We won’t go into much detail about the plot or the story of this SyFy product for good reason: the story, honestly, doesn’t necessarily matter! However, in this day and age of zombie-filled media, what with star hits like THE WALKING DEAD and iZOMBIE and a host of films celebrating the trope that is the undead feature thanks to Mr. George Romero, you have to wonder: is this just overkill? Or does Z Nation tap into something else? Or are we just crazy in the head?
The Thing Is Z NATION Does Exactly What We Expect It to
It’s not a serious venture into true-mark storytelling. Let’s just put it that way. Let’s paint a picture for you: THE WALKING DEAD is a bloody steak dinner. Z NATION is a big ol’ popsicle of sheer slickness, and the gooeyness just drips down your face, much like how the brains drip down the nasty chin of an undead walker.
TV popcorn fun, man! After all, this is what Asylum Productions is all about. Have you even seen those Sharknado flicks? They really don’t take themselves too seriously – and that’s precisely the point.
Whether you like that or not, that’s a completely different story. Here’s the thing, though: when it comes to zombie media and the sub-genre alone, the idea of this being almost satirical fits the mold quite nicely – think about it. The commercialization, the politics of it all (after all, satire fits quite well with politics!).
Yes, the actors get all honey-glazed ham with the acting, yes the story’s practically skeletal and shallow in nature, and yes, this is a series not delving too deeply in the political, philosophical, or scientific. Z NATION is truly all about the mindless entertainment. And the basic truth here is that many audiences just might like that, period.
Whether Z NATION Does the Zombie Sub-Genre Proud Is the Question
You be the judge – what do you think? Does SyFy have a real winner here? Sure, the lovers of THE WALKING DEAD will stand by their product and story just fine, and you might even be of the viewership for some iZOMBIE (especially if you’re into the DC Comics). But Z NATION? Yay, or nay?
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