Z Nation

I think the problem here is that everyone is comparing this show to the Walking Dead, which in my opinion, has failed the zombie genre. The first two episodes of this show had me on the edge of my seat and the graphics were quite good (obviously not HBO good). The zombies in the show are terrifying and yes some of the acting is a bit stiff but its SYFY, they do have a budget, and they're spending it on the right thing, graphics. Almost non-stop action is what propels the show and a new "smart zombie" spin is whats going to keep me watching. Im tired of watching zombies get speared through the holes of a fence, it's time to let the humans be the hunted! I highly recommend you give this show a try because in my opinion they're doing almost everything right and it could be one of the most thrilling shows to grace the airwaves in a while.

It's not rubbish and it's not excellent either. What it lacks in characterisation does not make it unwatchable or unenjoyable.

If you expect a good version of the walking dead then you will be disappointed. For a start the zombies are fast moving and there are a lot of them.

If you watch it with an open mind and don't expect class science fiction with brilliant acting then you may find it's OK to watch and you won't be bored. Mind you I have only seen the first episode.

The people saying it's rubbish are eating a burger and expecting a fillet steak.

You can tell exactly what this show is about when Harold goes "God, I hate moral dilemmas." Not that I don't like Walking Dead and their special episodes, but by God, it's just refreshing to have people killing zombies without constantly wondering about the meaning of life and the universe and God and nihilism and every damn thing under the sun.

I was skeptical at first by the bad reviews, but this is Syfy doing what it does best. Cheap, good, pointless, meaningless fun.

I was like "Guy from Lost!"(Harold) "Aunt Wanda!" (from the Bernie Mac Show) "Russell!" (from Southland), and even the other actors who I have never seen before, had my interest from the jump. There's no frowdy-dowdy old woman, no rambling kindly farmer grandad with six semi-suicidal daughters. None of all that baggage. Everybody's in the now. There are people like "girl with spiked baseball bat", "old meth dealer", "emo-looking sniper boy", "Jon Hamm looking vagrant-convict-zombie-zombie cure".

Another thing it has going for it is the pacing. The events of the single pilot episode would take maybe a season and a half in TWD time. I don't see Z Nation wasting time on all the nonsense that TWD drags on over and over. No soul searching here, people! Just good ole zombie killing fun.

It's like 28 Days Later, meets Dawn and Shaun of the Dead, meets maybe From Dusk Till Dawn. I just frakking love it. It's like someone was watching TWD and thought, "You know what, this is nice and all, but what if it wasn't boring as all fvck? Like if maybe zombies were fun? You think maybe we could do that?"

Right, well with the sheer amount of baggage that both SyFy Channel and The Asylum comes with, in forms of questionable movies and TV series, then it was with a certain amount of skepticism that I sat down to watch "Z Nation".

However, now that I have gone through seasons 1 and 2 in a very short time, I must say that I am more than impressed with the outcome of "Z Nation". Fearing that this would be nothing more than just another mockbuster cash-in on "The Walking Dead", I had no particular high expectations for "Z Nation". But I will say that I am glad that I did sit down to watch it.

"Z Nation" breaks the traditional formula that both SyFy Channel and The Asylum tends to use, and it does offer up something unique to the zombie genre. Sure, there are massive similarities to "The Walking Dead", for example, then "Z Nation" does turn the table and prove to be innovative with new ideas and concepts to the genre.

The special effects in "Z Nation" is a massive step up from what both SyFy Channel and The Asylum previously has managed to muster in their previous productions. And that was really a massive improvement, especially because it worked out quite well. And the effects are great and that really works in favor of the series.

What really blew me away and had me riveted to the screen was the characters and the story. The characters are nicely detailed and fleshed out. Lots of really memorable characters in the series. I especially enjoy the Doc and Murphy characters, played by Russell Hodgkinson and Keith Allan respectively. These two characters are more than enough to sustain the series all by themselves.

"Z Nation" doesn't take itself as serious as "The Walking Dead" for instance, and that is result of SyFy Channel and The Asylum. But it works out well enough for the series, because it adds a good comedy element to the show, which is a colorful layer.

There are some very outrageous things happening throughout the series, which may actually not appeal to just everyone in the audience. I did, however, enjoy it.

All in all, then "Z Nation" is more than worth checking out. Just bear in mind that it is not "The Walking Dead" in seriousness and such. It is, though, a good addition to the zombie genre, especially if you enjoy something that breaks the traditional formulas used in the zombie genre.

Seasons 1-4 get a rating of 9 stars from me. I rate season 5 with 3 stars. This show has been funny and highly entertaining until season 5. One of the things that made this show so good was that the writers managed to find a good balance,keeping the political stuff to a minimum and there wasn't a lot of deep diving into emotional dilemmas. This season the writing is sappy and feels forced with lame lines about "who we want to become" and "not acting out of fear" blah blah blah. As if having legitimate concern about someone eating your brains is some sort of silly fear that should be scorned. The writing this season is terrible! The "Talkers" won't eat you if they get enough biscuits that contain human brains. The viewer seems to be expected to just accept this premise no questions asked. Who makes the biscuits and where are they getting brains from? And why aren't our characters having a moral dilemma with THAT?! In previous seasons anything that seemed stupid in the writing wasn't a problem b/c the show was so fun to watch. This season is nothing but a lame lecture.