Zombie Research Society
Halloween is quickly approaching, and horror fans are flocking to Netflix to get their zombie fix. But what if you’ve already watched nearly every undead film you can find? Well, don’t worry; we’ve dug deep into the vaults and uncovered nine classic television episodes featuring the walking dead; from classic voodoo zombies to the animated undead!
We’ve included the season and episode number of every classic episode if you’d like to search out these gems on your own. But if you’re already logged into Netflix, simply click on the name of the episode and it should automatically begin. So sit back, relax and enjoy!
VOODOO ZOMBIES:
The classic voodoo zombie was a surprisingly popular subject for television detectives of the 1980s. From the the streets of Little Haiti to Jamaica itself; here are three classic television episodes featuring ancient pagan beliefs, black magic and the walking dead.
Murder, She Wrote – Night of the Tarantula
Season: 6 Episode: 7
Jessica Fletcher visits an old friend at a plantation in Jamaica, where black magic and voodoo run rampant. This episode aired during the controversial sixth season of the popular series which introduced a number of guest detectives. Thankfully, this one features plenty of Angela Lansbury, voodoo drums, and perhaps even a real zombie!
MacGyver – Walking Dead
Season: 7 Episode: 6
MacGyver attempts to foil a kidnapping in Little Haiti, but finds himself in too deep. He also finds himself drugged up and inside a coffin! This episode is a mix of the James Bond classic Live and Let Die, Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom and Wes Craven’s voodoo masterpiece The Serpent and the Rainbow. If you want to see Richard Dean Anderson escape the clutches of a voodoo priest using only rope and a shovel, this one’s for you!
Kolchak, The Night Stalker – The Zombie
Season: 1 Episode: 2
Unlike the other series in this category, Kolchak often ventured into the supernatural. Apparently a voodoo priestess actually raises her grandson from the dead to take revenge on the gangsters who killed him. City officials will deny this, of course. But as Kolchak says; you can see it for yourself… if you’ve got the nerve.
ANIMATED ZOMBIES:
It took a while for zombies to find their way into children’s programming. But these three cartoon episodes each offer an exciting, fun and sometimes scary take on the undead.
Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated – Dance of the Undead
Season: 2 Episode: 18
Of course, we’d prefer a classic episode of Scooby Doo, Where Are You? but this 2013 series has its moments. If you grew up listening to The Aquabats or The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, this tale of a ska band turning their fans into mindless, skanking zombies might hit a little too close to home. But never fear, Scooby and the gang are here!
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Legacy of Terror
Season: 2 Episode: 7
This is one of first episodes of the animated Star Wars series to introduce the undead. If names like Luminara Unduli, Poggle the Lesser and Karina the Great mean anything to you… well, you may have a bigger problem than zombies. But these mind-controlling brain worms kicked off a great story-line for the Star Wars universe; definitely worth your time!
The Batman – Strange New World
Season: 4 Episode: 6
Did Batman v. Superman leave you disappointed, but you’re still excited for Dr. Strange? Then check out this zombie-filled episode of the classic animated series! You might think that The Dark Knight would have his guard up during a zombie apocalypse… but you’d be wrong. Who answers the bat signal at a time like this?
ANTHOLOGY ZOMBIES:
Anthology television or serialized shows were a perfect vehicle for introducing viewers to the undead. The “monster-of-the-week” format often provided a few frightening moments before somehow managing to solve the zombie apocalypse by the end of each episode.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Dead Man’s Party
Season: 3 Episode: 2
Back when Buffy stopped being fun, her mother Joyce acquired a Nigerian mask causing an army of the undead to rise in the town of Sunnydale. Drunk moms, “boy troubles” and a zombie cat… who cares? It’s a little overly dramatic in a teenage, soap opera kind of way. But Whedon-heads love it, and it’s on Netflix. So there you go!
Star Trek: Enterprise – Impulse
Season: 3 Episode: 5
Probably the first actual horror episode on our list, this installment of Enterprise introduced us to zombie Vulcans! Throw your preconceived notions of stuffy, logical aliens out the door. Because Impulse features a crew of the damned out for blood; drifting aboard a derelict ship in the dark expanses of space. This is a close tie for our top spot.
The X-Files – Millennium
Season: 7 Episode: 4
Our number one pick was originally imagined as an X-Files collaboration between author Stephen King and director George A. Romero. Instead, it served as a farewell to the failed spin-off series Millennium. Featuring the fist on-screen kiss between Mulder and Scully, this is the perfect episode for zombie fans to ring in the New Year… or Halloween!