[TV] The Walking Dead

Oh yeah. THIS is what Walking Dead is all about. Loved how people were going on (not just here) about how no one'd been really killed yet by a zombie. No big slaugthers.

Be careful what you wish for. :D The comic series is ALL about that. There was a long stint where they were in one place for the longest time, people kept wanting the excitement back and boy did they regret asking for that.

BEST. SERIES. EVER!
 
Ok, over the course of the episode this bugged me significantly but the resolution had me giving Kirkman (who wrote this episode) significant kudos.

The gangbangers who want the guns. Talking all gangsta. Threatening our 'heroes'. They end up being nursing staff from the local hospital where they've holed up with a bunch of seniors trying to keep the seniors alive. They've been through some scraps themselves and their positioning was just a way to give the impression of being more imposing than they were. They knew that they really wouldn't have stood a chance against the heroes group.
Talk about turning the stereotype on its head, even with the stereotypical casting of some of the players.

Amy's death
is almost verbatim from the comic. Gotta remember these zombies can be fairly quiet and sneak up on you, especially in the dark.
 
Only the big guy and the leader were staff at the rest home and only the big guy had any medical training. Everybody else were ether people who came in to check on their parents/grandparents and decided to stay when they saw how terrible it was OR where other survivors who stayed for safety.
 
Great episode.

I knew this was coming though.. the camp survivors were being extremely dumb about their own survival.

They hadn't build walls / barricades to keep away stray walkers (they have an excess of available wood and a lot of idle hands) so when the zombies came they could just come out from the bushes all around where they can sneak up unseen. At the very least they should clear away the bushes from around their camp.

I totally expected Amy to zombify in her arms, glad that didn't happen. Was way too trope-ish and this series has been good about not falling into too many tropes so far.
 
Great episode.

I knew this was coming though.. the camp survivors were being extremely dumb about their own survival.
To be fair, they ARE quite a ways outside of Atlanta, up a mountain/hill, and far enough away that they had no reason to expect more than a few stragglers. That being said, they were stupid to not have moved camp the moment the first walker showed up, or at least after Glenn drove up in that fucking alarming sports car.

However, I would like to point out that the scene makes more sense in the comic, as they appear to be camped out MUCH closer to the city in it, so it makes more sense that so many walkers would have found them at once.
 
J

Jiarn

Is there anywhere to watch it online, without paying for it? I've only seen episode one and would like to catch up.
 
I don't like this turn with the CDC, and not because it's not in the comic. One of the big mysteries of the comic is just WHAT is causing people to come back from the dead. In fact, most of the cast really aren't too concerned with why the dead are walking, instead choosing to just deal with the reality of the situation. By explicitly making it a virus/bacteria, they are kinda cheapening the whole thing.
 

Dave

Staff member
I don't like this turn with the CDC, and not because it's not in the comic. One of the big mysteries of the comic is just WHAT is causing people to come back from the dead. In fact, most of the cast really aren't too concerned with why the dead are walking, instead choosing to just deal with the reality of the situation. By explicitly making it a virus/bacteria, they are kinda cheapening the whole thing.
It's midichloreans. Duh!
 
J

Joe Johnson

I thought this episode was fairly weak. Not because of the CDC (though I can see your point). Although, I don't really need this show to become "Lost - with zombies" - ie, it doesn't really need to focus on the "mystery" behind it all.
I just didn't care enough about the "guy who got bitten" subplot, and the "sister who can't let go" subplot. For the first, the guy was a fairly minor character who's biggest claim to fame is getting tied up because he wanted to dig some holes. (which I thought was also a weak point - just let the idiot dig). As for the sisters, I think it would be borderline cruel to let your sister come back as a zombie. All I could think of was, "what if enough of her sister is in their to be suddenly tormented by this virus, so really your just putting her through agony before shooting her in the head". Also wasn't interested in Rick's long radio check-in at the beginning, which pretty much just felt like a series synopsis for a show that's only had, what, 4 episodes?
 

Dave

Staff member
My wife asked last night if anything special happens in the CDC place. My response? "I don't know. They are already doing things not in the comic."

But then I saw the previews for "A Game of Thrones" on HBO (while turning over to Boardwalk Empire) and forgot everything else except my nerdgasm.
 
J

Joe Johnson

My wife asked last night if anything special happens in the CDC place. My response? "I don't know. They are already doing things not in the comic."

But then I saw the previews for "A Game of Thrones" on HBO (while turning over to Boardwalk Empire) and forgot everything else except my nerdgasm.
Nice. Yeah, a friend of mine is in the same place as you, very excited for Game of Thrones. I still can't believe HBO is doing this series!
 
I kinda liked the episode, actually. There was a reason why we got such lengthy bits with the Andrea's sister and Jim. They both represented what happens after being attacked by a zombie.

Amy, for example, showed the example of how long it takes for someone to come back after just dying. She was still bitten, true, but she died of blood loss, first. Jim, on the other hand, was only bitten, so we got to see the effects of someone bitting but able to survive. They slowly wither away.

As for the CDC, it makes sense not in finding out what happened, but that it seemed like a potential safehouse, since it would be well secured and well-quarantined. It was brought up by the guy that Rick met in the first episode, so it's natural that Rick would think of it (much like thinking Atlanta would be safe).

One thing that kind of bothers me is the lack of development between Rick and his son. In the comic, there's a very strong development between father and son. The son is wearing the hat, Rick teaches him how to shoot (which is how Laurie survives the campfire zombie attack in the comic version of last week's episode), etc. There's a lot of bonding between the two and thus far, the show is missing that.
 
I thought this episode was great. It was all worth it, just for:

"I think tomorrow I'm going to blow my brains out. But tonight I'm getting drunk.
 
Anytime that song is used I get chills and, yes, go ahead and take a point off my "mancard", I get misty eyed. It just moves me. Like bacon moves me, ie, POWERFULLY.
 
Definitely the weakest episode of the series.

I REALLY didn't care for the dead sister at all. And the fact she's standing there like a fucken moron while the zombie is slowly making her way to eat her absolutely asinine. I wanted that character to die as well as she is a whiny bitch. Here’s to hoping she gets her due soon!

As far as the show went, I felt there was easily enough room for another episode between 3, 4 and 5. Some characters needed development and quite frankly, I didn’t give a damn for any who died except Ed, who got some dev time and made me happy when he died. :D

For example, his "wife"? She look like 50... is she a cancer survivor?

As far as the show goes, hopefully the finale goes out with a bang and next season they work on some of the shortcoming of the series and make it even better.

Also, is the volume on the show terribly low? I know I have to triple my volume from 15 to 45 to hear properly. Is that why they can’t hear the zombies coming?

And the gratuitous violence from the Boondocks Saints guy is my favorite part of the show. PS: That would be me if this was the apocalypse.
 
K

Kiff

I thought this episode was fairly weak. Not because of the CDC (though I can see your point). Although, I don't really need this show to become "Lost - with zombies" - ie, it doesn't really need to focus on the "mystery" behind it all.
I just didn't care enough about the "guy who got bitten" subplot, and the "sister who can't let go" subplot. For the first, the guy was a fairly minor character who's biggest claim to fame is getting tied up because he wanted to dig some holes. (which I thought was also a weak point - just let the idiot dig). As for the sisters, I think it would be borderline cruel to let your sister come back as a zombie. All I could think of was, "what if enough of her sister is in their to be suddenly tormented by this virus, so really your just putting her through agony before shooting her in the head". Also wasn't interested in Rick's long radio check-in at the beginning, which pretty much just felt like a series synopsis for a show that's only had, what, 4 episodes?
Well, I think they're trying to do a mild season "wrap up" since the whole thing was produced before even getting a season 2 commitment.

The reason Jim was digging holes was due to sunstroke and because of the psychological trauma of his family being eaten alive before his eyes finally coming out. These characters have been on the move since the outbreak and prior to the camp attack, it was the first time they've actually been able to sit down and take a breather. Because they took that rest they let their guard down, and look what happened. Jim digging the holes foreshadows what's to come in that episode.
 
J

Joe Johnson

I thought this episode was fairly weak. Not because of the CDC (though I can see your point). Although, I don't really need this show to become "Lost - with zombies" - ie, it doesn't really need to focus on the "mystery" behind it all.
I just didn't care enough about the "guy who got bitten" subplot, and the "sister who can't let go" subplot. For the first, the guy was a fairly minor character who's biggest claim to fame is getting tied up because he wanted to dig some holes. (which I thought was also a weak point - just let the idiot dig). As for the sisters, I think it would be borderline cruel to let your sister come back as a zombie. All I could think of was, "what if enough of her sister is in their to be suddenly tormented by this virus, so really your just putting her through agony before shooting her in the head". Also wasn't interested in Rick's long radio check-in at the beginning, which pretty much just felt like a series synopsis for a show that's only had, what, 4 episodes?
Well, I think they're trying to do a mild season "wrap up" since the whole thing was produced before even getting a season 2 commitment.

The reason Jim was digging holes was due to sunstroke and because of the psychological trauma of his family being eaten alive before his eyes finally coming out. These characters have been on the move since the outbreak and prior to the camp attack, it was the first time they've actually been able to sit down and take a breather. Because they took that rest they let their guard down, and look what happened. Jim digging the holes foreshadows what's to come in that episode.
[/QUOTE]


I get all that, but that was the episode before - which I thought was a good episode. I guess my point was that it didn't make me care enough for the character, that made the time they focused on him in the current episode to be interesting to me. In any case, my thinking this is the weakest episode doesn't make my like the show any less, I still am very happy it's picked up for a 2nd season, and look forward to seeing where they take the show.
 

Dave

Staff member
Is anyone else pissed that the season was so damned short? Like we get a few episodes and then WAIT FOR MONTHS!!!
 
K

Kiff

Ok, yeah, I get you. I agree. It's kind of a "linker" episode. Nothing really happens, but it sets up the next one.

---------- Post added at 02:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:10 PM ----------

Is anyone else pissed that the season was so damned short? Like we get a few episodes and then WAIT FOR MONTHS!!!
Yeah, I wish they ordered 12 episodes instead of 6. I really hope that the cliffhanger in this last episode won't be too huge.
 
J

Joe Johnson

Yeah, six is pretty short. But, I suppose it was pretty risky to bring a weekly zombie TV show on - in which case 6 episodes was a decent gamble. I think they did the same thing with Breaking Bad, but maybe that was 12 episodes.
 
I'm pretty sure breaking bad wad 6 episodes. I think only madmen got a full 12 from the start.


As for this episode I liked it, for the most part. I think my only real problem is that I don't agree with Rick's plan in general.

Even if the CDC is working on a cure, why would you guys showing up help? I know you wanted to go because Jim got bit and you wanted to help him, but you knew that he didn't have enough time to actually get Jim there. So I don't blame the Latino family for leaving.

Based on the preview for the next episode, it looks like this will be the really big diverging point from the comic. Up until now, it's followed the basic plot, just added a lot of extra stuff like the vatos and more minor characters. I'm thinking this guy is going to be a villain. I'm guessing he might infect someone, so he can get a fresh sample to replace his last one. This could really bother me though, because it's just such a sinister thing to default to when it's entirely likely that these new people know where to find a recently killed infected person. Which they actually do. It would be no problem to just go get Jim back. Or at least a sample of jim's tissue.
 

fade

Staff member
No, it's because a NASA space probe crashed on its way back from Venus.
I heard Romero saying that he absolutely hated that in retrospect. Although he also made the fairly good point that it's only presented as wild speculation from the news anchor.

---------- Post added at 02:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:45 AM ----------

His answer to the question is always, "What difference does it make?"

---------- Post added at 02:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:46 AM ----------

Also, the weak point of any zombie story is the defeat of the regular army, considering that the ragtag band of survivors is nearly always using the same, but rougher tactics that the regular army would. I really thought WWZ had the stupidest attempt at an explanation for this.
 
K

Kiff

No, it's because a NASA space probe crashed on its way back from Venus.
I heard Romero saying that he absolutely hated that in retrospect. Although he also made the fairly good point that it's only presented as wild speculation from the news anchor.

---------- Post added at 02:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:45 AM ----------

His answer to the question is always, "What difference does it make?"

---------- Post added at 02:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:46 AM ----------

Also, the weak point of any zombie story is the defeat of the regular army, considering that the ragtag band of survivors is nearly always using the same, but rougher tactics that the regular army would. I really thought WWZ had the stupidest attempt at an explanation for this.[/QUOTE]

Really? I thought the concept of shock and awe failing was a pretty good way to show how the Army failed to control the hordes of zombies - especially the battle of Yonkers.
 
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