Zoo - First Blood (Pilot) - Review: “Planet of the Lions”

What if animals decided they wanted their habitats back? What could they do? How would we respond? Based on the novel “Zoo” by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, Zoo explores a world in which this phenomenon, and the fallout that ensues, is a reality.

Zoo is different. I’ll give it credit for that. So much of what we see on TV today is just the same old ideas being rehashed over and over again. Zoo brings it’s own story and it’s own, unique feel to the summer TV scene, and it’s refreshing. However, one thing I realized quickly when watching this premiere is, you have to be willing to have a bit of fun with this show - don’t overthink things.

Something pilots tend to struggle with the most is dragging. There’s too much exposition, and too much backstory all being thrown at us at once. And although these are still features of Zoo’s pilot, for the most part I was entertained and the hour went by quickly. With pilots, I truly believe you have to look on the positive side. Even the best pilots are going to have significant weaknesses that are simply unavoidable. With that being said, let’s get right into it and talk about everything that happened in last night’s premiere.

“Animals are predictable. They want food, they want shelter. They don’t have egos, they don't have insecurities.”

The show opens by showing us an abandoned and bloodied safari jeep and two men approaching it cautiously. We later find out these men are Jackson (James Wolk) and Abe (Nonso Anozie), Safari guides based in Botswana. They’re surrounded by an eerie field of tall grasses or grains - it’s virtually impossible to see anything lurking around them, adding to the tension of the scene. Just as we see a lion camouflaged among the grass and something sneak up on Jackson quickly, we’re flashed back to 6 hours earlier. I really enjoyed this intro scene. It can be difficult to pull off, especially with a new show but I think it payed off well here.

Abe and Jackson are good friends and tour guides for a safari. We’re given a quick glimpse into a key element of the animal’s strange behavior when we find out about Jackson’s Dad’s research into animal behavior. It’s clear that he and Jackson never had a great relationship and that he was brilliant yet troubled. After Abe and Jackson take a group of tourists out and casually thwart some Rhino hunters (all in a day’s work!), they embark on a trip to another nearby safari camp. This camp’s radio has been broken and they can’t get in touch. What they find when they arrive is very unsettling. The camp is abandoned and in disarray. Jackson finds a camera and Abe discovers the radio they came to fix is actually working The scene they find on the camera is one of absolute terror. Everything seems to be going well until screams and animal growls are heard. They find the tracks of a single lion but they deem that an unlikely cause for clearing out camp. Jackson puts forward the “ridiculous” idea that instead of one lone lion coming into camp, it was a group, walking in single file. It seems like this idea will be quickly dismissed until they come across one of the safari trucks from the abandoned camp. Usually time jumps are dragged out a bit more but we didn’t have to wait long to see what happens at the truck in the beginning. It turns out, although there are definitely lions surrounding them, it was actually a female tourist, Chloe (Nora Arnezeder), who rushes up to Jackson in the field. All of a sudden Abe is being attacked in the other truck and it’s time for Jackson and Chloe to run and get back to their own van. They’re surrounded and in a high speed chase with a pack of lions but somehow they’re winning…I don’t know, I’m just going to go with it for now. Resistance is futile - and no fun. The whole scene is very exciting and they make it back to the van just in time, with lions jumping around their windows.

“Raised in Cages”

I should point out that Zoo alternates between Botswana and Los Angeles, at least for now, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how beautiful the safari scenery has been. They really did a great job with that. L.A is…well it’s L.A.

L.A., we find out, has it’s own set of lion problems. Two lions escaped from The City of Angels Zoo, killing their keeper and two men leaving a club in the city. In L.A. we meet another of our main characters, Jamie Campbell (Kristen Connolly). She’s a reporter for a local newspaper. However, it doesn't seem to be going too well, as her boss and a coworker/supervisor, Ethan, call her into her office where she is presumably fired after getting in trouble for running a side blog. Later, we find out that Ethan and Jamie have been having a bit of an office romance, but Jamie calls it off after he throws her under the bus in front of the boss.

Jamie doesn't let this setback phase her though. She’s on a mission against a large animal food corporation, Radan, that uses pesticides in their food sources. The City of Angels Zoo, where the lions escaped, has recently begun using this food and she thinks that’s what caused the animals to kill. She goes to the zoo to talk to the animal coroner, Mitch (Billy Burke), who tells her, in front of the two dead lion bodies, that they were enclosed for 14 years, totally healthy and well fed but “raised in cages”. She states there simply must be an explanation and gives him the stats on how rare lion attacks are - 9 in the past 141 years! However, he has no real explanation for what turned their behavior so violent. Jamie is undeterred and still on the hunt for answers about Radan. She goes to interrogate someone close to the company but instead of finding answers, she’s left with more questions when he tells her that the real story is mysterious cat disappearances in the neighborhood.

“At what point do you die? How does one get eaten to death?”

Meanwhile, back on safari, Chloe explains that her tour group was out looking at gazelles when they were ambushed and attacked by a group of lions. We also learn that she’s French and on her honeymoon. Her wedding was cancelled after her fiancé cheated on her but the safari honeymoon was planned so she went by herself to get away from Paris. Then, all of a sudden, something happens to the truck and they break down. They need to walk. Chloe is adamantly against this and I’m right there with her. Hell no! Never in a million years. Never. However, this was actually one of my favorite parts of the show! My first thought during this scene was, ‘Well, clearly the lions meddled with the engine…’ But the next line from Jackson was “the lions got into the radiator.” …. I was kidding….they have paws. Moments like these are the moments that you have to appreciate Zoo for what it is - a comedy perhaps? Too soon to tell. Regardless, it’s obviously a work of fiction meant to entertain not enlighten.

Jackson convinces Chloe to leave the truck by telling her something is definitely not right. More than two male lions are never seen together and there were at least five back at the truck. They decide they don’t want to be there when it gets dark. They set off on foot and soon after THE LIONS ARE BACK!!! Jackson and Chloe are backed against a cliff with no way out but down. One of the lions has a weird eye and he takes a swipe at them. They fall off the cliff and the fact they both made it down alive is pretty miraculous, I’d say. I’ll add it my list of unbelievable things that I’m letting go. I’ll see how big the list can get by the end of the season!

Back at camp, Jackson tells Chloe about the “Defiant Pupil”, his crazy dad’s proof that all his animal theories are correct. Jackson thinks he saw this phenomenon in one of the lion’s eyes back at the cliff. We don’t really get much more information beyond that but something tells me this is going to be one of the main mysteries of the story. Just as they think help is arriving, Jackson gets arrested for unlawful interference with hunting and it’s the same guy that he thwarted in the beginning!

Back in L.A, Jamie breaks up with her “boyfriend” and officially leaves her job. Mitch calls her to show her what happened to the cats. He was searching the neighborhood and discovered them all perched in a tree at an elementary school. Unfortunately, that school is going to be home to a children's summer camp the next morning. It all sounds very ominous but is it just me or are cats not that threatening? I mean, it was creepy to see but would they really be that much of a danger to the camp? I guess we’ll find out next week! Finally, we’re taken out by a creepy voiceover as the lions drag what looks like a still alive Abe up a tree.

Overall, this show was good. It was entertaining, I wasn’t bored and it didn’t drag. The acting and characters so far are pretty generic. What the show has in creativity in terms of story and scenery, it makes up for in characters. The bit-of-a-drunk male lead with daddy issues, the overzealous, young female reporter, the older, disgruntled animal coroner who’s into her…I could go on and on. The characters need some fleshing out and need to figure out what makes them special. Why should we care about them? Because right now I really don’t - and this show isn't all about the animals after all! Zoo is also struggling with its special effects and CGI. In a time where it feels like half the shows that air are about super heroes, you’d think good TV special effects would be a bit more easy to come by. I certainly hope when CBS airs Supergirl in the fall they bring a better effects game than Zoo.

I’m giving this show a lot of free passes in terms of believability. TV is supposed to be fun and I’m not trying to overthink this one. Obviously, there are a lot of things happening that are completely ridiculous. For now, it doesn’t detract from the show too much so I’ll just take it for what it is - an hour of enjoyment in front of the TV.

Did you have a roarin’ good time watching Zoo, or did you turn into the Cowardly Lion at just the thought of something like this happening in real life? Let me know your thoughts on the premiere and if you’ll be sticking around in the comments! Thanks for reading!

About the Author - Kate Sidwell

Kate is a 24 year old, USA based, Psychology/Public Health Researcher - but that’s just her day job! In her spare time she is an avid TV watcher (some may even say addict!!). Some of her favorite shows are Jane the Virgin, Bates Motel, The Flash, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Rookie Blue, Silicon Valley, Beauty and the Beast, Sleepy Hollow, The 100, The Mindy Project, Pretty Little Liars, Once Upon a Time, The Royals, Orphan Black…so pretty much too many to count and a huge variety! She’ll give pretty much any show a chance! She also devotes a lot of time to her tumblr (eat-sleep-breathe-tv.tumblr.com) where you can find her reviewing and commenting on most of these shows and just generally fangirling! She’s excited to be writing for SpoilerTV on Complications, Baby Daddy, Proof, Switched at Birth, Secrets and Lies, and Minority Report!

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