Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Zoo: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Who let the dogs out?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 14, 2015

What does everyone love that nobody wants? The apocalypse, of course. Today's entertainment landscape -- filmed entertainment and the written word both -- is bursting at the seams with stories of the end times in some form or fashion, whether alien invasion, the walking dead, or generalized gritty survival in a post-apocalyptic landscape. But none of that is really all that relatable. It makes for enthralling fantasy and escapism of the most dour kind, but who in the audience can really understand on a deep, fundamental, personal level what it all really means? Zoo aims to remedy that, to make the burgeoning apocalypse something tangible, something identifiable, even as it's totally unbelievable. Zoo comes from the mind of novelist extraordinaire James Patterson and tells the story of a world that's gradually overrun by animals -- bats, bears, cats, dogs, lions, tigers, and, oh my, everything else everyone has seen at the zoo or in a nature documentary -- and man's frantic struggle to survive in a world where the food chain has suddenly turned upside down.

Kitty kitty!

Jackson Oz (James Wolk) and Abraham Kenyatta (Nonso Anozie) are African Safari guides who begin to piece together a shifting climate in the animal kingdom. Various animal species are behaving not so much erratically but certainly out of character and displaying a tighter cohesion and singular focus against man than ever before. It's something Jackson's father had long theorized and it seems now to be coming to fruition. An attack leaves Abraham seemingly dead, but it appears his animal attackers have kept him alive to spread a message of man's impending doom. Meanwhile, Jackson manages to rescue a young French intelligence operative named Chloe Tousignant (Nora Arnezeder) from animal attack. Halfway around the world in Los Angeles, animal attacks are on the rise, even amongst those creatures that have long since become accustomed to life in the zoo and casual interactions with human handlers. Other oddities are afoot as well, including a strange, mass disappearance of common house cats. A reporter named Jamie Campbell (Kristen Connolly), who believes that a corporation called Reiden Global may be responsible for the shifting and increasingly dangerous animal behavior, teams up with a veterinary pathologist named Mitch Morgan (Billy Burke) to sort out what's happening to the animals, why, and what their new, aggressive behavior could mean for the future of mankind.

Zoo works as well as it does because of its relatable hook, but it's also a solid show in every area of concern. First, and most importantly, is that Zoo -- which Author James Patterson describes as a marriage between himself, Michael Crichton, and Stephen King -- hooks the audience and never relents. The show moves at a very fast pace. The global scale gives it a broader reach than most shows but more than that is Zoo's ability to unfold its story quickly and succinctly and with ever-evolving detail: new knowledge, new obstacles, new fears. It always keeps the characters in some form of peril -- be it immediate physical peril, budding emotional confusion, or slow-burn psychological upheaval -- and the audience on its toes. Every episode engenders a desire on the audience end to see more, learn more, dig deeper with the characters, explore the ins and outs and hows and whys behind it all. Essentially, Zoo knows how, and when, to push the right buttons to keep itself fresh on all fronts. It's not just "animal attack of the week" but a very deep and detailed story of the world turning upside down at the hands -- the paws -- of a refreshing and relatable nemesis.

"Knowing" and "survival" seem to be in an animal's DNA. They react before an earthquake. They escape calamity before it hits. They flock to a food or water source. They may lack the things that make humans human -- complex communication skills, opposable thumbs, morality, even a soul -- but their instincts are in many ways more keen, more controlled, more aware of the fundamentals of life and living. That's why the show works so well on a dramatic level. It takes animals' inherent strengths and doesn't heighten them but rather compliments them with an unseen ability to communicate, to knowingly push back against real and perceived injustice, and kick that survival instinct into a much higher gear. What the series lacks in crude believability it more than makes up for in frightening plausibility in what is perhaps the ultimate "what if" scenario. It also works well because the filmmakers make use of real animals at every opportunity. Real bears swipe, real tigers snarl, real lions roar, real teeth protrude. Digital effects are not used sparingly, but they're used smartly. Some of the more obvious effects -- swarms of birds or bats, for example, that would be impossible to control in real life -- stand out, but the complimentary and abundant use of real animals more than makes up for any understandable use of midrange CGI. Couple that with a terrific human cast and and the well-developed characters the actors portray and Zoo stands apart as one of 2015's finest network shows.

Zoo: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Zoo: Season One's 1080p transfer is impressive all the way around. African terrain elements are wonderfully crisp and finely detailed, down to the finest stalks of grass, textured terrain, trees, and other natural objects. Cityscape details are equally impressive. Urban details like concerts and brick are presented with fantastic tactile appearance. Clothes are rugged and finely textured and faces reveal all of the common, intimate details with ease. Animal fur is also very well defined in close-up shots. Colors are fine, whether the more earthy shades in Africa and the beige-heavy manmade objects and materials or brighter clothing and environmental support colors in urban areas. The palette is diverse and well defined across the board. Black levels don't stray too far from natural and flesh tones are fine under various lighting and environmental constraints and influences. Minor banding and noise stretch throughout the series but never to a seriously debilitating extent. Overall, this is a rock-solid TV release.

Zoo: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Zoo: Season One's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack delivers across the board. The series begins with a nicely enveloping African atmosphere. Every speaker in the 5.1 configuration offers an extended range of sound that recreates the wide-open Botswana plains with a realistic feel. City ambient effects are a little more dense and very much alive, making good use of the surrounds and effortlessly recreating the various environments. Music is well defined, with a good, full-on surround support, clearly defined notes, and a solid low end. Action effects are delivered with satisfying stage presence. A lion's roar, for example, is deep and throaty and kind of scary. A prop plane buzzes with substantial, but not overwhelming, low end heft. Various crashes and other action-oriented effects spill through the speakers with positive definition and weight. Dialogue dominates the series and plays with natural center placement and no problems with articulation or prioritization. Overall, this is a very good track that supports the series' many attributes -- music, environmental nuance, animal roars, action -- with excellent definition and stage placement.

Zoo: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Zoo: Season One contains deleted and extended scenes on discs one, two, and three and a handful off featurettes on disc four.

Disc One:

• Deleted Scene (1080p, 1:04): Scene from "First Blood."

Disc Two:

• Deleted Scene (1080p, 1:09): Scene from "Sleuths."

Disc Three:

• Deleted/Extended Scenes (1080p, 2:54): Scenes from "The Cheese Stands Alone."

Disc Four:

• Zoo Unleashed: Creating Season One (1080p, 18:50): Cast and crew discuss what makes the book, and the show, appealing; casting the leads; character definition and evolution; cast camaraderie; shooting locations; the rigors of the shoot; and more.
• Distressed to Kill (1080p, 4:51): A closer look at the series' diverse and complex costumes and how they enhance the show to film-quality level.
• Animal Kingdom (1080p, 9:01): Animal Coordinator Mark Forbes and others discuss working with the myriad of live animals on the set and how they benefit the show over CG.
• A Virtual Zoo: Visual Effects (1080p, 5:55): As opposed to the previous supplement, which championed live animal effects, this piece looks at some of the necessary digital additions to Zoo.
• James on James (1080p, 6:37): Author James Patterson sits down with Actor James Wolk to discuss the show.
• Zoo at Comic-Con (1080p, 23:59): Ah, the obligatory "at Comic-Con" piece. Michael Yo hosts an audience Q&A with the show's cast and crew.
• The Animals of Zoo: Real and Imagined (1080p, 3:49): A quick look at working with live animals on the set and filling in a few gaps with visual effects.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 4:25).

Zoo: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Zoo is good, engaging television that leaves the audience wanting more. It blends the fantastical with the relatable about as well anything out there. Real animals on the set with supportive, not dominant, CGI effects only heighten the intensity and believability. The cast is strong and the characters are reasonably well developed. The show works on every level and offers a nice, refreshing spin on "TEOTWAWKI" or "The End Of The World As We Know It," and the end has paws and claws, not gray skin and laser guns or rotting flesh and a hunger for brains. Zoo: Season One delivers excellent video and audio. Supplements include a few deleted scenes and several featurettes. Highly recommended.