The Walking Dead Shuffles Back And The Flash Sprints In: This Week’s TV Picks
This article is more than 2 years old
We’re hip-deep in the fall premiere season, and this week sees the return of one of the most buzzed-about shows on television, not to mention the series debut of one of my favorite superheroes ever. They couldn’t be more different in terms of style or tone, but I’m excited to see them both.
AMC’s The Walking Dead returns for its fifth season Sunday night, with the survivors in a bad way. After teasing the hope of “Sanctuary” all of last season, Rick and company finally arrived at the titular settlement, but they didn’t exactly get a warm welcome. More of the bullet-y kind. Things ended with Rick suggesting the Sanctuary folks picked the wrong people to fuck with; hopefully we’ll get more of the badass, throat-biting Rick this year and less of the mopey, dead-wife-seeing variety. The Walking Dead premieres Sunday night at 9/8c on AMC with “No Sanctuary.”
Also this week, The CW continues to foster a more interesting DC Universe on the small screen than Zack Snyder is cobbling together on the big one. Arrow introduced police scientist Barry Allen last season, then promptly gifted him with super-speed in a clever twist on his comic origins involving a malfunctioning particle accelerator. Now Barry is back in his hometown of Central City, learning to use his new powers and donning a colorful costume to take down the city’s growing contingent of ill-tempered metahumans. I’ve actually already seen the Flash pilot and it’s a blast, a fun-filled adventure that’s as bright and colorful as Arrow is somber and moody. Grant Gustin is a great Barry, and the show already has plans to introduce plenty more recognizable DC characters in the weeks to come. It’s got much better long-term prospects than, say, Fox’s Gotham. Check it out. The Flash speeds onto the CW Tuesday night at 8/7c.
MONDAY
Dead Still (Syfy, 9/8c)
This isn’t remotely sci-fi, but we have to point it out because it stars Farscape’s Ben Browder, and that guy doesn’t get nearly enough work for our liking.
Brandon Davis (Ben Browder, Farscape, Stargate SG-1) a wedding photographer inherits an antique camera from his great grandfather, a famous Victorian death portrait photographer (Ray Wise) After photographing his subjects they start to die from horrible, bizarre deaths, then reappearing as eerie death portraits. One by one Brandon begins to lose people very close to him as he struggles to uncover the haunting mystery behind the cursed camera. When his eleven-year-old son goes missing, Brandon discovers the camera has supernatural powers and has trapped his son inside of it. He must now risk all and journey beyond the realm of all imagination, to fight the hideous entities within, save his son and reverse the deadly curse that plagues them before they all become….Dead Still.
TUESDAY
Face Off (Syfy, 9/8c) — “Off With Their Heads”
The remaining contestants must create their own version of a Greek God — along with the severed head of a creature they’ve slain.
The Flash (The CW, 8/7c) — “City of Heroes”
After a particle accelerator causes a freak storm, CSI Investigator Barry Allen is struck by lightning and falls into a coma. Months later he awakens with the power of super speed, granting him the ability to move through Central City like an unseen guardian angel. Though initially excited by his newfound powers, Barry is shocked to discover he is not the only ‘meta-human’ who was created in the wake of the accelerator explosion – and not everyone is using their new powers for good. Barry partners with S.T.A.R. Labs and dedicates his life to protect the innocent. For now, only a few close friends and associates know that Barry is literally the fastest man alive, but it won’t be long before the world learns what Barry Allen has become…The Flash.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC, 9/8c) — “Making Friends and Influencing People”
A team member is caught in the middle as Coulson and the agents try to reach a man with dangerous freezing powers before Hydra does.
Person of Interest (CBS, 10/9c) — “Wingman”
Finch recruits Fusco to stick close to the latest POI, a professional ‘wingman,’ but learning how to approach women soon becomes the least of his worries. Meanwhile, Reese must find a way to play by the rules at his new day job as the Machine sends Finch and Root on a mysterious errand.
Town of the Living Dead (Syfy, 10/9c)
Town of the Living Dead is a new unscripted series that follows a small Alabama town trying to complete their own independent zombie movie — which has been six years in the making. The colorful folks of Jasper, Alabama are determined, once and for all, to complete their zombie movie, Thr33 Days Dead… now six long years in the making. Based on a town urban legend, their film centers on a group of friends trying to survive a zombie apocalypse in rural Alabama. The series will follow the intrepid and motley crew of amateur filmmakers as they struggle against every obstacle imaginable to get to a final cut of their film…which could someday become a movie!
WEDNESDAY
American Horror Story (FX, 10/9c) — “Monsters Among Us”
Another show that isn’t typically science fiction, but they randomly dropped aliens into the middle of the Asylum storyline, so you never know…
Police make a grim discovery at a farmhouse in the Season 4 premiere.
Arrow (The CW, 8/7c) — “The Calm”
Season 3 begins with a new villain, Vertigo, emerging, just as Oliver tries to balance his life and ask out Felicity. Meanwhile, Diggle becomes a father; Lance is promoted to captain; Laurel joins Arrow’s inner circle; and Felicity gets a part-time job at a tech store to make ends meet.
FRIDAY
Z Nation (Syfy, 10/9c) — “Home Sweet Zombie”
The survivors are in Warren’s hometown of Central Illinois looking for her long-missing husband, and trying to survive a zombie tornado.
SATURDAY
Doctor Who (BBC America, 9/8c) — “Mummy on the Orient Express”
Aboard the most beautiful train in history, speeding among the stars of the future, a legend is stalking the passengers. Once you see the Mummy, you have 66 seconds to live. Clara sees The Doctor at his most deadliest and most ruthless — and finally she realises she’s made the right decision. Because this is their last adventure: it’s time to say goodbye to the Time Lord.
Intruders (BBC America, 10/9c) — “There Is No End”
ack discovers the alarming depth and scope of the organization to which he’s lost Amy. Meanwhile, Marcus and Madison engage in a fatal struggle; and Richard is forced to go on the run, but he recruits an unexpected partner along the way.
SUNDAY
Resurrection (ABC, 9/8c) — “Multiple”
Sensing a need in the community, Tom creates a new parish specifically for the returned and Bellamy decides to confide in him that he is also one of them. Meanwhile, old human bones mysteriously turn up in the river and with them, implications for the Langston family that Margaret is determined to keep hidden
The Walking Dead (AMC, 9/8c) — “No Sanctuary”
Rick and the group find themselves in a vulnerable situation in the Season 5 opener.
