The TV Column

Z Nation is the other zombie drama (with wit)

George R.R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones, starred as a zombie version of himself on Syfy’s horror/comedy Z Nation.
George R.R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones, starred as a zombie version of himself on Syfy’s horror/comedy Z Nation.

While we have a minute, I wanted to remind you of that other zombie apocalypse series on the tube. I'm a huge fan.

Unlike AMC's The Walking Dead, which, despite the blood and gore, is darn near Euripidean in its examination of the human condition, Syfy's Z Nation is basically just a whole lot of fun.

The series airs at 9 p.m. Friday and there are six episodes left in Season 2. Not been watching? No problem. You can binge your heart out at syfy.com, where full episodes from both seasons are available.

Syfy also knows its audience. If you want to relive all the faux gore, there are video clips featuring just the zombie kills from each episode. Although it would be a little disturbing if you watch them over and over.

The creatively designed website also has a first-person interactive game where you can try to find Murphy without getting eaten. It's a hoot.

Who's Murphy? Here's the background.

Z Nation opened three years since the beginning of the ZN1 virus-caused zombie apocalypse. Most of the human race had already been killed off.

When it all went south, one Alvin Bernard Murphy (Keith Allan) was doing time in upstate New York for a white-collar crime. The government, desperate for a cure, started experimenting on prisoners. Zombies broke into the lab and Murphy got mauled by a horde of the undead. To the amazement of all, he survived.

Now Murphy is some sort of unique zombie/human hybrid who has the ability to control zombies with his mind.

The Centers for Disease Control believes that Murphy's blood contains antibodies that are mankind's last hope for a ZN1 vaccine. But first, a ragtag team of survivors must find a way to transport Murphy from New York across the hostile, zombie-infested country to the last functioning viral research lab on Mount Wilson in Los Angeles.

Making the trek all the more difficult is that Murphy is a complete and total jerk.

On their journey, the team has the frequent help of Pfc. Simon Cruller (D.J. Qualls), the last survivor stationed at the Northern Lights NSA listening post in the Arctic. Calling himself Citizen Z, Cruller uses his vast network of surveillance cameras and listening equipment to broadcast to the world.

Citizen Z is quick with a quip and brings a touch of humor to a humorless world.

Leading the intrepid team is tough ex-National Guard soldier Roberta Warren (Kellita Smith), who, like most other survivors, lost everything in the apocalypse except her will to survive.

Warren knows as well as anybody that in the zombie apocalypse, there is much more to fear than just the undead. There's nothing like a collapse of society to bring out the worst in people. Friday's new offering is a good example.

In the thrill-packed episode, "We Were Nowhere Near the Grand Canyon," the team splits up due to a massive zombie horde and encounters an Indian tribe fighting against itself.

Finally, I noted that Z Nation is a horror series with a sense of humor, and here's a perfect example. In this season's Episode 8, "The Collector," the team encounters a man capturing different types of zombies for display in a zombie museum once society gets back on track.

His star attraction: zombie George R.R. Martin (played by guest star Martin), the author of the Game of Thrones series A Song of Ice and Fire. If you toss one of his books to zombie Martin, motor reflex causes him to open the thing and scrawl a sort of autograph.

"We'll be rich once eBay gets back up," the Collector boasts.

Murphy, by the way, had no idea who Martin was because "We didn't get HBO in the pen."

Syfy has ordered a 15-episode Season 3 for 2016.

Back in action. In case you missed the memo, it didn't take retired Daily Show host Jon Stewart long to find his next gig. Stewart has signed an exclusive four-year production deal with HBO in which he'll develop "timely short-form digital content" dealing with current events.

The projects will be updated multiple times during the day and will be available on HBO's subscription video service, on HBO Go, and on other platforms.

The deal also gives HBO first option on any TV series or other projects with which Stewart might come up.

More Kardashians. Personally, I can think of better ways to kill brain cells, but for those who simply can't get enough of them, Season 11 of Keeping Up With the Kardashians debuts at 8 p.m. Sunday on E!

The new season will follow the lead-up to Caitlyn Jenner's night at the ESPY Awards in July when she accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, Kim Kardashian West's second pregnancy, and matriarch Kris' relationship with her beau-toy, Korey. I mean Corey. Corey Gamble.

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Weekend on 11/12/2015

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