# How would the Zombie Apocalypse change your Show? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829 "2008-06-13T17:19:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/1 "2008-06-13T17:19:49Z")
Since today is Friday the 13th and some people are **Blogging Like There’s No Tomorrow** (ie, writing their blogs and livejournals as if the zombie apocalypse is happening around them), I thought I’d ask a really inane question that might be good creative fun for all involved. How do you imagine the Zombie Apocalypse changing your favorite TV show? Let’s say that a limited version of the ZA has taken place and approximately 1/3 of the world population has been killed. Since the virus/whatever is still around, there is still a general risk of outbreaks here and there (which might be a major issue in hospital shows). Tell me about a TV show and how it is changed because of the Brave New Zombie World. What characters died? What characters were eaten? Which came back as zombies, and were they then shot by other characters? Which will remain zombies in minor recurring roles? How will the threat of zombie-ism change that show’s milleu and direction? How were some characters changed by the experience? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/2 "2008-06-13T18:01:08Z")
Everybody Loves Raymond would be about the same. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/3 "2008-06-13T18:04:20Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] Everybody Loves Raymond would be about the same. [/QUOTE] Really? I think it would be a hell of a lot better. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/4 "2008-06-13T18:07:55Z")
[QUOTE=Amp] Really? I think it would be a hell of a lot better. [/QUOTE] Hmm, you’ve got me there! ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/5 "2008-06-13T18:10:34Z")
I think an **E.R.** episode depicting the staff trying to cope with an outbreak of zombies might actually be a great Halloween episode. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/6 "2008-06-13T18:19:18Z")
I keep thinking of **House** , **Scrubs** and **Seinfeld** , but I’m not an avid watcher of those shows and I’d like to see some prose about how those shows might be affected. (I keep picturing the usual Kramer “bust into the room”, only with him being a zombie.) I can imagine that WWE would have to make some changes. Calling Mark Caloway “The Undertaker” and “The Deadman” might not be as generally appreciated by the audience after the zombie plague, unless of course he really is a zombie, in which case having him turn his opponent and then go after the audience might tend to discourage ticket sales. 😛 _The Dead Zone_ isn’t on anymore, but the name might be a bit more confusing after the plague. _Dead Like Me_ takes on a whole new meaning. Shame I’m just not an avid TV watcher, at least not of sitcoms and stuff like that, or I’d be able to answer my own post with some really good plot twists. Can’t really pull off a decent Zombie Apocalypse story in the Battlestar Galactica universe, and unfortunately, versions of it are too overdone in The Whoniverse. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/7 "2008-06-13T19:07:29Z")
**Supernatural** would be about the same with just more people for Sam and Dean to kill. **Hell’s Kitchen** would be a lot more fun. A zombie Ramsey would kick ass. “Arrrrrrrgh youuuuu stuuupid donkey youuu burnt the braaaaaaiiiiiins!” **Lost** wouldn’t be that much difference. The islanders would be wanting to get off the island not just for the sake of going back home but to get more braaaaiiiiiiiins. **Smallville** could go two ways. If Clark does not turn then he’d be fighting off a bunch of zombies but if he did then he probably eat everyone’s brains in just a couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/8 "2008-06-13T19:10:58Z")
**Zombie Alton** … because if there’s really one thing there’s really no arguing about, it’s that brains are really [cue theme] ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/9 "2008-06-13T19:12:52Z")
Any show produced by **Mutant Enemy** would be exactly the same! ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/10 "2008-06-13T19:15:57Z")
[QUOTE=Chimera] I keep thinking of **House** , **Scrubs** and **Seinfeld** , but I’m not an avid watcher of those shows and I’d like to see some prose about how those shows might be affected. (I keep picturing the usual Kramer “bust into the room”, only with him being a zombie.) [/QUOTE] Kramer would probably be one of the first infected. He’d burst into Jerry’s apartment out of habit, and of course attack Jerry. Elaine and George would happen by eventually, but have trouble getting buzzed in because Jerry wouldn’t have the mental capacity to hit the button. Once somebody let them in, they would arrive to see Kramer hunched over and eating the remains of Jerry. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/11 "2008-06-13T19:16:55Z")
The Law & Order franchises would certainly be interesting. For starters, New York would presumably have been the center of a very bad outbreak/ panic. At least half the show would have to revolve around the circumstances of functioning in a barely-restored-to-order city. Large parts of the city might be flagged as Uncleared Zones, and carrying a large caliber handgun would be a universal precaution. When every reported corpse could be a zombie, investigating crime scenes would begin by prodding the body with a long boathook while cops with shotguns stand by just in case. Heh, what if the deceased WAS a zombie? It would make gathering forensic envidence a little dicey. Unless she was very, very lucky Dr. Melinda Warner would probably not have survived the beginning of the outbreak, and the security at the morgue would be roughly the same as at a lab studying rabid gorillas. Certainly you would have stories in which murders were somehow zombie-related, such as using the zombie plague as a cover, etc. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/12 "2008-06-13T19:25:46Z")
_Jeopardy!_ Today’s categories are: Brains Brains Brains Brains Brains “Brain” Teasers (Remember, every correct response will have the word “brain” in it.) ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/13 "2008-06-13T19:27:22Z")
**Survivor** and similar shows might actually become watchable. **Zombie League Football** sounds messy though. **World Zombie Wrestling Federation** even more so. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/14 "2008-06-13T19:54:55Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] **Zombie Alton** … because if there’s really one thing there’s really no arguing about, it’s that brains are really [cue theme] [/QUOTE] Thanks for the best laugh of the thread. Now I have this image of Zombie Alton Brown stuck in my head. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/15 "2008-06-13T20:05:16Z")
😉 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/16 "2008-06-13T20:11:43Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] Kramer would probably be one of the first infected. [/QUOTE] **Kramer** She needs a little Kramer. **Jerry** And then she’ll need a little penicillin. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/17 "2008-06-14T09:16:41Z")
Cesar Milan is asked to come visit a midwestern American city to help deal with pack of aggresive dogs. The name on the map says Raccoon City. (Those fucking muts always scared the shit out of me dammit!) ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/18 "2008-06-14T15:33:14Z")
Well, I was wrong about not being able to do it with Battlestar Galactica. Now would be the perfect point to turn it into Zombie Apocalypse. _Mmmm…Cylon Braaaaiiiiiinnnnnsss!_ It could be done with Stargate SG1. As the zombie plague reaches Stargate Command, the mountain is sealed. Ongoing battles with zombies as they attempt to link up with Area 51 and other military bases. Attempts to recruit off-world humans and Jaffa to help. Trading with other worlds for necessary supplies and a desperate search for a cure. Zombie Gu’ould. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/19 "2008-06-14T16:10:50Z")
Dr Phil the Zombie would either be very watchable or even worse. The Celebrity Death Pool would become The Celebrity Zombie Pool ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829/20 "2008-06-14T16:13:08Z")
The X-Files: Mulder: I told you so! Scully: Damn straight! Cigarette Smoking Man: BRAINNNNZZZZZZ! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-zombie-apocalypse-change-your-show/452829.md?page=2)