Dead Set is a British zombie horror miniseries written and created by Charlie Brooker and directed by Yann Demange. The show takes place primarily on the set of a fictional series of the real television show Big Brother. The five episodes, aired over five consecutive nights, chronicle a zombie outbreak that strands the housemates and production staff inside the Big Brother House, which quickly becomes a shelter from the undead.
Dead Set is a production of Zeppotron, part of the Endemol group of production and distribution companies that produces the actual Big Brother. The series first aired on E4 starting on 27 October 2008, just six weeks after the end of Big Brother 2008 on the same channel.
Filming
The Big Brother eye logo featured in Dead Set was described by Brooker as a combination of several of the real logos used throughout the series. The design of the fictional Big Brother set was made to look as authentic as possible - it featured similar cameras, two-way mirrors (which could be angled to avoid revealing the camera crew), astroturf and the actual (albeit slightly modified) Diary Room chair from Big Brother 8. Filming inside the fictional Big Brother set for the first episode was done using Digital Betacam technology, to retain the look and feel of the actual Big Brother series.Filming for the series took place over the summer of 2008, mainly at Longcross Studios and the surrounding areas. The eviction of Pippa (Kathleen McDermott) was filmed at the actual Big Brother House in Elstree, on 18 July 2008 - the same night that Belinda was evicted. Before she left the house, McDermott was placed in the stairwell of the House, and "evicted" in front of the show's live audience. McDermott and Davina McCall had previously shot an improvised "eviction interview". In addition, several former Big Brother housemates appeared as themselves and were filmed chatting to each other as part of a fictional "reunion", before Dead Set's crew members "surprised" them in order to film a shocked reaction.
Scenes featuring McCall as a zombie were filmed in one day, and the bodies lying around the corridor during the scene were created with SFX dummies (besides Eugene Sully's, which McCall is seen feasting on). McCall stated that she was covered in bruises the next day, due to hammering on the door in several scenes. She based her zombie-running style on the T-1000 from the 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgment Day. As she was restricted to only one day's filming, a dummy of McCall was used in some scenes for which she was unavailable.
Filming of the series was found to be difficult, due to budgetary and time constraints. Some extras were redressed to play different zombies due to the cost of the contact lenses used as zombie eyes; and the scene in Episode 2 in which Alex and Riq's car breaks down was originally meant to be an explosive car crash. Brooker cited similar constraints as the reason for the elimination of his original concept for the final episode, which would have been set six months after the outbreak. Many of the zombies featured in the crowd scenes - including the final assault on the house - were volunteers recruited through the internet.
Charlie Brooker himself also has a brief cameo as a zombie in the second episode.
All Things Zombie 3000 Rating - ***** 5 Star Dynamites!
A must binge. Devine McCall is a legend for being apart of this.
