AMC zombie series from Frank 'Majestic' Darabont - The Walking Dead

We weren't fun-laughing, we were grimacing and wincing at how lame it was.

I mean, it basically boils down to if you aren't going to make this show about zombie gore and brutality and want us to care about a core group of characters, please do something to make at least a few of them likable. Or at the very least a character arc worth even following.

I'm working on a basic theory that the reason I respond so viscerally to these maddening characters is that they are drawn so well as to resemble people I would hate irl

I knew this show would fuck it all up when for the season one finale of a show about the zombie apocalypse, they instead chose to end it with a fucking ticking countdown to a building blowing up. Like, what the fuck? Are union wages for zombie hordes so high that they just can't fill a show about zombies with zombies?

Weeeellll, I'm not so much "I demand all zombies all the time", I don't mind some non-zombie times.

I find it hard to believe in the zombie apocalypse, there would be a lot of non-zombie downtime.

I keep expecting them to find some giant theater where all the zombies are gathered watching "Snow White."

Do you all think that you would hate the show as much as you say, if you didn't have each other to get all riled up about it with? Be honest. I mean, they probably don't have the budget of Game of Thrones so I usually attribute most of the lack of action to that, and aren't they following a specific story? I don't think this show is that bad, but the idea of survival in a zombie apocalypse has always been a fascinating scenario to me, so I'm more easily satisfied in this case. They're due for another large scale run-in with zombies by now I'll say that much.

Characters are all pretty unlikeable but I'd be a negative nancy too if I knew there wasn't a way out of that world either.

Zombie movies being famously big budget and expensive to make

I've been a negative, er, Josh since episode two. I was a fan of the comic and it was something I looked forward to. I even had my wife on board, and she is not a zombie stan. But it nosedived so fast I took to the boards (as such) to confirm it was not just a matter of my perspective or misplaced expectations and that, yes, the show was screwing up a sure thing.

owen sustaining that over a whole show is another thing. But yeah, I think they must be able to do more action wise than what they've done per episode so far.

Got you Josh, just suspected everyone was feeding off each others collective disappointment here and the common voice turns out to be way angrier than each individual might be.

true. But if it's a budget thing, they aren't spending it on zombies. They aren't spending it on casting (was there a bargain on actors from The Mist going when they started this?). People rep hard for the comics so the writing is pretty much there.

it's possible the rhythm was totally thrown off by the writer's strike a couple of year's back.

What's amazing is that if you scroll various forums, the negative reaction seems to be pretty pervasive and consistent. It's a rare confluence of fan opinion.

zombies dont HAVE to be expensive, but the makeup effects on the show are very high quality

I don't think this show is that bad, but the idea of survival in a zombie apocalypse has always been a fascinating scenario to me, so I'm more easily satisfied in this case. They're due for another large scale run-in with zombies by now I'll say that much.

― Evan, Thursday, February 16, 2012 12:09 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark

but they mostly ignore the survival aspect in favor of having cardboard characters monologue at each other incessantly!

one thing that feels like its getting worse on the show - it feels like the writers have some really condescending attitudes about women, and every new 'lol women' scene gets under my skin more and more

i did think the bar scene in the last ep was one of the best things the show's ever done. and it feels a little like they're trying to make these characters more credible in the post-darabont era

heres a pretty frank interview with glen mazzara, the new showrunner: http://www.vulture.com/2012/02/walking-dead-glen-mazzara-interivew-frank-darabont.html

People rep hard for the comics so the writing is pretty much there.

I finally got around to reading the first book of the comics...and it was as corny as hell. I think the comics are definitely darker than the show, but are equally ridiculous and bad.

yeah ive always been a hater re: the comics. i think theyre crummy

I figured that because people read the comics and they are popular that they must be good but I guess that applies to the show too. No real ratings collapse even though everyone is totally disappointed . I have not read the comics.

The comics are comics, though. They're sort of disposable. And man, it blows my mind that someone could even suggest Walking Dead is getting more condescending toward women! That's been a red flag from the start, the lol women stuff, and that's not including, you know, Shane plowing the wife in the middle of the zombie infested woods because, grunt, caveman need sex, where is my woman, snort.

Well he didn't drag her there by the hair. Good points though, I just haven't felt the rage you all have watching it. Show is just alright overall to me.

tbf caveman DO need sex

shane needs a shock collar

i did think the bar scene in the last ep was one of the best things the show's ever done. and it feels a little like they're trying to make these characters more credible in the post-darabont era

that rick/hershel bit was typical of the fucking shitty 90s videogame "this has to happen so the plot moves on" script that dominates this show. a big weird monologue then hershel just bangs his glass on the table as if to say "sure, you're right! i no longer hold my previous belief! let's go and rescue my family now"

"but wait rick, we can't go and rescue my family until we get some pharmacy supplies"

"we have to go now hershel"

"but wait rick, we can't go and rescue my family until we get some pharmacy supplies"

aren't they following a specific story?

deviates pretty widely from the comic, with a few setpieces in a different order carried over

the comic at least has lots of zombie action (except for one period when they were in a pretty secure location)

i mean in the comic, shane dies pretty much at the start

whyyyy can this not happen

The comics are comics, though. They're sort of disposable. And man, it blows my mind that someone could even suggest Walking Dead is getting more condescending toward women! That's been a red flag from the start, the lol women stuff, and that's not including, you know, Shane plowing the wife in the middle of the zombie infested woods because, grunt, caveman need sex, where is my woman, snort.

― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, February 16, 2012 10:52 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark

its probably not getting worse, its just my tolerance for it is worsening

I feel like at this level of apocalypse they would have way more zombie stragglers wandering through the farmland, unless they stick to the roads for some reason that really would be more of an excuse.

Shane's still alive? Boy I would hate to be watching this

>:(

I hope you not-watching comic book nerds are enjoying yourselves

don't worry, he never really leaves the story

it speaks to the popularity of zombies that a show as bad as this on every level is successful enough to still be made

I'll watch anything with zombies.

That's what I thought too, but this show cured me of that.

the first half of last night's episode was the best this show has been in a very very long time. the second half not so much (too much talking; like, during maggie's long story about I don't know what, I kept hoping a zombie would launch itself throught the window and rip their heads off), but the final scene was good.

yeah, the first half was good. things really bog down when every storyline (there are too many) has to be dealt with

the first half was exciting, as you'd expect a show about fucking zombies to be. when this show isn't exciting it is an absolute chore (because, as I keep complaining, the sound mix is awful.... like, I could not follow that story of maggie's at all because it sounded like she had cotton balls in her mouth).

"he's a good guy"

"yeah.... he is"

AWFUL.

the first half of last night's episode was the best this show has been in a very very long time.

Absolutely. I'm glad they're getting away from The Waltons With Zombies a little bit.

So tired of the "two characters go off and do community college drama class exercises for five minutes" shit.

So if the world waits out for all of the zombies to rot to the bone, they're home free, right?

much as I can't stand Lori's character in general, do we really have to do Lady Macbeth now? such a facepalm.

pretty sure the intent of this show is to just make me irrationally yell at the tv.

Wow, the blonde lady had her highest and lowest points tonight. Pretty good episode overall I think.

Liked this ep a lot

Wish Lori had been given an alpha-female drag-out fight with Andrea the way Rick got with Shane. Settle shit the old way, lol.

As someone who read a bunch of the comics before getting bored, the idea that this show has less zombies than the mostly-stand-and-talk-about-feelings source material is very O_o.

yeah this was getting back on track. Really worried about how they're going to resolve the male/female dynamics in this (surely they have to???) and that they'll fuck it up

I mean that thing about women doing the cooking/cleaning/laundry thing wouldn't have been put there without some sort of resolution would it? Otherwise it means that the show is being pretty blatantly sexist

Maybe if they're being this blatant then they are commenting on sexism?

very optimistic

As per Roberto Spirelli upthread, there's a decent chance that the comment is that sexism is The Natural Order when Shit Gets Real.

I think they are consciously addressing it as an issue. On one hand you have Lori who is pregnant with a tough cop husband, so her perspective is to fall into the cook/clean role. This conflicts with Andrea who does not have the same context for her perspective and feels that it is more important to learn to shoot and keep watch for zombies rather than do the laundry, which was specifically why they started fighting.