The Strain Episode 1 Recap: CDC Battles Vampiry Parasitic Worms (Season Premiere)

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The scene opens with a plane from Berlin landing at JFK. There is no movement aboard. And that is because... cue suspenseful music... almost everyone is dead. An unidentified biological agent has mysteriously killed all but four of the passengers.

But have no fear, the CDC will figure out what happened and save the world. I find myself wanting to work for the CDC. They have lots of cool gadgets. Where can I get one of those HAZMAT/space suits? They're also very good at branding themselves. Notice "CDC" stamped all over everything. Their employees apparently dont have personal lives (Ephraim's wife is divorcing him and taking custody of their son because Eph works too much). Somehow I have the suspicion that working at the CDC is not as exciting as "The Strain" or "World War Z" or "Contagion" would have us think. You guys are still doing a great job though. Keep it up!

Anyway back to the story. Ephraim and Nora discover a nine foot tall intricately carved box (can you say coffin?) that was in the plane's cargo hole. So they just open the box. They dont even put on their HAZMAT suits or even gloves. HELLO!!! Inside the "cabinet" they find dirt. There is also a latch INSIDE the box. Nothing suspicious here. Time to move on.

We meet Abraham who is a bad ass octogenarian. He has some strange creature that looks like a heart with tentacles. He feeds it blood. Maybe it's Audrey from "Little Shop Of Horrors". Abraham heads to the airport. He tells the CDC people that everyone on the plane (both dead and alive) must be destroyed. And the heads must be separated from the bodies. He also knows about the coffin. It must NOT be allowed to cross the river. Unfortunately no one listens to Abraham. If I was there Abraham, we would have done exactly what you said. Of course, we'd have no show to watch but we wouldn't have any stinkin' vampires either.

Nora and Ephraim are still investigating. They find some worm type parasites in the plane. These could be the culprits. They call over to the coroner's office where he's autopsying the bodies. The Soon-To-Be-Dead-Pathologist finds something has punctured everyone's carotid arteries. The organs of the dead also seem to regenerate. And in the worst possible way for a coroner to go, all the dead surround him and eat him to the tune of "Sweet Caroline". Eeeeek, that gave me the heebie jeebies.

Across town, the evil Stonehart Group, Eldrich and Thomas are busy masterminding what appears to be the spreading vampire infection. The want to get that coffin across the bridge STAT. Are those two already dead or just really, really eccentric?

I'm happy that we at least got a glimpse of the vampire creature in episode 1. It is one strange looking thing. I'm not even sure how to describe it. I am positive I dont want to run into it. And what's up with this voice over about love? What does that have to do with vampires and parasitic worms?

Favorite Quotes:

"This is bad, really bad. We've got ourselves a dead airplane."- Bishop
"Lines have been crossed."- Eph
"Yes I miss breathing sometimes."- Thomas. Haaa, that was hilarious.
"How did the old man know about the coffin?"- Nora. "You mean that cabinet?"- Ephraim. Yes Eph. That is a very large cabinet created by the Amish for a nice Satanic family.
"Love is going to guide them all back. Love is our grace. Love is our downfall."- Abraham
"I look out on this island and I savor what it is to become."- Eldrich

Grade: 3 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). I didnt have high expectations but was pleasantly surprised. If you're in the market for a few good shocks (like the creepy coroner scene) than this Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hagan produced/written show might be for you. Just dont expect any high brow story telling. This is good old fashioned horror.