Apparently no one has ever heard of this series, or the
channel it’s on (El Ray), and those few who have aren’t very fond of it. It’s
better than The Walking Dead, in my opinion, because so far half the episodes
haven’t focused on the cast wandering around and arguing about stupid, petty
shit that no one would have time for during a zombie apocalypse. The movie has
a huge cult following, and Robert Rodriguez was smart enough to realize the
further potential for the series, especially among the large Latino demographic
currently under-represented in television, and one that El Ray is aiming at.
While similar to the film, obviously, the series heavily expands on it, adding
new characters, and fleshing out the vague plot details of its predecessor.
A lot of people said they felt the initial episodes were
cheap, but I didn’t really see any of that. Maybe I’m wrong? Doubt it. It’s not
big budget, yet it includes some Tarantino staples, such as Big Kahuna Burger,
real looking locations, from motels to bars and even convenience stores. The
vehicles and costumes look nice, and honestly, the acting and pretty much
everything you can think of are on par with most TV shows on similar channels.
A popular complaint is that the brothers are not like their
movie counterparts. That’s probably
because they are written by different writers and played by different actors
and this isn’t the movie at all. This Seth Gecko (D. J. Cotrona), formerly
played by George Clooney, doesn’t have the same charisma or cool, calm demeanor,
but the series also isn’t a vehicle for him to be the star, so it’s nice that
he doesn’t overshadow the far more disturbed Richie Gecko (Zane Holtz),
formerly played by Quintin Tarantino. George Clooney is an A-List star, so
casting him in a low budget series on a startup network wouldn’t really work
very well. Don Johnson adds a little star power as Texas Ranger Earl McGraw,
although after the first episode he’s little more than a bunch of cameos.
Lesser known Jesse Garcia plays his protégé with big shoes to fill, Freddie
Gonzalez, a family man and modern perception of the knight, tracking down the
Gecko brothers. Robert Patrick takes over where Harvey Keitel left off in Jacob
Fuller, the missionary dad with the RV, and the subplot is less random than
before. Don’t laugh, but Wilmer Valderrama, yes, Fez from That 70’s Show, plays
the sinister Carlos, who is a little more than just a drug lord. Elza Gonzalez
replaces the irreplaceable Salma Hayek as Santanica Pandemonium; we’ll see, but
good luck with that.
Another popular complaint is that the series is a rehash of
the former plot. ……………. No shit! It’s the same damn plot, only expanded,
because it’s called From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series. But the point of the
series was that it had a lot of potential to use the ridiculously large
Mesoamerican mythology the characters were based on. It also heavily draws on
the folk saints and other newer aspects of Catholicism that are very popular in
Spanish-speaking countries. It’s a really interesting culture, especially when
you examine the syncretism of beliefs, and what better way than to attribute
them to bloodthirsty monsters?
The book is better! Fuck off and go read it then. That was a
necessary outburst since, had the film or this series been based off a book, I
would also have to entertain that complaint as well. My point is, if you tune
into The Walking Dead, or any other show that wastes half of the episodes doing
nothing, then you should at least enjoy this, which has better writers, and
better direction. It is interesting to note that outside of, I presume the
United States, the show is a Netflix Original Series.
"The guy behind me will be one of the stars of this show."