By Tomas Keavney
It seems we’re all still captivated by the morbid idea of a zombie apocalypse, which is still giving game designers and writers the world over a lot to play with. Most people would think of The Walking Dead as their favourite facet of the whole franchise, and with Ubisoft’s announcement of their FPS game (probably not set to rival Telltale’s efforts in the slightest), you would be forgiven for thinking we’re running out of ideas.
It seems we’re all still captivated by the morbid idea of a zombie apocalypse, which is still giving game designers and writers the world over a lot to play with. Most people would think of The Walking Dead as their favourite facet of the whole franchise, and with Ubisoft’s announcement of their FPS game (probably not set to rival Telltale’s efforts in the slightest), you would be forgiven for thinking we’re running out of ideas.
But, just when we’re starting to think all hope may be lost, in steps the BBC with their new drama, In The Flesh. This time we’re faced with a different evil, in the form of the living. Set in a world where we’ve somehow managed to stop zombies from eating our brains, this series follows Kieren (Luke Newberry), a zombie-in-rehab who, with the help of a combination of drugs and contact lenses to cover his undead eyes, the worst we can say of him is that he’s got a case of Partially Deceased Syndrome, or PDS.
Taken home by his parents to the village of Roarton, Kieren is faced with a sister who’s been hunting ‘rotters’, along with a parish full of the likeminded ‘Human Volunteer Force’ (HVF).
We’re faced with the classic scenario - is the potential of the angry (living) mob just as worrying as the (now fairly docile) horde? For the moment it seems fairly one sided. Kieren is not exactly a threat; the situation is similar to the unwarranted discrimination that we genuinely do see around us. That’s what sets writer Dominic Mitchell’s creation apart from every other attempt at the zombie genre, with the right attitudes, there’s no need for those with PDS to be thought of as an issue at all.
Taken home by his parents to the village of Roarton, Kieren is faced with a sister who’s been hunting ‘rotters’, along with a parish full of the likeminded ‘Human Volunteer Force’ (HVF).
We’re faced with the classic scenario - is the potential of the angry (living) mob just as worrying as the (now fairly docile) horde? For the moment it seems fairly one sided. Kieren is not exactly a threat; the situation is similar to the unwarranted discrimination that we genuinely do see around us. That’s what sets writer Dominic Mitchell’s creation apart from every other attempt at the zombie genre, with the right attitudes, there’s no need for those with PDS to be thought of as an issue at all.
That would make a fairly boring series, though. Instead, we’re lead on a hunt around Roarton by the HVF, giving us a chance to see the ugly side of the villagers, but also a few genuinely touching moments between Kieren and his sister; torn between loyalties. It also seems that the HVF aren’t the only group around, there’s the suggestion of a PDS faction in the area, with Kieren carrying around his one link to other PDS sufferers in his pocket, in the form of a link to a website run by the (slightly) undead.
There’s still a lot to expect from In The Flesh and we’re still to find out how the BBC have become one of the first to find a cure for the undead. While there’s a little to be desired from the acting at times, the likes of Ricky Tomlinson and Steve Evets will undoubtedly ease things along in future episodes.
Maybe it’s my high expectations of the BBC, but while this first episode leaves quite a bit to be desired, it’s worth mentioning that the series was commissioned through the BBC Writers Room, a service designed to find new, unsolicited writers. Here’s hoping that we’ll be thankful for a new take on the undead in future.
In The Flesh airs Sunday, 10pm on BBC 3.
Catch Episode 1 now on BBC iPlayer.
There’s still a lot to expect from In The Flesh and we’re still to find out how the BBC have become one of the first to find a cure for the undead. While there’s a little to be desired from the acting at times, the likes of Ricky Tomlinson and Steve Evets will undoubtedly ease things along in future episodes.
Maybe it’s my high expectations of the BBC, but while this first episode leaves quite a bit to be desired, it’s worth mentioning that the series was commissioned through the BBC Writers Room, a service designed to find new, unsolicited writers. Here’s hoping that we’ll be thankful for a new take on the undead in future.
In The Flesh airs Sunday, 10pm on BBC 3.
Catch Episode 1 now on BBC iPlayer.
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