Dead Set - My New Favorite Zombie TV Series
Friday, May 13, 2011 at 8:41PM ;)
Ok, I'm definitely late to the party on this one, but man, am I glad I finally took everyone's advice and watched Dead Set; it is fantastic.
Just in case there are others out there who haven't seen it yet, Dead Set is a six-part mini-series from the UK from 2008. It takes place in and around the set of the reality show Big Brother UK, where the contestants in the house have no idea that the zombie apocalypse is happening outside their doors.
Though the zombies in this one are actually destroy-the-brain-to-kill-them undead, the entire show has a serious 28 Days Later vibe, because these zombies are definitely runners. And, don't hate me, but I've never been a fan of zombies for the sake of zombies; I enjoy zombie stories, but mostly for their post-apocalypticness.
But when I do watch zombies, I'd much rather see runners versus old-school shamblers, so Dead Set was right up my alley. And the folks across the pond really know how to make good TV, in part because they're not held to the same "decency" standards as American broadcasters are. With all the language and hardcore gore, Dead Set would make for an R-rated movie, so unless it was produced by HBO or some other movie channel, it would need to be majorly watered down for US audiences.
Which is one reason why I think Dead Set is a better show that The Walking Dead. Yes, the two shows are very different and not exactly comparable in their timelines or scope, but just for the amount of action, and pure zombie carnage, Dead Set is far superior, at least in my non-expert opinion.
But really, how many zombie TV shows do we get? Not a whole bunch, so there's definitely room for a number of entries, and different folks are going to enoy different strokes. But even if you're a traditionalist, there's still a lot to like about Dead Set, so track it down if you haven't seen it yet.
It finally made its way on to American television around Halloween of 2010, when it ran on IFC, so hoping for a re-run there might be your best bet. Until then, you can have a taste with this fan-made trailer I found below.
Reader Comments (1)
Glad you finally checked it out. it's such a great mini-series. Perfect concept.