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S01.E02: Fracking Zombies

ottoDbusdriver

By ottoDbusdriver
in Z Nation [V]

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ottoDbusdriver

ottoDbusdriver

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Cassandra's past comes back to haunt her

 

It might be helpful if any of these names were at all memorable (except Doc and 10K), let alone who Cassandra is.  

 

Oh I remember now, she was the girl in the cage at the rendezvous (for reasons we still don't REALLY know about).  Turns out she has a past with another group that she escaped from (ooooh, someone has a secret).

 

I wish they would makeup their minds about what kind of zombies they are going to have -- fast running zombies that will rip you to pieces like in the pilot episode, or slow lumbering zombies that are easily deflected like in this episode.  Pick one, you can't have both.

 

The group runs out of gas, pickup a hitchhiker who tells them about a nearby gas refinery, where hijinks ensue about trying to fill up a tanker truck of gasoline that will help take them to California.

 

Citizen Z has company at Northern Light -- a guy on a dogsled who was infected rode the sled to the the base.  How did this guy know to travel to Northern Light in the first place when he was in the process of turning before freezing to death ?

 

At no point have they indicated that the zombie virus has gone cross-species, so how did the dog get infected ?  The guy/zombie on the sled froze to death, who bit the dog ?  And why did all the dogs appear to drop dead at the same time as soon as they got to the base.

 

And since they are already out of ideas, they re-enact the zombie baby portion of last episode only this time with a zombie dog. That's just lazy.  But now Citizen Z has a buddy.

 

Mount Wilson CDC lab has been overrun with Class 4 zombies (Class 4 -- how high does the rating go ?) but Citizen Z manages to back up the mainframe before blowing the generator and wiping out all the data.  And with the lab compromised, Citizen Z still told them to go to California which makes no sense at all.

 

I know zombies are attracted to noise, but why were they lining up in single file, climbing up stairs in order to throw themselves into that vat of oil.  Or when all the zombies were flushed out of the tank and all ended up by the tanker truck, they all moved in sync with each other.  These are frakking zombies, chaos is the order of the day.

 

And all that effort by the group, and they only get a couple of jerrycans of gas for their trouble, so they are still pretty screwed.

Don't even get me started about the power of the hand-cranked music box and it's awesome amplification capabilities.

 

One big problem with this episode -- they are well into Year 3 of the zombie virus yet there are working pay phones and security cameras at the refinery.  How ?  How could there be a working electrical infrastructure and a working telephone system.  If the refinery was one of the first things to be overrun (as stated by the hitchhiker), it ran out of backup power a long time ago.

 

The Asylum is going all out when it comes to shitty writing for this. It is so stupid.

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technorebel

technorebel

(edited)

I get all your objections, otto. If you want to enjoy a zombie show, you've just got to suspend your disbelief about a lot of things. I don't have a problem doing that because I just love me a post-apocalyptic tale. And it's just icing on the cake for me if the actors wisecrack their way through the thing.

I'm all in. First a zombie baby, then a zombie dog. And this line..."That explains the pull to the left"....I died laughing. Plus I'm rooting for this band of misfits to make it to California.

Edited by technorebel
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MDKNIGHT

MDKNIGHT

(edited)

I wish they would makeup their minds about what kind of zombies they are going to have -- fast running zombies that will rip you to pieces like in the pilot episode, or slow lumbering zombies that are easily deflected like in this episode.  Pick one, you can't have both.

 

Actually I think they can.  In the pilot the red headed woman was talking to the guys about how the zombie brothers who attacked them must have just turned.  She said it in the middle of them commenting on them being fast zombies.  Even at the time the way it was phrased made me think that when people turn they are fast moving zombies and as they get older (maybe rot) they get slower.  I think we are meant to believe that the refinery zombies had been there for a long while and so were now slow zombies.  Also when the lab experiments turned they tried to jump the black guy pretty quickly because they had JUST turned that moment. If I'm right about this I think it is kind of clever as an addition to the zombie myth.  It kind of make sense as even though zombies aren't physically possible at all if they did they should be running slower as they rot and use up stores of energy running around.  Remember a lot of these things don't even have all their intestines so it isn't like they are really replacing their energy stores with food.

Edited by MDKNIGHT
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SoSueMe

SoSueMe

I get all your objections, otto. If you want to enjoy a zombie show, you've just got to suspend your disbelief about a lot of things. I don't have a problem doing that because I just love me a post-apocalyptic tale. And it's just icing on the cake for me if the actors wisecrack their way through the thing.

I'm all in. First a zombie baby, then a zombie dog. And this line..."That explains the pull to the left"....I died laughing. Plus I'm rooting for this band of misfits to make it to California.

BBM

 

Hands down, best line so far.

 

I'm really liking it as a fun way to wait for the return of TWD (please don't judge me, lol) I really think that the DJ Qualls character/plot device is adding a lot to the show. If I suspend disbelief and put myself in his place, it is a pretty grim place to be, all that responsibility and the pathos of not being able to help, up close and personal.

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ottoDbusdriver

ottoDbusdriver

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I get all your objections, otto. If you want to enjoy a zombie show, you've just got to suspend your disbelief about a lot of things. I don't have a problem doing that because I just love me a post-apocalyptic tale. And it's just icing on the cake for me if the actors wisecrack their way through the thing.

 

The thing that disappoints me so much about this show is that this is the Asylum's first crack at a weekly tv show to show that they can do better than the endless stream of shitty cheap movies they generally make.  If they made this show a full-on satire of zombie movies along the lines of Zombieland, it could be good.  But two episodes in and they are really half-assing it so far.

 

P.S. I enjoy Doc's snarky comments.

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Irishmaple

Irishmaple

It looks like TPTB have decided to edge towards the comedy rather than the drama which is fine with me.  I actually enjoyed that episode.  The issues I had with the premiere still exist but the episode was fun.  Our Heroes couldn't seem to catch a break but still came out ahead or at least even.

 

Tom Everett Scott is really going for it in his role.  He seems to know what show he's in and looks like he's having a blast.  I like the female lead (the driver) and her snark too.  The zombie in the wheel was a great sight gag and the line about 'the pull to the left' was classic.  I'm still enjoying Doc, though he seems to be getting a little twitchy.  I thought the kids travelling with him were sibs but are they boyfriend/girlfriend?  10,000 is a bit of an enigma but that seems deliberate so I'm willing to go with it for now.  I laughed at the "Jeff" line.  The Antibody was annoying again so I'm doing my best to tune him out.  I like the idea far more than the execution.

 

Following the zombie baby with a zombie dog was hilarious, and DJ Qualls is selling the heck out of his role as well.  The dog was gorgeous but brought back bad memories of Will Smith's Sam in I Am Legend.  I was happy this particular dog had a better ending (for now) 

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technorebel

technorebel

 

 

Following the zombie baby with a zombie dog was hilarious, and DJ Qualls is selling the heck out of his role as well.  The dog was gorgeous but brought back bad memories of Will Smith's Sam in I Am Legend.  I was happy this particular dog had a better ending (for now) 

 

I know...who was expecting a happy ending for that dog.  Another impossible scenario, but whatever.  It's zombies, and I'll just enjoy the ride.

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ladyrott

ladyrott

Now I am really curious what "Sunshne's" story is.  She is used to getting hit with a taser?  I want to know why she was locked in that cage in the first episode.  Looks like we might find out more stuff next week on her (based on the previews). 

 

I loved the scenes with ZombiePooch.  Citizen Z has solidified my love for the character forever by saving that beautiful Siberian husky.  I am glad he will have some company up there at the top of the world.  Dude is a horrible shot, though.  When he was standing on the crate shooting (without aiming yet) at shadows, disappearing tails and growling sounds I was thinking they were going to go with that action movie cliché where the hero's gun never runs out of bullets...I was glad when he was forced to go hand to hand with ZombiePooch.  I didn't catch if he ever came up with a name for husky though.  Anyone notice?

 

I really really don't like the walking antibiotic guy.  When he was telling Doc about being so civic minded even though he was wrongly convicted, it was obviously a crock of crap (even without the flashback).  Then when he left Doc...well, I get that he has PTSD from all that happened but he abandoned the guy who left the safety of the car just to make him feel better and knock off the two zombies who were freaking him out.  I know that if antibiotic guy dies the world is doomed but I wouldn't mind him ending up in a coma for few episodes.

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Cattitude

Cattitude

I really like this show, but don't take it too serious. But to me it is almost MORE realistic than a true drama. Shit happens and I almost thought they were going to go the route that immune patient zero was going to get hot potato passed to a different group of people each week getting to Callie. I love that it is all just a bunch of random people and doc is by far the best comparing it to AA.

 

I don't like immune patient zero b/c he is supposed to have PTSD but he is playing amost more like cerebral palsy so he isn't believable as PTSD and also annoying in his tics. Plus why would an amoral sociopath convict be so passive even with PTSD if anything I'd expect him to be hair trigger volatile not so passively scared.

 

Hope the pace continues b/c I really like it.

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wayne67

wayne67

I'm really loving 10000. He appears to be the only really competent person in the group so far. He hangs back from the stupid, he doesn't involve himself in the petty bullshit and he gets the job done by sniping the Zombies. 

 

Antibody is tedious. 

 

I was confused by the zombies lemming themselves into the oil. Also why did they all stand around the truck staring at the zombies. They made the zombies seem intelligent by comparison. Why did female lead spend so much time trying to unlock the hose when she could have used the sword she had in the previous episode to chop into it and leave. 

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SoSueMe

SoSueMe

(edited)

I've been mentally comparing this show to The Strain and I think it is coming out slightly ahead. Unabashedly campy, but with some poignant moments and probably half the budget of The Strain. Don't get me wrong, I'm a cheap date so I'll probably keep watching them both at least til I have a major schedule conflict (e.g. TWD). 

Edited by SoSueMe
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technorebel

technorebel

(edited)

I'm really loving 10000. He appears to be the only really competent person in the group so far. He hangs back from the stupid, he doesn't involve himself in the petty bullshit and he gets the job done by sniping the Zombies. 

 

Antibody is tedious. 

 

I was confused by the zombies lemming themselves into the oil. Also why did they all stand around the truck staring at the zombies. They made the zombies seem intelligent by comparison. Why did female lead spend so much time trying to unlock the hose when she could have used the sword she had in the previous episode to chop into it and leave. 

 

I've never filled up a tanker, but my guess would be that you have to detach the hose in order to close the valve on the tanker so the fuel doesn't just spill back out.

I don't know why they all just stood around watching the zombies come pouring out, get up, and walk toward them.  Probably just so I could scream at the tv "get out of there!"

 

Why is 10,000 constantly wandering off?  What's the deal with him, I wanna know.  Also, the girl from the cage.  The biker that was after her said something like, "Do they know what you are?"  I'm thinking she was in some cannibalistic cult or something, and it sounds like she was a sex slave or such.

Edited by technorebel
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wayne67

wayne67

Why is 10,000 constantly wandering off?  What's the deal with him, I wanna know.  Also, the girl from the cage.  The biker that was after her said something like, "Do they know what you are?"  I'm thinking she was in some cannibalistic cult or something, and it sounds like she was a sex slave or such.

 

 

Because he's a loner that's not impressed with their inability to kill off a single zombie baby and she's a runaway from a bunch of ruthless survivors that probably went a little crazy perhaps?

 

That's my best guess at the moment.

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technorebel

technorebel

(edited)

I guess we'll find out more about girl-from-the-cage's story since the biker boys appear to be tracking our little group.  Maybe they'll tell Ten Thousand's story via flashbacks.  I take my zombie stories seriously.  I want all the details.  Except, apparently, their names which I can't remember.

Edited by technorebel
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Helena Dax

Helena Dax

I liked it. I needed three years to be interested in the guys from The Walking Dead but I'm already interested in this bunch, especially 10.000. I think Antidote Guy is interesting too and his presence helps the show to be different.

 

I'm glad the dog survived. I thought Citizen Z was going to kill him by mistake.

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MDKNIGHT

MDKNIGHT

I have a feeling Antidote Guy will be kind of like Dr Smith on Lost in Space in that he'll be running to the group for help all the time but willing to throw them under the bus at every opportunity. 

 

That Husky is the fairest of them all.

 

My guess about Cage Girl is she is a "celestial bride" of some cult leader with like a thousand brides, or at least as many women as have made it to his compound.  Alternately she is a cult leader's daughter and he STILL wants to marry her so she ran away.

 

I think 10,000 has a little bit of PTSD  and hanging with the group will do him good if he doesn't get killed. 

 

This is not Shakespeare but it ain't that bad either. 

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PurplePastry

PurplePastry

I'm loving the sheer ridiculousness of this show.  It's the perfect escape after a long week of work and it has loads of the one thing always missing for me from TWD, which is consistent even excessive zombie killing. (TWD nails it some episodes, but then it seems like we get bogged down in human drama and go numerous episodes without any good zombie battles.)  And I knew I was truly invested in seeing this through by how loudly and aggressively I cheered when the red haired girl's awesome bat weapon got returned to her via explosion.  I was seriously mourning her loss of that weapon through the whole second half of the episode.

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Rockstar99435

Rockstar99435

(edited)
Also, the girl from the cage.  The biker that was after her said something like, "Do they know what you are?"  I'm thinking she was in some cannibalistic cult or something, and it sounds like she was a sex slave or such.

 

I really hope not. I just started this series and so far my favorite thing about it is that there has been no rape or rape threats. Every other post-apocalypse show or movie I've ever seen always has multiple scenes of creepy men being all, "I know we're all on the run from zombies/aliens/robots/superflu and there are only like .00001% of the human race left but I'm going to take time away from trying to survive to rape and/or sexually threaten every woman I come in contact with." I like that we've made it through 2 whole episodes with no sexual violence and multiple women who are dressed appropriately for the apocalypse and who actually do something besides cry or need to get saved. Even Cassandra (shorts girl) had knowledge the team needed about the zombies being attracted to certain sounds and was a vital part of the plan. And people wondered why she was dressed in shorts and commented on her inappropriate wardrobe. Like the NSA guy said, it's been 3 years of zombies. Anyone who is still alive is a badass, and that includes the women. For as much as this show gets compared unfavorably to The Walking Dead, it is miles ahead of that misogynistic shit show.

 

I like the NSA guy and I'm glad he didn't shoot the dog by accident. The old guy who was all, "The apocalypse is like rehab, take it one day at a time" and the young couple are my favorites. I hope they make it to the end.

 

I have a theory about "the package". I think the other zombies can sense him and are attracted to him. The zombies all seemed more focused on him than any of the other people or sounds. Even when the old guy was outside of the SUV killing zombies, they were all trying to claw their way into the vehicle where the VaccineGuy was. They didn't even notice the human out in the open.

Edited by Rockstar99435
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Rockstar99435

Rockstar99435

Really? Dammit! I figured it was too good to be true. We were going to watch the next few episodes this weekend. We'll probably still watch the next few and see how bad it is. The series is filmed in Spokane so we know a couple of the extras and it was really fun to look for them.

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technorebel

technorebel

Really? Dammit! I figured it was too good to be true. We were going to watch the next few episodes this weekend. We'll probably still watch the next few and see how bad it is. The series is filmed in Spokane so we know a couple of the extras and it was really fun to look for them.

 

By all means, watch it all the way through.  It's great fun even though there were a couple of dud episodes, and the series has a killer cliffhanger.

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editorgrrl

editorgrrl

How long was the Lost guy transporting the prisoner guy? Weeks? Months? How did they never even make it out of NY? Why does the prisoner guy have meth mouth all the sudden when his teeth were pearly white in the pilot?

 

Harold Perrineau (who played Michael Dawson on Lost) is Lt. Mark Hammond. His mission is to escort Murphy from Portsmouth Naval Prison to a CDC research facility in California. Murphy was forcibly injected with an experimental vaccine, then bitten eight times by zombies, which is causing physical changes—including "meth mouth."

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