Dead ‘Cast Top 5

Each episode we give our top five favorites on matters related to the zombie world. And we read or play top fives submitted by listeners.

Jason:
3. The gap between the rich and the poor
2. Blindly following our daily routines
1. Natural disaster

Karen
5. Modern life
4. Fear – of disease, illness, chaos, etc.
3. Society – common cause and collective action
2. Family – kidding!
2. Community
1. Disaster

Episode 32: Don’t Forget to Kill Phillip (published June 4, 2011)
Top five people I’d want with me in the zombie apocalypse:
Jason:
5.  My smart, easygoing, guitar-playing friend Chad
4.  My adventurous, daring, handy, fun friend Rich
3.  US olympic soccer gold medalist Heather Mitts
2.  Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and grappling world champion Kyra Gracie
1.  My wife Jenny w/ son in-utero

Karen:
5.  My fiance David
4.  Jon Stewart
3.  Barak Obama
2.  Douglas Murray, San Jose Sharks defender
1.  Some random red shirt dude

Episode 31: We’re Alive (Really. We Are.) (published May 20, 2011)
Top five favorite comics:
Jason:
5.  Peter David’s Hulk
4.  Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz’s New Mutants
3.  Grant Morrison’s New X-Men
2.  The Walking Dead
1.  Chris Claremont’s Uncanny X-Men (1970s-90s)

Karen:
3.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2.  The Tick
1.  Maus, Parts 1 & 2

Episode 30: Groovy Time. (published April 23, 2011)
TOP 5 most embarrassing ways for a zombie to die
Karen:
5. Mistakenly shamble off cliff.
4. Little girl gets lucky shot.
3. Haiku: 
Embarrasing death
Zombie stung by a bee – d’oh!
Still allergic.
2. Haiku again:
Hey! There’s Ed and Shaun!
With their record collection?
Thwack! Death by Sade.
1. Haiku yet again:
Zombie gorges on
obese Americans. Dies
of Diabetes.

Jason:
5. While hunkered over it’s prey, eating brains, a bunch of unnoticed house cats eat it from behind
4. Eaten by a werewolf
3. Worms
2. Slips on banana peel, impaled on fence post
1. Shot by a catapult up an elephant’s butt
Honorable mention: Head smashed by clown mallet

Episode 29: We Get Bit. (published April 8, 2011)
Top 5 Things We’d Do If We Got Bit:
Jason:
5.  Say #@%$!
4.  Say my goodbyes
3.  Give an inspirational speech
2. Have someone blow my brains out
1. Eat brains
Honorable mention: Bite Karen.

Karen:
5. Cry, curl up in fetal position.
4. Cut off infected limb.
3. Go far, far away.
2. Call David to say goodbye; regret that I died before I got married but cheered up by getting to see SF Giants win World Series.
1. Misjudge how long I still had left as a human, turn into a zombie and eat my cat. :)

Episode 28: Here Boy! Play Dead! Good zombie. (published Sat, Mar 26, 2011)
Top 5 ways we think the world would actually react to a zombie outbreak:
Karen:
5. Botched military operation.
4. Corporate takeover
3. Repress/control the masses
2. Enslavement of the zombies
1. Charismatic leader rises up to lead rebellion.

 Jason:
5. After a short panic, people would quickly deal – there’d be no apocalypse
4. Martial law would be declared in breakout regions
3. Lots of best practices for dealing with zombies would be developed
2. Politicians would use it to their advantage
 1. Zombie extermination would be corporatized

Episode 27: Zombie Kitten from Hell (published Sun, Mar 13, 2011)
Top 5 favorite ways to see a zombie die:
Max Brallier:
5. Steamroller crushing them
4. Stripper swinging around stripper pole with sword, decapitating them
3. Shotgun in the face
2. Plowing through them with a snowplow
1.  Sniper rifles are always fun

Karen:
5. Daryl’s Baseball Bat swing to knock off zombie’s head outside of CDC in Walking Dead Season Finale
4. Helicopter scene in 28 Weeks Later
3. Shaun of the Dead – Record toss in backyard
2. Zombieland – Zombie Clown kill with mallet
1. Dawn of the Dead (2004) Sniper rifle celebrity look-alike kills

Jason:
1. Blow em up
2. Zombie fight
3. Fire
4. Chainsaw
5. Close range shotgun blast to the head
Honorable mentions:
• Columbus whacks clown zombie with carnival sledgehammer
• From Can You Survice the Zombie Apocalypse – strippers with samurai swords

Episode 26: Fun With Razor Wire (published Fri, Feb 25, 2011)
Top 5 podcasts:
Karen:
5. WNYC’s Radiolab
4. Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack
3. Fresh Air with Terri Gross
2. A Year in Europe (Scott and Sheryl)
1. Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me
Honorable mention: This American Life

Jason:
5.  House to Astonish
4.  New Yorker: The Political Scene
3.  KCRW’s The Treatment
2.  NPR: Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!
1.  This American Life
Honorable mentions:
• Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack
• Leo Laporte’s MacBreak Weekly (also listen to Windows Weekly)
• NPR: Fresh Air
• Radiolab
• Word Balloon
• The Caucus (New York Times political podcast)

Episode 25: It’s ALIVE!!!!! (published Wed, Feb 16, 2011)
Top 5 rules for surviving in Zombieland:
Karen:
5. Sensible Shoes
4. Carry snacks and Stay Hydrated
3. Watch your back
2. Remember: She’s not your mom anymore
1. Scale back expectations

Jason:
5. Be OCD
4. Look out for your friends
3. Train on your off hours
2. Travel with low-key, humble people
1. Be flexible and adaptable

Episode 24: 2 Weeks Later (published Sat, Jan 29, 2011)
Top 5 zombie movie characters:
Karen:
5. Shaun, Shaun of the Dead
4. Ash in Evil Dead II
3. Tallahassee in Zombieland
2. Zombie baby in Dawn of the Dead (2004)
1. Glenn in The Walking Dead

Jason:
5. Jeremy Renner (Sgt. Doyle) in 28 Weeks Later
4. Columbus (Jessie Eisenberg) in Zombieland
3. Ana (Sarah Polley) in Dawn of the Dead
2. Shaun (Simon Pegg) in Shaun of the Dead
1. Glenn!
Honorable mention:
• C.J. from Dawn of the Dead
• Rose McGowan’s Cherry Darling from Robert Rodriguez’ Planet Terror.
• Ben from the 1990 Night of the Living Dead
• Bubb the Zombie from Day of the Dead
• Tarman, the creepy skeleton-head zombie from Return of the Living Dead

Episode 23: Who? (published Sat, Jan 15, 2011)
Top 5 TV shows ever:
Jason:
5.  Freaks and Geeks
4.  Sopranos
3.  Lost
2.  Seinfeld
1.  Six Feet Under

Karen:
5. In Search of…. (with Leonard Nimoy)
4. True Blood
3. Arrested Development
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
1. LOST

David:
6. Hard Knocks
5. MadMen
4. The Sopranos
3 .Columbo
2. Firefly
1. Doctor Who….including the original

Episode 22: You (published Tue, Jan 4, 2011)
Top 5 things we’d do if we were zombies and there were no people around to eat:
Karen:
5. Eat other zombies – new ones, not old and moldy
4. Blood bank!  Hospital, morgue freezer
3. Earthquake food kit
2. Animals (but not my kitten)
1. Soy!  It’s full of protein.  Soy: The Other White Milk.

Jason:
5. Eat a deer
4. Go to a hole-in-the wall Mexican place and get some brain tacos
3. Meditate and learn to ignore desire
2. Walk Into the ocean
1. Shoot myself in the head
Honorable mentions:
• Try to find humans
• Say “Uhhhhh!!!!” a lot
• If I was from The Walking Dead TV show, stand in formation and wait for some dumbass to come along and make some noise.

Episode 10: Ready….. Set….. (published Thur, Oct 28, 2010)
Top 5 things we’re looking forward to in The Walking Dead:
Jason:
5. Glen, Andrea, Michonne, the governor
4. The Prison
3. Rick’s slow decline into chaos
2. I hope they kill off main characters
1. Seeing zombies

Karen:
5. Jim turning into a zombie
4. Casting, especially Glenn, Rick, and Lori
3. How they depict Atlanta
2. Being surprised by things that aren’t in the comic
1. The zombies

Episode 9: Be VERY Scared (published Sat, Oct 9, 2010)
Top 5 things we’ll do after the coming zombie apocalypse:
Vicki:
5. Get guns (or flamethrower) and ammo
4. Put on protective clothing
3. Gather food and water
2. Find at least one companion
1. Go somewhere secluded

Jason:
5. Pack for camping, except also with weapons
4. Get out of San Francisco
3. Keep an eye out for humans to gather in my group
2. Build a society somewhere
1. Try to have fun with it

Karen:
5. Don’t panic
4. Get weapons
3. Grab sensible shoes
2. Find an SUV or Humvee
1. Go rescue loved ones

Episode 8: Be VERY Scared (published Mon, Sep 27, 2010)
Top 5 scariest movies:
Jason:
Honorable mention: Dances with Wolves
5. Jaws
4. Halloween
3. Phantasm
2. Paranormal Activity
1. The Blair Witch Project

Karen:
5. Paranormal Activity
4. The Sixth Sense
3. Amityville Horror
2. The Ring
1. The Blair Witch Project

Episode 6: Chad the Cad (published Fri, Sep 10, 2010)
Top 5 weapons to use against a zombie:
Jason:
Honorable mention: A nuke
5. Acid
4. Dogs
3. Shotgun
2. A sword
1. Kindness, or a basic club with a wrist strap.

Karen:
5. Sports equipment
4. Chainsaw
3. Guns and various artillery
2. Bow and arrow
1.Samurai sword/machete

Chad:
5. Scythe or tree trimmer
4. Sword or scimitar
3. Shovel or ho
2. Shotgun/rifle/handgun
1.  Banjo

Episode 5: All-Time Zombie Favs (published Sat, Sep 4, 2010)
Top 5 favorite zombie properties:
Jason:
Honorable mentions: 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Evil Dead 2
5. Shaun of the Dead
4. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
3. The Walking Dead (comic)
2. Night of the Living Dead (1990)
1. Resident Evil 2 (game)

Karen:
5. 28 Days Later
4. Night of the Living Dead
3. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
2. Tie: Shaun of the Dead/Zombiland
1. Evil Dead 2

Doug (top 5 horror anime series):
5. XXXHolic
4. Okami Kakushi
3. Occult Academy
2. Mouryo no Hako
1. Kurozuka

Episode 3: It’s People (published Sat, Aug 14, 2010)
Top 5 mistakes never to make around a zombie:
Jason:
5. Never assume a zombie is out of commission.
4. Never let a friend who’s been bitten live.
3. Never not have someone stay up all night as a lookout.
2. Never smell like a human.
1. Never go near one.

Karen:
5. Don’t go and check out any strange noises.
4. Don’t withhold information from each other.
3. Don’t be too happy. The giddy ones get it first.
2. Don’t assume that the obvious problem is the only or worst problem.
1. When someone says something about zombies or the undead or even “they’re coming,” even if they look like a whack job, take it seriously.

Episode 2: Gak! (published Sat, July 31, 2010)
Top 5 things you like about zombies:
Jason:
5. They’re all your former friends and neighbors. Twisted.
4. They force people to interact without usual societal buffers.
3. I like how they move, especially the slow ones.
2. They make cool sounds.
1. They’re like a force of nature.

Karen:
5. Besides the moaning, they are nice and quiet.
4. They are pretty up-front with their demands. No hidden agenda!
3. I have a slight limp which is less noticeable when surrounded by all those zombies lurching.
2. They make me look good by comparison.
1. Awesome movies and TV shows get created around them.

5. Rampant Consumerism
4. The horrors of war