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The Walking Dead

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Really hope it's not just Merl...

 

Yeah, Rooker is an awesome actor and could pull it off really well, but giving him this whole background as the abandoned redneck just wouldn't go well.

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Yeah, all true points. One particular reason that I hope it's not him;

 

The scene where mercedes annihilates the Gov was supposed to be where he loses the hand. It's less dramatic (but still potent) if he's lost it already. However, Merl's bro (crossbow guy, I forget his name) could easily be the guy who fucks the survivor's over if Merl is the guv.

 

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I'm well on with reading the comics up to issue 10 now. I had heard on podcasts etc...spoiler free that they kinda expected the series to end where issue 6 did. I'm kinda glad it didn't I like the rising tension thats going to come in the series continuity, although it did shock me in the comic.

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I'm well on with reading the comics up to issue 10 now. I had heard on podcasts etc...spoiler free that they kinda expected the series to end where issue 6 did. I'm kinda glad it didn't I like the rising tension thats going to come in the series continuity, although it did shock me in the comic.

 

Are you talkin 'bout

Shane's death

or what?

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I'm well on with reading the comics up to issue 10 now. I had heard on podcasts etc...spoiler free that they kinda expected the series to end where issue 6 did. I'm kinda glad it didn't I like the rising tension thats going to come in the series continuity, although it did shock me in the comic.

 

You don't know the meaning of the word "shock" yet.

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Just got around to seeing the finale. Considering how good this show has been so far, I think it was actually a pretty poor end to the season. Didnt feel like anything happened, the whole trip to the CDC just felt pointless.

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Watched the first ep a couple of days ago and I thought it was really great. They seem to be making a concerted effort to humanise the zombies. Although we'll have to see how it progresses. The comics weren't really about zombies, they were about the people.

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Watched the first ep a couple of days ago and I thought it was really great. They seem to be making a concerted effort to humanise the zombies. Although we'll have to see how it progresses. The comics weren't really about zombies, they were about the people.

 

I think pity has always been a part of zombie fiction. It certainly has been for me, so the way they set that up works I think. \

In later episodes they definitely make more of an effort to emphasise just how dangerous the zombies can actually be. In the books it's been a long time since Team Grimes were really put in danger by the dead and it's nice to go back to the start in a way and see them terrified of the zombies again.

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I am going to be violently fucking sick.

 

Okay, I'll give this a post mortem

 

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, I've not read the comics, and although I've seen a lot of zombie films, I'm not a massive fan of the genre.

 

I did think that the likes of True Blood gave the show a good chance though. It certainly lived up to the promise of high production values. The show was excellently shot, had great atmosphere and wasn't compromising in it's effect of horror.

 

So all is good there, it's a good show to watch.

 

Unlike True Blood, it took a very serious line (I will be comparing it to lots of things, don't worry, but I think True Blood is its only real contemporary). It wasn't tongue in cheek, or had flits of humour, it's was very straight and dry. Again, this kept the mood solid.

 

There have been a lot of these "true serials" come out in the last few years. From Lost, Heroes, Dexter and True Blood, etc, etc, etc. This was probably the best presented, but the least entertaining.

 

The issue is that it's very true to the zombie ethos. Zombie films are very much a slow boil. They develop atmosphere slowly, get you t know the character archetypes and then shock you every now and then by killing them off. People are forced into dangerous situations to build tension.

 

The Walking Dead does it, but over a series of (six was it) hour long episodes, it's a bit too drawn out. If the characters had been more interesting it may have helped, but they seemed to be trying to jam in too many character back stories too quickly to get people attached before they killed them off (an old Stephen King trick).

 

The issue was that the back stories were very clichéd, bland and "soap-like". This jarred badly with the serious presentation of the series. If there is a degree of self-mocking, or recognition it's not great, then you can forgive it more. As it was though, it just made you think the main characters were simply zombie food waiting to happen.

 

So for me, as far as production and presentation went (general presentation), it's superb. Very high quality production.

 

However, it lacks the tension, cliff hangers and feeling of "story arc" we've come to expect from modern serials. The writing just isn't tight enough and the characters really shallow and bland. It doesn't have the humiliation or fun of True Blood (which isn't necessarily a bad thing tbh), so it makes it a tough sell.

 

As a piece of zombie media, it's actually perfectly acceptable. It has the right pacing, the right degree of shock attack and disruption, the right level of hopelessness. It's bleak enough.

 

So it's a difficult one for me. I watched them all, and I certainly didn't dislike it. I just didn't think it was great either. I never finished watching one thinking "I can't wait until next week!" The next week just happened, and I was lucky enough to have set a series record; so I watched it when I got the chance. If I hadn't set the series record, I would have just missed it.

 

I think it's a difficult sell to be honest. It's a bleak show, concentrating on a small number of characters with very little to them. The competition has raised the bar very high for expectation of this kind of show, and fails to reach it.

 

Well worth watching if the entire zombie thing appeals to you, but if it doesn't, it's not going to turn you on to it.

 

He sounds intelligent but then...seems to completely and utterly lack an understanding of everything he's talking about. It sounds like he's just copy and pasted a bunch of sentences he found on some critic's article about something....just....

 

I don't understand. What the fucking hell is this guy talking about.

 

Fair enough

 

I think, if I'd read the True Blood books, I suspect that the frivolous nature of True Blood would have annoyed me.

 

If I'd read the Walking Dead comics, I'd have found that the series was an accurate representation of the comics.

 

How can he fucking say this without having read THE FUCKING COMICS?!?!

 

You can see where this is going... I think sometimes being closer to the story (by reading the comics in this instance) makes you feel more for it. With the series being so brilliantly produced, it was an accurate realisation of the comics.

 

YOU'VE NEVER FUCKING READ IT!!

 

You can tell it has small appeal by the number of people discussing it in here (of which two of you are fans of the comics). I watched it because it was something out of the ordinary and in the horror genre which I like.

 

I didn't think it was awful; really have to get that across. I never once wanted to turn off an episode. I just didn't find it compelling viewing. If the same production qualities had gone into a two hour zombie film, it could have easily been the greatest zombie film ever. It's really, really well made.

 

It's just a bit too slow, it reminded me of 80's BBC dramas like Day of the Triffids (even Tom Baker Doctor Who's). Very similar in terms of story, writing and pace. This is why it has to be compared to contemporaries (for me), because things have moved on since then.

 

I couldn't get Madame_furie to watch it with me, she just hated the dull, clichéd characters. Found them tedious, obvious and boring. The rest of it she didn't mind, but the characters just weren't there for her (and she likes ER - eugh). I agreed, but I enjoyed to quality of production which kept me watching, it was "nice to watch"

 

I think it's where it's in stark contrast to a typical zombie film. There, you only need to spend a couple of minutes on character, they're all dispensable. When you are looking at expanding it over weeks and weeks, it's a much tougher writing task, that I don't think they achieved. Example... The fishing boat scene... You already knew one of them was going to die by the ham fisted "character build" in the shop in episode 2 (trying not to spoil it ). I was just "I know there's a death coming up, stop trying to make me care about a character you've already signed the death warrant on".

 

I WILL watch the new series. I think there are a lot of excellent qualities to the show and if the writing picks up a bit then it'll be top quality. I know I sounded harsh, but it IS one of the most striking and interesting TV shows for a while. As I say, if you like the entire zombie thing, then you're not going to get better outside of the original Dawn of the Dead.

 

WHAT THE FUCK IS HE TALKING ABOUT.

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I think if the show was struggling at all then that might bother me but as we know it's not. It's liked by both viewers and critics and it gets very good ratings. There will always be a certain amount of people who don't like something no matter how good it appears to be, that's not gonna change so just leave them to it.

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I've read the comics up to 79 now and I'm just hoping the series comes back around to follow the events of the comic. As much as I enjoyed the tv series, I do admit I think it's a bit lacking in comparison to the comic.

 

They could probably get away with dragging out certain events to get 5, maybe 6 seasons out of it with the characters going from:

 

Season 2: Travelling, staying at the farm, finding the prison.

Season 3: Clearing out the prison / prison events, helicopter crash

Season 4: Woodbury, the prison attack, Carl & Rick going off alone

Season 5: Re-uniting with t'others, getting to the church, facing the cannibals

Season 6: Reaching the community in Washington

 

 

However, it is an American show so no doubt there'll be 24 episodes per series and an hour per episode meaning endless filler. If they had about 12-16 episodes per season and left it at 5, they'd be able to make a great show.

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well season 2 is only on order for 13 episodes and AMC handle their original dramas really well so I don't think there's going to be a problem there

 

hopefully with new writers and the fairly secure position the show is now in they can get on with making the show better

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I've read the comics up to 79 now and I'm just hoping the series comes back around to follow the events of the comic. As much as I enjoyed the tv series, I do admit I think it's a bit lacking in comparison to the comic.

 

They could probably get away with dragging out certain events to get 5, maybe 6 seasons out of it with the characters going from:

 

Season 2: Travelling, staying at the farm, finding the prison.

Season 3: Clearing out the prison / prison events, helicopter crash

Season 4: Woodbury, the prison attack, Carl & Rick going off alone

Season 5: Re-uniting with t'others, getting to the church, facing the cannibals

Season 6: Reaching the community in Washington

 

 

However, it is an American show so no doubt there'll be 24 episodes per series and an hour per episode meaning endless filler. If they had about 12-16 episodes per season and left it at 5, they'd be able to make a great show.

 

YES! Your challenge now is to read the greatest comic ever made (Invincible) :D

 

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I think if the show was struggling at all then that might bother me but as we know it's not. It's liked by both viewers and critics and it gets very good ratings. There will always be a certain amount of people who don't like something no matter how good it appears to be, that's not gonna change so just leave them to it.

 

Well, if we're being honest, it's not THAT good. It's a good show, it's not Mad Men, like most people are making it out to be.

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Ok so i have now read all the comics upto issue 79 barring issue 77 which was.... unavailable.

 

It really is incredibly moving stuff:

In the 30/40s with the prison, seeing Michonne raped while glen had to listen, seeing Lori and Judy killed, watching the govenor cutting off Tyresses head in cold blood.

 

Then as we move on and meet abraham and the gang, when we have to watch the very nearly rape scene on carl on the interstate, it actually made me feel ill and i was nearly in tears. Unbelievable writing, and the drawing was also spot on. Finding out about Abrahams past, it just makes you sit there and think, if the world really went to shit, they're right. Zombies wouldnt be the problem, people would.

 

Just as you think its safe to come out of the woods, we meet the cannibals and poor poor dale being eaten by people who casually discuss eating their own children. I was literally smiling and thinking "Fuck yeah" when Rick got to them.

 

The whole saving the world from Washington was something i saw coming as a fraud from the fat scientest, but it was pulled of in a easy to believe manner. Im not sure what to make of the new community, if their is one thing that they keep drilling into us its that if something looks too good to be true, then it is!

 

 

Where do we go from here?

 

I think we will be seeing a large herd arrive in perfectstown D.C very soon. We also seem to be getting set up for a discovery about why some of the undead are different from others, like the one in the woods that lost control of its body. Rick is back in charge, more tough desicions to be made soon, and i catually worry how he will cope with this.

 

 

I cant see alot of the comics making it into the TV series though, it is so much darker than anything i can imagine watching on TV.

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Yeah the next arc is called No Way Out and looks to be based on a full on Herd hitting the DC sanctuary. There are some spoiler images for the cover art

here if you're interested. It's cover art, so it's nothing specific but it gives a good idea of where the book is going in the immediate future.

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Not read a comic since I was at school I think but a friend lent me the books which are a few issues put into one volume. Am loving it - read a fair bit in one sitting - not sure what issue I am up to yet but I just finished the fifth one and it ends with

Rick having his hand cut off and the governor planning his assault on the prison.

 

 

This is a perfect zombie story. It really makes you wonder what you would do in those circumstances and makes you realise that most of the bullshit in day to day life is not very important at all.

 

Really powerful stuff. Can't wait to read more, but need to sleep now!

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Holy shit. Just read the eighth book. Issue 48 I think it was. ReZ is right when he says there are much more shocking things in store.

 

kill little Judith and Lori like that? This is some seriously fucked up shit. I love it!! What next for Rick and Carl?

 

 

I can't see the TV show following the comic on this though but you never know. Not seen any of it yet though as I'm worried it won't be a patch on the comic.

 

Why didn't I start reading this earlier??

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I haven't read the comic book yet (comics are expensive), so I can't compare them, but the TV series is really good. From what I can remember, it's basically an adaption of the first trade paperback (so the first six issues), though obviously there are some changes. We'll have to see how closely they stick to the comic book's story in the future.

 

Anyway, you should definitely check it out.

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