The great uprising was a few years ago. Countless dead
bodies animated themselves, climbed out of their graves, and staggered through
the community, killing people and eating their brains. Zombies, right? 'Zombie' is such an outdated name. Call them
'rotters'. Better yet, since there is a serum which restores a rotter's sanity
and reason, call them 'Partially Deceased Syndrome (PDS) sufferers'. The serum
has to be injected into the neck every day and it hurts, but it's worth it,
isn't it? PDS sufferers still have pasty white skin and funny looking eyes, but
a little makeup and appropriate contact lenses can make them look normal. Now all they have to do is move out of the
hospital back into society. Right?
Not so easy. For one, many people retain vivid memories of
when PDS sufferers were in their rabid, i.e. brain-eating, state and want
revenge. There is even a HVF--Human Volunteer Force--a paramilitary group that
had actively killed rabid rotters during the uprising, and are all too ready to
kill the treated PDS sufferers as well. Plus, the minister of the town gives
sermons saying the rotters are demons masquerading as people, the bars have
segregated areas for PDS sufferers, and the local council decrees that the
letters PDS be painted on all houses where rotters live.
The series begins with a thin youth, KIEREN, is preparing to
leave the hospital. We see him being driven home, an anxious look on his face,
and being greeted by his equally anxious parents. They are happy to have their
son--whom they had buried two years ago--back, but he isn't the same, and their
relationships can't be the same. He sits down to dinner and moves his knife and
fork, but he can't eat. The parents have to administer the painful neck
injection every day, and if visitors come to the house, they must hide Kieren.
Moreover, his sister, JEM, is a devoted HFV member who hates all rotters,
including her brother.
RICK, another zombie, returns after being killed in Afghanistan.
The explosive that killed him also ripped apart his face so that he needs
conspicuous staples to keep it together. He is Kieren's best friend and
possibly his lover as well, though that is never made explicit. His father,
BILL, is leader of the HVF and hates all zombies, though he still loves his
son.
The third PDS sufferer in the series is AMY, a vivacious
young woman willing to take on the world in spite of her semi-dead state.
There are some plot flaws. The writers make no attempt to
rationalize the impossibilities of PDS physiology. Rick can drink beer without
ill effects, but Kieren says he can't take any fluids. These inconsistencies don't detract from the
story.
For those who are wondering, Amy can have sex, though
whether the male zombies can is not shown.
Metaphors abound. The most obvious is with severely mentally
ill patients--people who are 'probably' safe in the community if they take
their medications. The discrimination and hatred is more reminiscent of bigotry
against gay or black people in the USA, or against Jews in Nazi
Germany. Ironies are frequent, for example, Bill's tirade against rotters while
standing right next to his rotter son. At one point, a distraught mother calls
a PDS hotline only to get a recorded message telling her to check the website.
The basic premise of this story is not at all credible, but
the relationships are. The three episodes of the first series show a wide and
realistic range of human emotions and interactions; these are gripping. As plain entertainment, it's well worth
seeing. A second season is planned, and I'll be looking for it. As a workout
video, I give it ++++ - it will get your pulse up to a run.
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