“Try to floss everyday and don’t forget your sunscreen,” was the advice Russell Hodgkinson decided season 3 Doc would give his season 1 self. It was hard to decide, as “Doc is one of the one characters that really stays pretty consistent through the show,” as Russell told us. “He’s loyal, and he follows his heart.”
While Doc—and to some extent, Russell—hasn’t endured the physical beating this season that he did in the first two seasons of Z Nation, there were more lines for Russell to memorize. Particularly tricky was remembering all the medical terms and drug names he had to use in the season’s sixth episode, “Doc Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” “I had little notes written everywhere,” he shared. “It hasn’t been as physical for me as it was previous seasons. But I’m working harder, because I’ve got more to say, more to do. Just a lot more lines.”
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Speaking of fighting to survive, if the zombie apocalypse were to break out, and the object directly to Russell’s left at the time of the interview were his weapon of choice . . . “If right now it happened, where I’m sitting—right now I’m in my trailer in my backyard, and there’s a black frying pan. A black, cast-iron skillet.” Sounds like he’ll do just fine. Better than Keith Allan (Murphy), at least, whose weapon turned out to be a pair of headphones. And for those of you wondering, while most of Russell’s grandkids are too young to watch Z Nation, his 17-year-old granddaughter and 13-year-old grandson do keep up with it!
Is it too early to start thinking about season 4 (in case you missed it, Z Nation got renewed for a 4th season!)? Nah. Let’s take a look at Russell’s season 4 wish list (Z Nation producers and writers, take note!) :
1) “I would like to re-establish a relationship with Murphy. We had very little interaction in all of the season, and I felt we had established a really nice bond after the first two seasons. Doc’s pretty understanding, and I know that he initially hates Murphy after finding out that he bit 10K, but Murphy was saving 10K’s life. I think the longer Doc sits with that information, the more he’ll come to realize that. He’s very sympathetic to Murphy. Everybody else may just think that he’s the biggest jerk of all, but Doc really got who he was. Murphy didn’t ask to get bit; he didn’t ask to be a guinea pig in this experiment. If the tables were turned, Doc may have reacted the same way.”
2) “I would like to have a more lengthy “Back to the Future” episode with 10K.”
3) “I would like to reconnect with Warren, if possible. I know the character has gotten pretty dark, but maybe they could talk about it. Doc loves her and would want to try to understand where she is coming from. Doc has always counted on her leadership. He needs his ‘Chief’ back.”
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4) “I would like more dream sequences. It would be a great way to introduce ‘Z Nation the Musical,’ doing a play on some famous Broadway hits like ‘West Zide Story,’ or ‘GreaZe.’ We have a very talented cast with a lot of musical theatre experience. It would also be a great way to bring back memorable characters from previous seasons.”
Catch Russell Hodgkinson in the Z Nation season finale, Friday at 9/8c on Syfy—and stay tuned for season 4!