iZOMBIE - Rob Thomas

Rob Thomas' fingerprint is all over iZOMBIE: a dark and witty sense of humour, young characters, the CW, the quirky detective who works outside of the law, the nostalgia for an ex-lover, the bad boy, the comic relief best friend, and the slightly-crooked accomplice. All of these characters are present in Veronica Mars, and their reflections echo in iZOMBIE. This isn't a bad thing, per se. Rob Thomas' voice is a lovely one, reminiscent of  a more diverse Joss Whedon (this comparison is furthered by the supernatural elements in iZOMBIE).

But at the same time, this authorial voice steamrolled the creative and compelling mythology of the original iZombie comic. While I'm glad to welcome Rob Thomas back to our television screens, it's a shame that Gwen Dylan, Ellie Stuart and Scott (or even that weird President gang) will never see the light of day. Though the comic was rushed, improperly paced, it was some kind of beautiful in its "throw everything to the wall" approach and I think Thomas could have done it some kind of justice.

Still, I didn't mean to be so down on iZOMBIE. If it wasn't for its alleged similarity to iZombie, I'd probably be in love with it; everything about it I should love. The tightly-structured murder mysteries, an overarching arc with brain-of-the-weeks, the wit. I just can't get past the what-could-have-been for long periods.

I still love it though.

Rating: five stars out of six (extremely good--one star off, just for bulldozing the source material)