Tag Archives: Pisay Pao

Syfy’s “Z Nation” S1Ep7 ‘Welcome to the FU-Bar’

Posted by Steven Lewis on

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After the crushing death of Charlie, the band of survivors continue their noble trek to the west coast, but first they must go through the middle of nowhere Kansas. Low on supplies and nearly dead vehicle, their only shelter option is an open field compound that houses a moonshine bar, a weapon’s depot truck, and a sharpshooting contest where the grand prize is for the best zombie kill. Little do they know, a tsunami of zombies, aka Zunami, is heading their way creating a dust cloud that can be seen from space.

Episode seven is not my favorite episode by far as some of the hilarity charm has omitted from ‘Welcome to the FU-Bar.” Instead, we’re drawn in by Warren’s woes over the loss of her man squeeze Charlie and there is a whole coming to terms with the situation scene which was done decently enough to warrant a mention. Other worth mention parts is Murphy is one again, with every episode, showing scenes of becoming a zombie by this time taking a bite out of someone’s shoulder. However, his bite has some fortunate consequences.

10k finds a love interest, but I swear he finds one every episode and I believe this is a purposful cock block because the boy was born post-apocalypse. 10K doesn’t even know what porn is which Doc describes it as ‘great’ and that isn’t really helpful to a boy with raging hormones. 10K sparks a love interest with another skilled sharpshooter who is half Asian (how exotic), but as soon as he makes a connection with her, the scene is chaos with a zombie outbreak in the middle of camp and their paths divide. I have a feeling we will see her again real soon.

10K's sexy honey

10K’s sexy honey


Not the bet episode, but not a dull hunk of shit either. Still some decent kill scenes by Warren and 10K who were really the main focus with Murphy’s troubles lurking in the background. We’re heading out of Kansas being trailed by a juggernaut of Zs whom the group is to encounter next episode and being trapped in a small town and only Murphy to be their salvation. Should be a real kick in the nuts.

Syfy’s “Z Nation” S1Ep3 ‘Philly Feast’

Posted by Steven Lewis on

Living in the Philadelphia area, the “Philly Feast” episode was quite the treat to see the “City of Brotherly Love” be taken over by the undead. Once again, Syfy and The Asylum grotesquely explode every bit and piece of body part in this episode never letting dismembered zombie appendages get old.

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Z-Nation writers didn’t wait too long to bring in the cannibal group. Every apocalyptic show has a cannibal group. Z-Nation just happens to reveal them in episode three under the ruling thump of Tobias Campbell played by Rick Rivera (happy National Hispanic Heritage Month, Rick). Now, I love me some good cannibal groups because they’re always the wild card, but this group lacked pizzaz and notoriety. Pisay Pao’s Cassandra character couldn’t quite play up Tobias’s long pig enthusiasts. However, the ending result of the full on assault on Tobias’s camp was well executed in a ‘classical’ fashion. Cassadnra’s backstory now looks to be wrapped up tight and we won’t have to explore that anymore in the foreseeable future, but I still feel she has more to hide or she has more up her sleeve with her new found friends in Addie and Warren.

The scene with the Liberty Bell had me rolling with laughter and giddy with the sight of zombie bashing mayhem. Z-Nation continues to make the implausible plausible and yet somehow make it look totally believable with the ridiculous zombie fraggings and though I do like all the characters, Nat Zang’s 10K has to be one of the standouts. His sniper character is the hardest the kill and I’d like him to reach his goal of 10,000 kills.

Can’t wait for next week’s episode!

Syfy’s Z-Nation S1E2 “Fracking Zombies”

Posted by Steven Lewis on

frackingzombies

Following a successful premier, Syfy’s Z-Nation follows up with a great second episode that develops more on a couple of character backstories while still raking in the gory bits and pieces of flesh and bone of zombie deaths. Z-Nation can deliver unsuspecting turns making this show unpredictable and entertaining.

Still considered to be a carbon-copy of The Walking Dead, Z-Nation slowly begins to journey itself away from the widely popular AMC series. I’m also seriously impressed with the special effects that Z-Nation (zombie stuck in the truck carriage, burnt to a crisp zombie, and zombie fuel tank) and while the series is not gored up by effects guru Greg Nicotero, there does lie some great talent behind Z-Nation’s blood.

The characters are starting to come to light with Pisay Pao’s Cassandra and her pack of dark secrets and as well as Keith Allan’s Murphy character and his struggle to maintain his convict past. Critics might be a bit harsh at first, but I think Z-Nation’s like-ability will come around with critics and see that’s not to compete with the drama of The Walking Dead. Instead, Z-Nation will stand on it’s own to dead feet and come out on top as an entertaining zombie series.

Syfy’s “Z-Nation” S1 Ep1 ‘Puppies and Kittens’

Posted by Steven Lewis on

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With “The Walking Dead’s” season 5 right around the corner come in October, this review of Syfy’s first episode “Z-Nation” seems fitting as we head into the best month of the year, but Z-Nation isn’t just a Walking Dead imitating hack even if the intentions might have been meant as so.

The first episode entitled innocently enough as “Puppies and Kittens” starts as engaging enough with zombies ripping the U.S. nation apart limb by limb and we’re already in year two with the preface setting up the series’ main plot. After the main credits roll, year three begins our travels. The country is overrun, the plague is vast, and the zombies are fast – two good pieces of evidence that separate Z-Nation from The Walking Dead, no slow moments of build up and no slow moving dead heads.

Something else that Z-Nation possess that doesn’t make it feel like AMC’s cash cow is the ridiculous scenarios the survivors put themselves in and how they react to those life and death choices. I’m talking about trying to eliminate a zombie baby because one of the character’s bleeding heart for children couldn’t be handled. Do these situations of inane instances ruin Z-Nation before even getting started?

In short, no. Reason? Z-Nation is the baby of The Asylum, a low budget film studio that thrives on the coattails of hit horror and sci-fi features creating “Mockbusters” and able to get away with it. Some recent hits from The Asylum have been “Android Cop” (“RoboCop”), “Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies” (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”), and “Transmorphers: Fall of Man” (“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”). Get it?

In my humble opinion, I know Z-Nation will be successful hit for the Syfy channel who as of late have produced some really good shows like Helix and whom have a made for TV adapted series of 12 Monkeys just around the bend. Z-Nation went viral on the internet with 300,000 piracy visits just after it’s premier release on Friday. Piracy shouldn’t afflict Z-Nation into cannibalizing itself because, hey, The Asylum lives and breaths of recreating blockbuster films into low-budgeted, Danny DeVito twin-like copies that do just as well on TV as they do on the internet. Go figure.

The series stars Thomas Everett Scott, DJ Qualls, Pisay Pao, Anatasia Baranova, and Michael Welch. Catch it on Syfy on Friday nights.

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