"Since it’s announced development, SyFy’s new zombie series, Z Nation, has been covered in the shadow that is television’s unrelenting mega-hit, The Walking Dead. “It’s a Walking Dead knock-off.” “It can never be The Walking Dead.” “Why is SyFy trying to make a poor man’s Walking Dead?” These are the things we’ve heard non-stop for the last few months. But, with the series premiere upon us, it’s time to ask the only question that actually matters: is the series good? Luckily for us, the answer is clear, and by answering it, we also answer the other not at all important question of how closely this zombie series relates to the one everyone can’t stop talking about. Z Nation follows Mark Hammond, a soldier going by the call sign Delta X-Ray Delta that’s been tasked with escorting a package across the country to California. That package? The only man to ever survive being bit by a zombie thanks to an experimental vaccine. However, as it is the zombie apocalypse, things get hinky for the duo real fast and Hammond’s forced to rely on the help of a group of survivors to get to the next destination on his journey to save humanity. Now, while the answer to the question of whether or not the series is good is clear, it isn’t simple. As Z Nation is an Asylum production, it does carry with it a self-aware, B-movie sensibility. The actors ham up their performances, the story is intentionally thin and the world’s zombie rules are haphazardly vague, but that said, the series has a high level of entertainment value. Z Nation’s entertaining because it knows it’s ridiculous, unlike the series it’s continually compared to. The Walking Dead takes a “real-world” approach to the zombie apocalypse that forces the show to exist in a world devoid of humor, which often hurts the series from an entertainment level. Often, the AMC program gets lost in its own melodrama and forgets to provide the one thing that audiences need to stick with a show about the apocalypse: hope, and that’s something Z Nation is in abundance of. At no point in watching the SyFy series is one left thinking there’s no way at all for the characters to get out of their impossible situation. It’s not apparent they’ll survive, but it’s not a guarantee they’ll die either. The fates of all the characters are left multidirectional, with the ability to go anywhere at any time. That desire to leave the potential for a happy ending open is what will separate Z Nation from The Walking Dead. A zombie apocalypse drama with the possibility of a happy ending is just what the army medic ordered Don’t let the zombie baby of the trailers fool you, Z Nation most certainly packs a punch, and if the audience goes into it expecting something that’s just trying to let them have a good time, they’ll be pleased with what SyFy’s presenting. Z Nation’s a surprisingly good time that will perfectly fit into SyFy’s ever expanding canon that already includes two Sharknado movies. This show doesn’t want to be The Walking Dead, and it doesn’t care if you do. Z Nation has chosen to be its own niche thing, and that’s okay because it’s exactly what it always should have been. Z Nation premieres Friday, September 12th at 10/9c on SyFy."===http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrill...-isnt-the-walking-dead-and-doesnt-want-to-be/
