'Babylon Fields'—CBS’ Buried Zombie Necrophilia Pilot Unearthed
Zombie sex on CBS.
That is what we missed this fall.
During the development season, CBS’ “Babylon Fields” was considered an early front-runner for greenlight. Granted, “apocalyptic zombie drama” may have sounded like a strange premise for a TV series, but no more so than the rest of CBS’ slate of vampire detectives, kids in ghost towns, musical gamblers and swinger couples.
“Babylon” starred Ray Stevenson, Kathy Baker and Amber Tamblyn. Stevenson was one of a trio of actors from HBO’s stellar “Rome” to land plum roles in fall pilots (the others were Kevin McKidd, the star of NBC’s “Journeyman,” and Polly Walker, who has a supporting role in CBS’ “Cane”).
Even after announcing its “Babylon”-less fall lineup at upfronts, CBS executives held out the possibility of a midseason order. Sadly, “Babylon” missed the final cut. Had the show received a pickup, “Babylon” would have taken CBS’ fall 2007 experimentation phase to a whole new level. “Babylon” just might be the weirdest pilot you have never seen.
The show explores the emotional and societal ramification of loved ones coming back from the dead. You know, like in “Pet Sematary.” But by the end of the episode, the zombie thriller is crossed with a crime procedural. So small-town police detective Stevenson is given a murder to solve while zombies wander the streets. It's “ZSI.”
The “Babylon” brand of zombies are not all moany-stumbly like in most films about the living dead. But they remain, quite clearly, deceased—autopsy scars, open wounds, bad skin, worms, etc. The zombies walk back to their former homes. They talk to their former loved ones. And have sex with them.
We proudly present an all-too-brief look at “Babylon Fields.”
