'Zombieland' Pilot Is it Worth Watching? Recap

“Zombieland (2013)” Pilot Recap

The series based on the movie that was originally intended to be a TV series is now an Amazon Pilot! Join the on-going adventure of Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita, and Little Rock as they scour the rest of Los Angeles in search of other survivors.

So, is this series really worth watching?

The first thing you have to get over is the fact that, yes, these are the characters from the movie, but they are not the same actors, and you will find yourself missing Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin.

Secondly, you have to realize that this is a continuation of the movie. It takes place a few days or weeks after the movie’s finale and their adventure at Pacific Playland.

Thirdly, you should remember that Columbus and Wichita shared some rather romantic moments in the movie, and that has carried over. Except, this time around, they’ve dated and already gone through a break-up. I guess beggars can be choosers in a zombie world.

Got that out of the way? Good, let’s continue!

The show opens up with a pre-outbreak scenario, and you are introduced to a little backstory of Tallahassee. The scene is rather hilarious, as it features two office workers complaining about “first world problems”, juxtaposed with zombies killing people outside of their office window. They continue ranting, unaware, until finally one zombie bursts through the window, killing them. Tallahassee springs into action, and kills the zombie. And that’s our introduction to him.

The main premise of this episode was for the four survivors to find other survivors in the Los Angeles area to join their rag-tag bunch. To accomplish this, they make use of Detroit, a woman they call up through the On-Star system in their car. She acts as a database of the survivors in the zombie world, and she leads the gang to various people, hoping they will all team up.

Detroit informs them that there’s a large group of survivors on an island in New York, and the gang want to head there to set down roots and form a new home.

And this is where it starts to get fun…

The group of four seem to be cursed. Each survivor that Detroit leads them to is killed is a rather entertaining way.

They are first lead to a window washer, who is high on a lift. He is eager to meet with them and begins lowering himself. As he does, a zombie jumps out of a window, and takes the man down with him, killing him.

Next up is Regina, who is an amazing cook. They meet up with her, and she feeds them delicious pie. As they walk with her back to their car, a zombie side tackles her, and they topple off a bridge.

Next is Eugene. He’s high in a warehouse, and Tallahassee demands he stay put, and they’ll come to him. They do, and they find him eager to join up with them. As they leave, a zombie falls through the floor above, and grabs onto Eugene as it falls into the next floor. Tallahassee, not wanting to lose another one, grabs on to him and saves him. They rejoice, and Tallahassee pats him on the back, causing him to fall through the floor anyway. He falls several stories to his death.

And finally is Bubbie and Pee-Paw, and old couple. They find the house empty, though. Until they go upstairs. The old couple is already dead, and they attack Columbus. Wichita tries to save him, and he tries to save Wichita. Bubbie tackles Columbus to the ground and bites him in the neck… However, she’s wearing false teeth, so the dentures just slide out. Tallahassee saves them just in time, and bashes Pee-Paw and Bubbie’s heads in with a fire poker.

In the end, they realize that it’s just the four of them, and they decide to head to New York by themselves. However, Tallahassee plans to stop in Detroit and pay Ms. Detroit a visit before they get there.

The rest of the series will essentially be each of the stops on their way to New York. The narration at the end of the episode indicates that they’ll hit Las Vegas next.

So is it worth it to watch?

Absolutely. It’s funny, it’s fresh, it’s clever… as long as you keep in mind that these actors are NOT the actors from the movie, and you should lower your expectations accordingly.

Once you get past the actor-shock, this show is very enjoyable, and I certainly hope that Amazon decides to move forward with it.