Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: iZombie: Season 3

 

+++Warning, this will contain spoilers from the prior seasons, but no major giveaways from season 3 ++++

The 13-episode third season of iZombie aired during the spring and summer of 2017. The season picks up right after the end of the second season finale, when the soldiers enter to clean up the mess of the Max Rager party turned zombie fest. In the first episode, we learn that they are part of a Zombie-led organization called Fillmore-Graves, which is preparing for the day when humans en masse learn of the existence of zombies.

For the main characters, the season is about the fallout from past events, especially now that the entire group knows the truth. Major deals with the fallout from the revelation that he is the "chaos killer." Blaine has to deal with being human again and attempting to start over, and Ravi is working toward perfecting the cure. For Liv (and all the other characters) the season is about taking a side in the humans vs zombies confrontation. As is the case with the prior seasons, the show is mainly a case-of-the-week procedural, with larger serial story arcs that play throughout. The big one is the humans becoming more and more aware of the existence of zombies, told through a group of conspiracy wingnuts. As is also the norm, Liv takes on a range of personalities (again brilliantly done by Rose McIver), and the show alternates between funny, sad, and dramatic, all on a dime. The writing and acting are all top-notch, and the show packs a lot into a limited number of episodes.

The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc set and is one of the Warner Archives' made-on-demand (MOD) releases. Unlike many other MOD sets, they include closed captions and some extras. Those consist of deleted scenes for select episodes and about 30 minutes of the comic-con panel discussion with some of the cast and writers. There are not a ton of extras, but they are good for what is there.

This is also the last season of the show to get an official release. There are two additional seasons, but because of a licensing issue with season 4, it will not be released at all. So Warner just decided not to release the fourth season, the fifth season, or a complete series set. Whether that will change in the future, who knows. But to see the final seasons, you either have to stream them or try to find bootlegs.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: iZombie: Season 2

 

++++Warning, this will contain some season 1 spoilers, but no major giveaways from season 2 +++++

The 19-episode second season of iZombie aired during the 2015/2016 TV season. If you are unfamiliar with the show, it was one of The CW's "other" comic book-based shows. It is a different show based on the premise that if zombies have regular access to brains, they can remain high-functioning members of society, but if they go without brains for too long, they end up as "The Night of The Living Dead/28 Days Later" version of a zombie. The ironically named Liv Moore works in the medical examiner's office (providing her regular access to the brains of murder victims, whose personality traits and memories she temporarily takes on) and helps a member of the Seattle police department solve murders.

For those who have seen season 1, the show keeps the case-of-the-week format and has multiple serial storylines based on the events of the first season. Blaine and Major begin the season as cured zombies thanks to being injected by Liv at the end of season 1. Blaine finds a way to keep his food operation going in a more legal manner than in season 1. Major works for Max Rager unwillingly, and Liv and Ravi continue to work on finding a cure. Live becomes estranged from her family, Clive keeps digging into the Meat Chute murders, putting Liv and Major at risk of being found out, and a returning Peyton begins a crusade to take down the local crime boss. There are a ton of different interweaving storylines over the course of the season that all ultimately end up tied together. Despite that, it never feels like the show is trying to do too much, and they do a great job balancing all the various arcs while still telling good case-of-the-week stories.

This season, the writers blend a lot more comedy into the show, usually based on the personality traits Liv inherits. Rose McIver shows off great comedy chops, and Rahul Kohli plays off her very well. David Anders continues to be great in his slimy bad guy, sometimes reluctant good guy role, and a somewhat mysterious twist late in the season leaves something of a cliffhanger for his character going into season 3. A lot gets revealed in the season, and while some of the story arcs are concluded, it is set in a very intriguing direction going forward. There are also a couple great guest cameos during the season. One by Kristen Bell, who did a solid for the showrunners who also ran Veronica Mars, and Rob Thomas, of Matchbox 20 fame, who shares a name with the show's creator.

For those who get the Blu-rays, the show looks and sounds great. Since season 1 was originally released only on DVD, I was never expecting to see a Blu-ray, but it is well worth the upgrade because the show's great visuals look so much better in the HD format. For extras, it is very similar to the season 1 release. There is a 30-minute excerpt of the Comic-Con panel with the showrunners and the main cast members and deleted scenes on several, but not all, of the episodes. It would have been nice to get some commentary tracks on a few episodes, but overall, the extras are good. The show continues to be smart, funny, sometimes dramatic, and enjoyable. It does not take itself ultra seriously, and it definitely seems like the cast has a lot of fun and either has or fakes great chemistry. It is not a "typical" zombie-themed show (although there is some of that, especially toward the end of the season), but it works. I definitely recommend it.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: iZombie: Season 1

 

iZombie was a very underrated series that aired for five seasons from 2015 to 2019 on The CW. The first season included 13 episodes that aired during the spring and summer of 2015.  The series starred Rose McIver, Malcolm Goodwin, David Anders, Rahul Kohli, Robert Buckley, and Aly Michalka. The premise of the show is that a medical student, Olivia Moore, played by Rose McIver, is turned into a Zombie during a boat party. She ends up distancing herself from everyone in her life (to keep them safe) and starts working in the police morgue, where she starts to help a new detective, played by Malcolm Goodwin, solve murders. He thinks she is psychic, but she really gets visions of the murder victims by eating their brains. The only person who knows she is really a zombie is her boss at the morgue, played by Rahul Kohli, who is trying to help Liv find a cure for zombieism. It is another series based on a comic book created by the showrunners of Veronica Mars.

The show is a blend of a case-of-the-week procedural and a serial with larger story arcs playing out throughout the season. The serial arcs eventually come together by the end of the season. It does take a couple episodes to find its groove, but it does so relatively quickly and the formula works well. It sets up a larger story with multiple "bad guys," one of which is played by the great David Anders (from Alias and Heroes) and another that reveals itself later in the season and carries into season 2. Liv's ex-fiance, Major, played by Robert Buckley, has an increasing role in the story as the season goes on, and Aly Michalka, who plays Liv's roommate Payton, is the main recurring character of season 1.

The show was originally only released on DVD and then given an MOD Blu-Ray release. The extras are the same on both the DVD and Blu-Ray and are very light. Those include a few deleted scenes and a portion of the 2015 Comic-Con panel discussion. The comic-con thing is about a half hour and provides insight into what the showrunners were going for, like not adhering strictly to the comic and how the actors approached their roles. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that while the show ran for 5 seasons, only the first three seasons were released on physical media. This is due in large part to a licensing issue that affected season four and then Warner Brothers just decided not to release season 5. You may be able to find bootleg DVDs for the last two seasons, but there were no official releases. So, if you are someone who wants a complete collection of TV series on physical media, you may just want to stream the show.

While some who were familiar with the comic book may hate that the show really just uses the comic as the guide and does not follow it to a t may not like the show, I think anyone who is into the more supernatural/superhero genre of shows and movies who does not fall into that category should give it a chance. It is well written and has a talented ensemble cast with actors who were recognizable but not necessarily household names (and others for whom this is really their first big break). Rose McIver does a great job as Liv and has the range as an actress to play a range of characters because she essentially takes on a new personality each week. She owns the role so much that it is hard to imagine anyone else doing as good a job with that role. Whether you stream the show or buy it on physical media, it is definitely worth checking out. The series was a mid-season pickup and, as such, did not get a ton of hype like many of the shows that start out right away in the fall (that was pretty much reserved for The Flash on the CW in 2015).