Here in Canada, a new streaming service — like Netflix but not Netflix — called shomi has been offering a two month free trial, so I figured I might as well check it. Price is right, after all.
I wouldn’t say shomi is any better than Netflix, or any worse. Both have fairly limited selections (Canadian Netflix is a pale shadow of its US incarnation). But importantly, there isn’t a lot of overlap between their selections, so I’ve been enjoying shomi purely as a source of variety.
In addition to finally catching up on Vikings, I decided to give iZombie a try, having seen a few ads for it and been mildly curious.
As it turns out, it’s actually pretty good.
iZombie is the story of Olivia “Liv” Moore, a bright, over-achieving young medical student who has been dead for about six months.
Liv had the misfortune to be caught in a sudden and inexplicable zombie outbreak. One scratch and some light drowning later, and she is now possessed of an unusually pallid complexion and some rather extreme new dietary requirements.
She now works in a morgue for easy access to fresh brains. After eating a brain, she gains the person’s memories and some of their personality, and she begins helping the police solve crimes using these stolen memories. Her cop partner is of the impression she is an emo psychic, which explains her pallor and her visions.
It’s weird. But fun.
iZombie is a hard show to define. If I had to give it a label, I’d call it a comedy, but it also has elements of drama and mystery and at times resembles a cop show or a superhero story. It’s based on a comic book, so it is, well, very comic book-y.
It’s not a series with a whole lot of depth, and there some parts of it that you just shouldn’t think too hard about — such as the incredibly lax security at the police station morgue — but it’s plenty entertaining.
The characters are likable — especially Ravi, Liv’s disturbingly eager accomplice in all things undeath-related — and it’s just so odd it’s hard not to appreciate. Where else can you find gems of dialogue such as, “You ate the woman’s temporal lobe. The least you can do is help find her killer.”
Also plenty of little in-jokes. I mean, she’s a zombie, and her name is Liv Moore. I see what you did there, iZombie.
To be fair, I’ve only see a couple of episodes so far, but I haven’t seen a bad one yet. “Live and Let Clive” was a little weak, but worth it for Liv’s instant kung fu, progression of Blaine’s plot, and Major and Ravi geeking out over Diablo III.
So if you haven’t seen iZombie yet, I would definitely recommend checking it out. It might not be Shakespeare, but it’s funny, entertaining, and very different.
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By the way, if you’re wondering why I’m not doing my usual battery of reviews for this show, the simple answer is I don’t want to. For the most part I enjoy maintaining this blog, but having to come up with a ~500 word review after every episode of a show can at times feel a little burdensome.
iZombie is an ideal show for relaxation — light-hearted and largely uncomplicated — and I didn’t want to spoil that by having to get into a work headspace after every episode.
But it’s a good enough show that I wanted to give it a shout out. It’s worth your time.
…Now I’m wondering what would happen if Liv ate my brain. Probably she’d just start tripping and dropping things more, and bore everyone around her to death with constant chatter about Elves.
Holden and company receive an offer of help from an OPA terrorist, and despite the characters immediately acknowledging that they have no other options, half the episode is spent on their debating whether to take it.
Overall rating: 4/10 Like watching paint dry in slow motion.
Superior Realities 