Black Summer on Netflix - anyone else watching?

Cafe Society
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1

Well, this is basically the Walking Dead spinoff that Fear the Walking Dead never was. It’s actually a very distant spinoff of Z Nation, a show that I really grew tired of.

This show is played straight, no comedy like Z Nation. It has running zombies unlike Walking Dead. They can fight you and are not anywhere near as easy to kill as Walking Dead.

And it’s actually really well done. I’m totally surprised how great it is. I was reading reviews saying it isn’t too great, but I find that I am enjoying it a lot. In fact, it’s a lot more enjoyable than the Walking Dead currently is.

Anyone else watch this? I give it my endorsement, though I have only watched 5 of the 8 episodes so far.

2

I had no plans to try it, as my immediate reaction was “Another zombie show?” I have to finish Punisher and season two of Sabrina, but if I finish those before Cobra Kai starts again, I might give it a shot.

3

It suffered from the characters over-acting in the first few episodes, but settled down after that when the action picked up.

I liked that the infected were not too easy to kill/evade, and some of the chaos of the battle scenes where friendly fire was an extra threat.

4

I agree that the opening episode or two were not too well acted and were actually too slow on the actual zombie attacks.

The episode where the guy ends up on the bus and the one where the people are in the diner really picked things up though. I was actually impressed and tense during those episodes. Great stuff.

I would give Z Nation a total pass if anyone cares. At one point, my wife and I watched the first two seasons. Maybe three. Honestly, it was crap.

This, however, is well done.

5

I’m sure I’d probably like it, I’m just so over the “Zombie” thing right now.

Between Z, Fear, and WD, I’ve had my fill.

Maybe towards the end of summer when I’ve exhausted everything in my queue I’ll give it a go. Glad to hear it’s well done.

6

It’s also super short. 8 episodes and some are 25-30 minutes long.

7

I liked it. Though it wasn’t flawless, it was pretty good by zombie-action show standards. Still had guns that only run out of bullets when the plot calls for it, though. Also the people went from strangers to an effective team literally overnight. They kept skipping over character development to keep the action flowing, so you still know very little about the characters by the end of the series.

The cinematography was really well done, it looked a lot better than your average TV show.

I’ve seen people online calling it “the show Fear the Walking Dead should have been” which may be a recommendation for some.

8

Trying to get through it. I can work with people in stressful situations doing stupid things, but the show is stupid people doing stupid things again… and again… and again… I have no fucks to give about any of the characters.

And you know what? If shooting something the torso isn’t doing anything, shoot them in the fucking head. It’s not rocket science.

9

…I have no doubt in the midst of a real-life zombie apocalypse many people would do things you would consider “stupid”. But scenes like where that couple were trying to evade the zombie by running around the car: that is exactly what most people, even me, would try and do. That isn’t “stupid.” Its desperation. Its panic.

Spoilers for Black Summer finale and Z Nation:

[SPOILER]The other thing that screwed people over in the early days of the apocalypse was not understanding the mechanics of how the ZN1 virus spread.

An early episode of Z Nation was set in a compound that was “zombie proof”: there was no way zombies would be able to get into the compound. And while they had contingency plans on what to do if someone died in the compound, those contingency plans didn’t count on people intentionally killing themselves, akin to “suicide bombers.” Cult members infiltrated the compound, then on cue stood up in the dining room that was full of people and they killed themselves. Seconds later they were zombified, the person next to them got bit and they turned…the whole compound fell in a matter of minutes.

The same thing played out in the Black Summer finale. It probably seemed like a good idea. “We all have guns, we all have the same goals, we out-number the Z’s in this area, lets move like a pack together and get to the stadium.” And it works, they see a Z, they all shoot it, they move on. But they hesitate before they “mercy” Carmen quickly enough, more people start dying, and as the zombie population grows exponentially the situation quickly devolves into panic, chaos and death.[/SPOILER]

Accurately shooting something in the torso is hard. Shooting something in the head is even harder. Especially if you’ve barely handled a gun before. Z Nation spoilers:

The exact mechanics of how people figured out how to kill the zombies didn’t happen overnight. How people discovered how to kill the Z’s is shown explicitly in the original series through flashbacks, and fits in perfectly with what we see onscreen here. Weapons like Addy’s Z-Wacker would often be more effective than trying to shoot them in the head.

I thought the series was brilliant. However I thought that Z Nation was one of the best shows on TV, so that shouldn’t be surprising.

10

There just wasn’t much going on between the characters and we’re never really given a reason why some of them do what they do. Often times I felt as though I had missed important plot points. I know Phil mentioned the stash of weapons only he could get them to but when was it established that Carmen & Manny knew those people too? Why did Carmen stab that guy?

On the flip side the ambiguity was useful to demonstrate how chaotic things were. Were those soldiers Rose killed telling the truth or was Spears? Was Phil right about a wave coming? Can the dead cross water? I also liked how hard it was to kill a zombie with hand weapons. In The Walking Dead the process of zombification changes the hardness of a human skull to that of an overripe melon to the point where we have seen characters stomp on heads to smash them with one blow. These zombies had brain pans that did their job.

But all in all it’s a forgettable series. The positives just couldn’t make up for the flaws.

11

I just finished it and I really enjoyed it. I found the lack of character backstory and the randomness and chaotic nature of the situation to be perfect for following small groups of strangers with no history for very brief periods of time. What was the total time represented over the 8 episodes - 24-48 hours? It was chaos, it was survival, there was no time for motivations or backstories - run, hide, live or die moment to moment. Some people with you whom you really don’t know die suddenly and you keep running.

MeanJoe

12

It was OK but they could have done without that discordant music that telegraphed whenever something bad was going to happen.

13

So, just binged watch both seasons of this show recently, on the recommendation of a friend. It is very different from TWD. In some episodes there is very little dialogue… just trying to survive. I also like that many scenes get run through multiple times but from the perspectives of different characters.

Season 2 is better than Season 1, IMHO. The ending of season 2 leaves room for a season 3.