Walking Dead (AMC TV zombie series)
 

Happy Halloween!

Walking Dead is a new zombie series based on a comic, and it begins tonight on AMC. Reviewers have been kind to the pilot; it's currently sitting at 86 out of 100 on Metacritic.

Anyone else checking it out?

FREAKING AWESOME.
Loved this. Technically should not have seen it yet, but it was delicious!
It combines the best scenarios of almost every zombie movie I've ever seen
with just enough predictability to be comfortable and enough twists to keep
it interesting. AMC kicks ass lately... if Breaking Bad keeps it up, I may
end up having to get cable. :)

As most of you guys already know, I am a big l4d fan. And I'd have to say that Zombie films are among my fave horror style. Zombies are cool, man.
I heard about this show in September, and I've been super excited since then to see it.
It was such an awesome intro to the show. Even my brother kept saying "OH MAN" getting all pepped up from it.
Fantastic. :D I'm so glad they took this route, to have a tv show play out a zombie apocalypse, and not make another movie or tv miniseries movie. Besides, the sheer work that AMC always puts into their shows, amazes me constantly.
LOVE IT. LOVE IT. LOVE IT!
I love it.

I was very impressed, and will keep watching. The story was good and the special effects were great. Thank God syfy didn't make the show.

I taped this show on my handy DVR. I wasn't too sure what to expect from it, but with Noodle saying FREAKING AWESOME, I have to boost my expectations.

I know the hardcore zombie fans might get a little pissy with me asking about this, but was Max Brooks involved with the show in any way? I regret asking this question already...

Television is a great medium for a zombie story. We will get a chance to really delve deeper into a world overrun with the undead, deeper than a 2 hour movie could get. The pilot was outstanding.

This was a great start to the series, I'm only afraid that they are going to have to rush the story due to the short cable seasons. The comic is amazing, and the changes that have gone on over the years to the characters are so in depth, tv is the only way to capture it.

As good as it is, I just can't see a network sticking with a zombie series long enough to really do justice to the work Kirkman has put into the comic. Here's to hopin.

AMC has the strength in some of its lineup to allow them to stick with a zombie storyline, I think. I mean, who thought a series about a chemistry teacher with lung cancer cooking meth with a dropout druggie would stick around for a(n upcoming) fourth season? They've been around a long time, and I really hope this show sticks. Everyone I've talked to loves it, I'm glad to hear you guys think the same. :D

I launches here on November 5th and I can't wait. I have set up my DVR to record the series.

Interestingly, the company I used to work for has the international rights to distribute this series. Kind of makes me jealous as it would be a fun series to sell.

I saw the pilot, and honestly, I wasn't blown away by it.

It is impressive in that it is a tv series. But the pilot itself wasn't that great. Too many aspects of it lifted straight out of other zombie movies (for example, the "Waking up in the hospital" thing, almost exactly like 28 days later).

That said, I didn't really expect the pilot to be that great anyways. I think the attraction of this series is showing the day to day of the zombie apocalypse, as opposed to a well defined story of escape from somewhere like most zombie movies. As such, I think I will only get an idea of how good the series is actually going to be by the 3rd or 4th episode.

The point of the story will be to see how people adapt to the new world and all the atrocities they will have to deal with along the way. The zombies are really only the backdrop for the "how far will people go" main theme. If its anything like the comic, its a long haul with plenty of ups and downs.

No Max Brooks involvement at all. It's based off of the comic by Robert Kirkman, who has said that as long as he's writing TWD he wont read World War Z because he doesn't want it to influence him.

The first episode was AMAZING. I stopped reading the comic itself a while back (I'd post why but I don't want to put spoilers but one includes the fact that I couldn't stand Rick by the time I stopped) but that episode brought me right back to why I loved the first few trades.

---------- Post added at 01:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:44 AM ----------

Actually both Kirkman has said the hospital scenes were influenced by this

which also influenced the opening of 28 Days Later.

Actually that scene is not a rip off of 28 days later. The comic was published in October 2003 and 28 days later was released at the end of June 2003. I highly doubt the writers and illustrators of the comic said "holy shit look what this movie did, we have to go back and redo all of this because 28 days later did".

Edit: Ah, m0rpheus beat me to it.

Actually, I meant the scene itself, not the fact that it starts out in a hospital. The mood, the lighting, the sounds, which, as you can see, are all quite different from the scene posted above. And in any case, 28 days later was released in November of 2002 in the UK.

Really people? We just had the release of the first zombie tv series that I know of, and we are going to argue over who stole the opening scene from who? Whether or not it was your cup of tea, you have to admit it was well produced, which is an accomplishment in and of itself for zombie fair.

The remainder of the series should do great job of distancing itself from most other examples of the genre as long as Kirkman stays on board. So just be happy this is finally happening, and i hope this bodes well for other projects like World War Z, which is an amazing book, by the by.

Bit of a thread jack, but it sounds like WWZ movie is a go with Brad Pitt attached not only as producer (his company bought the rights) but now also as the star.
Brad Pitt to Star in World War Z; Summer 2012 Release Targeted | Film School Rejects

I really liked the pilot. It was a little slow but interesting. One thing I didn't get is how he didn't die of starvation while he was snoozing through the outbreak.

I really enjoy the zombie genre, and this show was no exception, I really hope this show lasts long enough to really play out the whole story line. I'm wanting to get the books and check them out now.

Reese: I'm pretty sure they feed people in comas intravenously, I'm not sure how long a bag of fluids would last, but he was on an IV when he woke up.

Yeah, but an IV bag doesn't last that long. He'd need someone replacing it up to at least a few days before he woke up. Morgan mentioned that the gas had been cut a month ago when they were taking a shower so I'd assume he's been in a coma for longer than a month. I'm sure this will be answered in the future, probably with his wife taking care of him until the last minute.

I agree with the question about how he survived for so long after things went nuts. But it's so implausible that it would almost have to be explained later.

Can somebody explain why in the first part, the Deputy walked into the gas station looking for gas, found the mini-zombie, killed her, then the story went back to "normal" life?

Flashback. I'm glad they stuck the little girl scene on the front end, as I think it was the perfect way to tell viewers, "We are not fucking around."

One of the first things Rick does when he wakes up is stumble into the bathroom and stick his head under the faucet. I'd imagine he was pretty thirsty. A friend of mine was dissapointed that he wasn't covered in his own filth, which made me rethink our friendship...

I liked the touch of the gurney in front of Rick's door. I'd imagine that someone pushed it there as they were running out of the hospital. Since it was there, and Rick was being pretty quiet, even a roaming zombie wouldn't have thought to push the gurney out of the way and investigate the room.

I also liked the touch of Rick losing his hearing when he fired the revolver in the tank. If they keep adding all this nerdy realism to the show, I'm going to want to take it behind the elementary school and get it pregnant.

I am ready for 102. For me, the pilot started and ended great. Some good stuff between but lots of cliches too. Production values are very high so the writing will make or break this series.

Yeah, I dig Rick, but I want to see Glen and the rest of the camp.

For anyone whose read the comics, I'm having trouble looking at some of the characters without thinking, "Man, you are in for some shit." Anyone else having the same thoughts?

I guess, in a way, it's good that I've never read the comics. I have no clue as to what's going to happen. I like that.

I feel your pain. Its going to be a running checklist as the group fills out of "you're ok, you're screwed, can't wait till they get you."

Not sure how far you are in the comics, but lately Spoiler: some of the things happening with the kids have been pretty rough

And the only bad thing for me having read the comics was having to wait all these years for a film version, while thinking the entire time that this would be perfect for an HBO series.

Personally I'm hoping they make some major changes from the comic. Sorry about the spoiler heavy post.
For me it started to go down hill Spoiler: when they got to the prison and when Spoiler: killed Tyreese was killed off I was pretty much through but for some reason I continued even though it had gotten to the point where I hated Rick. And not in a good way. In a he's a character that needs to be killed off kind of way.
The final deal breaker for me was Spoiler: when Lori and the baby were killed off when that happened I just stopped wanting to even read the book.
I heard that Kirkman Spoiler: killed off Dale recently too, basically most of the characters I liked are dead (Tyreese, Lori, Dale, Axel) and most of the characters I hated seem to be the ones Kirkman keeps around (I understand Rick is unfortunately the main character but Michonne? Can't she just die?).
It's not that I don't like Kirkman's writing because I do and I've enjoyed other things he's written, hell I loved the first few trades of TWD as I said earlier, but it seemed that TWD became just another monthly comic. A much gorier one mind you, but no different from most other monthlies.
Here's hoping the series can do what the comic couldn't. Start great and stay great.

Maybe its wrong of me, but Spoiler: Lori and the baby dying was what got me interested in it again. I agree I had started to dislike Rick, but that incident started a change in the character, so far for the better. And I also like the feeling that Kirkman puts out there that "no one is safe." That should work nicely in the series.

See that's part of the problem for me was that no one but Rick is safe since he's basically said that if Rick dies the series will conclude with a few issues (to tie up loose ends).
Which is fine except that I find Rick to be a complete douchebag. Maybe he did get better as a character Spoiler: (although if he keeps losing body parts he's going to be just a head and torso soon lol) but as I said it's not just Rick. He seems to love killing the characters I want to keep and keeping the characters I want killed.
I'm actually hopefull that they will reign in the Rick as a complete dick in the series. Make him become hardened to the world sure, but make him likeable as a character at least.

I was really impressed with the production values. The lighting and zombies were high budget movie quality.

I was trying to rationalize for exactly how long he was out - a week, a month, longer? I don't think this was a quick infection, but it looks as though it eventually consumed hundreds, maybe thousands of people within the tiny defined space of the story's scene (Atlantic seaboard only?). The infection also had enough of a intermittent period where maybe mass exoduses of cities were arranged, the army was mobilized, and the 'nightwalkers' were relatively contained and/or disposed of (within the confines of the hospital, at least).

I wonder if this is just a one-shot mini-series adaptation of the graphic novels, because while there is only a confirmed six-episode first season, I can see the how and whereby that this series expanded into a saga (read as: multiple seasons, story arcs).

Awesome start to the series! Loved it.

I've had some of the same questions as you guys.

Another one I had, when the deputy stumbles outside the hospital, walks through the rows of bodies and climbs up to the Army camp, you mean to tell me there wasn't one usable item in the camp?
No guns, clothes, boots or food?
The place didn't look ransacked.

Yeah, And in the tank I would have at least tried to crank it up and just drive it out of town. I'm sure it was out of gas but damnit to hell I would have tried everything before abandoning it.

Rick didn't know what was going on (note his waving to a zombie walking down the street). We'd all like to think we would wake up in a situation similar to Rick's and think,"Ok, I'm going to need a rifle, pistol (with similar ammo), food for three days... " Riding through town on a ten speed with your hospital jonnie flapping behind you is not that frame of mind. There was even a point where he had to convince himself he was awake and not dreaming, which I found to be a nice touch.

Last night wasn't as good as the first episode. Rooker's character seemed one dimentional and I'm actually hoping he doesn't come back, although I know he will.

I haven't watched it yet, but good news: second season is confirmed.

AMC's The Walking Dead Greenlit for Season 2 - Techland - TIME.com

Never been a zombie fan, other than She's Not There, but I am an avid Breaking Bad groupie and have enjoyed sporadic episodes of Mad Men and Rubicon, so I decided to give it a whirl.

The gory scenes are a little rough for me, but I can make it through because the story is Good. Really good. I won't read your comic spoilers, but think I'll definitely continue to enjoy the series. I surely do wanna know, but don't tell me when he is finally going to ask what caused the outbreak!

Never read the comic, but I trust AMC.

I've seen two episodes - so far; so good.

I should probably start another thread for this, but jewels reminded me above that I've got 14 episodes of Rubicon on my Tivo - should I bother watching them?

Go for it. Let me know what you think and what I've missed. I saw the first two and completely forgot about the show. I think they're in my On Demand so may indeed go back. The first epi definitely grabbed me, but I think I felt a little lost in the who's who stuff by the second. I happened to catch an episode a couple of weeks ago and now I'm seriously thinking about going back.

AMC just canceled Rubicon, it seems.

From AICN:

AMC Rubs Out RUBICON!! -- Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.

I think it was mentioned in the talkback on AICN that they showed the end episode of Rubicon, so it has some closure.

Thanks for letting me know, F. It never got the the hype for some reason.

I wonder who's behind that. :expressionless:

Yes, thanks for the info - that'll free up 14 hours' worth of disk space.

I just watched the second episode, and was quite disappointed in it.
So many things didn't make sense. Like the magically exploding fence, the ax-hacking without blood splatter, and the fucking nonsensical characters.
Also, rain would heighten the scent of the dead zombies. More likely to make them stink more, less likely to wash away. The only thing my friends and I could think of as a possible reason for the disguise failing, is that the guys BO was awful and heightened by hot air and sweat. still, nothing can cover stink like death.
I loved the first episode, I can't believe the second one was so shitty. :(

Thats what happens when you stray from the source material. Especially when that source material was created by someone vastly more talented than Hollywood hack writers. My guess is the 6 episode season is really causing havoc with the storytelling and getting to a passable season finale.

Come on... they haven't strayed that far from the source material. The whole, washing the stink off in the rain was directly out of the comic book.

for the most part, the end of the first, and the entire last episode save the idea of putting the guts on them, was off source. The entire scenario, some of the characters, and all of the stereotypes were not in the comic.

Ugh. Episode 1 was ok, but ep 2 and 3 just make me facepalm.

Spoiler:

Seriously, he uses the hacksaw on his wrist?!? Not the 1/4th inch thick bolt?

Hacksaws are for metal ladies and gentleman! METAL not your wrist.

Also, where the fuck did he go at the end of episode 3? If there was a magical roof exit, why didnt the others take it?

Also, why haven't they fortified their camp aside from a string of tin cans? Ditch + rampart anyone? Why haven't they cleared the brush out to give a clear line of sight to any walking dead? This is just basic shit here. Also, why didn't the other deputy get the guns from the station? AND this is the south, the deep south no less. Like every one of them wouldn't have a gun, especially when half of them are stereotypical hicks.

And why the fuck are they all walking around in regular clothes!? At least strap on leather jacket and some chaps or something, give yourself a bit of protection. And I love how they wear eye protection like half the time, and there is no blood splatter from axe/crowbar swings.

Why can't anyone make a zombie show where people act with anything resembling common sense?

Probably because a zombie apoc is unrealistic. And on that note, omg there were 50 cal's all over atl, and noone thought to take the hummers with them!? or the APCs? there was surplus military stuff all over the small town too. Ugh.

/rant

Man, you said it all. I agree with all of that man. Fucking stupid shit those last two episodes. Episode 1 was so great, and now, what the fuck.

Not to beat a dead horse, but again it shows how much more talented Kirkman is than the entirety of Hollywood, who couldn't write their way out of a wet paper bag.

Im a fan of zombies/movies...the walking dead is grade A. :thumbsup:

I never read the comics, but the series so far feels very rushed and underdeveloped. Like what has transpired so far was probably covered is several comic books.


Spoilers:







Take today's episode, for example. The search for Merle is set aside without any explanation. Why would Darrell stop looking for his brother to risk his neck for Glenn? Why didn't they keep searching for Merle? And are we to believe that the old lady showing up asking for help with an asthma attack was really all that took to go from major bloodbath to buddies helping buddies?

Merle isn't in the comic at all.

The characters seen so far that are actually from the comic are:
Rick, Lori and Carl Grimes
Shane
Glenn
Amy and Andrea
Dale
Jim (the guy digging the graves)
Carol and Sophia (Her husband did not appear in the comic he was already dead).
Morgan and Duane Jones (the guy from Jericho in the first episode and his kid)

Everybody else was made up for the TV show. So no searching for Merle in the comic.
Spoiler: They've also changed Shane a bit already. He dies in sixth issue, but I've heard that they plan to keep him around longer in the series.
They've actually removed an entire family that appears in the comics although I can't help but wonder Spoiler: if it's because one of the twins kills the other later on and the TV show just didn't want to deal with that.

I must say, the one disappointment I had with this episode is that Spoiler: Andrea didn't headshot the dying Amy so she wouldn't turn like she did in the comic. Although the gang thing was kind of dumb too.
I'm noticing more often then not the things that they've made up for the show are the things that are the worst about the show.

I am an episode behind you guys, and yes, I have a few issues but, on the whole, I think the series is doing well.

I look forward to each new episode, and that says a lot.

This last Episode had much better dialogue IMO, and I'm glad they are back on track. The inner city gang storyline was pretty lame though, and just keeps me scratching my head as to why, with all of the tons and tons of great source material to pull from, they keep going to the well of trite Hollywood BS to find stroylines?

I first heard about this show from TFP. I have not read the comic and I generally have low expectations for anything on TV. I think it pretty good so far. You can definitely tear it apart by analyzing it too much, but I find it entertaining.

I totally agree. I mean, I've never read the comic, but while watching Amy, I kept thinking Spoiler: "Why aren't you shooting her in the head? She'll turn after she dies for sure! SHE GOT BIT!"Same with the other people that were bitten, like the abusive husband, etc. As for the whole gang thing, that was fucking stupid. Spoiler: Dumb guy randomly screams incoherently, and that violent brother of Merle isn't going to bash his head in without question? I know I fucking would, if I was standing in an alley with zombies all around me. I'd take the butt of the gun, and smash his face in. So stupid. So stupid it makes me angry.

Summary of episode ahead, spoilerz!!








This episode was...OK. You finally got to see a bit of group togetherness eating the fish, even though it was slightly creepy, and difficult to understand. I feel like they picked the wrong conversation out of a long list of choices. The grave digging was ok, still fell offset somehow. I did like the small team's work back in the city, it was as logical as you can be surrounded by zombies, looking for Merle and grabbing the guns. The attack on the camp was pretty good too, lots of stupidity, but I guess stupid people do stupid shit.


Maybe I'm too critical of this show. I had such great hopes for it after watching the pilot. But its really turned to shit since then.

The trite stuff? The show will be driven by audience research. What pleases the perceived crowd. Do we need more family stuff? More kids? More hot chicks? More non-white people to kill?

Now I'm a bit worried. The best stuff from the series is the stuff that's lifted straight from comic and the worst stuff is the new stuff.
The CDC was not in the comic.

Spoilers:


I don't know what comes from the comics and what is specific to the series, but there are some serious issues that frustrate me.

For example, the day they saw the first walker within a few yards from the camp is also the day they decide to have a big ol fish fry without anyone as a look out?

One day they run from the city to the camp, the next the drive is so long as to overheat the RV and leave them almost out of gas, to the point where going to fort benning was not an option? And if the drive to the city left them almost without gas, why were they even considering the much longer drive to fort benning to begin with?

And the cdc bit made no sense. I won't go into how one guy survived alone in all that because that might be explained next week, but the decision to go there in the first place. I mean, they decide to go there to try to save Jim, but leave him behind when he asks? And they've been scavenging Atlanta for a while, and have CB radios, and the absolute lack of activity in the CDC doesn't tell them that there might not be an outpost there?

Finally, the time line makes Rick's coma even more nonsensical. 64 days since the infection has gone global? That means that Rick was in that hospital in a coma alone for a very long time.

I don't know if the comic had a tighter story than that, but the tv show seems too haphazard. In one scene there is a build up to a couple of guys walking up ahead to check if they can find a hose for the RV, the next shot the RV is fixed, no explanations provided.

I really think this would have been a superior show if they really took their time to develop their characters. Something like making the 6 episodes tell the story from the point rick is shot to the point he meets his family again. Because right now the series feels almost like they had 30 hours of footage and had to make last minute cuts to make it fit 6.

Still better than most current shows on tv, but that is damning it with faint praise.

All current writers have been fired from the show:

The Entire ‘Walking Dead’ Writing Staff Got Fired

While that sounds like it should be good news, it looks like the producer/director Frank Darabont, the guy firing everyone, is the one acutally responsible for the horrible writing. The article states he wrote the frist 2 episodes, and rewrote the remaining 4, including one episode originally written by Kirkman himself. The guy sounds like an over zealous Hollywood producer. He does have several writing credits for screenplays, but only one other series credit, The Young Indiana Jones.

nooooooooooooooooo!!

I am so not liking the CDC thing. Where the fuck is Merle?!

Well, He either ruined great scripts or salvaged shitty ones. I'd like to believe that it's the latter.

I really hope this is a good thing. I've said it more than once, there's some really good stuff in TWD and it's mostly the stuff that's been adapted from the graphic novel.
Hopefully these writers are the ones that are responsible for most of the crap filler like Merle.
I don't mind some of the changes they've made Spoiler: most noteably Shane still being alive. It lets them draw that out a bit longer which is okay IMO but most have been just dumb.

The CDC thing ended up being kinda meh. Wasn't great but wasn't nearly as bad as some of the original stuff.

Spoilers:


The CDC was just a time waster. Filler. A season finale that solved a plot point put forth during the season finale. Still lots of illogical stuff. Like if the top doors were bullet and shatter proof, what was the big deal about locking the bottom doors? And Rick forgot a grenade in his pocket as he put his clothes in with the laundry? Nothing as bad as the "we drove 10 miles and we are out of gas, see, we should have gone to a place 100 miles away instead" of the 5th episode.

There is a ton of potential here, but the writing has been really inconsistent.

Rick didn't put the grenade clothes in the laundry. He went to sleep and Ed's wife snuck in and took them to do laundry while he was sleeping.

A distinction without a difference. So he woke up, saw his clothes being washed, and never once thought "where the hell did I put that grenade?"

But that is a relatively minor point.

Its shit like this that makes me cringe at the thought of what Hollywood is going to do to a masterpiece like World War Z.

I watched all episodes and for a TV Zombie flick it was great. There were issues but I moved past them.

I read WWZ and the Zombie Survival Guide and loved both.

My bother and I are patiently waiting for the day this comes true. I don't want to go out in a radioactive flash and I don't want to worry about some biotoxin on the wind. I want to unsheath my sword and go out swinging :)