Z Nation season one review

 

Catching up on Zees…

 There has been a plethora of zombie related things over the past decade, and I wonder if this will fade since we’ve now had our own, real pandemic. Ok so it wasn’t a zombie apocalypse but there were moments when it felt like we’d never go back to what we had before. The drama of watching other people go through that kind of situation seems a little less enthralling when you’ve brushed against something similar. So, what better/ worse time than to look at something zombie related? The Walking Dead is too obvious and has been reviewed to the max elsewhere, so I decided to look at Z Nation, a series that ran from 2014-19 across five seasons. It is fair to say it did not have anything like the same profile in the UK like The Walking Dead did in its prime and certainly it would be that show’s success that probably enabled this one to be made. However, it must have had something to run for five years. I’d vaguely heard of it imagining it to be some sort of spin off or prequel to the film World War Z but it isn’t. Oh, and because it’s American when you’re reading this the series title is pronounced Zee Nation because Zed Nation sounds like an 80s futurist pop star!

 

The first season opens three years after the zombie apocalypse (which they don’t specify but which a later episode suggests happened in 2014 so its set three years in the future). The event has as is par for the course with all dystopian fiction destroyed much of civilisation leaving those who do remain struggling in the shells of familiar places. As well as bringing on the bleakness which is essential it also saves on budget because you can film in remote locations, and you don’t need to do lots of digitally generated half damaged buildings or set dressing.

We join a bunch of disparate survivors – some military, others not – as they meet up and transport a man called Murphy across the country to a lab where the unique vaccine which he has been given can be developed en masse to potentially save humanity from a shuffling, brain scoffing future. So definitely not small stakes yet the journey is slow going for our heroes as they encounter a lot of barriers along the way. Some of these are other survivors doing what they can to survive (tip – don’t trust them however matey they seem), others are swathes of “zees” as they always referred to. The fact that they can be dispatched easily by way of an assortment of weapons both mechanical and physical doesn’t make them any less dangerous because there are so many of them.

Shot with a washed-out aesthetic that suits the scenario Z Nation pitches itself form the off as an action show. Each episode contains multiple sequences of great jeopardy (that should be the warning!) yet what impresses is the inventiveness that goes into each. With an impressive number of extras given the budget of the show you always get a sense of the danger. While you’d imagine there is only so much mileage you can get from thwacking zees, getting trapped or running away credit to the series’ writers and directors because it never gets old. They find new ways to frame these encounters and some of the plots, especially earlier on, show a real imagination at work.  We get radioactive zees, zees on speed, zees on fire and, most shockingly, a baby zee which will give you nightmares! Not being that familiar with the genre it may be that these are spins on other shows or films but even, so I enjoyed them in a way I’ve not previously done when zombies were involved. Previous things I’ve seen are either too gory or too silly, but this is pitched just about right.

Coming up with scenarios for our travellers to deal with brings out the best in the show with episodes set, amongst others, in a women’s only compound, a religious cult and a big factory. One impressively tense scenario comes when the group have to hide out in a deserted town to avoid a “zu-nami” of thousands of the undead. Where do they hide? In a mortuary! My personal favourite though is the episode where Doc is trapped in a lift shaft with a snapping zombie facing him. Towards the end I feel matters flag a little and despite the situation the climax in a nuclear plant somehow doesn’t generate the same tension as many of the smaller perils we’ve seen earlier.

It is fair to say there’s not a massive amount of space left for character work though I suspect the intended audience never really bothered that much. However, there is enough sketched in to make us feel genuinely frightened for and supportive of this group while spot on casting helps with each actor able to bring something individual to the table. There are some great performances then, notably from Keith Allan (no, not that one though that could have been interesting) whose Murphy is by turns cynical, selfish, funny, and disturbed. The character’s gradually deteriorating physical state (he’s basically turning into a zee very, very, very slowly) does not affect his movement and he develops a sort of psychic power over the undead which domes in mightily handily later on. Also lifting the mood, a little is Russell Hodgkinson as the self-styled Doc whose down to earth bonhomie is a much needed contrast to his often dour colleagues. Kellita Smith is fantastic as the tough but responsible Roberta Warren who uses her military background to become de facto leader after the initial two leaders of the group meet surprising deaths during the season’s first half.

One of the series’ ways of being different is having a lone observer in a polar military base who is left on his own in the opening episode and becomes `Citizen Z` broadcasting music and thoughts while helping a little when he can. Perhaps slightly improbably all the US’ satellites and comms systems seem to still be working (who needs maintenance?!) so his visual reach is immense and comes in useful. More importantly the character frames the scenario with philosophical asides and jokes too. Played with irrepressible energy by DJ Qualls the very last line of the season goes to him as he and the others face a seemingly impossible cliff-hanger he declares “I hate the zombie apocalypse!”

Some of the other characters get less attention though that is the way these series are. Providing our group gets out of the end of season dilemma in one piece, which given there are four more seasons, I assume they do, the regular cast is now pared down to a more manageable number which should allow a little more character time in the second season. I have to say that unsure just what to expect or how the writers could keep this going, I was impressed with the variety, action and humour on display. Unlike Citizen Zee I think I kind of like the zombie apocalypse!