FurryFury March 24, 2015 Share March 24, 2015 (edited) Weird, I don't find The 100 especially grim. Maybe because it still manages to have some hope sprinkled here and there. Kinda like Buffy/Angel, I think - they could be pretty dark at times, Angel especially, but in the end, managed to have some positive message. For me, prestigious cable dramas with unlikable (usually male) protagonists are a much better example of "relentlessly grim". Anyway, this show is obviously much lighter than even Veronica Mars, and while some appreciate it, I actually wouldn't mind if it became a bit more of a black comedy and for the zombie mythology to be revealed as really fucked up and creepy. Edited March 24, 2015 by FurryFury 2 Link to comment
LoneHaranguer March 24, 2015 Share March 24, 2015 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. There's no such thing as speaking a language "perfectly" because of regional differences, and that's just as true of small European countries as the U.S. You're going to do worse if the language you're trying to speak contains elements not present in your native tongue. 1 Link to comment
Sakura12 March 24, 2015 Share March 24, 2015 That's what I meant. I've seen complaints not just on this show with the characters having to speak another language. I go with it because no one will speak a language perfectly even if they are fluent in it. Link to comment
jhlipton March 24, 2015 Share March 24, 2015 I forgot until just now but there's a character from Catch-22 named Major Major Major Major. His parents named him "Major Major Major", which ensured that he would never make Lieutenant Colonel! 2 Link to comment
maczero March 24, 2015 Share March 24, 2015 I know what you mean, but I'm pretty sure she was eating shrimp. So just keep reminding yourself of that during those scenes. It looked liked shrimp to me too and honestly even though I know it's supposed to be chopped up bits of brain, it still looked pretty good. 2 Link to comment
Bort March 24, 2015 Share March 24, 2015 (edited) It looked liked shrimp to me too and honestly even though I know it's supposed to be chopped up bits of brain, it still looked pretty good. It was the hot sauce. I'll eat a roofing tile if there's hot sauce on it. Edited March 24, 2015 by kariyaki 2 Link to comment
ottoDbusdriver March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 At the start of the episode they showed Liv buying all this skin bronzer -- why does she never use it or use makeup so that her face looks more flesh tone ? Or dye her hair ? Link to comment
shapeshifter March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 At the start of the episode they showed Liv buying all this skin bronzer -- why does she never use it or use makeup so that her face looks more flesh tone ? Or dye her hair ?They showed bronzer in the second episode too, but still no bronze skin. Hopefully the makeup folks on Defiance will take note. Link to comment
Eneya March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 (edited) Or this is AFTER the bronze? For the hair, I am going to bet it simply doesn't hold on the hair or something. As someone from Eastern Europe with 5 languages, one of the most common responses I get when somebody is told I am not British, the reactions is always "oh... but you don't have an accent". I am weirded mightly by this idea that you can't learn a language very well and sound almost indisinguishable from the rest of the population. Ok, I do agree that for me it is a lot easier to learn to pronounce some letters softer than for other people to learn to enunciate them hard, but come on... she is a zombie... actual linguistics go out the window. :) Edited March 25, 2015 by Eneya Link to comment
Sakura12 March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 Maybe Liv just gave up on the bronzer because it takes too long to put on. Also for some reason David Anders character looks much more pale than her. I guess that could be the actors natural skin tone mixed with the white make up. Link to comment
shapeshifter March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 David Anders' character's hair had that "brassy" yellow look that happens a short time after people bleach their hair--which I found very distracting in the sense that it also made me dwell on her hair in comparison. I guess hers is a wig. I found myself imagining that her female family members would be concerned that no dark roots ever showed up; they might be worried she would burn her scalp with obsessive bleaching of the roots. And what's up with the dark emo eye makeup? Can someone who is more familiar with zombie-dom explain, please? Right now I'm just watching the show because it's kind of cute, it's available and so am I. Why does that sound like a bad relationship metaphor? Oh. Because it is. Heh. Link to comment
Sakura12 March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 I think the eye make up is supposed to show that she's dead or that she doesn't sleep much. She said she hasn't slept in 5 months. Link to comment
seamusk March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 I assumed that the makeup was an intentional effect that she would have gone for realizing that she needed to do something to make her new look work, style wise. 1 Link to comment
Chicago Redshirt March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 Call me crazy, but I think that zombie skin is so pale and wretched that what we're seeing is the "after bronzer" version. Like it just soaks up the tanning product and the darkest that comes out is what we see Liv and Blaine looking like. 1 Link to comment
ratgirlagogo March 26, 2015 Share March 26, 2015 (edited) Like others above, this also reminds me of In The Flesh, which I did not expect to like and did like, a lot. I'm glad it's a comedy. I have only one problem - that I will never stop being a stickler about the distinction between the Undead and Zombies. Fear of the returning dead is a folk belief with a long history and something that exists all over the world. Zombies are unique to Haiti and represent a particularly heartwrenching version of slavery that continues even beyond death - they aren't made "accidentally" but are always created by and controlled by a Master. But apparently I'm one of the only people in the world who cares about this. Other than that - I really like this show. I'm in. Edited March 26, 2015 by ratgirlagogo 1 Link to comment
lucindabelle March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 The tone of in the flesh is very different. I expected it to be like I'd and at first I was disappointed but while it had some joke bits really it was very serious, alluding to reintegrating veterans and other things, dealing with prejudice etc. But, it did show the pds people having to wear makeup and contact lenses. To those who haven't seen it, strongly recommended. Defy you to not burst out crying end of first season. I love the idea that there's hope for her. Link to comment
Julia March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 I didn't expect to like this, but I really did. Loved the boss, like the partner, not so engrossed in the family of origin trauma but then neither are they, apparently. I like the heroine an awful lot. She's such a refreshing break from the cookie cutter awesome because of reasons heroine - she's actually overqualified for what she's doing, she's got personal issues but she deals with them by herself, she doesn't even whine in her voiceovers, and she's not - nor does anyone treat her like - a snowflake. I would watch this just for that. 8 Link to comment
Sakura12 March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 I like the heroine an awful lot. She's such a refreshing break from the cookie cutter awesome because of reasons heroine - she's actually overqualified for what she's doing, she's got personal issues but she deals with them by herself, she doesn't even whine in her voiceovers, and she's not - nor does anyone treat her like - a snowflake. I would watch this just for that. I think that's why I like this show too. Liv's friends and family treat her how she acts I mean her roommate saw her intensely watching an exercise show not a movie or tv show or anything, an exercise show while eating Cheetos. I get why they don't know what to do with her, she used to be this fireball of energy and ambition, she goes to one party and comes back sullen and withdrawn with no ambition. That's a huge change from one day to the next. We know what happened so we still root for her. Her issues and her families issues with her are understandable. Even her boss while loving that she's a zombie, doesn't treat her like she's a messiah or anything. He just wants to help her. 1 Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo March 31, 2015 Share March 31, 2015 (edited) I had to give the pilot a watch because I loved Veronica Mars, and I was not disappointed in the first episode. Honestly, I give a lot of leeway to pilots because there is so much exposition and you have to introduce the characters, the major plot points, etc. but this one did a pretty good job of establishing the premise and several distinct characters without making me feel like they crammed way too much into one hour. Rob Thomas is good at creating a world with a distinct feel to it right away. The pilot definitely had a very VM feel to it, which was majorly helped by repeating some very specific phrases from Veronica Mars (in addition to the examples mentioned earlier, when Liv said she wanted to nail the murderer to the wall, which I realize is not a phrase unique to VM, I found myself remembering when Veronica said, "I'm going to nail that sucker to the wall!"). And I will never complain about seeing Cliff play a pervy weirdo. ITA that there were some points in the voiceovers where Liv sounded very similar to Veronica Mars. It wasn't just Diane Ruggiero's words but also the very deliberate unrushed way that both Kristen Bell and Rose McIver speak in the voiceovers (which isn't the exact same way they speak when interacting with other characters). I am not into zombies but I liked the show a lot more than I thought I would so I am ready for more! ETA: The cop needs to lose those mock turtlenecks. Does wardrobe have one in every color for him? Edited March 31, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo Link to comment
Conan Troutman April 1, 2015 Share April 1, 2015 Just watched the first two episodes and I like it so far (I also haven't seen Veronica Mars, at least not yet, seems like I may have to change that). I'm usually not a fan of anything supernatural, with a few exceptions (Buffy/Angel mostly), and the regular fictional concept of zombies looks inherently stupid to me - brain dead creatures who are easily identified, move slowly and can't even use any weapons are supposed to be a threat? Come on... the military wouldn't even need a whole day to shred them to pieces. But I like both the humorous take on it and in this case I can actually buy that those zombies represent a serious threat. Rose McIver looks like a home run casting choice (and yes, she's really hot undead) and I also like her boss a lot. What's bugging me the most, as others have mentioned, are the supporting characters. Of course you can't have them fleshed out from the very first episode, but they didn't seem very interesting. Best part I guess is the whole "adopts part of the personalities/skills from the victims" gimmick. That's a great source of comedy and I hope the show's going to take full advantage of it. I also like the visual style with the comic book art. Link to comment
AudienceofOne May 8, 2015 Share May 8, 2015 Just starting watching this and, while it's a little too much Veronica Mars meets Dead Like Me, I like it a lot. I hope the ex-fiance gets fleshed out a bit more but other than that I enjoyed every minute. Link to comment
hnygrl June 4, 2015 Share June 4, 2015 I was looking for something new to watch and watched the Pilot on a Whim. I am officially hooked. This show is really interesting. Not just 'good' but interesting. I am three episodes in and I'm loving it.Not loving the room mate though. I keep wondering why Liv doesn't get her own place...and the fiance seems kinda weenie to me. Who'd want THAT for life? Link to comment
FurryFury June 4, 2015 Share June 4, 2015 To be fair, Liv was basically like that herself before zombification made her re-examine her life and her choices. 2 Link to comment
AshleyLyn February 3, 2016 Share February 3, 2016 Watched the pilot for the first time. Not bad. Never liked Veronica Mars. Reminds me a little of Dead Like Me. The mother of Liv ticked me off an so did the room mate Peyton. The wholr can't help someone scene really grated as you do not say that shit to someone when trying yo help them. (Have a lot of family members with PTSD and mental health issues). Not sure if I want to continue watching but we'll see. Liked Liv's boss and how he honestly seems like he wants to help her. Link to comment
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