never touched the ground water as a corpse, does everybody who dies turn into a Zombie, except those that are ripped apart by the Zombies?

The mortician's assistant rinsed PePaw off with water before beginning the embalming process.

On 10/17/2021 at 5:14 AM, raven said:

I thought of this as well - same with PePaw - we saw mortician lady embalming him yet he was plenty juicy afterwards.

Embalming replaces the blood with other preservative fluids. Otherwise, corpse flesh would look more sunken since there was no liquid to fill it out.