Syfy
We love horror; we love the edge-of-our-seats, don’t-watch-it-with-the-lights-off, scare-the-pants-off-us type of horror. So far, AMC’s The Walking Dead has been our go-to for scares on television, but Syfy’s Helix has tossed their show into the mix. Though showrunner for Helix, Steven Maeda, hates any comparison between the two series, they do fall into the same category. Helix is a dramatic sci-fi thriller series, similar to the zombie hit, but that’s where the comparisons end.
Helix revolves around a group of doctors from the Centers for Disease Control who travel to a research center in the arctic in order to stop an outbreak of an unknown virus. Helix combines the best aspects of a thriller — crazed infected people going on murderous rampages, crawling through the air ducts, and leaping out from the shadows — with all the great staples of drama — conspiracies, lies, and a love triangle (because why not?). Plus the unknown virus has a serious ick factor: in the first episode it turns two scientists into bags full of black goo (cue the dry heaving).
It’s hard not to see the similarities between The Walking Dead and Helix. They both deal with a virus that infects and changes people. However, while The Walking Dead deals with the aftermath of a virus and what it takes to survive that kind of destruction, Helix focuses on the outbreak as well as the struggle to contain and cure the virus. That being said, fans of The Walking Dead are sure to love Helix as well, and vice versa. These are the two best horror dramas TV has to offer at the moment.
