Catching Ducks

I first watched season one of In the Flesh when it originally aired on BBC-America last year. Season 2 recently aired, so I re-watched season 1 on DVD before I started watching season 2. Season 1 is short, even for a British show: just three one-hour episodes.

In the Flesh is a zombie show, but only sort of. Before the series begins, there was an uprising, and the dead rose from their graves and terrorized the living. Eventually someone figured out what was making them rabid, and created a medicine to make them normal again. Now the government is re-integrating the zombies back into society.

As you can see from the trailer above, the show is beautifully shot, with lots of wide open spaces and grey skies that give it a haunting feel that matches the story. In a lot of ways, season one is about grief. Everyone is grieving -- zombies grieve for the things they did when they were rabid and the life that they can't get back; the living grieve for their dead loved ones that are lost forever and their undead loved ones that are changed forever. Everyone is trying to adjust the new reality.

Despite the zombies, I would not describe it as a horror show. It's really just a drama with a scifi/supernatural element. It's sad, but it has some sweet moments and quietly funny moments.

When I first watched it, I wished there was more because I loved it so much. This time, I almost wanted that to be all there was, because the story makes such lovely arc over those three hours.


Spoilers below... (Use rot13.com to read them.)

Fb yrg'f gnyx nobhg bhe qbhoyl-pybfrgrq lbhat zra. Xvrera inthryl frrzf gb or bhg gb uvf snzvyl (ng gur irel yrnfg gurl xabj ubj vzcbegnag Evpx vf gb uvz), naq lbh trg gur srryvat gung bguref va gbja fhfcrpg gung ur'f tnl, ohg ur qbrfa'g frrz gb or bcrayl tnl. Ur'f gur fnzr nf na haqrnq -- ur jrnef gur znxr-hc naq gur pbagnpgf gb oyraq va, ohg rirelbar vf jryy njner gung ur'f haqrnq. Evpx, ba gur bgure unaq, vf qrrcyl va gur pybfrg. Naq guvf rkgraqf gb uvf yvsr (ree... "yvsr") nf na haqrnq. Rirelbar (ng gur hetvat bs uvf sngure) whfg cergraqf gung ur'f fgvyy nyvir. (Uvf sngure frrzrq gb or va qravny nobhg Evpx orvat tnl, gbb, ohg onfrq ba uvf ungerq bs Xvrera, ur pyrneyl xarj fbzrguvat jnf hc.) Qrfcvgr gur snpg gung Xvrera jnf gur fyvtug-senzrq negvfg naq Evpx jnf gur fgbpxl fbyqvre, Xvrera jnf pyrneyl oenire bs gur gjb bs gurz. Ur jnagrq gb oyraq va (obgu nf n tnl crefba naq na haqrnq), ohg jura chfu pnzr gb fubir, ur jbhyq fgnaq hc sbe uvzfrys naq bguref.

Punatvat gbcvpf: jura V svefg jngpurq vg, V qvqa'g cnegvphyneyl yvxr Xvrera'f sevraq Nzl. Ohg ba frpbaq ivrjvat fur ernyyl terj ba zr. V nccerpvngrq ure pbhentr naq fcvevg.

Naq svanyyl: Sbe zr, gur zbfg vagrerfgvat nfcrpg bs gur frnfba vf Xvrera'f fhvpvqr. Jura lbh svaq bhg gung ur xvyyrq uvzfrys, n ybg bs bgure guvatf snyy vagb cynpr. Uvf cneragf nera'g whfg jbeevrq nobhg uvz svggvat va be tbvat enovq, gurl'er jbeevrq ur'yy xvyy uvzfrys ntnva. Naq vg znxrf uvf erfheerpgvba cnegvphyneyl vagrerfgvat. Sbe fbzrbar yvxr Nzl (jub qvrq bs pnapre), n frpbaq punapr vf n tvsg. Ohg sbe Xvrera, vg'f (vavgvnyyl, ng yrnfg) zber bs n oheqra.

Labels: In the Flesh, review: TV