When it comes to bad TV shows or movies, I tend to always give the acting a pass. I usually focus my sites on the other things wrong with them such as the writing, directing, effects, or editing. I don’t usually notice the acting unless it’s just crazy bad or lazy. For some reason, I’m just very forgiving of it.
Which brings me to this scene from a recent episode of the CW’s “iZombie.”
WOW! That’s all I’ve got to say. Okay, that’s a lie. I have much more to say. Did they shoot the rehearsal and just decide to go with it? I realize that the CW isn’t known for hiring seasoned or even very talented thespians. They go more for model looks than acting skill. But come on now. That’s “Mystery Science Theater 3000” bad.
To be fair, the acting is usually passable-ish on this show. But the show itself isn’t very good. I tried to like it. I really did. It’s essentially a cross between “Veronica Mars” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Those are two great shows, right? I certainly loved them. But it’s as if they took the worst elements from the worst episodes of those shows and made “iZombie.”
The show is about medical resident Olivia Moore who was caught up in a zombie outbreak (caused by a bad batch of some drug) and was bit by one of the newly infected zombies. The only way she can hold the zombie virus back is by eating brains. She won’t kill anyone for food so she goes to work in a morgue and eats the brains of the dead, thereby temporarily taking on parts of their personality and memories. Then she works with a cop who thinks she is psychic to help solve the murder of the person whose dead brain she ate. Or something like that. Ugh! So she’s a crime fighting ‘sort-of’ zombie, but not really a zombie, but, well, is a zombie, but looks more like an albino.
It’s based loosely on a comic book of the same name. Which just goes to tell you that not every damn comic needs to be turned into a movie or TV show.
I’ve asked myself why I’ve stuck with the show for this long. I swore that I wasn’t going to start watching season 2. I watch too much TV already. But then I did start watching. I was puzzled as to why. Then I finally realized the answer. It’s because “iZombie” is like that sore on your tongue that really, really hurts A LOT, but for some masochistic reason, you just can’t help but press down on it with your teeth until it hurts even more. Then after you convince yourself to stop (because you’re being a weird idiot and only making it worse) you just continue to do it even more. That’s “iZombie.” It’s the sore on my tongue that I can’t stop touching.
Because I clearly hate myself, I plan on finishing out the season to see if this thing improves at all. I mean, for some reason, I really do want to like it. But I think this show is just too flawed to carry my interest over to season 3. I think it’s time to stop touching that sore on my tongue and let the damn thing heal already.