The Shadow Line (BBC)
The Shadow Line is a sophisticated conspiracy thriller in seven parts that brings to life a cinematic world of blurred morality and the conflicted characters who inhabit it, it features a star-studded cast, including: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Eccleston, Sir Antony Sher and Stephen Rea. [VIDEO]
The Walking Dead (AMC)
Based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all time, written by Robert Kirkman, AMC’sThe Walking Dead captures the ongoing human drama following a zombie apocalypse. The series follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually, Teachers,Strike Back), who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. However, instead of the zombies, it is the living who remain that truly become the walking dead. Jon Bernthal (The Pacific, The Ghost Writer) plays Shane Walsh, Rick’s sheriff’s department partner before the apocalypse, and Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break), is Rick’s wife, Lori Grimes. Additional cast include: Laurie Holden, Steven Yeun, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey DeMunn, Chandler Riggs, Iron E. Singleton and Melissa McBride. Guest stars include: Lauren Cohan, Scott Wilson and Pruitt Taylor Vince. [VIDEO]
Game Of Thrones (HBO)
It will stretch from the south, where heat breeds plots, lusts and intrigues; to the vast and savage eastern lands; all the way to the frozen north, where an 800-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond. Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men…all will play the ‘Game of Thrones.’ [VIDEO]
Breaking Bad (AMC)
Breaking Bad follows protagonist Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a chemistry teacher who lives in New Mexico with his wife (Anna Gunn) and teenage son (RJ Mitte) who has cerebral palsy. White is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of two years left to live. With a new sense of fearlessness based on his medical prognosis, and a desire to secure his family’s financial security, White chooses to enter a dangerous world of drugs and crime and ascends to power in this world. The series explores how a fatal diagnosis such as White’s releases a typical man from the daily concerns and constraints of normal society and follows his transformation from mild family man to a kingpin of the drug trade. [VIDEO]
Strike Back: Project Dawn (Sky1)
Strike Back Project Dawn bursts back onto our screens as agent John Porter is kidnapped by Pakistani terrorist Latif. The rest of his team from Section 20, the Military Intelligence Unit, have to race against the clock to find him. Col. Eleanor Grant enlists the help of former US Delta Force operative and serial lothario Damien Scott, to help identify Latif. Back in London, the team is watching footage of Porter when he is executed live on TV. Scott decodes a message from one of Porter’s hostage transmissions that warns of a terrorist plot known as Project Dawn, which the unit has been tracking for some time. The intelligence is proved correct when terrorists seize a hotel with hostages, including Scott and Stonebridge, trapped inside… [VIDEO]
Honorable Mentions
The Shadow Line
The Killing
Scott & Bailey
Nurse Jackie
New Girl
Luther
The League
Justified
Homeland
Hell On Wheels
Him & Her is a British television sitcom about a lazy twentysomething couple. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Three on 6 September 2010. It is written by Stefan Golaszewski and stars Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani. The theme tune is the song “Boom Bang-a-Bang” by Lulu.
I love zombies. The walking dead are the only ‘scary’ thing that still scares me. Anything I can get my hands on; books.. movies and tv shows.. comics.. It’s all fair game. The rambling hordes of the walking dead after the end of the world terrify me, and at the same time peak my curiosity.
Unfortunately, by the the end of last year, I was caught up on all the ‘known’ zombie media. That’s when i started digging deeper to find that rare zombie content to satisfy my need of consumption. But if I’m to take anything away from this experience, it’ll be that THERE IS A LOT OF ZOMBIE GARBAGE OUT THERE. 90% of the movies I found was horrible, low budget, ‘camcorder’ movies that almost made me give up on the entire genre.
For months, I’ve been contacted by people who would ask my opinion on quality zombie content. So to help YOU out.. here are the 10 examples of great movies and television shows for you the track down. Keep in mind, the obvious choices (i.e. the Romeo films and more recently 28 Days/Weeks Later…) were left off. if you don’t have those, start with them! These are the picks for those people who after seen Night Of, Dawn and Day and now wonder.. where to I go next?
Ah, the remake that reset the zombie craze. Most remakes or sequels are usually crappy. This remake of George Romero’s classic rocked. It took the recipe of the original and sprinkle a little more ‘edginess‘ into the mix. For one, the zombies were a lot faster a’la 28 days Later. This is how to take a low budget classic and give it a summer blockbuster facelift. For those who don’t know, it’s the story of a group of survivors who take refuge in an abandoned mall. Everything seems ok until a few of them wig out and do stupid shit… and then wackiness ensues. It finishes with a heart pounding escape and an ending that BEGS for a sequel. IMDB | TRAILER
A geek trying to get back to his family. A crazy guy trying to find the last Twinkies on earth, and a pair of sisters on a journey to an amusement park. All this and Bill Murray? Yep. It sounds stupid, but it works! There’s a great running gag on how to survive the Zombie Apocalypse that doesn’t get stale. Great cast and a great/funny script. Super awesome zombies. And, of course.. Bill Murray. IMDB | TRAILER
A lot of people didn’t see this incredible 5-part mini-series because it initially didn’t make it to the states. Why there weren’t any pay cable channels picking this up, i’ll never know. The plots seems to be a little cheesy at first, but turns out to be super awesome. Basically we start by observing the machinations behind the scenes of the British reality show, Big Brother. Unbeknownst to the cast and crew, the end of the world is happening outside. What happens when the survivors of a reality show have to find away to escape the zombie-infested set? That’s right! Wackiness ensues! IMDB | TRAILER
Four months after the zombie apocalypse, the plight of soldiers trying to escape the UK is told through the eyes of an accompanying videographer. Much better than the first one, this movie succeeds in taking an overused ‘Blair Witch’ technique of storytelling and actually making it suspensful and fun to watch. Not a GREAT movie by any means, but an awesome low budget surprise for those of us looking for good zombie stories in a sea of horrible ‘camcorder’ movies. IMDB | TRAILER
Quite possibly the best show on TV. Season 2 has started with a bang and doesn’t seem to be letting up. An great adaptation to the Robert Kirkman graphic novel of the same name, the story follows Police Officer Rick Grimes as he leads his family and a team of survivors through the zombie apocalypse. Although it started pretty much the same as the comic, the show’s creators decided to take the series in a different path to keep it fresh and suspenseful. Some characters from the comic have already been killed off on the show.. and those of us who know of Kirkman’s book, know that no character is safe; not even the lead character. Be forewarned, this show will give even the most jaded horror fan nightmares.. IMDB | TRAILER
It’s your typical love story. Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy goes to Berlin to try and get girl back. And the dead rise and start eating the living. This 2010 Germen thriller follows all the typical plot points in the zombie genre, yet still manages to stay interesting. Michael gets trapped in his ex-girlfriends building with her neighbor Harper as they, along with other people in the building try to find a way to escape. The cool thing about this movie is it plays like a video game. The characters get certain tasks to do (i.e. get good, find a phone, etc..). The visual effects are above average and the story really will get your heart pumping. If you don’t mind subtitles, it’s the best way to watch it. The English dubbed audio leaves a lot to be desired. . IMDB | TRAILER
What can I say about this movie? If you don’t know it, then you shouldn’t be reading this post. When the dead rise, it’s up to Shaun and his loser sidekick buddy to rescue his family and friends and find a way to escape the living dead. Possibly the funniest movie of 2004, it takes the already over-saturated zombie genre and makes it feel fresh by making fun of it. This is the movie that introduced me to Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. Even if you don’t like zombie flicks, you need to see this on their performances alone. IMDB | TRAILER
This Spanish import was another shocking surprise. Somehow I, stumbled upon the movie poster a year after it came out. Curious, I tracked down the movie and it blew me away. Another ‘Blair Witch’ inspired movie, we follow a cute news reporter through the lens of her camera man, as she does a video piece on the local fire department. When the firefighters get called to an apartment building, the news crew rides along, and unfortunately get’s sucked into this maddening story of building tenants reanimating and killing. The building gets sealed off by the authorities, so the survivors trapped inside try to find a way to get out of the building. A lackluster American remake was make in 2009, but it doesn’t hold up to this low budget hit. IMDB | TRAILER
A tactical police unit goes after a drug kingpin in an apartment highrise. Unfortunately, the zombie apocalypse gets in the way. Now the cops and the criminals have to work together to fight off and escape the zombie horde. Yeah, typical plot. But the over-the-top character acting makes this one fun. Coming out of Belgium in 2010, I got to see this earlier this year. You won’t see anything new in this one. But what you’ll get is a lot of badasses with guns that don’t mind taking out zombies. A definite must see! IMDB | TRAILER
What happens when a pharmaceutical drug company’s drug trial goes wrong? You guest it! ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE! You thought fast zombies where bad? How about flippidy flop free-runner zombies? Yep! Among a group of survivors is a young woman who is immune to the virus. So it’s a race against time to get her to safety and hopefully save the world. If you watch a lot of UK programming, the cast will be familiar. This is another movie with manages to do a lot of very little. It’s definitely worth a watch, if you’re having a big zombie-a-thon. IMDB | TRAILER
A year ago, vampires, werewolves and zombies mysteriously descended upon the streets of California’s San Fernando Valley. Death Valley is the dark comedy that follows the cops that capture the monsters, and the camera crew that captures the cops.
Follow the horrific yet comedic exploits of the newly formed Undead Task Force (UTF), a division of the LAPD created to combat the emergence of monsters in the San Fernando Valley. Death Valley showcases the outrageous and courageous men and women working the toughest beat in the US: Death Valley.
Balancing dark humor with horror, the show is built upon cold-blooded conflict and character driven comedy, following the cops bent on keeping the streets safe from the presence of the paranormal. Documenting each case of zombie, vampire and werewolf encounter is the daring camera crew that is embedded within the task force, quickly revealing that the monster problem goes much deeper than anyone could have possibly imagined.
Full of subtext about living in today’s insane world, Death Valley is at its core a fun, non-stop thrill ride featuring chases, hardcore kills, and extraordinary creatures. The zombies are disgusting, menacing and brutal, the vampires are dangerous, smart and powerful and the werewolves are beastly and insane. From “blood-for-sex” prostitution busts to undead traffic jams, every call from dispatch will take you to a place you’ve never been: right to the bleeding heart of Death Valley.
Justified was one of those shows that everyone told me was good, but I didn’t care to watch. I peeped the part of the first episode, but it didn’t grab me. It turns out the plot line didn’t really kick int until the 3rd or 4th episode. The show is so quirky, but excellently written. Most shows can’t successfully weave in ‘one-off’ stories into the overall storyline so well. Marhal Raylan Givens is a laid back country boy with law enforcement training. What does that mean? It means if he tells you he’s gonna shoot you, chances are he’s gonna shoot you.
About Justified
Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens is something of a 19th century-style officer in modern times, whose unconventional enforcement of justice makes him a target with criminals and a problem for his superiors in the U.S. Marshals Service. As a result of an eager but “justified” shooting of a Miami fugitive while on assignment in Florida, Givens is reassigned to Lexington, Kentucky, in a district that includes his hometown of Harlan, a rural mining town in the east of the state.
