S01.E01: Pilot

[Blakeston]

Another thing that reminded me of Veronica Mars - the lake flashbacks. That is, a heroine who's haunted by the aftermath of going to a party full of douchebags - one she wouldn't ordinarily go to - where she was horribly victimized. And now, of course, she'll want answers.

[dubbel zout]

Loved, loved, loved. The ensemble cast clicked from the get-go, the origin story was clear, and we got Cliff as a pervy weatherman! I'm totally in. 

[chysalis]

I liked it. It was quirky and fun. Most characters were fun to watch but I hated the room mate. SERIOUSLY? You suspect your best friend has PTSD and you still give her shit. Between her telling Liv to find professional help and telling her that she was one of those "You can't help people who won't help themselves."were like... three days. FUCK HER!

 

Otherwise, I liked it. I look forward to David Anders. I love him

[diebartdie]

So Ive never seen Veronica Mars, Pushing Daisies, Tru Calling or anything else yall have mentioned this show being like but Im a big ol' zombie fan so here I am. OK, this show I would put in the same universe as In The Flesh however I think izombie is way more comedic than In The Flesh was. I'll give this a few episodes, see how things turn out.

[Bort]

Given that I disliked all the above shows that everyone has said this reminds them of, I'm kind of surprised I like it. Maybe I just have a soft spot for Rose McIver from her itty bitty days in the Hercules/Xena-verse. I think my favorite episode episode was her subbing in as Xena when Lucy Lawless was on maternity leave. She couldn't have been more than ten.

Funnily enough, I caught on from the get-go that it was Lady Gaga's real name and figured maybe it was just a writer being cute with the character names. Except it turned out there was actually a payoff with it being an alias and the cops razzing Babineaux by singing Bad Romance at him. That really cracked me up.

[BooBear]

Another thing that reminded me of Veronica Mars - the lake flashbacks. That is, a heroine who's haunted by the aftermath of going to a party full of douchebags - one she wouldn't ordinarily go to - where she was horribly victimized. And now, of course, she'll want answers.

It really reminded me of that show. Mostly the way her entire life was devastated and her hair was cut short.  Overall I liked it but I didn't love the green cop or the pretty simple case of the week. I hope that there is more to the show in future episodes. I had no problem with the family, old boyfriend (though he reminded me of Duncan) or roommate. Though, I think that is strange she would STILL have a roommate. Wouldn't she be afraid of eating her for a late night snack?

[diebartdie]

 Maybe I just have a soft spot for Rose McIver from her itty bitty days in the Hercules/Xena-verse. I think my favorite episode episode was her subbing in as Xena when Lucy Lawless was on maternity leave. She couldn't have been more than ten.

 

HOLYCOW!!! Talk about deep cuts! I am a HUGE GIANT SUPER Xena Fan (I have a Xena tattoo, collected tons of merch back in the day, etc etc) but I never in one million years would have identified Rose McIver with Xena! Hats off to you!

[Jazzy24]

The eating brains things is so nasty it's the only thing I don't like about the show but it's about a zombie so of course there is eating brains in it.

[Kromm]

I think it's closer to Tru Calling than Pushing Daises and Dead Like Me.

Not a bad thing. While Tru Calling had some flaws, it was far better than it's ratings might indicate.

[alias1]

I haven't seen any of those other shows people are comparing this to.  And I'm not generally a fan of Zombie shows, either, but I really like this one so far.  I think part of it is that the lead actress is so adorable.  And I love the interactions with her boss and the cop.   It's just a lot of fun.

[lucindabelle]

I liked it though some of it with the police felt very contrived.

Not as thoroughly entertaining as BBc Americas In th a flesh, though that is not a cop weird buddy show by a real exploration of what peopke with partially deceased syndrome would do in society, often funny, often sad.

Anyways why isn't liv a full on zombie? Shouldn't she be mindlessly Killing?

Those brains looked a lot like chopped hamburger meat to me.

How do her eyes have color? And how is her skin healing if it's dead when the me takes the bulled out?

Will she continue to be abLe to speak romanian forever@

[tennisgurl]

Rob Thomas continues to teach us an important lesson: Never go to parties. It will NOT end well. 

 

I loved Veronica Mars, so I figured I would like this, and I was not disappointed. It was fun, it seems pretty smart, and I really like Liv already. I honestly don't think she is all that much like Veronica. I mean, I can see the comparison, but early season 1 Veronica was a lot more angry and bitter at the world, even if her soft side was already showing. Liv seems less angry, more sad and in something of a funk. They do still have the "fallen princess who something terrible happens to, causing them to cut their hair and become introverted and goth, and start supposedly lowering their standards" thing going in though, so we`ll see. 

 

Right now, the most obvious comparison is with In the Flesh, which was also about a zombie trying to live their life after death, but that had a WAY more dramatic tone than this. I really hope we get to meet more zombies. I know David Anders is going to be here, and I am super excited for that. I am forever bitter about how he was wasted on, and then disappeared from Once Upon A Time. 

 

My favorite character right now is Liv`s boss. I love how excited he is my Liv`s zombieness. Even if they have been overused, I do really like zombie fiction, so I am excited to see where this goes. It might not reach the dramatic heights of Vmars, but I think this could be a great addition to be weekly TV viewing. 

[Kromm]

I liked it though some of it with the police felt very contrived.

Not as thoroughly entertaining as BBc Americas In th a flesh, though that is not a cop weird buddy show by a real exploration of what peopke with partially deceased syndrome would do in society, often funny, often sad.

Anyways why isn't liv a full on zombie? Shouldn't she be mindlessly Killing?

Those brains looked a lot like chopped hamburger meat to me.

How do her eyes have color? And how is her skin healing if it's dead when the me takes the bulled out?

Will she continue to be abLe to speak romanian forever@

Those are all good questions.

 

And because this is Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero (in other words good writers and not hacks), I bet many of them already have answers written in a show bible.  Which doesn't mean we'll see them directly explained point by point on the show, but clearly the subject of "what exactly IS a Zombie" is going to be part of this.

Edited March 19, 2015 by Kromm

[TribbleTrouble]

I liked it though some of it with the police felt very contrived.

I agree. Hopefully that will smooth out once the show has had time to get its legs more firmly planted.

Anyways why isn't liv a full on zombie? Shouldn't she be mindlessly Killing? How do her eyes have color? And how is her skin healing if it's dead when the me takes the bulled out?

Because they quickly established that she's not that kind of zombie. So far they're treating it more like vampirism and a chronic disease. Unless she's decaying like traditional zombies, it looks like they're going with more of an immortal with some vampire like abilities and inconvenient dietary needs. She's not dead and reanimated as a mindless eating machine. She is undead with a heartbeat (albeit a veeeery slow one) and her mind, personality, emotions, intellect, etc. remain largely intact. She's more like someone who contracted a serious disease that caused major physical changes and coping with those changes has affected her emotionally, but she's still essentially who she was before she got "sick." The setup seems to be that until there's a cure, if she stays on her meds (brains!) it's manageable and keeps her from devolving.

Will she continue to be abLe to speak romanian forever@

Good question. I wondered about that too. Will she keep all of her ingested abilities or will they fade or be replaced with new ones? Presumably we'll find out.

Like others I definitely got a Veronica Mars/Tru Calling mashup vibe, but it has enough if it's own unique characteristics that it felt sufficiently fresh and fun to me. I liked it. It was a bit wobbly in places, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

[KarateKate]

[...]Anyways why isn't liv a full on zombie? Shouldn't she be mindlessly Killing?[...]

She said at one point that when she didn't eat brains she got dumber and meaner.

She has access to un-ZombieRiot procured brains; she can remain above the fray. Although she seemed to come reaaaly close with the anger trigger in the car chase.

Now, me? If it was KateZombie? I have no access to brains. I have to imagine I would end up like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, chopping through doors to get to sweet, sweet gray matter of whoever wandered near at some point.

ETA

[...]The setup seems to be that until there's a cure, if she stays on her meds (brains!) it's manageable and keeps her from devolving.[...]

OK, TribbleTrouble said it better. I still think I would be the zombie that had bad Rx coverage on their medical plan.

Edited March 19, 2015 by KarateKate

[Sakura12]

It's a different take on zombies and just like vampires they don't exist so there are no set rules of what they are supposed to look like or act like. This show does have the In the Flesh vibe of Liv being Partially Deceased while also being a vampire like creature. I think it's the more brains she eats the more human she can look.

 

We've seen her go 90% zombie during the car chase, she almost ate the bearded pig had Clive not shown up. She also said if she doesn't eat brains pretty regularly she gets dumber and meaner and would probably turn full zombie if she wasn't regulating her eating of brains. 

[Morgan of Hed]

Also unlike traditional zombies, she appears to be able to heal, probably supernaturally quickly. I didn't notice any signs of the wounds on her arm from the initial attack. I presume she will heal up from the bullet she took. If they have her fighting bad guys every week and taking damage, she'd better heal or else she'll end up looking pretty gross.

 

If they follow the terminology from the comic, Liv is actually a revenant, which is a living dead with both an undersoul (appetites, emotions, fears) and an oversoul (thoughts, memory, personality).  Explanation here.

Edited March 19, 2015 by Morgan of Hed

[shapeshifter]

...So far I like all the supporting characters, particularly Liv's boss and Babineaux...

Ditto. I kept waffling on watching this because I don't do zombies or vampires. But if there's a lot of positive buzz here and elsewhere, I'll try anything once.

...Can't watch the brain eating scenes. Nope. Nope. Not happening.

I know what you mean, but I'm pretty sure she was eating shrimp. So just keep reminding yourself of that during those scenes.

[seamusk]

I know what you mean, but I'm pretty sure she was eating shrimp. So just keep reminding yourself of that during those scenes.

The funny thing about that, is i'm vegan and eating of shrimp and other meats gross me out. But her eating brains didn't! I watched this 3 times and enjoyed it every time.  

 

brainzzzzz.

[shera]

This was a really great pilot. I'm in for the rest of the season!

 

Rose McIver is very charming as a zombie, and I agree with everyone else that she was more attractive being undead. I'm also enjoying her boss and the cop - "Hasta la vista, Mee-ma". I wonder how he will react if/when he finds out Liv is a zombie. He said he wouldn't hesitate to kill his own grandmother, so I'm guessing it might not go so well.

[Sakura12]

I have no doubt that Clive will see Liv zombieout but probably not until closer to the finale or next season if there is a next season. I'll think despite what he says he wouldn't know what to do. People can have a lot of talk but when actually faced with it not be able to do anything. Plus she can always say she's been a zombie since they met and hasn't hurt him, in fact her zombieness helped him. 

 

The brains looked like shrimp to me too, apparently it's coconut gelatin.

[Bort]

The brains looked like shrimp to me too, apparently it's coconut gelatin.

Now THAT grosses me out…

[Sakura12]

 Coconut gelatin is cheaper and easier to mold than shrimp, but I can't imagine that it tastes good mixed with anything else. Shrimp and noodles, yum. Coconut gelatin and noodles, gross. 

[FurryFury]

I think there was an interview somewhere where they've asked how the "brains" taste like. Apparently, mostly tasteless.

[KarateKate]

I think there was an interview somewhere where they've asked how the "brains" taste like. Apparently, mostly tasteless.

That's why she needs all the hot sauce. Heh.

[Wax Lion]

 

The brains looked like shrimp to me too, apparently it's coconut gelatin.

 

Is that like "coconut jelly" (which is actually very gelatin-like in texture)? I'm addicted to that in the summer, it's great in a fruit salad. It would be odd to eat it with noodles, but it would be odder to see her eating "brains" in a lychee syrup.

[shapeshifter]

...I'm pretty sure she was eating shrimp. So just keep reminding yourself of that during those scenes.

Thank you all for the coconut jelly info, because otherwise I'd start worrying about McIver's cholesterol levels. Heh.

This show is so cute that it's making me nervous, because it reminds me of Selfie that way. Maybe being a crime procedural will help its longevity—plus, zombies.

Edited March 20, 2015 by shapeshifter

[Chicago Redshirt]

I am waiting for more David Anders and the reviews say he has a big part being that he's her maker. 

 

 

Yeah that review gives away too much and maybe we should be spoiler tagging mentions of that one particular thing?

 

IIRC, we saw David Anders scratch Liv on the boat, and it seems to me clear that the scratching of her is what turned her into a zombie.

[Lantern7]

I read the first trade paperback years ago. Looks like the show isn't going to adhere to the comics. On the other hand, we're not going into severe sorrow porn that is The Walking Dead. I'll give this show a chance, even though I never got into Veronica Mars.

 

As for the brains? As long as Liv prepares them with some semblance of her old life, I have no problem with the eating.

[jhlipton]

Never got into VMars and now I'm glad -- no baggage, overlays, whatever.  I can ejnoy this show for what it is.

 

And I do!  Love the comic-book lead-ins, that Liv is funny and smart, that her boss respects her space so much.  The pilot was obviously setting up the three leads -- I'm sure the room-mate will be more filled out later.

[Anela]

I've never seen Veronica Mars, but she does sound like Kristen Bell at times.

 

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. I'll have to watch it again, when I'm more awake.

Edited March 21, 2015 by Anela

[twoods]

The commercials looked terrible so I wasn't ready to give this show a chance until you guys liked it. It really was pretty good! I'm not into zombies but like that she's a doctor who solves crimes because she sees visions if the dead people. I wish this was advertised in the commercials.

I like her relationship with the boss. It's refreshing that he's so supportive and took the news about the zombie thing well. I like the cop too.

[dubbel zout]

she does sound like Kristen Bell at times.

 

I wonder if part of that is because Rose McIver isn't using her native NZ accent.

[cynic]

Okay, I'll play! For me iZombie = Veronica Mars + Tru Calling + Warm Bodies

That was pretty fun. Not perfect, and I didn't immediately fall head over heels with it, unlike Veronica Mars pilot, but I'm definitely in. The three main characters are all OK, Liv is a very likable lead (Rose McIver was a great casting), the humor, the premise - all great.

What I'd change are the supporting cast - mother, brother, roommate and ex-fiance. Maybe just leave two of them, not four. Mother especially is really annoying. And I hope Major wouldn't be treated as a legitimate love interest because I can already tell it's going to be Duncan all over again.

....

This is pretty much how I felt about it, except I only liked the lead and her boss. I'm not sold on the cop and his turtlenecks yet. However, I agree that the rest of the cast can leave anytime now. I'm still in for now.

[DittyDotDot]

Hmmm...it was something different, but I'm not sure it was as different as I was hoping for. I totally got the Veronica Mars; the Zombie Years vibe from it. I don't know, I could never get into Veronica Mars, myself, but I'll give it a couple more episodes to see if it develops into it's own thing.

[Kromm]

Hmmm...it was something different, but I'm not sure it was as different as I was hoping for. I totally got the Veronica Mars; the Zombie Years vibe from it. I don't know, I could never get into Veronica Mars, myself, but I'll give it a couple more episodes to see if it develops into it's own thing.

To me the key to liking Veronica Mars was two-fold.  1.) obviously, loving film noire helped a ton.  2.) secondly, I think maybe, for many, not all, having a secret disdain for teen dramas.  I say "secret", because I think a major gateway into the show was a sort of teen drama angle.  But it subverted it.  So I think the people who fixated on the show after seeing that first episode were the types who loved Freaks & Geeks more than the types who loved 90210.

[DittyDotDot]

I don't know, I just never got the character of Veronica Mars, I always found her to be petty, insulting and really hypocritical.  Never really got into Freaks & Geeks either and loathed 90210. But, I'm old and so far from high school I really don't tend to gravitate towards teen drama much. What I did like about Veronica Mars was the film noir aspect, but I think that kinda went to the wayside after S1, IMO. And, I have to say, I didn't care for the teen drama aspect at all, nor did I think they subverted it much. But as always, miles vary.

[bettername2come]

Okay, I'll play! For me iZombie = Veronica Mars + Tru Calling + Warm Bodies

 

That's exactly what I thought! Rose McIver really sounds like Veronica Mars at times, but so much of that is because the lines sound like things Veronica would say, i.e. "celebrating drunk cowboy-style." Wasn't interested until I saw some clips of the show, but now I'll be watching this instead of Agents of Shield.

[FurryFury]

I don't know, I just never got the character of Veronica Mars, I always found her to be petty, insulting and really hypocritical.

 

*Sniff* I mean, I understand that tastes differ and everything... But season one Veronica is, like, my favorite TV character ever! She's far from perfect (which is one of the points) but for me, she manages to unite the wish-fulfillment angle (who hasn't dreamed of giving high school, and not only high school, bullies what they deserve?) and the literary angle (being a flawed yet complex, interesting and likable character with well-written relationships). She was, at times, petty, insulting and hypocritical (but not too much, imo). But she was also loyal, intelligent, empathetic and surprisingly moral. considering her background and surroundings. Personally, I feel like the good stuff outweighs the bad by far (well, maybe until season 3, at least).

 

Sorry for the offtopic, VM is just one of my favorite shows ever and I have a lot of strong feelings about Veronica in particular. I hope that one day, this show would inspire the same sort of passion in me, even if I doubt that. Still, even half of that would be really cool.

Edited March 21, 2015 by FurryFury

[kieyra]

Hopefully this show can become its own entity and break out of the "show + show = izombie" dialogue. I understand the VM comparisons, and it did feel like I was watching VM/zombie crossover fanfic. It was enjoyable in that sense, but it needs to take wing and become its own thing, sooner rather than later.

And yeah, her mom and that roommate can fuck all the way off.

And ugh, I hate Rob Thomas's naming tics for male characters. Major? Really? (weevil, piz, badger ...)

 

Edit: Okay, Badger was Breaking Bad. Beaver is what I'm thinking of. 

Edited March 22, 2015 by kieyra

[KAOS Agent]

I looked up who the writer is for the next episode and it's also a Diane Ruggiero penned ep, so Veronica's voice is most likely still going to come through. However, the third & fourth episodes feature some different writers which might help remove some of the Veronica-ness to the story. I think it will also help that Rob Thomas won't be directing. There were a lot of very Veronica Mars style things in this episode beyond the dialogue. The hazy colors leading into the flashbacks, the slo-mo walk of Liv while she monologues, etc. I guess it depends on how hands on Rob is as a showrunner, but new blood with a different vision should help take away a bit of the feeling that this is Zombie Veronica Mars.

[Kromm]

Frankly I'd be usually MORE nervous about other non-Thomas/Ruggiero writers coming on board (Because consistency?  Is good, not bad).  However several of the reviews that have been put up have covered all the way through Episode 4 and still been very good reviews, so maybe this once the different writers thing may work out okay.

 

Again, Thomas is smart enough to have a show bible (including a lot of detail on the character's tone), so that should help.

Edited March 22, 2015 by Kromm

[Actionmage]

Rob Thomas continues to teach us an important lesson: Never go to parties. It will NOT end well.

 

No, it's just a little more than that, I think. Never go to parties with people you don't know or trust. ( to add a little to Blakeston's addition.)

 

As to the character named Major: I was raised in Texas. There are some...unique names for children here. Usually, it denotes a wealthy family, in my experience. Then, there came unto the University of Texas a quarterback.  and it was not bad ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Applewhite ).   Then this gent kept popping up when I'd watch the evening news: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Garrett.  They were the only two "Majors" that I knew off the top of my head. Not so out there, but not common by any means.

 

Topic adjacent: I noticed someone mentioned the comic CHEW; is it good? The premise intrigues me, for sure.

[peachmangosteen]

I got VM vibes but it was not as VM-y as I expected it to be based on what everyone had been saying.

 

I am not a fan of zombie shows so I wasn't going to watch this, but then everyone everywhere was talking it up plus the VM comparisons so I decided to give it a shot. I liked it. I think I could easily grow to love it.

 

I just hope Rob Thomas doesn't bring his weird rape issues into this show.

Edited March 22, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[hqtextbook]

Finally watched it and actually really liked it!!! That one voice over statement "Lifes short and then you die"...isnt that WORD FOR WORD something veronica mars said once? Compared to the vmars pilot, it was a lot tamer and less soul-crushing. I'm in for more episodes! I hope it gets the ratings!!
 

Also a little off topic, but for those of you who have never seen veronica mars, DO IT!! Seriously, you will not regret it. Probably the best show that has ever happened (except season 3 and duncan like that poster above said ;) )

[FurryFury]

Finally watched it and actually really liked it!!! That one voice over statement "Lifes short and then you die"...isnt that WORD FOR WORD something veronica mars said once?

 

There was a "Life's a bitch, and then you die" in the pilot. No, I do not know this because I've watched it at least 10 times, why do you ask?

Edited March 22, 2015 by FurryFury

[Yeldarbe]

This was great. I've only seen a handful of episodes of VM and I vaguely remember Tru Calling Or overall this is fresh. I'm glad I caught the rerun of the pilot! I'm in!

[Crim]

I forgot to watch it until today. As a reader of the izombie comic and a Veronica Mars fan, I had high expectations and wasn't impressed. I'm not outright blaming the show for this though: I much prefer noir over zombies, and am not really interested in CotW procedurals.

 

Minor nitpick: I wish they only showed her kleptomania. I get that picking up a new language was the easiest way to show she gets abilities by eating brains, but most foreign language scenes on TV are awkward and this episode was no exception. Expecting VM dialogue, I was very focused on this aspect, so I was unusually bothered by it. Anyway, a bigger issue would be that I remember no lines at all! I expected the pilot to be so, so quotable. (I'm off to that thread now to see what people found memorable.)

 

I was ok with the roommate. It has been months and Liv (I first typed "what's-her-name", then scrolled up to fill it in) is not showing signs of improvement or accepting help. The mother was horrendous though, but in that caricatural way that tells me it will be an ongoing source of humor.

 

Though, I think that is strange she would STILL have a roommate. Wouldn't she be afraid of eating her for a late night snack?

She doesn't have the brainzzzz urges unless she is hungry. In the comics, starved zombies are like traditional zombies, including mindless cravings, physical degeneration and corpse smell. Healing takes a lot of juice, so I thought the show would go there when she zombied out and wanted to eat the guy, but then she passed it off as the effect of anger. Maybe she is not aware of it yet, since she had never healed a major injury before. Or maybe the show won't go there - this is the CW.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Crim

[Sakura12]

Have you seen the 100? That shows goes there and beyond there, not at all like any CW show I've ever seen. So I wouldn't put it past them to be able to go dark. However I think this show is aiming more for a little more comedy over just serious drama. 

 

As for the characters speaking other languages, I just go with it because even if Liv magically learned Romanian she's never spoken it before so she's not going to speak it perfectly. Plus if it's not your natural language you are never going to speak it 100% perfectly. I rarely hear a person from another country speaking perfect English, even though they learned how to. Even British/Australian/Kiwi/Canadian actors trying to speak American English don't pronounce some words the way we do. Most noticeable to me are the words "Sorry" and "Anything". Rose McIver has even said she has trouble pronouncing our hard "R's". 

[shapeshifter]

Have you seen the 100? That shows goes there and beyond there, not at all like any CW show I've ever seen. So I wouldn't put it past them to be able to go dark. However I think this show is aiming more for a little more comedy over just serious drama....

Yeah, I don't get the same ominous brooding with this show that The 100 began with, even before it went so grim and gratuitously violent that I cut it from my watch schedule.