A FB friend recently turned me on to IN THE FLESH, a British zombie series that aired in 2013 on BBC3. I got the DVD through Amazon, though I hear it’s available on Hulu. This is a first-rate zombie drama that really grabbed me.
In this series, the UK has survived the zombie apocalypse and is trying to rebuild. The authorities have come up with a cure and have rounded up the zombies into processing centers where they slowly become conscious again, though their bodies are still dead. Most are suffering from trauma, as they have flashbacks to the horrific things they did while they were “rabid.”
As zombie fiction evolved, this became a popular trope some years ago, and IN THE FLESH nails the concept perfectly. Keep in mind, though, this is a pure drama about the aftermath, with little actual zombie action to speak of. In the rural town of Roarton, we have a family welcoming home Kieren. The military focused on the big cities, leaving rural defense to local militias called the Human Volunteer Force, or HVF. The HVF is resentful and angry the zombies are being re-assimilated into society and that they’re losing their status as champions of the village. Kieren’s sister is HVF and hates the sight of him; his parents must keep him hidden. These and are concepts, involving Kieren and other characters you come to care about, are handled with great depth and drama, and though the first season is only three episodes long, it really grabbed me.
Great stuff, and I look forward to checking out the second season, which is longer at six one-hour episodes. Unfortunately, the series didn’t get a third season when BBC3 went off the air.
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