Z Nation (Syfy) [ Spoilers ]

mafaa · 28-05-2015 8:37pm

Showrunner karl schaefer talks z nation getting a super sized season 2, and what's to come [Exclusive BTS photos]

Agent Coulson · 20-07-2015 8:59pm

brian_t · 20-07-2015 10:02pm

Season 1 is been shown on Pick TV starting tomorrow (Tue) at 10pm

Harry Palmr · 21-07-2015 8:48pm

Is this worth the candle? The trouble with American series is they go on forever or die a sad death just when you are getting into it.

PirateShampoo · 22-07-2015 4:15pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Is this worth the candle? The trouble with American series is they go on forever or die a sad death just when you are getting into it.

I dont watch it because its good, i watch it because the acting, story lines and everything thing else about it is awful, but thats where its beauty lies, the writes know all this and thats what makes this show so damn brilliant to watch.

22-07-2015 4:28pm

PirateShampoo wrote: »

I dont watch it because its good, i watch it because the acting, story lines and everything thing else about it is awful, but thats where its beauty lies, the writes know all this and thats what makes this show so damn brilliant to watch.

I think that's a little unfair, while the show is no doubt bargain basement fair the writing is quite strong and characters well defined. It's a show about spectacle and it delivers that in spades and is far more fun than the overtly serious The Walking Dead

Dubl07 · 22-07-2015 5:07pm

Deleted User wrote: »

I think that's a little unfair, while the show is no doubt bargain basement fair the writing is quite strong and characters well defined. It's a show about spectacle and it delivers that in spades and is far more fun than the overtly serious The Walking Dead

I agree. TWD is about suspension of disbelief. Z Nation is arch, acknowledging that the story's a bit silly and rolling with it like mud-wrestling women.

NUTZZ · 24-07-2015 10:48pm

https://twitter.com/znation/status/624660613965312000

DMcL1971 · 10-09-2015 4:16pm

Well Z Nation is back this weekend for the first episode of season two. I have just finished re-watching season one and am really looking forward to season two. This show really stands up on a second watch. Although it is made on a shoestring budget the writing is excellent. They really make the most out of what they have got. This is just a damn good, well written, well directed show. It turns out that just because it is cheap and has SyFy and The Asylum behind it does not stop it from being an excellent show.

Some of the season one highlights for me where.
A zombie baby, a zombie stuck in a wheel arch, an oil refinery tank full of zombies, a zombie dog, zombies on fire, a cannibal cult, a stoner zombie, Amish zombies, a zoonami, a zombie tornado, an imaginary Cosmonaut, Radioactive zombies, a zombie bear, zombies on speed and of course the unseen zombies on Viagra.

Here is a quick recap of the last episode for anyone who doesn't remember where we left off on the cliffhanger finale.

Our group, with the help of Citizen Z, is trying to get Murphy to California so that Dr Murch can use him to synthesise a vaccine for the zombie plague. Citizen Z receives a message from Dr Murch that she is no longer in California but is now in a facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. So, our group heads there instead. When they arrive they find that nearly everyone there is dead. They find various deformed or mutated zombie/people locked in containment cells and two mutant zombies on the loose. Murphy is unable to control the mutant zombies but does manage to kill them. They also find the original patient zero of the zombie virus and put him out of his misery.

They then meet Dr Kurian who is a bad guy who deals in bio-weapons technology. Cassandra, who was near death from an infected leg wound, has been bitten by Murphy. She now looks like a zombie but is still alive. She attacks Dr Kurian and his soldiers. She kills the two soldiers but is then shot by Dr Kurian who also manages to shoot Doc. Murphy runs away from the action and is pursued by Dr Kurian. Murphy decides to leave the lab even though he knows that doing so will breach the quarantine procedure and cause a nuclear missile to be automatically launched towards the facility. As Murphy leaves he sheds his skin and exits the facility naked.

Cassandra, who has survived being shot, now fights the zombie soldiers in order to allow Warren, 10K and Doc to escape. The launch of the nuclear missile towards Fort Collins causes other nuclear missiles to be automatically launched towards key sites including the Northern Light base were Citizen Z is based.

The last we see of everyone is Murphy driving away from the site in a van. Cassandra underground fighting zombies. Doc, 10K and Warren driving away from the site in another van. Dr Kurian running away on foot. Citizen Z watching incoming missiles to camp Northern Light. Separate shots of Mack and Addy watching nuclear missiles passing overhead. It is not clear if Mack and Addy are together or not. The last we saw of them was when Addy chose to stay with the Sisters of Mercy group and Mack went back to get her.

NUTZZ · 10-09-2015 4:51pm

Z Nation Returns!

Season 2 Episode 1 - The Murphy
Airdate - September 11th on Syfy US at 10pm EDT

In the Season 2 premiere, moments have passed since Murphy triggered the launch of tactical nuclear weapons and it's every man/woman for themselves as the group split up and try to outrun the impending blast. Meanwhile, Citizen Z finds himself battling thawed zombies and unable to communicate with the team, which leads him to make a desperate move that prompts the arrival of a mysterious and deadly bounty hunter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDspugjC4kg

Mr E · 12-09-2015 9:49am

I'm a bit indifferent about the opener. I was looking forward to it, but I don't think it was as good as I had hoped. Zombie poledancer and lesbians were interesting.

DMcL1971 · 12-09-2015 10:02am

I loved it.

Looks like there is going to be plenty more fun this season. Murphy is now looking more like a 'Smurfy'. He was always pretty cocky but now he has the power of his own zombie army if he wants. That should make him a bit more difficult to control. Cassandra is looking seriously hot in her new gold outfit. She reminds me of Harley Quinn, a sexy psycho girlfriend. Citizen Z finally has some company, though not exactly the kind he wants. As usual Doc has some great one-liners. With the return of Mack and Addy the gang is now finally back together. I'm not a fan of Mack as he is always miserable but it is great to see Addy and her Z-whacker back in action.

I'm not sure about this new Vasquez character yet. His name is listed in the main titles so I presume he will be staying around. But it is great to see Murphy's love interest (Serena) back in the show, complete with a zombie baby. She was great in the one episode that she was in last season.

Agent Coulson · 12-09-2015 9:17pm

It was a bit Meh for me but I'm ok with that it looks like the real action will kick off next week.

DMcL1971 · 19-09-2015 10:42am

Episode two was fantastic. Non-stop action from beginning to end. All the fire fights reminded me of something like Black Hawk Down. The whole episode was really well shot with great fight choreography. There were several times when I genuinely thought we were going to lose a major character. Cassandra is really kicking ass this season.

I didn't mind losing Mack as he was my least favourite character anyway.

21-09-2015 10:10am

The reason that some episodes are so well shot is because the rather brilliant John Hyams is responsible for them. Most people will be familiar with his father Peter Hyams' work, he was responsible for Sudden Death, 2010, End of Days, Outland and loads of other fondly remembered films.

Peter Hyams is like his father only times ten, he can shoot action better than pretty much anyone working today and his two Universal Soldier films are fantastic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYuc_zwwvWs

CastorTroy · 24-09-2015 10:55pm

Excellent episode but

had Mack's death spoiled on me.

Can someone be turned by a scratch? I'm wondering if it could happen and hasn't due to it being Cassandra, who's a different kind of zombie

DMcL1971 · 26-09-2015 7:08pm

Pretty good episode. I'd love try some Z-weed. Blasters are great. The Blaster getting mangled between the truck wheels was fantastic.

However, as opposed to last weeks episode of non-stop action that you could follow perfectly, I found myself confused or lost throughout most of this one. Cassandra magically appears on top of the Charger out of nowhere to help Doc when seconds earlier she was in the quarantine vehicle. When the blasters attack the truck, I couldn't keep track of which zombies were where or who was dead or alive. The truck seemed to be made up of car parts and have cars on it that may or may not have contained an undefined number of refugees. So when all hell broke loose I couldn't tell who was getting killed, there were just lots of close-ups of people in cars getting attacked and zombies climbing over roofs. Then when everyone started going zombie I couldn't tell who was a regular zombie and who was a blaster.

I enjoyed the episode and it had some great moments but I spent most of the time trying to figure out what I was supposed to be looking at.

28-09-2015 11:27am

Really enjoying the series to date, the first two episodes were just fantastic with 2 in particular being amongst the most fun I've had in quite some time. John Hyams is the shows secret weapon, he can shoot action better than pretty much anyone and his visual flourishes really gave the episode a decidedly expensive fell.

To see just how much impact Hyams has on the show just compare episode 2 and 3. The action in episode 2 is kinetic and fluid, the camera never gets overly busy and keeps the action constantly in frame and in focus. Whereas in episode 3 where it all felt far too busy and it was difficult to know just what was happening. The action was shot like a traditional film from the Asylum, as in it was an utter mess and looked like it had been made with change found down the back of the couch.

squonk · 28-09-2015 11:57am

I'm enjoying this season but the overall 'grey' colour of the scenes are starting to bother me. Some of this week's episode might as well have bene shot in black and white. I'm all for post processing images but they're going a bit far this season IMHO. It was never the brightest show around but the lack of colour definition now almost makes it hard to follow what's going on. I'm sure that it led to some of the confustion in this week's episode.

Mr E · 28-09-2015 12:15pm

I've noticed that too. It looks very washed out. Going for the nuclear winter look, but it's hard on the eyes.

28-09-2015 12:30pm

squonk wrote: »

I'm enjoying this season but the overall 'grey' colour of the scenes are starting to bother me. Some of this week's episode might as well have bene shot in black and white. I'm all for post processing images but they're going a bit far this season IMHO. It was never the brightest show around but the lack of colour definition now almost makes it hard to follow what's going on. I'm sure that it led to some of the confustion in this week's episode.

I assume that the colour palette this week was a nod to all those terribly great 80s Italian zombie films. The blasters looked like they had stepped out of Zombie Holocaust or the like and as such it looked like they were riffing on those films aswell as all the cheap post apocalyptic Mad Max rip offs that Italy produced.

5starpool · 28-09-2015 7:36pm

This is still great fun to watch. As said above, episode 3 was a bit all over the place, but it's still really enjoyable overall. The infinite ammunition is hilarious though.

duridian · 28-09-2015 8:12pm

Mr E wrote: »

I've noticed that too. It looks very washed out. Going for the nuclear winter look, but it's hard on the eyes.

But hasn't it been that way from the start, even before any nuclear missile strikes?
Though it does remind me a bit of the landscape in the Fallout games, I must say.

DMcL1971 · 28-09-2015 10:44pm

It has definitely always been quite bleached or overexposed but I think it has got worse since the nuclear explosions. I can understand their intention but I think they have pushed it a bit too far.

DMcL1971 · 06-10-2015 1:49am

I almost forgot to post about this weeks episode!

Not the best episode but still enjoyable. Things are getting weirder each week with plant zombies, weed dealers and zombie foetuses.

Nice to see Dr. Kurian back again. I wonder what happened to Wrecking Ball from last week. Murphy and Cassandra make a great team. I'm looking forward seeing how he is going to deal with Serena and the baby, that girl looks like a bit of a nut job.

Agent Coulson · 10-10-2015 2:42pm

The Three Wise Zombies made me laugh

DMcL1971 · 10-10-2015 8:09pm

That was a fantastic episode, I laughed out loud several times throughout.
The Wisconsin Cheese Day Parade and the Cheese wheel were brilliant.
Zombie Camel, Bull, Horse, Donkey, Goat and Sheep
Cassandra eating grass, WTF!!
I loved all the nativity imagery, with the star in the sky, the birth in a stable, all the animals and the three wise men.

Besides all the fun there was also some serious stuff with Vasquez acting suspicious with his walkie-talkie. I don't know whether to trust him or not. Warren deciding to take the Anthrax medicine from the Mennonites was rough. By doing so she was effectively leaving them to die. I think this is the first time they have deliberately caused the death of any innocents.

duridian · 11-10-2015 12:41am

This show just gets funnier by the weed.... er... week. Did you notice the reg on the plate of the black SUV they had early in the episode was "420 STP". Perfect reg for Doc who is always happy to stop for a smoke.

Wibbs · 11-10-2015 1:07pm

I really love this programme I have to say. IMHO it has a lot of heart for the want of a better word. It can go from serious to fun to daft from one scene to the next. You really don't know what to expect next. As DmcL noted in this episode we went from zombie camels to moral dilemma with the sacrificing of those who helped them and it was all knitted together. And we had a rolling giant cheese mowing down zombies all the way to the Mississippi apparently. I mean what's not to like?

I also thought I saw a reference/nod/piss take to the Walking Dead when they questioned the Mennonites having a different name for zombies.

Don't get me wrong I like(d) the Walking Dead and will watch it, but increasingly it feels like I have to watch it if you know what I mean? It very rarely surprises me anymore. The majority of episodes are; scowl into the distance. Add some angst among the group. Oh look Zombies "walkers/biters"!! End episode. Cue scenes from the next week of AMC's The Walking Dead; "scowl into the distance. Add some angst among the group. Oh look Zombies "walkers/biters"!!"

squonk · 12-10-2015 10:45am

Best episode of the season so far! They've ditched the post-nuclear washed out look now too which is great! The Cheese Wheel was the star of the show surely!

I felt sorry for the Menonites but it was a correct decision the team made. I thought that really added to the episode.

Any episode with the title "Zombaby" just begs to be watched and this really didn't let us down! From the baby pulling it's way out of the mother to snapping through it's own umbilical cord...

. The zombie wise men was just way fúcked up! So funny and brilliant!

I really want to know what's up with the guy listening to the mexican chatter about Murphy. It's great they're keeping us guessing there.

I was starting to think this season just wasn't as much fun as Season 1 so far but they've made up for it with this latest episdoe! Top notch throughout!

Cartman78 · 16-10-2015 1:52pm

Hi all,

Sorry if this has been asked/answered previously but had a quick skim and could see anything

Does anyone know when Series 2 is starting on the Sky platform?

Agent Coulson · 16-10-2015 1:54pm

Cartman78 wrote: »

Hi all,

Sorry if this has been asked/answered previously but had a quick skim and could see anything

Does anyone know when Series 2 is starting on the Sky platform?

Next Tuesday the 20th 10pm on Pick TV.

Cartman78 · 16-10-2015 1:56pm

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Next Tuesday the 20th 10pm on Pick TV.

Super - best news i've heard since Klopp was confirmed as Liverpool manager

CastorTroy · 18-10-2015 1:02am

Really laughed at the "Her Water broke" "Well don't just stand there! Fix it"

Now to watch this week's episode

DMcL1971 · 18-10-2015 8:36pm

Yet another great episode.

A bus full of zombie Abe Lincoln's, brilliant, and the one made up like a coin was genius.

I am not quite getting what is going on with Murphy's zombie controlling powers. It seems that either he is losing his ability to control zombies or it is lessened when Lucy is around or the zombies are willing to ignore him in order to get to Lucy.

There was some good character development between Warren and Vasquez in the hospital. He has offered an explanation of what he is doing with the Zero's but I'm not sure that I believe him. Warren smacking him in the face while he was stitching her up was hilarious.

I really don't want to believe that Cassandra is dead, I know she appears to be dead but we don't know for sure. She wasn't human or zombie to start with. 10K appeared to stab her in the neck, not the head. She didn't turn into a full zombie when she died. So I am hoping that she can still come crawling out of the ground at some stage.

And finally a great twist with what Murphy did to Lucy's new guardians.

squonk · 19-10-2015 9:08am

I missed the piece with Vasquez explaining what he was up to. What is he up to?
I'm a little confused about the ending too. I'm assuming Murphy zombied the parents but they look normal so I'm not sure now. Maybe it's the Casandra treatment? I found this episode a little confusing or strange in some ways. By rights, the homeowner should have shot Murphy on sight. OK, he was talking and normal sounding but he looks like a zombie. Would you take that chance in a Zombie apocalypse? I sure wouldn't. Murphy then deciding to hand the baby over to the man's wife. That could have ended very badly. I know this show isn't that serious but they really suspended disbelief here I think.

Good episode otherwise though. The Abe Bus was the highlight for me! I love that they throw in these touches now. Last week it was the cheese. I kind of liked Zombie Animals as well. Anyone else expect 10K's fish to turn zombie on them all?

Mr E · 19-10-2015 10:45am

squonk wrote: »

I'm a little confused about the ending too. I'm assuming Murphy zombied the parents but they look normal so I'm not sure now.

They had bitemarks on their cheeks (like Cassandra). Hard to believe that Murphy overpowered both of them though....

DMcL1971 · 19-10-2015 11:11am

It appears Murphy bit them, like Cassandra but they were acting pretty normally as opposed to the animal-like way that Cassandra was.

squonk wrote: »

I missed the piece with Vasquez explaining what he was up to. What is he up to?

I found this a bit confusing myself. What I think he said was that he used to work for the DEA trying to stop drug smuggling. The Zero cartel approached him and attempted to bribe him. They said he could make millions in bribes by continuing to actively pursue all other drug dealers while allowing the Zeros a free pass. That way he can still do his job while the Zeros don't have to worry about being caught and at the same time all their competitors gets a harder time from the DEA.

However Vasquez refused to play ball. As a punishment for not co-operating the Zeros decided to kill his wife and kid. They gave him the option of either killing his own wife and kid himself, thereby allowing them a quick death or leaving the Zeros to kill them slowly. Obviously not the best of choices. However one of the Zeros offered to do him a favour and quickly killed his wife and kid. Thereby saving Vasquez from having to do it and saving them from a slow death. Vasquez is now trying to hunt down this guy for revenge. This does not make a lot of sense to me as even though the guy killed his wife and kid it was the least cruel outcome of all the possible options.

None of this clearly explains why he was meeting with the Zeros. Perhaps he is pretending to work with them and help them find Murphy when really it is just an excuse to get close to them so he can do some damage.

squonk · 19-10-2015 12:29pm

Thanks for that! I missed the bite marks on the couple's cheeks. It really makes no sense that he overpowered them both. I know it's ironic given the show we're discussing but I felt this was the weakest so far in terms of plot and believability.

Likewise, given what has been said, Vasquez motives make no sense at all! Sheesh! Ah well!

CastorTroy · 19-10-2015 2:52pm

The thing with Vasquez isn't that the guy offered to help by killing his wife and kid quickly. It was that he offered to help in exchange for a favour. But when Vasquez agreed, the help was killing his wife and kid quickly rather than saving them which is what Vasquez probably assumed.

Or so is my understanding

DMcL1971 · 19-10-2015 4:30pm

It's really not very clear. I have re-watched the scene a few times and still can't really follow it. I don't know whether it was badly shot or whether they are being purposely unclear. Whether the Zero was doing it only so that Vasquez would owe him or because he was being sympathetic while still getting Vasquez to owe him one, I don't know. It still seems that the guy, even though he killed the wife and daughter, did Vasquez a favour by not forcing him to kill his own wife or have them both suffer unnecessarily. No matter what the specifics are I can understand Vasquez wanting to kill every Zero.

The dialogue as far as I could make it out is as below.

One of the Zero shot-callers showed up, said he'd do me a favour but I'd owe him big time.
I said 'anything, just help my wife and child.'
He said 'deal'.
Shot 'em right there in front of 'em.

Guffy · 19-10-2015 6:54pm

Really beginning to dislike this show. First season was a grand watch but this season is just a little cringe tbh.

Agent Coulson · 24-10-2015 12:06pm

Great Butch & Sundance ending

Next week's special guest star looks awesome.

CastorTroy · 30-10-2015 2:24pm

Just watched last week's now because was waiting on a better copy, which never came.

Fun episode. Really funny guest characters. I liked how he basically used the Chewbacca defence. As one review said, they work better as guest characters and would probably have outstayed their welcome if they joined the group

Those 2 guys at the beginning deserved to die for being so stupid. They should have gone one at a time to be sure everything was above board. And no word on what happened the owner of the boat.

I do find it funny that no one ever seems to question Murphy's colour. They just see him or might mention it then it's just shrugged off.

DMcL1971 · 30-10-2015 7:59pm

Yes, the guy giving the speech in his defence was hilarious I can never remember which one is 'Sketchy' and which one is 'Skeezy'. But none of what he was saying made any sense but he really got the crowd on his side. Reminded me a lot of any politician.

Micky Dolenz · 30-10-2015 8:33pm

I'm really loving the show, they could go anywhere with the story and I don't think anyone would pick holes in it, it's a bit of a laugh. TWD being the complete opposite.

Citizen Z hasn't been heard from in a while.

Agent Coulson · 31-10-2015 12:40pm

That was a really good episode crazy fanboy keeps museum of Zombies brilliant and having George as Zombie was fun a nice nod to him killing off characters.

A nice run through on the history of Zombies on Film as well

Also was that nice Easter egg for The Waking Dead...A guy with a cross bow (Daryl?) tries to save George at Comic Con.

Next week

Aliens at Roswell

?

DMcL1971 · 31-10-2015 2:57pm

Excellent episode. I thought it was very well written. The format of a talk show was a great way to recap the show and provide more insight into Murphy's character. The jokes in relation to, what we had always thought about zombies in mythology actually turned out to be true when the apocalypse came was a nice inclusion. As was (as Agent Coulson said) the acknowledgement of the history of zombie movies. Lots of nice lines poking respectful fun at fanboys and fanboy culture.

The show seems to be gaining in popularity. I was listening to an interview with show creator Karl Schaefer and he said that the viewership was not big for season one on SciFi channel but when it was made available on NetFlix it really started to take off. In addition to this weeks cameo. They will have Missi Pyle, Gina Gershon, Anthony Michael Hall and Doug Jones in upcoming episodes.

CastorTroy · 31-10-2015 5:48pm

Saw one site saying the "Promise of Spring" title for the book was a hint that his next book would be out by then.

I would like to see more celebrity zombies, played by themselves, on this show. Imagine getting someone really famous to just have a second of screen time just to get killed. Maybe when they get to LA

One thing this episode did make me realise is that if zombies crave brains, how come they never seem to go for the head? And not just in this series.

And do we know how those zombies escaped from their stands?

strelok · 02-11-2015 11:30pm

i think the zombies escaped from the stands because murphy was able to take their pain away from the invisible electric shields as he was being shocked repeatedly to bite 10k

this thread was on the main page a couple of days ago, i clicked it and had a quick nosy around. was supremely bored so decided i'd download the pilot and give it a watch

i just finished ep 8 of season 2. overall I preferred season 1, although the beginning of s2 was excellent, the lesbian and stripper zombies were hilarious. the acting seems to be improving quite a bit too. i hated addy in the first season but she's actually growing into a half way decent character.

for such a cheap looking show it looks fantastic at times and the writing is just top quality more often than not. I wonder if they have it planned out or if they're just throwing crazy ideas out and running with what seems best. I never would have imagined a nuclear holocaust to end the season.

oh, and the less citizen Z there is the better, hate that guy.

Z Nation (Syfy) [** Spoilers **]

Comments

Z Nation (Syfy) [ Spoilers ]