TV Review: In the Flesh, Series 2, Eps. 4-6

In the Flesh, Series 2, Episodes 4 to 6

See my review of Series 1 here. and of the first part of Series 2 here.

The second half of the second series pulls things together. The prophecy of a second rising is taken seriously by both the Undead Liberation Army (represented by Simon) and Maxine Martin, Victus-sponsored MP for Roarton. The prediction is that whoever rose first in the first rising has to be killed on the 12th hour of the 12th day of the 12th month for the second rising to happen. Simon thinks that person is Kieren and he's ordered by the Undead Prophet to kill Kieren at the appropriate time. Only problem is he's falling for Kieren so he may not have the nerve to do it. Also, they are framed for pro-zombie crimes with the threat of being sent off to Norfolk for more treatments. Meanwhile local councilman Philip Wilson been visiting a zombie brothel (yeah, you read that right) and has to make hard decisions about his future when the news threatens to spread. Poor Amy Dyer is caught in the middle of it all, losing Simon to Kieren and fending off other unwanted attention.

The various story lines have a varying level of interest. I found the "second rising" plot line (which is the main one) the least believable, though the actors do a good job--the writing is the problem. Maxine's ultimate motivation makes little sense for her character. Simon's history at the Norfolk center is shown but seems like little more than an excuse for some gore and torture and to show how attached he is to the Undead Prophet. On the other hand, Amy's journey from her affection for Simon and Kieren goes in new and interesting directions, as does Philip's.

For me, this second series is a mixed bag--some good stuff and some bad stuff. I'd watch a third series but I'm not going to hunt it down.

TV Review: In the Flesh, Series 2, Eps. 1-3

In the Flesh, Series 2, Episodes 1 to 3

See my review of Series 1 here.

I thought the second series of In the Flesh would be three episodes just like the first series. As I watched the third, I wondered how they were going to wrap up so many story lines. They didn't and scenes for the next episode were intercut with the closing credits. A little on-line research reveals that there will be six episodes. I'm not sure if I'll start reviewing episode by episode or do another set of three. Anyway, here's what I thought of the first half of series 2, broadcasting now on BBC3.

The series picks up a few months after the end of the last series. Two new factions have arisen. The Undead Liberation Army is a clandestine group of zombies who fight for respect and recognition of the undead. Members of the group have made terrorist attacks on the humans by taking a drug that temporarily reverts them to their rabid state. In a crowd of humans, that means they eat a lot of humans. The ULA is led by the Undead Prophet, a mysterious figure on the internet who has gathered disciples and is clearly sending them out to cause trouble.

The other faction is Victus, a political party that fights for human (i.e. non-zombie humans) rights and seeks to oppress the Partial Deceased Syndrome sufferers, i.e. the zombies. They've enacted laws that restrict travel and business opportunities for PDS people. The latest is the "Give Back" scheme, where all local zombies are forced to volunteer for menial jobs as a way to pay back the community for the destruction they caused in their untreated state.

In the middle is Kieren Walker, who wants to return to his life as an artist and plans to move abroad, presumably to somewhere more PDS-friendly. His old PDS pal Amy Dyer soon shows up, which makes him happy, but she comes with Simon, an adamant disciple of the Undead Prophet, which makes him sad. Simon both warns of coming oppression and stirs up trouble in the town. Kieren is unable to leave and reluctantly accepts the "Give Back" scheme; Amy and Simon are ready to revolt.

The other new arrival is MP Maxine Martin, recently elected and member of Victus. She meets with local anti-PDS agitant Vicar Oddie. He's not extreme enough for her and rather conveniently dies (though not by her hand), leaving her as the main baddie for the show. She seems to have some secret agenda involving Kieren.

Half-way through this series, the show seems a bit all over the place. The opening up of a larger political story is interesting but not as compelling as the personal story of the first series. There's two or three other plot threads I haven't mentioned that don't seem as tightly tied in to the main story, but perhaps they will pull together in the second half. One of the things implied in the last series has become explicit. Kieren, whose friendship with macho-man Rick in the first series could have been interpreted as best friends or as homosexual lovers, is clearly homosexual. There's a little bit of touching and one kiss so far. It's another odd plot thread that may tie in or go nowhere. More to come.

TV Review: In the Flesh

In the Flesh (2013) created and written by Dominic Mitchell

In the Flesh aired on BBC3 in March and April 2013. It's a natural follow on to ideas in Day of the Dead and Shaun of the Dead--can the undead be reformed and reintegrated into society? In the Flesh begins four years after the Rising, when the dead rose from their graves and started eating people. The living eventually won out, capturing many of the zombies and then medically rehabilitating them into something close to their former selves. The zombies are technically known as suffers of Partially Deceased Syndrome (PDS) and are unaffectionally called Rotters.

As the show begins, 19 year-old Keiren Walker is one of the first PDS suffers to leave a rehabilitation center and return home to his family. We see his life in the center and flashbacks of his flesh-eating days. These are flashbacks for him as well--one of the effects of the medicine that makes him normal is that it restores brain functions, including memories created when he was undead.

Back at home his mum and dad have a tense relation, partly due to his kid sister, Jemima, being a member of the Human Volunteer Force (HVF), an ad hoc militia begun in local areas where the military and police forces couldn't handle the zombies. So she's killed her fair share of people who are just like her brother. She isn't quite ready to accept it's really him. Lots of family tension ensues.

The small town of Roarton where they live also has lots of challenges integrating the HVF mentality of some members (including a local clergyman, Vicar Oddie, who is little more than a demagogue rousing up anti-PDS sentiments) with family members who want their loved ones back the way they were. Several different families have members come back, including one of the HVF leaders. His son returns from Afghanistan after he was killed by an IED. Also, he was Keiran's best friend.

The show has a lot of interesting ideas that play out in various ways. Kieren has trouble dealing with his family, what he's done as a zombie, and how he died. These issues are thrown into high contrast when compared with others in the town. The HVF leader seems to ignore the fact that his son is a rotter and he tries to act like everything is normal. Amy Dyer, a grammar school chum of Kieren's, was a zombie who ran with Kieren when he was a zombie. She has no family left and little to tie her to the town. She died from leukemia and lives her second life to the fullest. But she just can't quite fit in somehow.

The Vicar has some strange ideas about Christian revelation, especially the Book of Revelation. He seems to think this "rising of the dead" is not the rising of the just at the end of time and that these monsters must be dealt with before the true rising will happen later. He makes no real attempt to understand what's going on around him and preaches to the tune that the HVF leaders (who are his friends) want. 

Ultimately, the drama is about the importance of family connections, being honest with people, and doing the best that you can under difficult circumstances. Like real life, some people rise to the occasion, some people falter, and some run away. The ending is surprisingly satisfying. There's still some loose ends left which seem to be there for one of two reasons. First, it could be they want to make another series to continue the story. Second, it could be they want it to be like real life where things don't always get resolved. It seems like they are hoping to make more episodes in the future. I hope there's more to come.

Unfortunately for you all in the States, the show is not coming to BBC America till August 3, 2013, as part of Supernatural Saturday. American iTunes and Amazon do not have it streaming, so I guess unless you can hack into the BBC UK or iTunes feed, you are out of luck till then. Make an appointment in your calendar, or as they say here, "in your diary."