Catching up with some TV... Zombies and some good old fashioned eighties nostalgia...

Nope, not that one. I still need to watch 'Stranger Things' (even my eldest daughter has seen more of it than I have) but that's one for another time.

Welcome to another one of those occasional posts where I end up coming across like I do nothing but watch TV. If only that was the case, but anyway... I still haven't got over the novelty of Netflix but still managed to find a little time to hop over to Disney+ and try and justify my subscription. The end result was my watching two very different shows, let me tell you about them...

'Black Summer' – Season 1

I never made it all the way through 'Z Nation' but enjoyed it enough that when I remembered that 'Black Summer' was a thing, and on Netflix, I was definitely up for giving it a go. That and there were only eight fairly short episodes to contend with in the first season. So that's what I've been watching this week and... I really enjoyed it.

'Black Summer' is a very different beast to 'Z Nation', a lot darker and a lot less playful with it's zombies. Also, the apocalypse is only hours old and this lends everything a really frantic feel, the question of survival is a lot more immediate here as our players are still trying to figure out what the rules are. It all makes for a very tense affair where anyone can die at any moment. Honestly, we talking 'Game of Thrones' style 'don't get too attached to anyone here' business as death can jump out and grab you at any moment. And because it all moves so fast, there's no time for angst; if someone is bitten or about to die, someone else has literally seconds to decide whether to shoot them. I loved this approach and I'm very interested to see how they handle Season 2 where I'd imagine that things presumably calm down a bit. We shall see...


'Willow' – Episodes 1 & 2

Another show where I've been keen for it to get going, to scratch that 'nostalgia itch' and also to see if it's something that my youngest can watch ('Rings of Power' was a little too intense for her). Answering the last question, 'Willow' is very much in the tone of its movie prequel, a lot of action and danger... but not that dangerous. Littl'un should have no problem with it.

From where I was sat, it was good to be back in Willow's world although the opening parts of the first episode felt a little awkward somehow, like the show was struggling to work past its cult status and adjust to the 'streaming spotlight'. When it got going though, both episodes were a lot of fun to watch with a decent mix of action, monsters and a little mystery to solve. I'll never be able to look at Ralph Ineson (Commander Ballantine) without thinking 'Chris Finch' but that's more about me than him; Ineson looks like he could be an interesting villain going forwards.

It's really too early to say much about the series other than that I enjoyed these episodes and will definitely come back for the rest; I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

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