Review
I loved this pilot, and that is not just because I’m an unabashed Veronica Mars fan. With such a ridiculous (albeit mostly original) premise, I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out. I’m thrilled to say that the series is very self-aware (which may be a turnoff for some) and pokes fun at itself quite often. Not every joke lands, but most of them do, which is more than I can say for most television comedies nowadays.
I’m actually surprised with some of the gore in the episode. It’s not gory, but the brain stuff is pretty intense for a CW series that airs at 8pm. Granted, I don’t watch The Vampire Diaries or The Originals so I may just be a little behind with my knowledge of CW’s gore quotient.
I’ve seen Rose McIver in a few different things, and I’ve liked her fine in everything I’ve seen her in, but I have never seen her carry a show/movie by herself. That is exactly what she does in iZombie. McIver has a great personality and her voiceovers flow really well with the episode (meaning they aren’t annoying, as voiceovers are wont to be).
The supporting characters aren’t given much to do, with the most screen time given to the rather bland Babinaux (I would liked to have seen more Peyton or Ravi) so there’s still some development to be done there, but there’s only so much you can do in a 43-minute pilot, so I’ll let it slide. This episode belongs to Liv anyway.
My one gripe with the pilot was that it was a little too procedural for my taste (and the central mystery wasn’t that involving). I was hoping there would be more serialization but the flash to Liv’s death at the end proves there could be more of an over-arching story woven into this 13-episode season. Plus, David Anders is awesome. I’ll withhold judgment on that until I’ve seen a few more episodes.
Overall, I thought this was a very solid (and most importantly, fun) pilot that shows promise for future episodes. What do you guys think? Are there any of you who haven’t seen an episode of Veronica Mars who were just as drawn in as I was? Or did you not buy into any of it and found the dialogue completely terrible? Let me know in the comments below!
Random Notes
- Welcome to Bloody-Disgusting’s weekly iZombie reviews everybody! Forgive me if future posts are late like this one, I’m not always able to watch shows the same night they air, but they will be posted within 48 hours!
- I should probably point out that I’ve never read the comic book that iZombie is based on, but I’ve read that it’s an extremely loose adaptation.
- Seriously, though. Did Liv’s voiceovers give anyone else Veronica Mars flashbacks?
- iZombie Zombie Characteristics: Zombies don’t sleep, they get dumber if they stop eating brains after a certain period of time, they need hot sauce to taste anything, their heartbeat beats at 10 beats per minute, it’s hard to draw blood from them since it’s coagulated. Did I miss any?
- Liv broke off the engagement with Major because she doesn’t want to “give him zombie.” Makes sense.
- “I think those guys over there want your Bad Romance. Unless singing Gaga at the station is a cop thing…” iZombie has the same pop cultural witticisms as Veronica Mars. Rejoice!
- On that note, I’m halfway ashamed to say that I knew that was Lady Gaga’s real name, and thus called the name being a fake.
- “You could use some sun young lady.” Weatherman Frost to Liv. The line itself isn’t particularly funny, but Norris’ delivery of it is.
- “Yes, Sir Elton specifically references dead call girls in the Circle of Life.”
- In case you missed it, here’s the promo for next week’s episode: