The Walking Dead (AMC) [**Spoilers**]

Syferus

iguana wrote: »

So you think Dead Set wasn't really a zombie story for reasons that are similar to the narrative in Romero's Dead films - especially Dawn. Does that mean you don't consider Dawn of the Dead to be a "real" zombie movie? Because many people regard it as the definitive.

I said I don't consider Dead Set a series in the same sense The Walking Dead is a series and that's why the OP's point that it's strange that this is the first time a major, running series has been made centring on a zombie outbreak. No one dared to claim something as ridculious as Romero's series (the original, The Night of the Living Dead, being the very genesis of true zombies) or even Dead Set as not being zombie stories.

I'd go as far as to say Dead Set is perhaps nearer to a film than it is to the The Walking Dead, it was five episodes released daily which were even edited into a 2 and half hour film for Hallowe'en 2009.

The relatively unspoilt realm of tv offers the chance for some different in this genre and that's what's swept away alot of the popular culture zombie outbreak fatigue that I've been feeling.

Richard Dower

I thought it was implied Lori was having an affair with Rick's partner BEFORE the zombies?...in the opening car sequence, that whole scene was the setup for the affair, to give it context and not have the audience wonder how Lori and yer man hooked up, ergo i don't subscribe the the notion that time, be it weeks or months, was the key factor for the affair....it was already happening.

Richard Dower

Syferus wrote: »

I said I don't consider Dead Set a series in the same sense The Walking Dead is a series and that's why the OP's point that it's strange that this is the first time a major, running series has been made centring on a zombie outbreak. No one dared to claim something as ridculious as Romero's series (the original, The Night of the Living Dead, being the very genesis of true zombies) or even Dead Set as not being zombie stories.

I'd go as far as to say Dead Set is perhaps nearer to a film than it is to the The Walking Dead, it was five episodes released daily which were even edited into a 2 and half hour film for Hallowe'en 2009.

The relatively unspoilt realm of tv offers the chance for some different in this genre and that's what's swept away alot of the popular culture zombie outbreak fatigue that I've been feeling.

Yeah, it was just a movie spread over five nights, even the edits/end of each ep. were not natural.

Syferus

Richard Dower wrote: »

I thought it was implied Lori was having an affair with Rick's partner BEFORE the zombies?...in the opening car sequence, that whole scene was the setup for the affair, to give it context and not have the audience wonder how Lori and yer man hooked up, ergo i don't subscribe the the notion that time, be it weeks or months, was the key factor for the affair....it was already happening.

Actually quite an interesting point, though he seemed abnormally interested in his relationship with her, he did reference when he brought Rick the that he'd visited him regularly. You can read that either as guilt or as being best friends or maybe even both.

vibe666

Richard Dower wrote: »

It's probably blowback from the SGU forum, they hate anyone even hinting at cancellation.

unfortunately even some of the best shows are getting cancelled these days, it just a sad fact of life.

Richard Dower

Final numbers for Sundays TWD:

The Walking Dead
- 4.707 million viewers
- 2.6/5 HH
- 2.5/7 A18-49

^ a 2.5 A ratings is nothing short maHOOsive for cable.

J-blk

Really enjoyed that for the most part - yes, not as strong as the pilot, but very good nonetheless. It's interesting how they are weaving in different strands from the comic (the "use guts to smell like the zombies" idea is used later on in the comics, not during Rick's initial stint in Atlanta) but they are making some pretty big changes as well. Most of the characters in the store simply do not exist in the comics at all and there seem to be more people back at the camp. It's probably either to have more zombie fodder or keep people guessing since with the characters in the comics we might already know what happens to them if they stick to the main plot points...

Andrea was also a surprise. They cast older than I expected but that may have been a deliberate decision for the TV show...

senordingdong

I just watched the first two episodes of this and I'm horribly torn.

The first episode was brilliant.
It was very well written and very well put together despite lacking originality.
There was great pacing and great tension throughout, and the visuals are fantastic.

But the second episode nose dived for me.
It became a walking cliche of B movie turn TV show. Bad plot, bad dialogue and even worse acting.

My first instinct would have been that they used a large part of their budget on the pilot and are now stretching out with some filler, but that shouldn't result in a lack of quality on things like the script and acting.

The cynic in me reckons that this is going to be another potentially good show, watered down by a greedy network to appease watersheds and appeal to every possible demographic.

don ramo

senordingdong wrote: »

The first episode was brilliant.
It was very well written and very well put together despite lacking originality.
There was great pacing and great tension throughout, and the visuals are fantastic.

But the second episode nose dived for me.
It became a walking cliche of B movie turn TV show. Bad plot, bad dialogue and even worse acting.

My first instinct would have been that they used a large part of their budget on the pilot and are now stretching out with some filler, but that shouldn't result in a lack of quality on things like the script and acting.

The cynic in me reckons that this is going to be another potentially good show, watered down by a greedy network to appease watersheds and appeal to every possible demographic.

i doubth you could say itll be watered down, there are i believe over 70 of the comics that the show is adapted from, and season one is only 6 episodes long so i cant see them blowing the budget,

i think its inevitable for storys to repeat in this series that have been done in many many films, the key is to make it work for the show, not just do it by the numbers but ensure its addapted to suit the caracters, differnt scenarois alway arise in life and many secenarios recur over and over, each time any person will always take a different path,

honestly i cant recall anything previously of mashing up a zombie and rubbing its guts all over yourself to hide you scent,

i think more recently shows on cable work much better than network shows, carcater wise mostly, the only other AMC show im watching is breaking bad, but i have heard great things about Mad Men and Rubicon, shows that i plan on watching as soon as i get access to the DVDs,

but the main theme for most of these shows is the caracters within them, i love nearly all the carcaters on Breaking Bad, even the minor ones i find are fleashed out fairly well,

also having a director and writer previously involved in things like The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist only go to shows this show will be a very carcater driven show, i wouldnt expect to see zombies every episode, that would deffinately run up the budget, id think theyll show the odd raid here and there and maybe 40 or 50 zombies, but mainly it will be the warm blooded folks in the majority of episodes,

Duggy747

While I didn't expect this to be on-par with the pilot in terms of scope and quality I was still impressed. It did seem to be visually different a small bit and the fat white survivor was a brutal actor, terrible delivery of his lines. I was thinking to myself: "Ah, so he's going to be zombie chow!!"

Still unsure of the Asian actor but I'll give him a chance, don't want him to turn his character into some sort of comic-relief sidekick type.

Overall it was better than expected. I was on the fence as to whether the 2nd episode would be a dramatic decrease in quality but it entertained me. I still like the little variations they do on what appears in the comics, the rubbing guts on themselves being the most notable one.

Plus, the hick they left on the roof is going to fùck some shìt up when he obviously comes back onto the scene (Minus his hand, I bet :pac:)

senordingdong

don ramo wrote: »

i doubth you could say itll be watered down, there are i believe over 70 of the comics that the show is adapted from, and season one is only 6 episodes long so i cant see them blowing the budget,

The amount of comics has nothing to do with whether or not the show will get watered down. My point on this is that instead of writing excellent zombie stories that will appeal to the níche zombie loving audience, they will water down the content to appeal to a broader audience, and make more money off of it.

i think its inevitable for storys to repeat in this series that have been done in many many films, the key is to make it work for the show, not just do it by the numbers but ensure its addapted to suit the caracters, differnt scenarois alway arise in life and many secenarios recur over and over, each time any person will always take a different path,

Yeah I agree, but like I said, the first episode lacked originality too, but was still brilliant. The drop in quality of the second episode resulted in the worlds buggest spot light shinning down on the clíches.

honestly i cant recall anything previously of mashing up a zombie and rubbing its guts all over yourself to hide you scent,

Not exactly the same but the 'scent' thing was touched upon in the 28 Days Later series.
But like I said, the lack of originality doesn't bother me, when the quality of the acting, script, plot and delivery are good.

I will keep watching though.

Syferus

senordingdong wrote: »

The amount of comics has nothing to do with whether or not the show will get watered down. My point on this is that instead of writing excellent zombie stories that will appeal to the níche zombie loving audience, they will water down the content to appeal to a broader audience, and make more money off of it.

This is Frank Darabont we're talking about, correct? Aided by a collection of writers and producers who've proven themselves on some of the best and most uncompromised shows of the last decade, right? Darabont is actually a huge horror fan from what I saw in the 'Making of The Walknig Dead' featurette (that's available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL0OAhq6cpA and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7gYbnspwGg&feature=related ). And this is AMC, home of both Mad Men, a show so elegantly structured that if you missed a single episode you'll probably be lost, and Rubicon, a show so deliberately and carefully paced I'm amazed it even got green-lit.

This isn't 8pm on network sweeps month, it's cable and it's already been renewed for a second season. Give a brother a chance before you jump the gun and make a claim like 'they will water down the content', please.

senordingdong

Syferus wrote: »

Give a brother a chance before you jump the gun and make a claim like 'they will water down the content', please.

I already said I was.

And my comment about the watering down is one that isolated solely within the difference between the first two episodes.

Basq

I have to agree with Syferus there..

If this was network TV on a station like ABC or Fox, your assumptions could be founded.

But this is AMC - a basic cable station with a history of commissioning quite uncompromising, sometimes cryptic and engrossing television programmes.

That, plus there's some serious talent involved.

senordingdong

basquille wrote: »

But this is AMC - a basic cable station with a history of commissioning quite uncompromising, sometimes cryptic and engrossing television programmes.

That, plus there's some serious talent involved.

And while these points have merit, I don't think they dismiss the observations I made about the shift in quality from the first episode to the second.

pixelburp

senordingdong wrote: »

And while these points have merit, I don't think they dismiss the observations I made about the shift in quality from the first episode to the second.

It's going to be a short series - 6 episodes - so more than most shows, we should really take The Walking Dead on its merits across the whole series.

I honestly can't think of a single TV show whose second episode (ever) hasn't been a bit deflating after the first. The nature of "the first episode" means it has to hook us with its best material; throw the mystery out there and leave us wanting more. The discovery of the new is the main enjoyment to be had, so by that very nature, the second episode nearly always disappoints. OK, there were concrete elements I myself didn't like - the racist character mostly - but even so I think my point has merit.

senordingdong

pixelburp wrote: »

It's going to be a short series - 6 episodes - so more than most shows, we should really take The Walking Dead on its merits across the whole series.

I honestly can't think of a single TV show whose second episode (ever) hasn't been a bit deflating after the first. The nature of "the first episode" means it has to hook us with its best material; throw the mystery out there and leave us wanting more. The discovery of the new is the main enjoyment to be had, so by that very nature, the second episode nearly always disappoints. OK, there were concrete elements I myself didn't like - the racist character mostly - but even so I think my point has merit.

We should indeed, and that's why I said I will continue to watch it and see how it pans out.
Your point does have merit, but it's just a procedure that pisses me off, the process of making shows in America is desperatly flawed.

I'm hoping the rest of the series will match the first episode in quality.

listermint

I enjoyed that, and I think it made for good watching. Anticipating next weeks.

RichyX

I'm surprised at how well received the series has been.
It strikes me as derivative, bland, poorly acted with what so far seems to be cliched characters (racist redneck, irrational women etc.).
I'm half expecting the Asian character to pull out a laptop and hack his way out of the zombie infestation.

Rick is so dull that for me he's the least engaging lead in any major show I've seen in years.

Richard Dower

^ ah. we have an Asian kid who i'd bet is tech savvy :-)

youcancallmeal

RichyX wrote: »

I'm surprised at how well received the series has been.
It strikes me as derivative, bland, poorly acted with what so far seems to be cliched characters (racist redneck, irrational women etc.).
I'm half expecting the Asian character to pull out a laptop and hack his way out of the zombie infestation.

Rick is so dull that for me he's the least engaging lead in any major show I've seen in years.

I was just about to post something along the lines of this also. It seems a lot of people loved the comics and have gotten so caught up in the hype of the TV series that they find it easy to look past the imperfections.

I love the style and the attention to detail but the characters really are the weak point so far. Its been so long since I read the comics but from what I remember

most people weren't around too long before they were killed off.

DeWitt

It's official, I love this show. There's only 6 eps in season one though, right?

Duggy747

DeWitt wrote: »

It's official, I love this show. There's only 6 eps in season one though, right?

Yep, there'll be 13 in the 2nd season.

Richard Dower

Second sneak peak at tonights ep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf9K4OP4kEM

groovie

One of the problems is that zombies aren't very compelling as the bad guy. The redneck posed a bigger threat to the group, ironically, because he could think. Episode 2 suffered from that 'oh yeah, zombies' for me at least. It's only six episodes so worth sticking with as it's AMC and Frank thingy and I find Egg very watchable in this, for some unfathomable reason.

Mr E

groovie wrote: »

and I find Egg very watchable in this, for some unfathomable reason.

That kind of statement bugs the bejaysus out of me.... that show ended 13 years ago.

Mr E

Mr E wrote: »

That kind of statement bugs the bejaysus out of me.... that show ended 13 years ago.

Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip's song Rapper's Battle had a great lyric to this effect:

"Like Sean Penn could win 10 Oscars but he'll still be Spicoli"

Dancor

Quick question,

Is it known how long the sheriff lad was in the coma?

ixoy

RichyX wrote: »

I'm surprised at how well received the series has been.
It strikes me as derivative, bland, poorly acted with what so far seems to be cliched characters (racist redneck, irrational women etc.).
I'm half expecting the Asian character to pull out a laptop and hack his way out of the zombie infestation.

Got to sadly agree with this. I was discussing this with a friend and we were both puzzled at some of the praise being lavished on the series when it felt so clichéd at times. It's not as if we're unfamiliar with the genre either - I've watched penty of Romero's zombie movies, for example, and the latest episode reminded me a fair bit of "Left 4 Dead".

Now there were some good moments of tension (the obvious one being when they walked around covered in gore), but the characters are wafer thin and, as of yet, there's not much to the plot. It's far from the sublime "Mad Men" or the carefully crafted "Breaking Bad".

On the strength of AMC's output, I'm going to stick with it and I do like the zombie premise but I await to see if I can understand what the big deal is so far.

Richard Dower

ixoy wrote: »

Got to sadly agree with this. I was discussing this with a friend and we were both puzzled at some of the praise being lavished on the series when it felt so clichéd at times. It's not as if we're unfamiliar with the genre either - I've watched penty of Romero's zombie movies, for example, and the latest episode reminded me a fair bit of "Left 4 Dead".

Now there were some good moments of tension (the obvious one being when they walked around covered in gore), but the characters are wafer thin and, as of yet, there's not much to the plot. It's far from the sublime "Mad Men" or the carefully crafted "Breaking Bad".

On the strength of AMC's output, I'm going to stick with it and I do like the zombie premise but I await to see if I can understand what the big deal is so far.

PAH!....you're not high brow enough to get it!...go back to watching your tween crap! (j/k]

The Black Oil

I'm also a bit perplexed by the level of praise that's been heaped upon it. In part because it's ticking those cliché boxes quite loudly. I'll stick with it for the moment.

RichyX

The Black Oil wrote: »

I'm also a bit perplexed by the level of praise that's been heaped upon it. In part because it's ticking those cliché boxes quite loudly. I'll stick with it for the moment.

There's a lot of good shows on at the moment so I'm giving it 1 more episode to improve.
Fingers crossed tonight's one is decent!

ricero

It's a good tv show better then
Most of the crap being churned out each year by American networks but if your really looking to watch the next big hit American tv show with great characters,storylines and acting I'd recommend boardwalk empire it will premier over here in the new year on sky and it's all ready 7 episodes in online amazing show

Richard Dower

I thought ep. 3 was a BIG step up in quality, on par with the pilot....very tense start when the zombies burst through the door of the roof of the buliding!, also the scenes with Rick and the wife and yer man who's banging her, the looks and facial expressions.

So Ricks partner lied about Rick being dead?....so does that mean they hooked up after he(Rick) was in hospital?, because from the pilot i got the distinct impressiion he was banging Lori before the zombiefication started?

Great end as well, going back into the city + the end, i knew it was coming but it was still well done!, getting to know the dynamics of the camp and it's members was good to see, there's gonna be alot of internal politics and also men vs. women, pissing contests between the men.

Very solid third ep., much improved!

tvnutz

I am enjoying it. I don't think it is amazing or anything,it is not up there with another AMC show such as Breaking Bad in terms of actings,quality writing etc but it isn't terrible.

What I do feel is that it might be the type of thing to watch back to back once all 6 episodes have aired.Today I was enjoying the new episode and was excited to see them go back to Atlanta but I could also see there were only about 15mins left in the episode when they left the camp,so obviously I realised we wouldn't see any of this story until next week,which just took away most of the excitement about the rest of the episode.

iguana

I'd just like to remind everyone who is comparing this show unfavourably to Breaking Bad and Mad Men on the basis that they are all from AMC of this.

Basq

iguana wrote: »

I'd just like to remind everyone who is comparing this show unfavourably to Breaking Bad and Mad Men on the basis that they are all from AMC of this.

In my defence.. I haven't mentioned AMC without mentioning the talent behind the show - Frank Darabont (director of 'The Shawshank Redemption', 'The Green Mile', 'The Majestic' and 'The Mist).

Whereas AMC's 'The Prisoner' was directed by Nick Hurran (who directed umm.. 'Little Black Book', 'It's A Boy Girl Thing' and 'Virtual Sexuality').

Yeah.. no-one saw any of them either?

DeepBlue

Duggy747 wrote: »

Plus, the hick they left on the roof is going to fùck some shìt up when he obviously comes back onto the scene (Minus his hand, I bet :pac:)

You know, you could be right. :pac:

Caliden

Question: Why didnt the guy handcuffed cut through either the handcuff OR the bar he was cuffed to?
The cuffs might have been tempered steel but the bar was most likely just regular steel

Caliden

Caliden wrote: »

Question: Why didnt the guy handcuffed cut through either the handcuff OR the bar he was cuffed to?
The cuffs might have been tempered steel but the bar was most likely just regular steel

He was exhausted, suffering from dehydration and possibly sunstroke. It is unlikely that he was even capable of thinking straight at that point. Added to that the six Zombies that were at the door.

missingtime

Shane beating the crap out of yer man was tough to watch but at the same time he kinda had it coming to him.

Good episode though.

groovie

Mr E wrote: »

That kind of statement bugs the bejaysus out of me.... that show ended 13 years ago.

The show is long since cold, but there was always something about Egg that I found myself drawn to. Perhaps it was his nickname.
Given his s.o. is giving him the runaround in Walking Dead, he's back on familiar territory, isn't he?

Basq

Great episode.. but I did prefer last weeks!

Took me ages to realise where I recognised Daryl Dixon from - Murphy from 'The Boondock Saints'.

Sarah Wayne Callies is still a major weak spot in the central cast that probably has far too many characters, although it'll inevitably be narrowed down in no time given the subject of the show!

Still very much enjoying this!

PS - Andrew Lincoln will never escape the character of Egg, or Simon in 'Teachers'.

Soby

Caliden wrote: »

Question: Why didnt the guy handcuffed cut through either the handcuff OR the bar he was cuffed to?
The cuffs might have been tempered steel but the bar was most likely just regular steel

Was thinking this too.And surely that amount of pain would have put his body into shock.But i guess the fact he was talking to himself meant he wasnt straight in the head at the time

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

Soby wrote: »

Was thinking this too.And surely that amount of pain would have put his body into shock.But i guess the fact he was talking to himself meant he wasnt straight in the head at the time

plus it's alot more dramatic this way

A-Trak

They really should stop with the CGI blood, it really detracts from the reality of it.
The zombies are really well zombied up, why they need to add a really fake splash of cgi blood when they get killed is beyond me.

missingtime

basquille wrote: »

Simon in 'Teachers'.

THANK YOU!!!

Edit: Wont be able to look at him the same way now....

ricero

meryl dixon might be a racist son of a bitch but the man deserves to live after doing that **** to survive

Hootanany

Can you see this on Freeview

don ramo

i suppose he considered it quicker to saw off his hand than cut through the cuffs, the more interesting thing i wondered is where the 4-6 zombies went, dont they normally hang around for a day or two for a warm meal, also where did he run to, was there another way onto the roof, and why didnt the others use that way,

a few slight tv land things to overlook, but otherwise a very good episode, i thought the parts in the camp were good, showing some of the structure there,

shane seems to be holding command of the place for now, dont think the others will think fondly of him when they find out he claimed rick was dead to get into loris panties, leaving it for rick to take over,

darly is the hunter of the group, and like his brother is a total moron, but id say darly would probably be the more level headed one,

the great thing about shows like this is it quiet easy to replace carcaters, thus keeping the production cost down, while always changing the story with new carcaters, im hoping to see lennie james caracter again, i really liked him in jericho, and think he'd make a great carcater on this show,