I enjoy a good outbreak story. This is not one of them. As you may have guessed from the title, the show is about the attempt to contain a viral outbreak in a major city. The disease is, of course, highly contagious and 100% lethal. It's a solid, tried and true premise. The pilot, which focused on the discovery of the disease, the investigation into the identity of "patient zero," and the initial effort to quarantine a large part of a large city, was reasonably well done and hooked me. Since the pilot, however, the show has nose-dived.
In this genre, I expect characters to panic and make mistakes. A bad judgment call here and there can really make the plot interesting. This goes beyond that. People within the quarantined area are allowed to move around as they please within the zone and actually do so. No effort is made to remove the bodies of those who succumb to the disease from the streets. Police enter buildings they suspect of being full of infected people with no more protection than a face visor. In fact, there's rarely a hazmat suit in sight. One of the very few police inside the quarantine area, a person who has frequent contact with all sorts of people, is also given the job of cremating the bodies of those who died at the hospital, a task he undertakes with no more protection than a pair of latex gloves. The authorities march and carry infected people through the streets without taking any precautions to keep them from spreading the disease to everyone they pass. Despite the presence of a highly contagious disease, the residents within the quarantine zone are all called to a single area to obtain food. The show's writers would also have us believe that direct study of the virus would be left solely to the only doctor left at the only hospital inside the quarantine zone. The list of dumb decisions that go against common sense and basic principles of self preservation goes on and on and on to the point that it's impossible to suspend disbelief.
The laughable quarantine plot line isn't the show's only weakness. The dialogue is often poorly written, interpersonal conflicts seem forced and don't ring true, and many of the characters are one dimensional.
I had high hopes for this series, but after watching episode seven earlier tonight, I don't think I'll be watching any more.
In this genre, I expect characters to panic and make mistakes. A bad judgment call here and there can really make the plot interesting. This goes beyond that. People within the quarantined area are allowed to move around as they please within the zone and actually do so. No effort is made to remove the bodies of those who succumb to the disease from the streets. Police enter buildings they suspect of being full of infected people with no more protection than a face visor. In fact, there's rarely a hazmat suit in sight. One of the very few police inside the quarantine area, a person who has frequent contact with all sorts of people, is also given the job of cremating the bodies of those who died at the hospital, a task he undertakes with no more protection than a pair of latex gloves. The authorities march and carry infected people through the streets without taking any precautions to keep them from spreading the disease to everyone they pass. Despite the presence of a highly contagious disease, the residents within the quarantine zone are all called to a single area to obtain food. The show's writers would also have us believe that direct study of the virus would be left solely to the only doctor left at the only hospital inside the quarantine zone. The list of dumb decisions that go against common sense and basic principles of self preservation goes on and on and on to the point that it's impossible to suspend disbelief.
The laughable quarantine plot line isn't the show's only weakness. The dialogue is often poorly written, interpersonal conflicts seem forced and don't ring true, and many of the characters are one dimensional.
I had high hopes for this series, but after watching episode seven earlier tonight, I don't think I'll be watching any more.