What was the series that you binged during lockdown? From zombies toracing cars to robots battling monsters;our writers reveal their pandemic bingeingKINGDOM
Kingdom was my households escape from Covid for a while last year. The visually stunning Korean zombie series from writer Kim Eun-hee and director Kim Seong-hun tells the story of an infectious outbreak during the Joseon Dynasty. Unlike the Covid pandemic, this is one in which frustrations with a virus can be relieved by stabbing someone through the head with a sword.
Dawn of the Dead was about consumerism; Zombie by the Cranberries was about Northern Ireland; The Walking Dead was about unrelenting boredom (I assume). Like all good zombie art, Kingdom has a potent metaphor at its core. Its zombie plague has its origins in a zombified ruler puppetted by a family of power-hungry lackeys. This sickness at the top of society spreads through the land alongside a pre-existing plague of corruption and famine that appal our virtuous heroes a noble prince (Ju Ji-hoon) and a lowly physician (Bae Doona).
But Kingdom also comes with more optimism than is usual in this genre. Unlike almost all of the more westerly zombie apocalypses, it focuses less on individualistic survival against a backdrop of societal anarchy (which is the main US mode for zombie stories) and more on logical plague containment and a concern with the collective good. It ultimately pans out more like a tense adventure story than a nihilistic gorefest (thought its also a bit of a gorefest) as its likeable heroes battle both zombie armies and malevolent courtiers while trying to find a cure.
They never quite institute a functioning test-and-trace system, largely relying on the old-fashioned stick a sword through the zombies head method of disease repression. But, quite frankly, theres a lot to be said for that too. Patrick Freyne
Kingdom is available on Netflix
The New York-located Scarlet magazine of The Bold Type is based on the glossy flagship Cosmopolitan. Its editor, Jacqueline Carlyle, is based on Cosmos former editor Joanna Coles (notice the initials?), who is the shows executive producer. Carlyle is pretty bold, as are the three twentysomething employees who are best pals Jane, Sutton and Kat.
Jane is a writer favouring telling stories through her personal experiences. Sutton is a fashion assistant aspiring to be a stylist. Kat, who is biracial, is Scarlets social media director, and at one point scolds her two white friends for misappropriating the word woke.
Between whats happening in their own lives and whats being covered in the magazine, the show sharply covers subjects ranging from gender and identity, the Me Too movement, workplace power dynamics, body image, sexuality, ambition and social media difficulties. Scarlet also goes digital along the way, and there are the inevitable media tussles between editorial and advertising.
Theres a lot of terrible CGI throughout, but the material about an evolving media industry, and the zeitgeist for young women, is robust and relevant.
However, at core, The Bold Type is about female friendship. Jane, Sutton and Kat meet up to decompress during work hours, not in the womens toilets, but in the magazines glamorous fashion closet. Outside work, they are the tightest of trios, always challenging and supporting each other. Its refreshing to see a show that celebrates female friendship in all its messiness, without ever resorting to reductive bitchy animosity. Rosita Boland
Available on Netflix; fifth and final season coming later this year.
There are many unexpected personal revelations within lockdown, but becoming fully immersed in a sport I didnt give a damn about until a month ago is definitely a twist. The catalyst for my newfound fandom of Formula 1 is the amazing soap-opera/reality/documentary series Drive To Survive. The Netflix series (there are three seasons, and Ive gone through them at Lewis Hamilton-level pace) is a masterclass in editing and conflict.
The races are high drama, of course, but so is the jostling within and between teams coloured by immaturity, backstabbing, territorial rage, emotional meltdowns, insecurity, jealousy, arrogance, favouritism, vindictiveness, resilience, joy and egomania, in a ludicrous but brilliant sport that makes a virtue of its inequities, running on the fuel of warped capitalism, toxic brand pressure, and self-loathing billionaires. Brilliant.
Then theres the strange, comforting parallels with the pandemic. Drivers dreams are crushed frequently. When an engine explodes, or a car spins off track, these arbitrarily cruel moments remind us that no matter how prepared and focused we are, no matter what ambitions or plans we have, s*** happens.
Finding myself leaping off the couch at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix result, screaming Hes done it! He f***ing did it! I dont believe it! or turning to my girlfriend after another particularly poignant result, tears streaming down my face, saying, No matter what happens, no one can take this away from him, may be part of a broader existential crisis, or it could just be that Drive to Survive presents an opportunity to feel something adrenaline in the emotionally flat desert of the pandemic. Box, box, box! Una Mullally
Available on Netflix
The sequence of authored documentary series made by the BBC from the late 1960s to the late 1970s are among the imperishable jewels of the medium. Kenneth Clark walked us through the history of art in Civilisation. Alistair Cookes America made sense of that nation as it prepared for a bicentennial. Best of all, perhaps, was Jacob Bronowskis still-gripping The Ascent of Man. Now available in a reasonably priced boxed set, the series, first broadcast in 1973, attempted an overview of science from the first plough to the Manhattan Project. Bronowski is the ideal companion for such a daunting journey. A mathematician whose Jewish family moved from Poland to Britain in the 1920s, he was as happy quoting William Blake as talking us through the principles of special relativity. As he reaches the 20th century, he is able to relate personal anecdotes about interactions with distinguished geniuses. (You wake me up early in the morning to tell me that Im right? the late-sleeping mathematician John Johnny von Neuman once berated someone who dared to call before lunch. Please wait until Im wrong.)
Most importantly, Bronowski had a gift for turning his teaching into stories. None ends so powerfully as the episode on quantum mechanics. He wades into the swampy land that absorbed the ashes of so many humans outside Auschwitz and grabs a handful of damp mud. We have to cure ourselves of the itch for absolute knowledge and power, he says, standing amid the remains of his own relatives. We have to close the distance between the push-button order and the human act. We have to touch people.
Among the most powerful moments in television history. Donald Clarke
Available on YouTube
One of the first things I did in lockdown was order a short-story anthology about kaiju those huge, city-ravaging monsters that are a long-time staple of Japanese cinema. If this wasnt the moment to curl up with tales of Godzilla-like terrors plunging humanity into dystopia, when was?
The book was fine but I wanted more. Pacific Rim, Guillermo Del Toros take on the genre, is one of my favourites. Alas, Ive watched it to death and can quote whole chunks of dialogue (Today we are cancelling the apocalypse!, as I shouted at the postman the other morning).
And so I finally went down the rabbit hole. That is to say, I developed an obsession with Neon Genesis Evangelion, the 1995 anime series credited with pioneering the concept of kaiju battling huge robots.
Its great, though the gender politics are of their time. The story, however, holds up wonderfully. The year is 2015 and across the Earth, massive, destructive beings called Angels have awakened. The only line of defence are titanic robots Evangelions.
In Dublin theyd probably be outlawed for detracting from the historic skyline. But in the city of Tokyo-3 Evas are exactly what is required. Enter hero Shinji Ikari, a teenager who reluctantly becomes the pilot of Eva-01.
Episode by episode, we see Shinji conquer his fears, and turn tables on the Angels. A crowning touch is the complicated lore, with the origins of the Angels drawing on Christian mysticism and the Jewish Kaballah tradition.
In short it delivers more excitement than you can shake a giant robot arm at. Across the world the recent Godzilla v Kong has whetted appetites for monster apocalypses. If that includes you, then you owe it to yourself to dive off the deep end and into Neon Genesis Evangelion. Ed Power
Available on Netflix
Here is the original post:
Serial pleasures: The TV series that got us through lockdown - The Irish Times
- The Cranberries' Zombie - the story behind the incendiary song - Louder - April 22nd, 2024
- Chris Riddell on the zombie Tory government falling apart at the seams cartoon - The Guardian - April 22nd, 2024
- Zombie grave dating back 4,200 years discovered in Germany, photos show - Miami Herald - April 22nd, 2024
- Steam zombie survival game leaves early access 11 years on, and you've got one week to get it cheap - PCGamesN - April 22nd, 2024
- "Zombie" cicadas with STDs are coming to Virginia - Axios - April 22nd, 2024
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- Zombie Army VR Reveals The Story In Latest Trailer - Bleeding Cool News - April 22nd, 2024
- Where Infected "Zombie Cicadas" In The US Will Emerge In 2024 - TheTravel - April 22nd, 2024
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- Zombie Tests: Is the SAT Back From the Dead? - Fair Observer - April 22nd, 2024
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- Should we be concerned about zombie cicadas? - WGN Radio - Chicago - April 12th, 2024
- You need to play this underrated zombie shooter before it leaves Xbox Game Pass - Digital Trends - April 12th, 2024
- End the 'zombie' Comstock Act - Star Tribune - April 12th, 2024
- OPINION - Flesh-eating zombie narcotics are on our streets Britain is badly losing its war on drugs - Yahoo News UK - April 12th, 2024
- What Is Xylazine - The Flesh-Eating 'Zombie' Drug Linked To 11 Deaths in The UK? - Times Now - April 12th, 2024
- Zombie Cicadas To Emerge In Virginia: What To Know - Patch - April 12th, 2024
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- Flesh-eating 'zombie drug' sweeping US is linked to 11 UK deaths - The Telegraph - April 12th, 2024
- Flesh-rotting 'Zombie drug' tranq raises alarm in UK - The Times of India - April 12th, 2024
- Zombie Cicadas To Emerge In GA: What To Know - Patch - April 12th, 2024
- What was the first-ever zombie movie? - Far Out Magazine - April 12th, 2024
- Even Will Smith Couldnt Save Zombie Survival Game Undawn, Which Flopped Spectacularly - IGN - March 24th, 2024
- Rob Zombie Recommends This Surprisingly Wholesome Comedy - Dread Central - March 24th, 2024
- Army Writing and the Zombie (Noun) Apocalypse - Modern War Institute - United States Military Academy West Point - March 24th, 2024
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- Should you be worried about 'zombie deer'? | College of Public Health - George Mason University - March 24th, 2024
- 'Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island' Scares Its Way to Blu-ray for the First Time This Spring - Collider - March 24th, 2024
- Rob Zombie hates my guts: GWAR's Dave 'Oderus Urungus' Brockie was a genius, and here's an interview that proves it - Louder - March 24th, 2024
- In the fight against gun violence, Rep. Frost Introduces the Destroy Zombie Guns Act - The Apopka Voice - March 24th, 2024
- Elfriede Jelinek's 'The Children of the Dead' is a historical zombie novel - The Washington Post - The Washington Post - March 24th, 2024
- Germany's Zombie Government Is Fueling the Far Right - The Atlantic - March 24th, 2024
- Zombie Survival Game Undawn Has Crashed And Burned According To A Reuters Report - MMOs.com - March 24th, 2024
- Will Smiths Zombie Game Has Been Hit Harder Than Chris Rock at the Oscars Its Astronomical Budget Was ... - imdb - March 24th, 2024
- Scooby-Doo On Zombie Island / Return to Zombie Island Blu-ray (Warner Archive Collection) - Blu-ray.com - March 24th, 2024
- Registration almost here for Dothans annual Zombie 5K Chase - WDHN - March 24th, 2024
- Zombie magic and gambling club Magic Island will come alive again this summer - Houston Chronicle - March 24th, 2024
- Undawn | The $140m zombie survival game starring Will Smith that bombed while nobody was looking - Filmstories - March 24th, 2024
- After 4 years, a cult classic zombie horror manga from Ga-Rei's creator is finally getting an official English release - Gamesradar - March 24th, 2024
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- Zombie-palooza --- Get to the biggest undead music event in the latest Dead Island 2 expansion: SoLA - Gaming Trend - March 24th, 2024
- Bournemouth University medical students treat 'zombie attack' in mass training simulation - The Tab - March 24th, 2024
- Zombie car factories on the rise in China as buyers opt for EVs - Financial Times - March 16th, 2024
- Hey, Remember When Rob Zombie Was Going To Direct THE CROW 3? - FANGORIA - March 16th, 2024
- New Walking Dead Twist Shows How The Zombie Outbreak Will Finally End - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- Candid conversations from death row with The Zombie Hunter - Arizona's Family - March 16th, 2024
- Zombie! The Musical - REVIEW - City Hub Sydney - March 16th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero