The Returning Dead, Once Again

Tonight (March 9) ABC brings us Resurrection, the tale of a small town where the long dead return after many years as if nothing had happened.  Here is the trailer and the ABC write-up:

The people of Arcadia, Missouri are forever changed when their deceased loved ones suddenly start to return. An 8-year-old American boy wakes up alone in a rice paddy in a rural Chinese province with no idea how he got there. Details start to emerge when the boy, who calls himself Jacob, recalls that his hometown is Arcadia, and an Immigration agent, J. Martin Bellamy, takes him there. The home he claims as his own is occupied by an elderly couple, Henry and Lucille Langston, who lost their son, Jacob, more than 30 years ago. While they look different, young Jacob recognizes them as his parents. Those closest to the family try to unravel this impossible mystery — but this boy who claims to be the deceased Jacob knows secrets about his own death that no one else knows. 

Hal Boedeker in the Orlando Sentinel noted that ABC is in need of resurrection:

ABC has tossed “Resurrection” into perhaps the most difficult time slot where it will face the wildly popular “Walking Dead.” But the zombies don’t have a monopoly on thrills, and Arcadia certainly merits several visits, based on the first two episodes.

You may be saying to yourself, "Hasn't this story been told before?" The answer is yes.  The French beautifully told this tale in a show called The Returned, which was later picked up by the Sundance network for U.S. viewing.  The Returned begins with the appearance of a young girl killed in a school trips years earlier.  It is worth checking out if you have not already done so.  Yes, it is subtitled, but the acting is superb and the intertwining story-lines make it a memorable show.  The French are already working on season two, and A&E is thinking of its own version of this French thriller. 

And just last year BBC America had a separate series called In the Flesh, where former flesh-eating zombies were cured and reintegrated with their families with, shall we say, mixed results.  This British import was a very dark comedy that was part social commentary on our ability to accept a whole new group of "outsiders" into our living rooms.  Think of it as The Walking Dead where all the zombies simply say "sorry about that" and want to go out for a beer.  Yeah, creepy in that way.  And the Brits are already working on season two as well.

So, you have plenty of shows to keep you company late at night as the house creaks and you think of long-lost Aunt Mildred.  Wait, was that the doorbell?