When I saw a poster for “iZombie” (8 p.m. Central Tuesdays on The CW) – “the new show from Rob Thomas” — in the background of a scene in the web series “Play It Again, Dick,” I assumed it was a made-up show, a way for Thomas to poke fun at the direction of his career and the supernatural bent of The CW’s lineup and TV in general in the years since “Veronica Mars” went off the air.
Yep, it’s a real show
I soon learned that “iZombie” really is Thomas’ new show (adapted from a Vertigo comic book series that launched in 2010, and co-produced by Dianne Ruggiero, the best “Veronica Mars” writer). Although it obviously exists due to the popularity of “The Walking Dead,” it’s actually a refreshing throwback, calling to mind a half-dozen series from the past two decades.
The primary vibe in Tuesday’s pilot episode was “Veronica Mars”: Liv (the adorable Rose McIver) narrates the proceedings via voiceover. Veronica was snarky because she had a hardboiled edge; Liv is sardonic because she’s chronicling the bizarre twist in her life.
“iZombie” Season 1 (2015)
Tuesdays, CW
Creators: Diane Ruggiero-Wright, Rob Thomas
Stars: Rose McIver, Malcolm Goodwin, Rahul Kohli
As you’ve probably figured out from the title, Liv is a zombie. However, she’s not a “Walking Dead” Romero zombie. She’s more like a good vampire on “Buffy” or “Angel” – human emotionally, but not physiologically. In terms of personality, though, Liv reminds me of Buffy in her days as a newly minted vampire slayer — overwhelmed by this twist in her life, yet willing to go for the ride, especially since she has no choice in the matter.
I’m also reminded of “Dead Like Me’s” George, because Liv has to exist as a human despite not truly being human. Unlike George, though, Liv likes her job in the morgue because it allows her to eat brains and help people.
There are some bad things about being an “iZombie” zombie: Liv has to keep her friends and family at arm’s length to keep her secret. And she breaks up with the love of her life out of fear of infecting him. More superficially, Liv is pasty white, and her brown hair has gradually turned stark white in the afterlife.
Advantages to being undead
Major points in the plus column are that Liv is impervious to bullets and – like “Millennium’s” Frank Black – she sees crimes in her mind’s eye. Unlike Frank, she has to consume part of the victim’s brain in order to get the vision. As a bonus, she also absorbs some of the victim’s traits — for example, the ability to speak Romanian. (This can be a negative, too; she briefly becomes a kleptomaniac because that was a trait of the victim in Tuesday’s episode.)
Eating brains is fine with Liv because she craves brains anyway, and they have a tasty kick when sprinkled with hot sauce (a “Roswell” shout-out, as long as I’m listing connections to previous shows). The brain-eating is also the primary source of “iZombie’s” quirky “Yep, this is my life” humor, a style reminiscent of “Veronica,” “Buffy,” “Dead Like Me” and “Roswell.” The cinematography comes from “X-Files” legend John Bartley, but he compromises with the slick CW vibe, so we get a nice mix of color and darkness that calls to mind “Veronica Mars.”
Despite this long rundown of “iZombie’s” supernatural bona fides, it’s structured as a police procedural. While some clues come via Liv’s visions, she still has to put the pieces together, just as Frank Black had to do.
Valuable helpers
Helping her in this cause are her morgue colleague, Ravi, a cool nerd who is fascinated by Liv’s condition, and police detective Clive (Malcolm Goodwin), who knows about Liv’s psychic visions but not the fact that she eats brains to achieve them. Providing a normal foil for Liz’s abnormal existence are her family, including sister Peyton (Aly Michalka from “Hellcats”).
Thomas’ and Ruggiero’s witty writing flows well as Liv bounces between these three worlds and makes voiceover wisecracks. The premise allows viewers to bring their own subtext (after all, everyone feels like a zombie sometimes) or enjoy the silliness. With Liv taking on the traits of whoever’s brains she eats, the potential for comedy is vast, and McIver has a role many TV actresses dream of: She can play a different character each week while also building up a single character. She seems up to the task.
What initially seemed like a joke turns out to be a show brimming with zesty potential; while Thomas isn’t working from his original idea this time, he and Ruggiero seem to be pouring a “Veronica” level of passion into this series. I’ll be sticking with “iZombie” until the zombie trend crashes and it gets canceled.