Reviews

I slept on this for a while even though it was constantly in my feed and I love survival shows. I wish I'd have listened to my gut and removed this one from the feed. It's not survival at all. It's a show where there are "no rules"... Except there obviously are. They are in Alaska which is in the USA so of course you cannot lay hands on each other especially when it's all being filmed. They allow the "contestants" to steal and vandalize the camps of others with no repercussions which is probably the most annoying part of the show. In the real world, perhaps especially, in the wilderness, if you steal someone's sleeping bags and vandalize their camp, there will be painful repercussions. It's a joke and a bad show. Either put some rules in place or take it somewhere outside the U. S. A where you really can have a no rules, survival of the fittest game.

I love cooking competitions, but I was immediately skeptical of this one because it seemed more focused on the drama, backstabbing, and alliance aspects of a reality show than on the cooking. However, I wanted to give it a fair shot because there were some genuinely good challenges and good chefs. Unfortunately in the end, the winner was the more popular chef rather than the better chef and the judges essentially admitted that. Both chefs were likeable and unlike many of the other contestants actually had integrity. Going into the finale I did not have a clear favorite. Both chefs created quality dishes, but ultimately one chef strongly outperformed the other, but the judges did not base their decision on the food and they outright said it. They chose the person who "wears their heart on their sleeve" and "showed the most growth". I cannot recommend the show and I certainly won't watch another season.

What I really liked about this zombie show was the realism. Unlike "The Walking Dead" where the zombies stumble along at a snails pace and one marine with a K bar could literally clear an entire state, these zombies moved fast. They were an actual threat and not easily killed. Hitting a head shot on a sprinting target is hard enough, but when that target is a crazed human sprinting toward you, well forget about it. I hope you brought a shotgun.

This show really captured the difficulty in killing such a creature before it kills you. It also really captured the desperation of the people. The lying, stealing, killing, and sexual favors felt realistic. It was not without its flaws though. What "The Walking Dead" lacked in threatening zombies and realistic human behavior, it made up in with great characters. Most are gone at this point and the show is basically trash, but those characters carried it for many seasons. "Black Summer" doesn't have any great characters.

Some reviewers claim it has no plot which isn't really true. As with any zombie flick, the general idea is survival, but this one also has the mother trying to reunite with her daughter and everyone else attempting to reach a government safe zone which is probably a realistic human response under the circumstances. Some reviewers claim that most of the characters are idiots. I don't disagree, but have you spent much time around people? I thought it was quite realistic. The episode with the school was quite terrible as others have pointed out and I won't defend it, but overall I found the show far more enjoyable than the last season of "The Walking Dead". It's certainly worth a watch if you are into zombies.