How would you design a new Zombie series?

[Hopeless]

With the release of various Zombie related tv series I was wondering how you would handle a new Zombie tv series/mini series, etc but making it original with some difference from the other series?

For example how about a series where the zombies have over run London and the rest of the world is apparently not much better.

The survivors have been sheltering in communities outside London gradually moving further away as the zombies apparently have evolved a new somewhat intelligent form using the weird or black comedy so we have the equivalent of former celebrities now running the show for example an X Factor tv series where the participants are vying to survive the monthly cut since the group that comes last ends up as dinner for those judging them.

This version of the Zombie epidemic is apparently linked to some parasitic fungus which modern medicine can't counter but there's evidence of some kind of cure which becomes a plot point later on in the series as it begins to explain where this zombie virus came from and eventually revealing who was actually responsible but not before pointing to a few red herrings along the way to keep it interesting.

How would you deal with this?

And would you bother?

[Yora]

Very important for me to even bother: Make the human characters not their own worst enemy and greatest threat. I know that zombie-stuff is not actually about the zombies but about people living in a post-apocalyptic world, but at least make the characters try to be reasonable and preserve their lives. In a world with no justice system, violent psychopaths who abuse their followers don't become leaders, but get quickly shot in the back of the head.

If you want to make it about zombies, make it about zombies. Most recent zombie-stories seem like they would work perfectly well without zombies at all.

[Eldan]

In books at least, I've always loved stories about people building new societies. Or just building stuff in general.

So, I'd love a series where the zombies are really more of a temporary problem. A very large part of the population, say 99% dies quickly, the rest have to battle zombies for a few years. But the zombies really aren't that much of a problem (slow, stupid, decay over time), so pretty soon, the problem comes with the building.

Not a thrilling story, I suppose, and one only interesting for enthusiasts. And, as Yora said, probably a story that would also work with just a plague, no zombies.

[Killer Angel]

With the release of various Zombie related tv series I was wondering how you would handle a new Zombie tv series/mini series, etc but making it original with some difference from the other series?

Roman legions are victoriously marching through Gaul. Facing annihilation, druids unleash the magic that should never have been released...

[Eldan]

Historical zombies is a fantastic idea. It works with any great war, really.

One could make something pretty damn dark and grimy in WWI. Gas attack turns soldiers on both sides into blind zombies.

[Grim Portent]

Historical zombies is a fantastic idea. It works with any great war, really.

One could make something pretty damn dark and grimy in WWI. Gas attack turns soldiers on both sides into blind zombies.

If they can detect heat and track people lighting cigarettes then we have a fantastic opportunity for a smoking sniper trio to be eaten by zombies in a moment of dark humour.

[aspi]

In books at least, I've always loved stories about people building new societies. Or just building stuff in general.

So, I'd love a series where the zombies are really more of a temporary problem. A very large part of the population, say 99% dies quickly, the rest have to battle zombies for a few years. But the zombies really aren't that much of a problem (slow, stupid, decay over time), so pretty soon, the problem comes with the building.

Not a thrilling story, I suppose, and one only interesting for enthusiasts. And, as Yora said, probably a story that would also work with just a plague, no zombies.

If you haven't, you should check out the BBC series Survivors (the original from the 70s, not the remake). It's pretty much dead on what you're describing.

[Yora]

Roman legions are victoriously marching through Gaul. Facing annihilation, druids unleash the magic that should never have been released...

yoink'd

Historical zombies is a fantastic idea. It works with any great war, really.

One could make something pretty damn dark and grimy in WWI. Gas attack turns soldiers on both sides into blind zombies.

The strange animated movie Heavy Metal has one segment that takes place in a damaged american bomber over the pacific. One of the gunners got killed and turns into a zombie.

I've heard from several people it's considered the best part of the film.

[Traab]

Psychotic levels of fanservice aside, I think High School of the Dead did a great job dealing with the zombie outbreak. So many zombie films seem to revolve around "Lets hold up here, then in the third act make a break for it!" And really, unless there is reason to believe the army will come rolling through within a few weeks at most, forting up inside a city is a TERRIBLE idea. I loved how the main cast seemed to reel from disaster to disaster, never being able to stay in one place for more than a day or so before events forced them to keep moving. I think my personal preference would be a series that focuses on the start and middle of the zombie apocalypse. Basically, the standard "Omg! Zombies everywhere! Hey random people, lets team up for reasons!" start, then have the story cover them trying to get to a place with actual safety and potential longevity. In other words, somewhere they can protect themselves from zombies and raiders, while also being able to grow and/or hunt food and otherwise survive long term.

The first couple seasons can be all about trying to escape Megacitytropolis, meeting up with other survivors, some of whom will be good, some bad, others uninterested. Then making plans on what to do, how to do it, and going out and actually doing it. Later seasons are them finding a decent location off the beaten path, setting up a palisade or whatever, and dealing with random zombies and raider groups plus internal problems. Really get into the nitty gritty details of how they will survive when modern society breaks down. You need people able to figure out how to grow various crops in a way that works better than "ok, we have veggies this month, then nothing till next fall" how to hunt meat, how to treat illness and injury, how to defend yourselves without bringing down an endless zombie horde on you because firing that rifle may blow the brains out of the zombie/raider in front of you, but it just grabbed the attention of every zombie within a couple mile radius of your location.

[DigoDragon]

Historical zombies is a fantastic idea. It works with any great war, really.
One could make something pretty damn dark and grimy in WWI. Gas attack turns soldiers on both sides into blind zombies.

I'm picturing now the American Civil War-- the Confederates are losing, so they turn to creating zombies out of their dead soldiers and unleash a new kind of army upon the Union. The show revolves around a company of Union soldiers trained and equipped to specifically fight the zombies. These soldiers have backgrounds connected to the occult, and they hope to not only find effective methods of countering the Confederate plan, but figure out just how the Confederacy was able to make the zombies to begin with.

[Frozen_Feet]

Accurate portrayal of a zombie plague in countryside of Finland. During winter.

[Eldan]

Accurate portrayal of a zombie plague in countryside of Finland. During winter.

So, the zombies are either frozen solid or slowly being destroyed by freezer burn?

[Rater202]

I'm picturing now the American Civil War-- the Confederates are losing, so they turn to creating zombies out of their dead soldiers and unleash a new kind of army upon the Union. The show revolves around a company of Union soldiers trained and equipped to specifically fight the zombies. These soldiers have backgrounds connected to the occult, and they hope to not only find effective methods of countering the Confederate plan, but figure out just how the Confederacy was able to make the zombies to begin with.

Problem: The obvious answer is forcing slaves of West African descent to use voudon(West African voodoo) rituals to do it, which is both racist and yet an other horribly inaccurate depiction of a religion from that family. Though if handled with care, it'd prove an effective red herring.

what I'd do? Make it so the zombies are sapient, and remember who they were in life, and don't eat people, and are supernatural in origin-don't decay to much, for example. But, they can only talk in groans. Zombies can understand each other, but humans can't.

Set the story a few decades after the apocalypse, and make a group of zombies the main cast while they try to survive being hunted by a group of trigger happy survivors.

(Most of the zombies have been killed by genre savvy survivors who shot first before realizing that these zombies were harmless)

[DigoDragon]

Problem: The obvious answer is forcing slaves of West African descent to use voudon(West African voodoo) rituals to do it, which is both racist and yet an other horribly inaccurate depiction of a religion from that family. Though if handled with care, it'd prove an effective red herring.

Oh definitely red herring if at all done. Same could be said with native American magic. Nay, I was actually thinking more of Victorian-style alchemy as the basis for zombie creation. This leaves open the possibilities for Frankenstein's monster as another thing to deal with. :3

[TandemChelipeds]

The zombies aren't zombies at all. Or at least, they aren't undead. A mad social scientist creates the perfect meme, a packet of information that interfaces with the human nervous system on a basic level and erases their sense of identity, turning them into mindless, gibbering idiots that live for no more purpose than to spread the meme themselves. The meme reinforces effective group survival behaviours, turning the zombies into a hivemind of frothing lunatics with near-perfect internal cooperation while the uninfected scramble about trying to fend them off. The meme is spread by the zombies' vocalizations, so earplugs are in high demand among survivors. As an organized, effective force with emergent group intelligence, the zombies slowly root out survivors, swarming them and pulling out their earplugs to expose them to the glory of the meme. The glory of... Surfin' Bird.
Truly, the sound of nightmares.

[Rater202]

The zombies aren't zombies at all. Or at least, they aren't undead. A mad social scientist creates the perfect meme, a packet of information that interfaces with the human nervous system on a basic level and erases their sense of identity, turning them into mindless, gibbering idiots that live for no more purpose than to spread the meme themselves. The meme reinforces effective group survival behaviours, turning the zombies into a hivemind of frothing lunatics with near-perfect internal cooperation while the uninfected scramble about trying to fend them off. The meme is spread by the zombies' vocalizations, so earplugs are in high demand among survivors. As an organized, effective force with emergent group intelligence, the zombies slowly root out survivors, swarming them and pulling out their earplugs to expose them to the glory of the meme. The glory of... Surfin' Bird.
Truly, the sound of nightmares.

...Film it in black and white, silent movie style, with no audible dialog until the last survivor has been restrained and had his ear plugs removed. then the black and white slowly fades into glorious high-def color and the background track fades into realistic sounds.

Then, the zombie opens it's mouth and starts singing.

At least one person will piss themselves laughing.

[BannedInSchool]

ZombieApp erases people's minds and makes them wander around staring at their phones endlessly.

[TandemChelipeds]

...Film it in black and white, silent movie style, with no audible dialog until the last survivor has been restrained and had his ear plugs removed. then the black and white slowly fades into glorious high-def color and the background track fades into realistic sounds.

Then, the zombie opens it's mouth and starts singing.

At least one person will piss themselves laughing.

YES. Yes. ^gets it

[BRC]

I've always liked the idea of settling directly into the "Stable" period post zombie apocalypse.

Also I love puns, this will be relevant.


In the post-zombie world, Humans live in highly secure Safe Zones, cut off from the outside world by walls. While only humans and animals can carry the infection, any salvaging run runs the risk of somebody being bit, and then concealing their injury, only to turn later. Therefore, official salvaging runs are rare, carried out by large groups of armed guards, with the best loot going to those at the upper echelons of society.

For those outside the elite, access to materials from the ruins is still vital. Scrap Metal is needed for repairs and manufacturing, books needed to stave off boredom, electronics that can be used or repaired, building materials to expand the settlement, even non-perishable luxury goods, artwork, ect.

Soon, an organized crime network forms, it's purpose: Carrying out illegal salvage runs outside the wall, then secretly selling those goods to people within the walls.

Our story follows a young member of this syndicate, starting out doing the dangerous work of gathering illegal salvage from the zombie-infested wastelands as he rises up through the ranks. Early on, he is an idealist, helping people by recovering the treasures of the old world. However, as he goes deeper into the organization, he learns about the corruption and greed that dominates the syndicate. They're not a bunch of idealists trying to help people in opposition to the greedy, paranoid elite, they're greedy and vicious, willing to cut down their fellow man without a second thought if it turns a profit. He struggles to rise in the syndicate, eventually becoming it's leader.
Eventually becoming...The Don of the Dead.

[Calemyr]

My ideal zombie series would be a combination of "The Last of Us" and "Zombieland". The Last of Us hits exactly the right level of threat - the "zombies" are not unstoppable, and if people band together they have a decent chance of holding their own, so there are still pockets of humanity here and there, but you have to an absolute badass to wander outside of that perimeter. Zombieland, on the other hand, has a pragmatic cynicism that a zombie apocalypse setting desperately requires. Also a clash between "looking out for yourself" and "working as a team" where it's just a question of effective survival strategies rather than outright villainy. The rules in particular display the kind of practical thought I so desperately want to see in humanity's survivors.

[Frozen_Feet]

So, the zombies are either frozen solid or slowly being destroyed by freezer burn?

Exactly!

[DigoDragon]

ZombieApp erases people's minds and makes them wander around staring at their phones endlessly.

So basically anyone with a fancy smartphone? :3

(Just last night I was waiting in line for a prescription at the pharmacy. Out of the 7 people in line, I was the only one not mesmerized with a phone app. Also, I was the only one without a smart phone)

...The Don of the Dead.

*Stands up and slowly applauds the brilliance*

[Metahuman1]

I'd make it a short Mini Series and have it boil down to a showcase of the web article "7 Scientific reasons a Zombie Apocalypses can't happen." and then focus for the last ep or two on how annoyed people are by how it actually played out.

[TandemChelipeds]

I'd make it a short Mini Series and have it boil down to a showcase of the web article "7 Scientific reasons a Zombie Apocalypses can't happen." and then focus for the last ep or two on how annoyed people are by how it actually played out.

It's odd, because on the one hand it seems horribly arrogant to assume that one would survive a zombie apocalypse, but realistically it probably wouldn't get very far in the first place, even though everyone's baseline competence is low enough that they probably wouldn't be able to handle being overrun by zombies. I guess it's an emergent effect.

[Psyren]

I'll tell you what I wouldn't do - a Resident Evil TV series

ZombieApp erases people's minds and makes them wander around staring at their phones endlessly.

Good setup, but where do the zombies come in?

[Metahuman1]

It's odd, because on the one hand it seems horribly arrogant to assume that one would survive a zombie apocalypse, but realistically it probably wouldn't get very far in the first place, even though everyone's baseline competence is low enough that they probably wouldn't be able to handle being overrun by zombies. I guess it's an emergent effect.

That's sort of the point. It's near inconceivable that it would EVER get as far as is shown in most media. As a result, most people would probably live.

The Zombies have limited at best ability to defend themselves form animals willing to eat them for food, not to mention insects willing to use there rotting flesh for sustenance and procreation. They have nothing in wet or humid environments to keep themselves from bloating and exploding or at least being immobilized and made sitting targets. Or anything in cold climate to protect them form freezing and the water expanding in there bodies and causing them to semi-explode, including there brains. And they also don't have any means to protecting themselves form drying out in super hot and dry dessert like climate and being immobilized helplessly that way.


On top of it, they have to get extremely close to bit people to infect them. And everyone they bite is also suppose to be there food source so every time they try it's a crap shoot on if they end up feeding or procreating. Then you factor in that 1: Humans are very much the top predators on the planet for a reason, and 2, humans by and large might be kinda dumb but we are genera savvy and 3, these sorts of media seem to assume that weapons and particularly fire arms and ammo are hard to come across and not common, which is flat not true regardless of how you might feel about weather that should be the case or not. And that this is what the Zombie is going against every time it tries to eat or procreate.

It would be like having to fight a large alligator or wolf every time you wanted to make a sandwich or have Sex.

It's just not a model that can build up significant numbers. Let alone become a viable threat for any reasonable length of time. Give it a year and a half tops and everything will be right back to normal at the whole societal level except maybe, just maybe, the Zombie thing is finally dead cold and in the ground far as pop culture is concerned.


Hence, that is what's being factored in, explored and focused on. And then when that's done, maybe an Ep or two to focus on the societal fall out of the Zombie breakout being not a tenth as bad as mass media made us think it would be.

[BRC]

That's sort of the point. It's near inconceivable that it would EVER get as far as is shown in most media. As a result, most people would probably live.

The Zombies have limited at best ability to defend themselves form animals willing to eat them for food, not to mention insects willing to use there rotting flesh for sustenance and procreation. They have nothing in wet or humid environments to keep themselves from bloating and exploding or at least being immobilized and made sitting targets. Or anything in cold climate to protect them form freezing and the water expanding in there bodies and causing them to semi-explode, including there brains. And they also don't have any means to protecting themselves form drying out in super hot and dry dessert like climate and being immobilized helplessly that way.


On top of it, they have to get extremely close to bit people to infect them. And everyone they bite is also suppose to be there food source so every time they try it's a crap shoot on if they end up feeding or procreating. Then you factor in that 1: Humans are very much the top predators on the planet for a reason, and 2, humans by and large might be kinda dumb but we are genera savvy and 3, these sorts of media seem to assume that weapons and particularly fire arms and ammo are hard to come across and not common, which is flat not true regardless of how you might feel about weather that should be the case or not. And that this is what the Zombie is going against every time it tries to eat or procreate.

It would be like having to fight a large alligator or wolf every time you wanted to make a sandwich or have Sex.

It's just not a model that can build up significant numbers. Let alone become a viable threat for any reasonable length of time. Give it a year and a half tops and everything will be right back to normal at the whole societal level except maybe, just maybe, the Zombie thing is finally dead cold and in the ground far as pop culture is concerned.


Hence, that is what's being factored in, explored and focused on. And then when that's done, maybe an Ep or two to focus on the societal fall out of the Zombie breakout being not a tenth as bad as mass media made us think it would be.

There's a reason Zombie stories tend to skip the Fall of Civilization phase. The Protagonist usually just wakes up after everything has fallen apart and there are zombies everywhere, so as to avoid explaining how something that can be killed with a baseball bat took down the combined might of military, police, and civilian militias. Even if you take Genre Savvyness out of it, eventually somebody is going to go for a headshot then say "HEY! THAT WORKS!"

[Traab]

Hey come on, a resident evil series could be awesome. All the ingredients are there. It doesnt even have to be an end of the world thing, for example, STARS employees are tasked with shutting down various rogue Umbrella corporation work areas. They have to look for rumors of strange disappearances and terrible killings, then track down the actual location of the base, and deal with whatever unique zombie mutation they created this time. (Though that would likely work better as a cartoon series for more flexibility) Or it could be taken from the first resident evil movie, and create an entirely new storyline from there. Alice wakes up at the mansion with no memories and gets involved in this mess. Hijinks ensue, and in the end she works for some government agency or group of rebels, whatever, towards shutting down umbrella and saving the world, or protecting whats left of it. Either/or really. Oh, and trying to figure out who she is.

There's a reason Zombie stories tend to skip the Fall of Civilization phase. The Protagonist usually just wakes up after everything has fallen apart and there are zombies everywhere, so as to avoid explaining how something that can be killed with a baseball bat took down the combined might of military, police, and civilian militias. Even if you take Genre Savvyness out of it, eventually somebody is going to go for a headshot then say "HEY! THAT WORKS!"

Thats probably why the shift to fast zombies happened. Shamblers would be more of a joke than a threat. Im picturing teens hanging out in graveyards with shovels playing whack a mole as the newly rising breech the ground and get smashed in the skull. But sprinters? They have the potential to be a threat, especially when its one of those unexplained mass outbreaks where suddenly every city everywhere is being attacked by large numbers of undead. Yeah its probably not going to end the world, but the death toll would be terrible and its likely that depending on where you live, even survivors of the initial surge would have problems lasting the weeks it could take for help to arrive and clear out the undead.

[Metahuman1]

Hey come on, a resident evil series could be awesome. All the ingredients are there. It doesnt even have to be an end of the world thing, for example, STARS employees are tasked with shutting down various rogue Umbrella corporation work areas. They have to look for rumors of strange disappearances and terrible killings, then track down the actual location of the base, and deal with whatever unique zombie mutation they created this time. (Though that would likely work better as a cartoon series for more flexibility) Or it could be taken from the first resident evil movie, and create an entirely new storyline from there. Alice wakes up at the mansion with no memories and gets involved in this mess. Hijinks ensue, and in the end she works for some government agency or group of rebels, whatever, towards shutting down umbrella and saving the world, or protecting whats left of it. Either/or really. Oh, and trying to figure out who she is.



Thats probably why the shift to fast zombies happened. Shamblers would be more of a joke than a threat. Im picturing teens hanging out in graveyards with shovels playing whack a mole as the newly rising breech the ground and get smashed in the skull. But sprinters? They have the potential to be a threat, especially when its one of those unexplained mass outbreaks where suddenly every city everywhere is being attacked by large numbers of undead. Yeah its probably not going to end the world, but the death toll would be terrible and its likely that depending on where you live, even survivors of the initial surge would have problems lasting the weeks it could take for help to arrive and clear out the undead.

Even sprinters aren't that bad. For starters, they don't have the sense to duck/dodge/evade or block incoming baseball bat, golf club, fire ax, wood ax, hatchet, Hammer of any flavor, wrench, knife, screwdriver, ice pick, Pipe, semi-solid stick or gun shot to the head. And don't tell me that cause that last one is harder that it's impossible. Particularly for the large numbers of cops and pro-security and military personnel out there and the large number of people with things like shot guns and lazer sights. Not when on top of that there running head long at you which should make hitting that target even easier.

And then you've gotta consider that at best, at absolute best, they get around the animal problem cause running and faster and somewhat more vicious. All the others still get them. It nominally raises the casualty rate since I refuse to add in the lack of genera savvyness, and other then that, still plays out as I described.

I'm well aware that most zombie media skip this phase, which is why I'd want to focus on it, to show why and make fun of it.

[The Glyphstone]

I'd just buy the rights to the Newsflesh novel trilogy and build a series set in that world.

The zombie apocalypse comes. The zombie apocalypse passes. We WIN, because WE'VE BEEN WATCHING ZOMBIE MOVIES FOR SIXTY YEARS. There's still a ton of zombies around in certain areas, and lots of precautions to prevent new outbreaks and protect the rebuilt civilization (and the CDC has more power than God), but it's a world where humanity has endured the end of the world as we know it and is working to rebuild, rather than clinging to the last bits of a ruined civilization.

Zombies have always been backdrop anyways, to the human dramas. The problem with most zombie films/series is that they then fail to deliver on said human drama by making it boring or predictable.