iZombie "Pilot" (REVIEW)
written by Justin Prince (@prince_justin)
In one of the most surprising comic adaptations to hit television, iZombie from Vertigo Comics (an offshoot of DC) comes to the CW... and at least at this point it doesn't look like it takes place in the same CW DC universe. Starring Rose McIver as our dead-ish heroine, Olivia "Liv" Moore, what starts as just eating brains to survive sets her on a quest to solve a murder.
Rose McIver is our dead-ish heroine
When chowing down on dead brains, Liv has the unique ability to experience what the stiff experienced, kinda puts the phrase you are what you eat in a whole new light. Working side-by-side with Seattle PD homicide detective Clive Babineaux, Liv's midnight snack becomes a useful tool in finding a murderer.
The comic the series is based on was short lived, spanning 28 issues, and aside from the name of the show... much of the core narrative (including the names) are left in the funny pages. This opens up CW's iZombie to become so much more than just a comic adaptation. The first thing I noticed was how the show steered clear from any inherently common comic book themes, while much of the story was pretty fantastical... this was a procedural cop show with some supernatural elements thrown in.
working as a medical examiner helps with the whole... stuff to eat thing
I'm unsure if CW plans to introduce more of the comic series' supernatural characters, like the ghost girl from the 60's or the wereterrier boy (yes it's as ridiculous as it sounds) and honestly I'd be cool with Liv being the only supernatural character on the show, it makes her special and firmly roots the show in realism... or as real as a story about an undead investigator with a psychic-ish link to the people whose brains she eats can get.
I was very pleasantly surprised, I was a fan of the original comic but honestly was very skeptical of how it would translate to TV. I'm happy to say that my skeptical outlook is totally alleviated after this first episode. Oh and fun fact, when investigating possible perps Liv and Babineaux first question a weather man at KSTW 11... KSTW is the local area broadcaster for the CW here in Seattle, at least I thought that was cool.
Liv's boss Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti and Detective Clive Babineaux
CW's iZombie sets up a well crafted origin for Liv while drawing inspiration from equal parts SVU and other procedural cop dramas while tossing in a bit of Pushing Daisies... with a Romero twist.
