S01.E01: First Blood

[Gudzilla]

Nice to see that Xaro Xhoan Daxos got out of that vault, although up a tree with a lion is not much better.

 

I liked how quickly James Wolk's character went from "my dad was a nut with weird animal theories" to "they came in single file to hide their numbers." 

 

 

Dogs will just waste away lying beside you in grief.

A popular myth. ( just google dog eats owner)

 

A few years ago I was jogging at night and on one block there was a group of about 7 cats walking together down the street, that was creepy as hell and it looked to me like they were up to something. I gave them a wide berth as they passed.

[MissLucas]

That was exactly what I expected - mindless summer fluff fun. In other words: I'm in. Also: James Wolk.

I love cats but tons of cats in a tree would freak me out because I've seen 'Birds'!!!

(I do occasionally observe what I call cats parliament in the evening - five or six of the neighborhood cats sitting in a half circle staring at each other and probably telepathically planning our demise. Look they've already taken over the Internet and that was just the test-run!)

Animals I want to see go on on a rampage: gerbils, chihuahuas, hedgehogs and goats - but as soon as we're turning to species with more than four legs I'm out!

[slothgirl]

Animals I want to see go on on a rampage: gerbils, chihuahuas, hedgehogs and goats - but as soon as we're turning to species with more than four legs I'm out!

Add prairie dogs, lemurs, koalas, pandas, and armadillos.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Add prairie dogs, lemurs, koalas, pandas, and armadillos.

 

I want to see birds go on the offensive -- hawks, vultures, crows, etc.-- done right it will have the same creepy effect on people as 'The Birds' (which still freaks me out whenever I watch it).

[BooksRule]

Nice to see that Xaro Xhoan Daxos got out of that vault, although up a tree with a lion is not much better.

 

Oh, that's who that was!  I thought he looked familiar.  It also took me a couple of minutes to recognize Ken Olin as the father, even though I had seen his name in the opening credits.

 

I was concerned when they got back to the lodge and just went straight to the bar for beverages.  I kept thinking 'shouldn't they barricade the doors and cover the windows or something?'

[shapeshifter]

At the end, the nephew is still watching videos of James Wolk's character's father, wearing headphones (so he can't hear roaring lions), and we see through the window about a dozen pairs of reflective, large, feline eyes in the darkness. Does not bode well.

Did the lion only chase Wolk's character over the cliff because the lion sensed that he was someone who respected animals and treated them fairly?

[raven]

 

I was cracking up over the big reveal over Jackson figuring out his crazy dad meant pupil as in eyes, instead of student, this entire time.  That idea just never occurred to him?

Me too - had to LOL at that.  I can forgive James Wolk a lot though.  Loved him in The Crazy Ones.

 

Like some of you, I'm a sucker for animals rampaging, so I'm in for the run.

 

 

A few years ago I was jogging at night and on one block there was a group of about 7 cats walking together down the street, that was creepy as hell and it looked to me like they were up to something. I gave them a wide berth as they passed.

They were probably just going to pay homage to the new King of the Cats.

[Rambler]

Gee I wonder if the animals are going to kill that big game hunter. The suspense is killing me.

[toodles]

I'm a very shallow person.  I remember when the 30 something dvd came out, someone said Michael Stedman (Ken Olin's character) looked like Don Draper's love child.  And he really did.

 

Now he looks like Don Draper's unemployed cousin.

 

I liked this show.  There is nothing on, so I'm all in.  At least until it gets as stupid as Under the Dome.

[theredhead77]

I read this book on the recommendation of the I09 blog, what a huge disappointment. It was so bad, I stopped halfway through, glad to see the tv adaptation lives up to my assessment for the most part. I may have to check it out just to laugh, and of course see all the animals kill their human overlords.

Curious, though, what happened to Oz's chimp?

Or his girlfriend. The chimp is a huge plot point. Didn't even see it in the previews.

So far they aren't really following the book but that really needs to happen.

[Clanstarling]

It's cheesy, but it's perfect for what I need - a show to watch while I exercise. Watching John Wolk (who I first saw in Mad Men) is a plus. My husband caught the "defiant pupil" right off (he watches an episode of each summer show and usually begs off the rest of the series).

 

 

They WILL eat your face off if you die and they are trapped in your home with you and hungry. Dogs will just waste away lying beside you in grief.

 

 

A popular myth. ( just google dog eats owner)

I had the unfortunate experience of knowing someone this happened to. The person had two little yappy lap dogs, and it was day before someone did a welfare check. It's not something that's easy to forget, even if you didn't actually see the results.

Edited July 2, 2015 by clanstarling

[thuganomics85]

Now that I think about it, the defiant pupil was pretty much telegraphed early on by CBS, but pretty much all it's trailers, title card, and opening credits keep focusing on the animals' eyes, so that's probably why I found it so obvious.  Still, the fact that Jackson has seen that tapes for years and it never even occurred to him, just cracks me up.  Just how much Kentucky bourbon do you drink every day, Jackson?

 

 

Gee I wonder if the animals are going to kill that big game hunter. The suspense is killing me.

I forgot all about Brian Tee's game hunter.  Yeah, that character was not only set-up to die, but probably get the most brutal death possible.  The lions probably have some bad stuff cooked up for him...

Edited July 3, 2015 by thuganomics85

[monakane]

 

(I do occasionally observe what I call cats parliament in the evening - five or six of the neighborhood cats sitting in a half circle staring at each other and probably telepathically planning our demise. Look they've already taken over the Internet and that was just the test-run!)

 

We've always known cats would be the first to turn on us.  I'd like to see what pigs will do.  There's a quote that says, "Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us, and pigs see us as equals."

[Neurochick]

Nice to see that Xaro Xhoan Daxos got out of that vault, although up a tree with a lion is not much better.

 

 

Yes, he was also Renfield in "Dracula" last season (I know, that show sucked).

 

I hate that this show comes on the same time as "Deadliest Catch."  I fear that someone at CBS will think that a great summer lineup would be:  "Extant," "Zoo" and "Under the Dome."  

 

As for pigs, they'll probably want to join us, there's a reason they see us as equals.  

Edited July 2, 2015 by Neurochick

[JTMacc99]

As for pigs, they'll probably want to join us, there's a reason they see us as equals.  

Pigs are too delicious to be on our side.  We can't be trusted not to smoke them, and they really don't want to be hanging around us when the lions, tigers and bears show up to kill all humans.  Pigs have to taste better than us.

[zoey1996]

A storm will wreak havoc on our satellite TV, so I missed the fall off the cliff and the Tree of Cats!  Also didn't get the pupil/pupil reference while I was watching.  It was such a duh moment when I came over here to read the forum, but I'm blaming poor reception on missing that!  So far, so good.  But I watched every episode of The Following, so what do I know?

[tennisgurl]

This could be the summer cheese that Extant never quite was! I am so in.

 

John Wolk is pretty great, so at least I know that acting will be better than typical summer action cheese. Plus. Billy Burke, and Dan from Veep! The cats finally get their revenge after Dan`s cat killing! 

 

Oh no, cats are attacking! Arm ourselves with laser pointers! Thank god my cats are way too lazy to join in the revolution. They would just be all "yeah yeah, you guys have fun in the tree. We would join you, but its about our nap time, so..."

[JTMacc99]

Oh no, cats are attacking! Arm ourselves with laser pointers! Thank god my cats are way too lazy to join in the revolution. They would just be all "yeah yeah, you guys have fun in the tree. We would join you, but its about our nap time, so..."

Hee!

 

My cat could easily be stopped by tossing a sock on his back. (You'd have to see it to understand, but imagine that sock weighed 40 pounds, because that's the way he acts.)  Also, as long as no humans open the gate for him, he's pretty much under control.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Oh no, cats are attacking! Arm ourselves with laser pointers! 

 

@tennisgurl -- you just made my day.

 

The part I don't understand is that not only are the animals becoming more aggressive, but they are also having their intelligence levels increased by a magnitude of a million.  The lions are suddenly coordinating their attacks like raptors from Jurassic Park and targeting automotive components to disable a vehicle.

How would the cats know that summer camp starts the next day at that particular location ?  Did they all get Google accounts and someone updated their calendars with activity list of potential targets ?

 

They never did say how those lions escaped from the zoo in L.A. in the first place -- did they just waltz out of their pen ? Did they pull a Jurassic World style psych out by (movie spoiler)

creating a diversion and hiding in their pen, then escaping when the zookeepers opened the door of a "supposedly" empty pen.  One of the many incredibly stupid parts of that movie.

[monakane]

 

Oh no, cats are attacking! Arm ourselves with laser pointers!

 

Love that!  Will dogs turn against us or will they be distracted by squirrels?

 

On topic, what was with the main character's non-reaction to his best friend being killed by lions.

[MissLucas]

 

On topic, what was with the main character's non-reaction to his best friend being killed by lions.

I think I saw some quivering of the upper lip - but it was at a manly minimum.

[monakane]

I think I saw some quivering of the upper lip - but it was at a manly minimum.

 

I think he was more interested in the blonde.

[slothgirl]

 Pigs have to taste better than us.

With less bones to navigate around when going for the fleshy parts

  The lions are suddenly coordinating their attacks like raptors from Jurassic Park and targeting automotive components to disable a vehicle.

How would the cats know that summer camp starts the next day at that particular location ?  Did they all get Google accounts and someone updated their calendars with activity list of potential targets ?

 

Don't lion prides already do coordinated attacks?

 

I don't think they went after the radiator; I think it was just inthe wrong place at the wrong time when the lions were attacking the jeep to get to the people.

 

The cats probably don't know... it was just the best tree around. ;)

[Medicine Crow]

I think the cats are in the tree because something is hunting them.  Just sayin'.

 

I gave up on the Dome during the second episode of last season when I wondered how the actors kept from laughing when they were rehearsing their dialogue.  It was just so stupid!!!

[cmahorror]

Now I'm picturing a dolphin in a tank in a lab wearing glasses and reading a book or computer screen.

 

 

If he is voiced by Stephen Fry or Neil Patrick Harris - I'm in.

 

I enjoyed it well enough but I love cheesy animal attack movies - I own Shark Attack 3 (don't judge, it has one of the best lines ever put on film).

 

All the cats together in the tree like that was creepy but I had an experience regarding a large group of cats from when I was an EMT which has led to a cautious respect and fear of cats (especially since I have one).

[shapeshifter]

...Oh no, cats are attacking! Arm ourselves with laser pointers! Thank god my cats are way too lazy to join in the revolution. They would just be all "yeah yeah, you guys have fun in the tree. We would join you, but its about our nap time, so..."

Hee! Your cats must be from the same litter as my daughter's cat--although furniture might be endangered.

I wish they would go into Sharknado levels of camp, but, sadly, I think this is supposed to be a "serious" drama.

[Happytobehere]

Seeing that Miles Matheson becomes a nerdy animal pathologist and Dan Egan becomes a serious - while sleeping with a subordinate - newspaper editor, I find it hard to take this show seriously.

Thanks so much for the bolded name. I couldn't concentrate on the show because I was so obsessed with figuring out who that actor was and what show I knew him from. Seeing the name Dan Egan, I was able to google him and see that he is from Veep, which is an excellent show for those who have never seen it. The fact that I was more concern about IDing Egan, should tell me all I need to know about the show (aside from the fact that James Patterson's name is attached to it and he has been mired in schlocky crap writing for so long, I almost forget he used to be a pretty writer), but to be fair, I will give it a rewatch before gutting it. Although I vaguely remember seeing a commercial for the show and thinking it looked horrendously awful. But what the hell, it's summer.

Edited because whoever is responsible for autocorrect needs to be on the receiving end of a great big, swift kick to the ass

Edited July 3, 2015 by Happytobehere

[mertensia]

I am eagerly awaiting the Goldfish Attack Force.

It's a mindless summer fun show. Wild animals running amok chomping obnoxious people? Count me in.

My cat would never turn on me. Would would give her belly rubs then?

[ratgirlagogo]

 

I read this book on the recommendation of the I09 blog, what a huge disappointment. It was so bad

James Patterson is the cheeseball hack writer supreme at present - he puts out (I am not making this up) literally a book a month (more if you include the children's and YA titles), which he can do because almost all of them are done with a co-writer.  Unlike Stephen King, he didn't even start out as a good writer - he's always been unreadable.  The only positive thing I can say about him is that I liked his appearances on Castle, to bulk up the premise that Richard Castle is a famous writer (the one the show keeps forgetting about in recent seasons).

 

This looks terrible in a fun way, though. I love Animals'  Revenge plots in any form and the SyFy  style CGI shittiness kind of enhances it for me.  Hope they have armies of pissed off rats coming out of the sewers in future episodes!  Battalions of bats and bees!  Oops, bats and bees are going extinct too fast to form armies:(

 

eta: why can't I remember how to spell?  why?

Edited July 3, 2015 by ratgirlagogo

[Jamoche]

Hee! If it's ever revealed that the entire feline population has been patiently planning our demise for hundreds of years I'd believe it. 

Planning, sure, but doing anything about it? Every time I see the ads for this it reminds me of Neil Gaiman's "A Dream of a Thousand Cats" : 

 

Dream presents her with a vision of an alternate reality where cats are huge and humans are merely their playthings, tiny servants which groom their bodies and which the cats can kill at their leisure. A man ruined that world by informing the humans that their dreams will shape the world. Enough humans listened to make the vision a reality. Upon waking, the cat undertakes a spiritual quest for justice. She preaches her vision to motley assortments of housecats around the world, hoping that if she can make enough cats believe in and dream of this reality, the world will change to conform to their dreams.

It only takes a thousand cats dreaming the exact same thing at the same time for this to happen - but as one cat says at the end, there's nothing that can persuade a thousand cats to do anything at the same time.

[theredhead77]

@tennisgurl -- you just made my day.

 

The part I don't understand is that not only are the animals becoming more aggressive, but they are also having their intelligence levels increased by a magnitude of a million.  The lions are suddenly coordinating their attacks like raptors from Jurassic Park and targeting automotive components to disable a vehicle.

How would the cats know that summer camp starts the next day at that particular location ?  Did they all get Google accounts and someone updated their calendars with activity list of potential targets ?

 

They never did say how those lions escaped from the zoo in L.A. in the first place -- did they just waltz out of their pen ? Did they pull a Jurassic World style psych out by (movie spoiler)

creating a diversion and hiding in their pen, then escaping when the zookeepers opened the door of a "supposedly" empty pen.  One of the many incredibly stupid parts of that movie.

Spoiler from the book (because they may cover it later) -

they escape after killing the person feeding it. The person, stupidly, went in to the pen alone.

[shapeshifter]

Early in the episode, when the blogger's boss said, "Are you gonna force me to ask you to strip down so we can see whether or not somewhere on your body is the tattoo of a genie?" I knew there would be no room for realism on this show.

[Clanstarling]

Early in the episode, when the blogger's boss said, "Are you gonna force me to ask you to strip down so we can see whether or not somewhere on your body is the tattoo of a genie?" I knew there would be no room for realism on this show.

Or well written dialogue.

[Free]

I am eagerly awaiting the Goldfish Attack Force.

It's a mindless summer fun show. Wild animals running amok chomping obnoxious people? Count me in.

My cat would never turn on me. Would would give her belly rubs then?

 

I hope it becomes a fun trainwreck, I'm almost on my way out with Under the Dome.

[Happytobehere]

Got through the episode. It was bad, but the kind of bad that could become guilty pleasure bad, so I'm in for a few more episodes to see which way the wind blows. The cat tree and the comments about the school/day camp were clearly referencing the famous scene from The Birds where Tippi Hendren is outside of the school and we see the birds slowing amassing behind her until the big reveal that the birds have gathered and are ready to kill.

[ratgirlagogo]

Well, yeah - and also even more directly  this recent  internet favorite:

 

http://cheezburger.com/5251439872

Edited July 4, 2015 by ratgirlagogo

[Save Yourself]

This thread is awesome! I haven't laughed so hard for ages. As many others have said, I really want a cat tree. Besides the hotness of James Wolk I found the show pretty boring - too silly to be taken seriously and played too seriously to be awesome schlock. But then Cat Tree! I was soooo excited to see Cat Tree, that's one of the best images ever, hilarious! And the two cats hanging together that they first focused on perfectly match my cats - in both colour and breed - so that was very funny. Although my Himalayan could never climb a tree, she doesn't even realise she can jump over the fence - the tabby is much smarter.

My big problem with this premise is are they going to show loads of animals being slaughtered? A 'war' between humans and animals implies casualties on both sides but I can't imagine many people wanting to see animals being killed. I was really pissed off that those two zoo lions were killed, I don't want any others to die - particularly if they actually showed the killing. Count me firmly Team Animal! [but spare James :)].

Edited July 4, 2015 by Save Yourself

[Newbietunes]

Watching John Wolk (who I first saw in Mad Men) is a plus.

 

 

That's where I know him from.

 

There's a quote that says, "Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us, and pigs see us as equals."

 

 

I've heard a similar quote, but with horses instead of pigs.

 

James Patterson is the cheeseball hack writer supreme at present - he puts out (I am not making this up) literally a book a month

 

 

This guy should be G.R.R. Martin's life coach.  (Hopefully they'd meet somewhere in the middle -- between once a month and once every five freaking years.)

 

I remember seeing a PBS documentary years ago about lions and hyenas.  A pack of hyenas was taunting a group of female lions and this huge male lion came out of no where and killed the head hyena and the rest high tailed it out of there.  It was amazing video.

 

 

Your description reminded me of this scene.  It's from a Nat Geo special called Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas.  Maybe that is what you saw as well.  (Fingers crossed the link works.  If not, it's on Youtube, if you're interested.)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pda4zULB3EA

[theredhead77]

I can't wait for the dolphins to join the fun. 

moved it to the small talk thread.

Edited July 6, 2015 by theredhead77

[ratgirlagogo]

 

This guy should be G.R.R. Martin's life coach.

  Ha!  Who knows, maybe he's been secretly coaching Harper Lee.

[gameoff]

I liked it.  Doesn't take much to make me happy or suspend disbelief as far as TV goes.  Plus, James Wolk is hot.  I didn't know his name before this show but I remember him from The Crazy Ones.

 

I didn't realize until after I read the forum that the reporter was the same woman from The Whispers.  I thought she looked familiar --although I'm starting to think all actors/actresses look familiar which is either an indication that I watch way too much TV, or I'm getting old.  Probably a little of both.

[TimetoShine]

I think I'm in for the summer, since there's not much else on and I liked it for the most part. I can pretty much believe anything that a Scifi show tells me, no need for suspension of disbelief.

 

The only person I disliked actively was the reporter chick. I'm not a fan of people who break the rules for their "very special projects" and get upset when they get punished for it. 

[Bruinsfan]

As long as they've got James Wolk looking hot and sweaty in safari wear, I'm in. Nonso Anozie surviving being the chew toy of a pride of lions is just gravy at this point.

 

If it comes down to a war between humanity and all the large carnivores though, well, there are seven billion of us and we know how to use bullets. We wiped out mammoths and sabre tooth tigers when flint-tipped spears were state of the art technology and there were less than ten million people. Hell, we drive large animal species extinct when we're trying to save them. It only gets scary for our survival as a species if this mutation affects fast-breeding super-numerous small species like rats and insects.

 

The lions got to the radiator on the land rover.  Seriously ?  Have the lions been taking automotive shop classes in their spare time so they know the weak points of a car ?

I've busted the radiator on my car by running into a medium-sized dog. A lion could easily smash in the grill and disable the radiator, probably without hurting itself too much.

 

Oh, that fall down the cliff completely cracked me up! It went on for SO LONG, I almost couldn't believe it. But no, they really spent that amount of time showing people falling down a hill. It was amazing. Not of the same quality, certainly, but it made me think of the similar scene in The Princess Bride.

When the two of them started rolling down the cliff I threw my arms up and yelled "THEY DEAD NOW!!!"

 

Early in the episode, when the blogger's boss said, "Are you gonna force me to ask you to strip down so we can see whether or not somewhere on your body is the tattoo of a genie?" I knew there would be no room for realism on this show.

Yeah, when she said that I immediately thought if she gave that order Genie Tattoo Chick wouldn't be the one out of a job. She'd never have to work again with the settlement the paper would offer her to avoid a trial.

[DEM]

I kept hoping for an explanation of how French Woman escaped the lions or at least questions from the guy about it.  I'd hoped that would be a clue that would help solve the mystery and save the day down the road, but I guess she's just there to be Convenient Love Interest. Yawn.

[Moxie CrimeFighter]

I don't care for that reporter actress in this or The Whispers.

 

Same, there's just something about her that bugs me. The character, too. Although I'm sure her genie tattoo has a very deep meaning behind it.

 

I'm so dumb, it didn't even occur to me the cats might be plotting an attack on the summer camp kids. I thought they were up in the tree to hide from a larger predator.

 

Also, I like to think the bloodthirsty felines would never attack me since I'm a vegetarian and cat lover. Perhaps I give bloodthirsty felines too much credit.

 

This show looks craptastic! Season pass.

[Bruinsfan]

You're grass fed! More prime eating than other predators who concentrate mercury and Vitamin A in their tissues!

[monakane]

 

Your description reminded me of this scene.  It's from a Nat Geo special called Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas.  Maybe that is what you saw as well.  (Fingers crossed the link works.  If not, it's on Youtube, if you're interested.

 

Thank you Newbietunes, that is the scene I was referencing.  I believe in the same documentary the hyenas killed a wounded lioness.  I was Team Lion all the way.  Do you think they'll put aside their differences to take us down?

[Wax Lion]

I got a laugh at how they inverted the "It's just a cat" trope. Usually we get a fake scare where there's a human threatening to kill the lead. We hear a noise, there's something in that other corner... oh, whew it's just a cat. But this time the guy is being stalked by lions and... whew it's just a person.

[Ohwell]

This looks like "so bad, it's bad" fun.  I'm in.

 

I want to see chickens freak out and wreak havoc.  Chickens have it hard.  Some people don't eat pork; some people don't eat red meat; some people don't eat fish.  But it seems that everybody who's not a vegetarian eats chicken.  I want them to go around and just peck the shit out of people.  They probably can't do that much damage but they can at least peck eyes out so we'll have a bunch of blind humans who can't see the lions coming for them. 

Edited July 6, 2015 by Ohwell

[ratgirlagogo]

And they can keep on coming even WITHOUT THEIR HEADS.