Has reality television jumped the shark? Or is it simply fighting the shark underwater? Either way, somehow VH1 approved a pilot called America’s Next Top Zombie Idol. The plot is simple: “Eight zombies live together and compete for the winning spot in a reality TV competition”.

No word yet on how they will compete, but I’m guessing that it will revolve around the only thing zombies are good at: eating human flesh. It couldn’t possibly be worse than The Search For the Next Elvira, could it?

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NBC is developing a new web-based series with Omnicom Media Group Digital, called Woke Up Dead, about a college kid named Drex Greene, who…well, wakes up one day to find out he’s a zombie, and how he deals with it. They’re letting advertisers get in at the ground floor to help pick how they want their product integrated into the show. Omnicom’s CEO Matt Spiegel was quoted saying “This is the first time that programming with the distribution potential of NBC Universal will be centered from the start around advertisers”. It’ll be shown in 50 three minute episodes, but there’s been no launch date set at the moment. The whole “product placement” aspect of this gives me the feeling that this will be nothing more than an attempt of co-opting a much loved genre to make a few bucks for the network. To me, this just sounds like Saved By The Bell: The College Years, with zombies.

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While zombie movies seem to be multiplying like rabbits, for some reason the jump to television seems to be a difficult one. Sure there have been rumors and pilots that go nowhere, but no real, substantial “made-for-tv” zombie shows.

Finally, it looks like we’ll get a little taste on NBC with Fear Itself. In a similar format as The Twilight Zone, Fear Itself will feature at least one zombie-themed episode out the thirteen episodes already filmed. No date has been set for the launch of the series.

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If you have Monsters HD, be sure to check it out on Thursday for the annual Thanksgiving Day of the Dead zombie film marathon, showing seven classic, and not so classic, zombie movies. Here’s the schedule (times are wrong, so check listings, we haven’t seen a corrected time listing yet since the movie line-up was changed):

DAY OF THE DEAD (1985) 6:45AM ET/3:45 AM PT/5:45 AM C In this Romero-directed installment, zombies have taken over the country, except for a small group of scientists and military personnel who reside in an underground bunker/government lab. As they race to find a “cure,” disturbing facts are revealed, pitting soldiers against scientists and, of course, zombies. Preceded by Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, and succeeded by Land of the Dead, Romero cites this film as his personal favorite.

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) 8:30AM ET/5:30AM PT/7:30AM C When a bumbling pair of employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to re-animate, and they go on a rampage through Louisville, Kentucky seeking their favorite food – brains! They’re back…they’re hungry…and they’re NOT vegetarian!

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART 3/DIRECTOR’S CUT (1993) 10AM ET/7AM PT/9AM C As Colonel Reynolds (Kent McCord) and a group of government scientists work on re-animating the dead for military use with zombie gas 2-4-5 Trioxin, his son Curt (J. Trevor Edmond) and his girlfriend Julie (Melinda Clarke) sneak in to watch. Upon being discovered, the couple speeds off on a motorcycle and crashes, killing Julie. Pining for his love, Curt uses the gas on his expired girlfriend, who suddenly develops a taste for human flesh in this sequel directed by Brian Yuzna (Beyond Re-Animator).

DEAD ALIVE (1992) 1:15PM ET/10:15AM PT/12:15PM C Before he captured multiple Oscars® for his Lord of the Rings trilogy, Kiwi director Peter Jackson turned the horror genre on its head with this outrageous, blackly comedic and excessively gory film. Lionel (Timothy Balme), a mama’s boy, has the honor of looking after his overbearing mother. After he falls in love with a local, his mother attempts to sabotage the relationship, but is unwittingly bitten by a mysterious Sumatran rat monkey, causing her death. It’s not long, however, before she rises from the grave as an infection-spreading zombie and it’s up to Lionel to single-handedly save his town.

THE EVIL DEAD (1981) 3PM ET/12PM PT/2PM C Highly regarded as one of the best independent horror films of all time, Sam Raimi’s classic follows five friends (including the ever-present Bruce Campbell), as they trek to a remote cabin in the woods. When they unwittingly unleash the powerful magic enclosed in the “Necronomicon”, a decaying old book full of occult incantations, a malevolent evil is brought to life, turning most of the cast into hideous killer zombies!

TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD (1971) 4:30PM ET/1:30PM PT/3:30PM C In the 13th century, there existed a legion of evil, blood-drinking knights known as the Templars, who quested for eternal life. Executed for their unholy deeds, the Templar’s bodies were left out for the crows. Turn to modern day Portugal, where a group of friends stumble on a deserted, crumbling monastery, and accidentally revive the Templars’ blind, rotting corpses to terrorize the land in this first film in director Amando de Ossorio’s Blind Dead series.

THE UNDEAD (2003) A MONSTERS HD PREMIERE @ 9PM ET/6PM PT/8PM C After losing her bucolic farm in Queensland, local beauty Rene (Felicity Mason) decides to leave town and head for the big city. However, before she departs, the town of Berkeley, bringing an otherworldly infection which raises the dead. Trapped in a zombie nightmare, she meets up with four other desperate survivors and, together, they battle through a plague of walking dead, only to discover there is much more transpiring than a simple infection.

There has been a change from the original line-up and unfortunately a few films were dropped, including Night of the Creeps, Return of the Evil Dead, and Ghost Ships of the Blind Dead. The marathon will start with Day of the Dead still, but not until 11:10 am. Why they dropped these movies (?!?), who knows, but viewers are losing out, as the Blind Dead movies are really great and Night of the Creeps is a classic, schlocky gore fest.

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Alright here it is! This is a LONG list of horror movies and TV so without further discussion just take a look for yourselves!

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There are only two television programs I can say I’ve seen the entire run of, and Degrassi Junior High is one. I have to give credit to Erin (of yesterday’s video tutorial) for introducing me to it. She grew up close to the Canadian border and saw it when it first broadcast; I on the other hand had to wait for the DVDs.

At any rate, while flipping through the guide looking to see what’s on this week, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Degrassi of the Dead listed for Friday. I don’t watch the “new generation” of Degrassi (I happen to prefer my Degrassi kids with mohawks and teen pregnancies, thank you very much) but I will definitely be catching this special in which genetically modified foods turn the Degrassi kids into zombies. Premieres this Friday on the “Nogin” channel.

P.S. If you’re in to Degrassi at all check out my friend Scott’s zine The Degrassi Digest.

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CBS has passed on the zombie-crime drama Babylon Fields for it’s new fall season, but notes it may see life as a mid-season replacement. Maybe. Check out some clips from the pilot here. These are pretty decent clips and I would definetly check this show out if it aired. It couldn’t be any worse than Jericho or their 101 crappy sitcoms. Plus, it would be interesting to see how mainstream TV viewers would react to a show that incorporates necrophilia into its sweeps week push.

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Finally some real Halloween television are starting to appear! This week The Search for the Next Elvira continues which I am enjoying. You can also watch both the original and remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre this week, and the classic carnival sideshow movie Freaks will be on TCM on Friday night. Also ABC Family starts their 13 Nights of Halloween programming this week for spooky (but not too scary) Halloween fun. Finally, not listed below because it only pertains to DirecTV subscribers (like me) but they must be doing some sort of Troma Film Fest as they are showing The Toxic Avenger parts one and two along with Class of Nuke ‘Em High on their “101″ channel

For complete listings of all the horror television this week click the “Read this Article” link below!

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Alive is a new zombie-themed television series. No wait, it’s not. In fact, Alive doesn’t even have a pilot yet. But it already has a viral marketing campaign. The producers, instead of spending money on making a pilot decided to make a series of short web-teasers in order to build a “buzz” around it and entice studios to put some money into making a pilot.

Personally I think it sounds like a lazy person’s way to get a pilot made. Sure I’d love to produce a TV series, but I think that putting a couple of videos on youtube and starting a few websites and hoping it “builds buzz” is the wrong way to do it.

But then again, just by talking about it am I contributing to the buzz?

Here’s one of the videos and couple websites related to Alive:

www.fightingthedead.com
www.sciencecannotsaveyou.com

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In general it’s a rather lackluster week for someone looking to get in Halloween spirit, with the exception of The Search for the Next Elvira on Saturday which looks to be amusing at the very least. I PROMISE YOU next week the real fun will start with 13 days of Halloween on ABC Family and Monsterfest on AMC!

For complete listings of all the horror television this week click the “Read this Article” link below!

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