The Walking Dead

[bnoro]

Any fans here?

Thought tonight's episode could have been a bit better, but the ending was crazy. Thoughts?

 

[qdawgg]

Awesome show, I was so excited to watch the episode that after I watched the Bears game I then watched it instead of waiting until Monday after-work. Paying for it now since I have to get up for work.

My wife made a good observation when they showed the preview of the coming season. You don't (or we don't think) that you see the little girl in any of the preview shots, so it's possible they don't find her next week or ever. I didn't think this episode was too bad, I did get annoyed with the weird placement of commercials after the first commercial. Luckily I could just fast forward but the some of the spots just seemed choppy.

I did think the last season was a little stupid - weird. I kept thinking, why the hell would the deer let the little kid practically walk right up to it. You know something bad was going to happen but I just thought that whole scene could have been done better.

 

[Guinness]

I have to say that the season premiere was disappointing. They spent a good deal of time last season setting up the rules only to ignore a lot of them in the very first episode. I have high hopes for the rest of the season but I cannot help but feel disappointed after last night's episode.

 

[690West]

It was ok. Couldn't stand how much time was spent on whether the whiny chick deserves her gun back or not. Why do I find "Lori Grimes" so hot? If she was a regular chick standing next to me in a Dunkin Donuts I wouldn't give her a second look.

 

[armory]

What were the rules, only shoot zombies in the head not the face?

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

 

[Guinness]

The Walken Dead, lol

 

[DNABB5]

... I kept thinking, why the hell would the deer let the little kid practically walk right up to it. You know something bad was going to happen but I just thought that whole scene could have been done better.

Well...

When I was at CLBS (Cranberry Lake Biological Station) I got close enough to a deer walking slow and methodical like that to touch it. Granted it wasn't a buck.

And yes, I am a fan of the show. It goes along with my recurring zombie apocalypse dreams and my growing "zombie survival kit". Of course when I say zombies in that I mean starving desperate people.

 

[690West]

hahahha. Thats awesome.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Big fan of the show. I thought they did a great job with this episode. I found that picking apart a show just for the sake of looking for things to pick at turns you off to the show in the long run. I watched the first showing with no expectations and just enjoyed it. I watched the replay just to find the little things I missed the first time. Sure there are things they could have done differently or better, but overall it was solid. I am growing to like the Darryl Dixon character more and more each episode. But I have always liked Norman Reedus as an actor ever since Boondock Saints.

If you go on the web site, you can see a special 6-part webisode about the "biker girl zombie" from the pilot last year. If you look closely, one of the zombies, who gets a bit of face time, appears to be the bassist from Anthrax, complete with his funky beard.

I think this season is going to kick a$$.

 

[bnoro]

The writers do a great job of keeping it suspenseful even when there isn't much action going on. The rifts growing between the group right now is a very interesting subplot and I wonder which way it will go from here on out.

 

[RF2044]

Any fans here?

Thought tonight's episode could have been a bit better, but the ending was crazy. Thoughts?

HUGE fan of the show.

I thought last night's episode was great--very faced pace, right mix of psychological drama, zombie involvement, and just the right level of disconcerting imagery [the zombies consuming that dog at the beginning, some zombie head smashing / stabbings, the impromptu autopsy they performed to check that one zombie's stomach, etc.]. Special effects were movie quality [impressive for a TV show]. Apparently, they fired the entire group of writer's after last season, so I think last night demonstrated that the new group of writers will keep the series faster paced.

All in all, a very solid season 2 debut.

 

[BlazeOrange]

Apparently, they fired the entire group of writer's after last season, so I think last night demonstrated that the new group of writers will keep the series faster paced.

As I understood it, last season was originally planned to be the entire story and was re-written midway through once it became a hit and was renewed, which explained some of the tail off after a strong beginning. This season, I'm not sure about writers, but a key person higher up (producer/director/etc.) left the show midway through the season. The early episodes are still under his watch, but at some point there will be a changeover. Rumor was that costs were cut and we'd see less zombie action, but that has since been denied.

I really like the show and try not to nitpick too much. That said, it gets irritating when too many people make bad decisions. Some mistakes are fine, but there should be more rational people than irrational in any group that survives that long.

I was afraid to watch the "coming this season" preview at the end for fear of spoilers - been burned by too many shows that insist on giving away their plots in these things. They seemed to be smart enough not to show if the girl is found or very much about how long the boy will survive.

Could the deer hunter be Darryl's one-handed brother? Rick mentioned that Darryl knew the woods, so maybe they're in his hunting territory.

 

[jekelish]

Well, Frank Darabont (of Shawshank and Green Mile fame) was fired from the show, and the rumors are that 1) he was overwhelmed by the workload a TV schedule puts on you, or 2) he was against the budget cuts and he and AMC had differences of opinion on that, or 3) he hired a director that AMC was not a fan of after seeing the dailies (which is why there were two directors credited for last night's episode), or 4) he wanted to have only freelance writers work this season, and not a consistent writing staff.

I doubt that they ever planned on having last season contain the entire story, mainly because that's impossible since the comics are still going strong (90 issues at this point, I believe). Last season I think they veered too much from the books, but this season it sounds like they're going to follow the general plot of them a little more closely, thank goodness. The books are great, which is why I never understood why they strayed so far from them last year (for example - last year's pilot was extremely faithful, and it was by far the best episode last year...the show got sidetracked and kind of, frankly, underwhelming when they created new material that was outside the realm of the books).

 

[qdawgg]

Not to sound like a big puss but when they pulled up to all the cars blocking their way and they had to start weaving through them, I did get a little nervous. TV shows don't pull you in like that anymore, or rarely do should I say. Especially if they are not on HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime. Justified is a pretty good show on FX I think and The Killing that was on AMC last year also had me really hooked.

 

[DNABB5]

...one of the zombies, who gets a bit of face time, appears to be the bassist from Anthrax, complete with his funky beard.

Scott Ian? A zombie? Missed that. Awesome. Maybe he got bit while Caught in a Mosh.

 

[BlazeOrange]

I doubt that they ever planned on having last season contain the entire story, mainly because that's impossible since the comics are still going strong (90 issues at this point, I believe).

I meant that they planned on telling A complete story that ended after the six episode season. More of a mini-series than a continuing series.

One more nitpick: Why the attachment to the Winnebago? It's always breaking down and is limited on where it can be driven. There are plenty of more suitable vehicles available with the keys in them. Even Shane and Darryl were smart enough to upgrade their transportation when given the opportunity (although I'd look for a more manueverable bike than a chopper though).

 

[jekelish]

For the most part, I'm guessing it's because it's a house on wheels, so they have a mobile shelter. But more than that, for awhile the RV was almost like a character itself in the books, so the fanboy uproar if they didn't have it would be pretty enormous.

 

[BlazeOrange]

For the most part, I'm guessing it's because it's a house on wheels, so they have a mobile shelter. But more than that, for awhile the RV was almost like a character itself in the books, so the fanboy uproar if they didn't have it would be pretty enormous.

That shelter didn't work so well last night.

But I forget that they have books to follow along with, that's a good point. Are the books (they're actually graphic novels, right?) worth picking up? I've got a while to go with the Game of Thrones saga (just started book #2), but may as well plan ahead in case I burn through them.

 

[jekelish]

It's actually a comic book series, but they have them out in "volumes" which are actually graphic novels. And yes, I'd say they are definitely worth picking up. I absolutely love the books. Right now there are 14 volumes out, though like I said, they are at around 90 actual issues of the comic. The story in the books goes to some pretty disturbing places, and I'm wondering if they'll dare put a lot of it on the show. It's pretty intense and shocking.

EDIT: Oh, and I always refer to them as books rather than comics, because I think the connotations that "comics" have don't do justice to the quality of the story and characters.

 

[Czar]

I enjoy it, but from what I hear the same writing and characterization issues are persisting right now. At the moment, there are only 3 characters I actually like (Daryl, Dale, and Glenn) and the rest are just written as archetypes now without their own motivations or organic dialogue. Hoping that improves.

 

[jekelish]

Regarding Daryl, I think it's kind of funny that Robert Kirkman (who created the comics) has said Daryl is probably his favorite character, despite the fact that the character wasn't even in the books.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Well, Frank Darabont (of Shawshank and Green Mile fame) was fired from the show, and the rumors are that 1) he was overwhelmed by the workload a TV schedule puts on you, or 2) he was against the budget cuts and he and AMC had differences of opinion on that, or 3) he hired a director that AMC was not a fan of after seeing the dailies (which is why there were two directors credited for last night's episode), or 4) he wanted to have only freelance writers work this season, and not a consistent writing staff.

I doubt that they ever planned on having last season contain the entire story, mainly because that's impossible since the comics are still going strong (90 issues at this point, I believe). Last season I think they veered too much from the books, but this season it sounds like they're going to follow the general plot of them a little more closely, thank goodness. The books are great, which is why I never understood why they strayed so far from them last year (for example - last year's pilot was extremely faithful, and it was by far the best episode last year...the show got sidetracked and kind of, frankly, underwhelming when they created new material that was outside the realm of the books).

Frank Darabont was let go by AMC because he absolutely would not budge on the budget cuts proposed by the network. The firing was sudden and was a shock to the entire cast and crew. The network did it right after his visit to Comic Con this summer. The show was already well into season 2 production, so Darabont was involved in some of the episodes. The cast and crew were ordered to stay quiet about the whole thing, and Darabont refused interviews on the subject. He only spoke through lawyers. Insiders say that the producers of Mad Men have AMC by the balls an are the ones driving the budget cuts on other shows (including The Walking Dead). Fans of Darabont were told that they should be "mad" at Mad Men and the behind that series. The new guy that was brought in is a Darabont fan, but is also a company man who won't buck the system. From what I heard the network proposed changes such as moving from outdoor locations to more indoor set-type locales, to which Darabont said no way. I say good for him. The crew loved FD because he stuck up for them.

And last season was meant to be open-ended. Darabont and Kirkman envisioned an epic beyond the comics but using the comics as a backbone to build around. They wanted this to become a universe they could play in indefinitely. Kirkman also thought the idea was great because neither one of them wanted the fans of the comic to get bored watching the series because they already knew what was going to happen. There are things in the comic that they have included but simply changed the order of events, while most of it has been expanded and built upon, sometimes with different outcomes, characters or story arcs. The whole CDC episode was not in the comics.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Regarding Daryl, I think it's kind of funny that Robert Kirkman (who created the comics) has said Daryl is probably his favorite character, despite the fact that the character wasn't even in the books.

That's because Norman Reedus is awesome! Actually, Daryl is the perfect guy to survive a zombie apocalypse. He, in many ways, has saved the groups collective a$$es more than once already. And he has a bitchin ride now.

 

[jekelish]

I actually thought the CDC episode was the second best episode of the first season, too (re: how it wasn't in the comics), but that's largely because Noah Emmerich is a very good actor and had a great character to play.

 

[bnoro]

That's because Norman Reedus is awesome! Actually, Daryl is the perfect guy to survive a zombie apocalypse. He, in many ways, has saved the groups collective a$$es more than once already. And he has a bitchin ride now.

And he is deadly accurate with the crossbow. Such a badas$. That shot last episode of the arrow going through the head of that zombie was art.