PeeperStorm on 3/5/2010 at 01:29

---

You don't like watching SyFylis?

Muzman on 8/5/2010 at 21:20

---

Adaptation is a tricky thing. The dialogue you can fit in a panel can sometimes be half a minute's worth depending on what's going on. Most of the book is very ...comic-y, long winded expository dialogue etc and fairly generic I found. I doubt very much they'd hang onto much of it. There's also a pile of characters, which is risky and potentially awkward in any case and something I don't think the books handled all that well to begin with. (the parts I read anyway). But they could just ignore the bulk of them like Lost did, for instance.

I've seen a few discussions about how much time they'll spend on each part, some suggesting they won't be past the farm (which was about issue 13 or so from memory) by the end of the first series. Some thought they could get up to prison and introduce the Governor (inevitable hill-billy psycho) by then. Those last two things being the most important developments for ages so you want to get to them quick. It depends. I wouldn't hazard a guess how they'll shape it, but I'm fairly sure it will be shaped.

Anyhoo, I recall your zombie processing plant thing from before. 'tis cute. I was trying to a void that sort of thing though, at least to begin with. No offence. I'll give you the rundown (like any excuse wouldn't have done). The idea was basically spurred along by playing (http://armorgames.com/play/1443/the-last-stand-2) The Last Stand 2, with the whole really strict resource hunting aspect particularly. A lot of things have dealt with survival situations before but sooner or later they get convenient and skip over a lot of stuff (I now know why, btw). So it was going to be a real back to basics short film along those lines. It started getting too big so I boiled it down to two characters I thought were the most interesting: A girl of about 25 and her 9yr old little brother. Then I thought these two were good enough to get into all sorts of fun on their travels (the model in writing talks with people was actually Kung Fu. Trivia) so it was expanded out from there.

It's thick with Australiana by design as well: The disaster hits the day after Australia Day; the characters travel through the big cultural and historical hot spots of the east coast, eventually becoming a lot like bushrangers.
Like the game, the zombies are nocturnal. I liked the day/night wary freedom/oppressive terror aspect of the game a lot, which is of course very I Am Legend (although the biggest influence is Day of The Triffids). There's an explanation for it in the disease (which, if you're curious, is mostly Lyme disease turned up to eleven with some other features and trickery) but it takes a while to work out. Mostly they're pretty traditional with some tweaks to the way they move and behave.

At the start the main duo have been travelling across Victoria for three months by themselves, keeping track of a radio signal they picked up (they're a geeky pair). They hook up with a camp of people who have electric-fenced in a section of a small town (a tactic you kinda sorta find in TWD as well). But this group is preparing to move to a new place thanks to fuel shortages. The girl prefers to keep moving rather than stay with these people and the newcomers presence generally throws water on a lot cracks in this small community, basically inspiring most of the other young people there to leave with them (something that at least leaves the group with a severe labour shortage or completely screws them, depending on how you look at it). Then the weather starts to turn bad.

That story arc comprises the first three hours, then we get a flashback episode to the disaster itself following our heroine initially (a weird structure cooked up so I wouldn't have to pitch a full scale zombie apocalypse as the pilot and avoid doing any 'wake up in hospital' stuff).

There's a tension in zombie stuff with the exploitation aspects, novelty gore, gimmicks and serious drama, horror and satire. A lot of people really only like the first part. A lot of people hate the sub-genre because of the first part. I ran into that right away. The zombie ourve is so gonzo these days a lot of people expect that novelty and that's what they want. Lean too heavily towards the drama side of things and it's a bit of a genre betrayal to some, sadly. Mention you're doing a serious drama about zombies to serious drama people, however, and they want to know if you can take the awful zombie stuff out somehow. It's like pitching a perfect curveball that might just weave its way around every known audience.

To answer the question (*cough*), I wrote most of the first three episodes to various standards and some of the fourth one about The Beginning (plus loads of plot arcs and random scenes). I haven't quite given up on it yet though really, and now that it's been left to settle for a bit I'll probably give what's there another rewrite or two before I show anything completely. There's a few bits I think won't change that I'd be ok with putting up, but might not be much point by themselves. Anyway, that's quite enough from me I think.

Tocky on 9/5/2010 at 06:10

---

Zombie horror is essentially apocalyptic war. It's trauma drama. Lighthearted movies like Zombie Land completely miss the point as far as I can see. You don't get a rest where you can all have a laugh without looking over your shoulder. All the humor should be tinged with insanity. All the serious would be a fight to think ahead and stay alive. Fear rules. But I see what you are saying. Your focus is on the human as they relate to the inhuman without and within. Gimmicks and gore only as needed.

Realism is what you want. Realism in an unreal state of survival. You want the gas to go stale after a year so only diesel runs and most batteries die after a winter idle. You want arguments about whether to run that precious diesel generator to charge that battery. You want ego battles. You want the struggle for reformation of society because you figure order conquers all. But think of the masses of zed.

So "cute" for a machine able to take out those masses? It's slow extinction otherwise. It's the only way to take back the world. You can't dodge forever. You can't hide in the country while those left in the cities die. If you don't get over your "drama" right quick the world is going to die. It slices. It dices. It's coming to a town near you. Call 1-800- crazy Ed for zeds.

Eh, maybe not. I'll watch this series on the lookout for the improbable when the whole idea is rediculous anyway. Now madcow/aids/rabies combovirus....

Check out Cul-de-sac. (http://www.zombie-nation.net/forums/showthread.php?t=14623) 'sgood.

242 on 9/5/2010 at 10:11

---

Zombies are our friends, they need a political (as well as just a) party to seriously protect their rights.
Because you know, they're kind of stupid and can not do it themselves.
This TV show may show their physical and mental vulnerability and further promote the need to protect them = A good thing.

gunsmoke on 12/5/2010 at 00:21

---

THEY"RE COMING TO GET YOU, BAAARBAARAAA

Color me interested, I fucking love the undead,