Chapter 2: Dead Men Telling Tales (Season 1)
Welcome to the second installment of my retrospective blog, and today we will be discussing the first season of Resident Evil: The Animated Series, which debuted on March 16, 2000 on FX and ended on May 18 that same year.
The ten episodes and their airdates were as follows....
S1E1: Welcome to S.T.A.R.S (3-16-2000)
S1E2: The Arklay Murders (3-23-2000)
S1E3: Becky's Big Adventure (3-30-2000)
S1E4: The Spencer Mansion (4-6-2000)
S1E5: Stay Alert, Stay Alive (4-13-2000)
S1E6: The Master of Unlocking (4-20-2000)
S1E7: Plant Food (4-27-2000)
S1E8: Once More Onto The Breach (5-4-2000)
S1E9: The Laboratory (5-11-2000)
S1E10: Sic Semper Tyrannis (5-18-2000)
The main cast that year were as follows...
Max Brooks as Chris Redfield
Susan Roman as Jill Valentine
Clancy Brown as Barry Burton
Lara Jill Miller as Rebecca Chambers
Phil Hartman as Albert Wesker
Johnny Hardwick as Enrico Marini
Hank Azaria as Brad Vickers
Derek Stephen Prince as Richard Aiken
Rino Romano as Forrest Speyer
Opening Theme: Layla by Derek & The Dominos (the opening riffs and first verse)
Closing Theme: Layla by Derek & The Dominos (the piano segment in the second half of the song)
The first season was more or less based on the events of the first game and was essentially a fleshed-out retelling of the first game, with some elements borrowed from the cancelled Resident Evil Zero that was planned for the Nintendo 64. It was a fairly short season comprised of ten episodes but it performed like gangbusters and the season finale was among the top ten highest-rated cable programs in its timeslot.
The pilot episode was decent and serves as an introductory episode, focusing on Rebecca Chambers' first day on the S.T.A.R.S unit. It's a fairly mundane episode that only has quick glimpses of the horror that's about to happen and only one real scene of graphic violence near the end of the episode when some punk and goth types partying in an old cemetery close to the mansion are attacked by a group of zombies, but it's good enough of an episode and serves as an introductory episode just fine.
The next two episodes are about Bravo Team's ill-fated mission responding to the attacks and are once again told from the point of view of Rebecca Chambers. The second episode is eerily reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project and other hillbilly horrors as it's mainly set in the woodlands of the Arklay Mountains, and this is when we see more zombies. The zombies in this are mainly a few hobos, the goths and punks from the previous episode's last ending scene and some rednecks who lived out in the woods and the episode's third act mainly take place in a recently abandoned drive-in theater where some of the audience and employees are now zombified, along with a few zombie dogs. Fittingly, the drive-in is playing Night of the Living Dead on the screen, and the editing of the live-action footage from Romero's movie with the mostly animated series is actually done very well. The third episode focuses almost entirely on Bravo Team making their way through an Umbrella warehouse adjacent to the Spencer Mansion, and the third act shows the team finally entering the mansion grounds and the team more or less being forced to split up thanks to a pack of Cerberus that escaped from their kennel
We finally catch glimpses of the mansion with the Bravo Team's surviving members regrouping in the medicine storage room, with Kenneth and Forrest being sent out to scout around the mansion for more clues. The final scene shows Kenneth in a small parlor at the end of the hallway looking back directly at the camera with a startled look in his eyes. The screen cuts to black and a bloodcurdling female scream is heard before the credits.
Episode 4 more or less retells the first act of Resident Evil 1, and the iconic opening scene with Jill, Barry, and Wesker in the front hall is recreated in a decidedly serious and non-cheesy form. Chris is shown making his way in through a broken window as opposed to the front door and everyone's under the assumption that Rebecca is dead since we finally see the fates of Kenneth and Forrest Speyer, although unlike the game, Chris manages to see Forrest alive on the outdoor balcony shortly before the crows attack him and as Forrest is dying, Chris heads in to find Rebecca safe and sound, saying that Enrico gave her the order to stay behind and hold the fort until Alpha Team had finally arrived for backup.
Episode 5 is mainly focused on the mansion segments, but more from Chris's perspective than Jill's, and this is when we finally see the Yawn as well in the show's third act, with Jill fighting it and severely wounding the serpent. Unlike the game, Richard Aiken plays a more prominent role and we even get to see him before he is bitten by Yawn.
Episode 6 and 7 are the guardhouse and courtyard segments and has a few shout-outs to slasher movies with the character of Justin Gump, a redneck hermit and serial killer who is more or less a copy of Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th Part 2 (complete with the pillowcase over his head) and Gump is mainly stalking the survivors and killing zombies and humans alike. We see him get bitten by one of the dogs in the first act of Episode 7, but he shakes it off and when he finally dies in the basement of the guardhouse in the third act, it's revealed he's partially zombified but was early enough in the process that he was still able to use a machete and show some cognitive reasoning. While Chris and Rebecca fight Justin Gump and the Neptune, Barry and Jill deal with Plant 42.
Episode 8 focuses on the escape plan from the mansion and features the death of Enrico Marini partway through the episode's second act, who had been wounded by Justin in the previous episode and dies in the underground tunnels and ducts connecting the mansion basement to a wing of the guardhouse basement. New monsters featured in this episode include Black Tiger, the Web Spinners, Hunters, and even the Ticks from the Sega Saturn version of the first game (they were more or less a reskin of the Hunters, but were insectoid as opposed to reptilian)
Episode 9 and 10 are all about the laboratory and finally figuring out the full story of the T-Virus, the existence of Tyrant T-002 and Wesker's diabolical plan. The tenth episode in particular is a thrill ride with the presumed death of Wesker at the hands of the newly freed Tyrant and Jill and Barry fighting off the creature in the main lab room before meeting up with Chris and Rebecca. The four then secure their escape and set up the self-destruct system to try and prevent further spread of the virus since the explosion will also intentionally set off chain reactions such as a large forest fire and the release of several large canisters containing highly toxic anti-viral and anti-septic chemicals and the third act is a climatic final encounter with the Tyrant followed by the escape from the mansion mere minutes before its destruction. A post-credits scene features a still shot of a gas station at night and audio of a recorded phone call, the voice being Wesker and an unknown benefactor. It's unclear if this call is meant to be before or after the mansion's destruction but Wesker does state that "It is finished, everything is neatly put in place for the plan"
The ten episodes and their airdates were as follows....
S1E1: Welcome to S.T.A.R.S (3-16-2000)
S1E2: The Arklay Murders (3-23-2000)
S1E3: Becky's Big Adventure (3-30-2000)
S1E4: The Spencer Mansion (4-6-2000)
S1E5: Stay Alert, Stay Alive (4-13-2000)
S1E6: The Master of Unlocking (4-20-2000)
S1E7: Plant Food (4-27-2000)
S1E8: Once More Onto The Breach (5-4-2000)
S1E9: The Laboratory (5-11-2000)
S1E10: Sic Semper Tyrannis (5-18-2000)
The main cast that year were as follows...
Max Brooks as Chris Redfield
Susan Roman as Jill Valentine
Clancy Brown as Barry Burton
Lara Jill Miller as Rebecca Chambers
Phil Hartman as Albert Wesker
Johnny Hardwick as Enrico Marini
Hank Azaria as Brad Vickers
Derek Stephen Prince as Richard Aiken
Rino Romano as Forrest Speyer
Opening Theme: Layla by Derek & The Dominos (the opening riffs and first verse)
Closing Theme: Layla by Derek & The Dominos (the piano segment in the second half of the song)
The first season was more or less based on the events of the first game and was essentially a fleshed-out retelling of the first game, with some elements borrowed from the cancelled Resident Evil Zero that was planned for the Nintendo 64. It was a fairly short season comprised of ten episodes but it performed like gangbusters and the season finale was among the top ten highest-rated cable programs in its timeslot.
The pilot episode was decent and serves as an introductory episode, focusing on Rebecca Chambers' first day on the S.T.A.R.S unit. It's a fairly mundane episode that only has quick glimpses of the horror that's about to happen and only one real scene of graphic violence near the end of the episode when some punk and goth types partying in an old cemetery close to the mansion are attacked by a group of zombies, but it's good enough of an episode and serves as an introductory episode just fine.
The next two episodes are about Bravo Team's ill-fated mission responding to the attacks and are once again told from the point of view of Rebecca Chambers. The second episode is eerily reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project and other hillbilly horrors as it's mainly set in the woodlands of the Arklay Mountains, and this is when we see more zombies. The zombies in this are mainly a few hobos, the goths and punks from the previous episode's last ending scene and some rednecks who lived out in the woods and the episode's third act mainly take place in a recently abandoned drive-in theater where some of the audience and employees are now zombified, along with a few zombie dogs. Fittingly, the drive-in is playing Night of the Living Dead on the screen, and the editing of the live-action footage from Romero's movie with the mostly animated series is actually done very well. The third episode focuses almost entirely on Bravo Team making their way through an Umbrella warehouse adjacent to the Spencer Mansion, and the third act shows the team finally entering the mansion grounds and the team more or less being forced to split up thanks to a pack of Cerberus that escaped from their kennel
We finally catch glimpses of the mansion with the Bravo Team's surviving members regrouping in the medicine storage room, with Kenneth and Forrest being sent out to scout around the mansion for more clues. The final scene shows Kenneth in a small parlor at the end of the hallway looking back directly at the camera with a startled look in his eyes. The screen cuts to black and a bloodcurdling female scream is heard before the credits.
Episode 4 more or less retells the first act of Resident Evil 1, and the iconic opening scene with Jill, Barry, and Wesker in the front hall is recreated in a decidedly serious and non-cheesy form. Chris is shown making his way in through a broken window as opposed to the front door and everyone's under the assumption that Rebecca is dead since we finally see the fates of Kenneth and Forrest Speyer, although unlike the game, Chris manages to see Forrest alive on the outdoor balcony shortly before the crows attack him and as Forrest is dying, Chris heads in to find Rebecca safe and sound, saying that Enrico gave her the order to stay behind and hold the fort until Alpha Team had finally arrived for backup.
Episode 5 is mainly focused on the mansion segments, but more from Chris's perspective than Jill's, and this is when we finally see the Yawn as well in the show's third act, with Jill fighting it and severely wounding the serpent. Unlike the game, Richard Aiken plays a more prominent role and we even get to see him before he is bitten by Yawn.
Episode 6 and 7 are the guardhouse and courtyard segments and has a few shout-outs to slasher movies with the character of Justin Gump, a redneck hermit and serial killer who is more or less a copy of Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th Part 2 (complete with the pillowcase over his head) and Gump is mainly stalking the survivors and killing zombies and humans alike. We see him get bitten by one of the dogs in the first act of Episode 7, but he shakes it off and when he finally dies in the basement of the guardhouse in the third act, it's revealed he's partially zombified but was early enough in the process that he was still able to use a machete and show some cognitive reasoning. While Chris and Rebecca fight Justin Gump and the Neptune, Barry and Jill deal with Plant 42.
Episode 8 focuses on the escape plan from the mansion and features the death of Enrico Marini partway through the episode's second act, who had been wounded by Justin in the previous episode and dies in the underground tunnels and ducts connecting the mansion basement to a wing of the guardhouse basement. New monsters featured in this episode include Black Tiger, the Web Spinners, Hunters, and even the Ticks from the Sega Saturn version of the first game (they were more or less a reskin of the Hunters, but were insectoid as opposed to reptilian)
Episode 9 and 10 are all about the laboratory and finally figuring out the full story of the T-Virus, the existence of Tyrant T-002 and Wesker's diabolical plan. The tenth episode in particular is a thrill ride with the presumed death of Wesker at the hands of the newly freed Tyrant and Jill and Barry fighting off the creature in the main lab room before meeting up with Chris and Rebecca. The four then secure their escape and set up the self-destruct system to try and prevent further spread of the virus since the explosion will also intentionally set off chain reactions such as a large forest fire and the release of several large canisters containing highly toxic anti-viral and anti-septic chemicals and the third act is a climatic final encounter with the Tyrant followed by the escape from the mansion mere minutes before its destruction. A post-credits scene features a still shot of a gas station at night and audio of a recorded phone call, the voice being Wesker and an unknown benefactor. It's unclear if this call is meant to be before or after the mansion's destruction but Wesker does state that "It is finished, everything is neatly put in place for the plan"