What it's about: We never thought we'd put an Asylum production on a list of things we're genuinely excited about, and yet that's exactly what's happening. The film studio previously best known for their "mockbusters" - knock-offs of big Hollywood movies with names like Transmorphers designed to confused naïve audiences - have since achieved new heights of popularity thanks to the series of stupid giant monster films with bad CGI, culminating in Sharknado. They've settled down a little now, though, putting together this zombie drama for Syfy which aims to be a faster-paced, lower-budget Walking Dead. Not so much a proper rival as a trashy, more entertaining descendent; which, considering the slow pace and soap opera dramatics of Rick and pals, is right up our alley. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqbHm6RTHHM Why it looks good: One of the things The Walking Dead likes in an actual, propulsive plot. It's just about a bunch of jackasses trying to survive. And most of said jackasses are pretty unsympathetic, meaning the conflict between them is often...just a bit boring. Plus there's not nearly enough zombies. Z Nation is positioning itself as the brainless flipside, with a group of survivors trying to safely shepherd a guy carrying a potential cure through an America that's been totally torn apart by hordes of the undead. Harold Perrineau - Michael from Lost - stars, with a supporting cast that includes DJ Qualls from Road Trip as an eccentric hacker and Michael Welch from Twilight, and the production values actually look a fair bit better than the Asylum's usual Sharktopus schlock. This could be a lot of fun.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
