Ok, so we've all seen them, zombie flicks. Most are little more than boring recycles of the same ax-hacking plot again and again. Lately there has been a resurgence in interest in all things zombie--from Zombie Ammo, to Zombie Green firearms accessories, to Zombie Knives, to movies. American TV even has an extremely popular series, The Walking Dead, starting I think, its 4th season.
I confess that we do watch The Walking Dead, partly because we enjoy dissecting their less-than-ideal tactics--partly because it is better than average mindless entertainment. But recently I saw ads on Uverse, for a BBC production called In The Flesh. It was supposed to be a 3 part show, all about Zombies, but it teased the viewer with the potential of a very different plot. What if the zombies could be rehabilitated, and then sent home? What if your loved one, wasn't dead any more?
That's the core of the scenario of In the Flesh. It was unique enough to cause me to DVR the episodes. Being BBC it was set in rural Britain, and at times even I needed the closed captioning to wade through the accents. Normally that's not a problem, but between noise in my house (go figure, a house full of noisy Monkeys and dogs!) and the mic levels in the show, it proved more difficult to catch the language nuances. I recommend if you get a chance to watch the show, you use the caption feature.
There are of course a number of cultural differences between the US & UK. Having grown up with a dad from the UK, I suppose I make that transition easier than most. Still it was interesting to contrast US zombie shows to this one. Only in Britain, I think, would a government think of rehabbing zombies. Plus it is funny, to me anyway, seeing a hospital full of zombies, all queued up for their exit interviews! It's VERY English!
In all, I really enjoyed this thoughtful treatment of zombies. The zombies were really just a method to examine certain social interactions and concepts. Media reports that the show got picked up for a second season (first really since 3 episodes are not a season) and might come back next year. If they do it right, it should be good. Watch it and enjoy.
Here's a link to the primary trailer for the show. In The Flesh Trailer.
The only show I've seen is Zombieland. It was pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI must tell my daughter she would love this. B
ReplyDeleteWe will check that out. I loved Zombieland but it was so tongue in cheek. World War Z, enjoyed the book though the scientist in me totally picked it apart. The movie looks nothing like the book and I'll likely pass, but THIS series looks interesting. Thanks! I'd not have been aware of it otherwise.
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