I wasn't going to watch this because i don't get AMC, thanks much stupid service provider, but AMC is having a month long free so I was able to watch it tonight. They have two more encore presentions so if anyone is interested catch it.

Its a zomibe tv series based off the comic book. I've followed it in so much as wiki would post synopsis of each comic until they recently stopped doing that. probably a prelude to the show coming out. The comic is known for its gore, and that anyone can die at anytime. If you are a fan of the zombie survival genre definately check it out.

We watched it a couple times tonight, after the neighborhood kids _finally_ stopped coming around. Ravenous little buggers.

More than a few zombie-movie cliches in this premiere, but generally ok. Protagonist being not genre savvy led to several expected blunders and such.

Not really sure why he needed so many shotguns, unless he was thinking ahead to potentially arm any survivors he ran across, though the arms cache is temporarily out of reach.

As for cliches, the near opening scene of protagonist in cop car talking to his partner about his troubles with his wife made all of us in the room immediately go, "Hm, yeah, your cop partner is fooling around with your wife, and this will be an issue down the line". Lo and behold....

Natural 28 days later approach used. We had mixed reactions, some felt it was a rip off, I reasoned with my friends that despite not being original, it does serve the 'worst case scenario' approach to finding yourself in a zombie apocalypse...that is finding yourself in one that happened while you were out cold, and when you wake up you have no frakking idea what the hell is going on. Not only are you dealing with physical issues, but you have to play catch-up on the world ending situation, which can lead to hilarity.

We all felt sorry for the horse.

I thought it was pretty interesting. I'm not a huge zombie-pacolyse guy, but I'm going to give it a few weeks worth of watching.

I imagine this was done so that the writers could jump right into the zombie apocalypse and not have to worry about how the world fell apart.

I really enjoyed the premiere. All around a solid show, and I really hope it succeeds.

Probably the exact reason, anyway when I read the comics and checked this same thing, it turned out that the they came out at almost the same time. 28 Days was released first, but The Walking Dead #1 and 2 had already been sent to the printers. A coincidence that has no doubt annoyed the author no end.

Oh, and the comic is well worth checking out - there are differences that may become more pronounced as it goes, though so far they have mostly been entirely acceptable presentation changes. It has a bit more action as well, but that's no problem.

In fact, there are a few things I kinda hope they remove in the show... Such as the katana-wielding schizophrenic lawyer, or just the stupid katana. And the death of far too many awesome characters - which is to say, almost all of them.

Double Post...

A very solid premier. It captured the feel of the comics, but they told their own story.

I liked the expanded section with Morgan and his son, as well as a much more creepy hospital scene.

For a TV show, it looked damned good, I just hope they can keep up the production values. I hope the ratings support whatever budget they need to keep it up.

Never read (or even heard of) the graphic novels. My two cents on the TV series:

Not bad, just mediocre. Same old stuff you see in every zombie flick. One minor innovation: in the other zombie flicks I've seen, they leave the animals alone. These buggers seem to like horse flesh as well.

I'd generally agree with the 'mediocre' thing - The Walking Dead takes a bit of time to get rolling. It is a character-driven comic, the zombie-killing action is NOT the main focus, so it might not be for everyone.

I can't see that person getting removed from the show- way too much fan love. I would like to see that person made less comic-booky .... replace the katana with a machete for instance. And while I definitely can see a couple of deaths getting prolonged, or removed, because beloved actors draw in money, the deaths of awesome characters makes the story succeed.

I read the series and loved it, and have high hopes for the TV Series.

Episode 2 was pretty good.

Id be interested to see where they go with the 'background' behind the zombies. At the moment I can see the rabies like infection angle, but what I realized I was having difficulty lining up was the crawler half-corpse we saw in the pilot. (there was one right? It was halloween and I was drinking so I might have misremembered).

I'm getting the 'shoot them in the head' to kill them aspect, but that crawler was an outlier. Was it a partial corpse that got zombified? It looked more beatup than the walking shamblers. Was it dead before it got zombified? A body from the morgue or somesuch?

As far as the 28 Days Later "rip off" thing, the storyboards for the first several issues of the comic had already been sent off to the publisher before the flick came out. I'm sure it was a matter of irritation to the Robert Kirkman (writer/creator), but by then it was likely too late to change anything just to move away from 28 Days.

Try telling that to the fans of "28 days" especially now a days where any thing that has even the smallest resemblance to something else is declared a rip off.

Omg I had an opinion similar to what you just said! You ripped me off! Get out of my braaaaain!

If the person had been grabbed and mauled while alive, but only from the waist down, and then somehow escaped and managed to cling to life long enough to turn- that would cause that sort of effect. I believe it has been established that the larger the wound the quicker a human turns.

If anyone missed the first 2 episodes. This sunday they are playing them both plus the new episode. It starts at 7pm on AMC which is free for the rest of this month.


eat'em up eat'em up yum yum yum!

Thank god for the channel FX, otherwise I wouldn't be able to watch this here in dear old blighty.

I agree, that it is taking a while to get rolling, but that doesn't make it a bad show. Hell, I've had more fun with it in two episodes than I have with some shows. Looking at you, stargate universe. Anyway, it didn't stop me crying over the horse, cheering over the tank, and nodding sagely over the ballsy method they use to get out. It's a good show, and now a weekly fixture of my fridays. Heres hoping it keeps going till completion.

Just watched episode 3. I hope I am not spoiling too much but to say the least, these are not "rabies" zombies. These are corpses controlled by what remains of the nervous system in the head. I think some have called it a return to the Romero zombie, to a degree.

A spoiler on this tv episode in the hidden text:
Decapitated head is still trying to bite the living.

And if you had read the comic, this gets revealed more and more along the way but when it comes to the tv show, it seems they are definitely going to differ from the comic in some respects when it comes to the story but in this they appear to be similar.

A spoiler on the comic book in this hidden text:
People who die from pretty much anything in the comic come back as a zombie unless that death involves the destruction of the brain somehow. At first they think it is because of contact with the zombies, like bites, scratches, and other exchanges of bodily fluids but later this view point changes with some little girls being killed by the serial killer. One particular nasty character keeps zombie heads in containers for what seems like the purpose of a personal source of "entertainment".

So, not determined yet if that is going to be the case in the tv show.

I like this show (never read the graphic novels), but I am disappointed in some of their storytelling choices. I was sad to see the horse go in the first ep, because I thought that was a really elegant solution to the whole "cars breakdown and need gas" thing (and it reminded me of the quote from the Tribesman archetype in the SR1 BBB).

Character-wise, I'm 50-50. I was surprised at the amount of hate for the Shane character on another tv review sight-- the guy seems to be doing the best he can. And I'm not sure I buy the whole infidelity angst angle either; there has to be some sort of apocolypse waiver for booty calls.

My moral barometer for end-of-the-world zombie scenarios goes like this: sleeping with my wife when everyone asusmes I'd dead, that's maybe a 2. Driving a car with a car alarm going off into the middle of camp is at least a 7. Honking the horn imaptiently because you think some other people are taking too long gathering up ammo means you get to be used as a human pogo stick.

That's not to say I think characters shouldn't make bad decisions, I think they should. If it makes sense for the character, it makes the story stronger. But then there's things that just seem really, really obviously dumb, like people making a lot of noise for no real reason when survival seems to depend on remaining hidden. It wasn't like there wasn't a zombie twenty feet from tents ten minutes prior to Darryl honking the truck horn-- although to be fair, that zombie was outside the impenetrable "cans hanging from string" line of defense they had set up. Seriously, is that a thing? Zombies are terrified of cans? What's the thought process there? "We have some cans hanging from a string ten feet from our tents, so if we hear a 'clink' in the middle of the night, that's either a squirrel, the wind, or a horde of zombies." (Here's an idea. If we're worried about getting eaten by the hordes of ravenous zombies, let's not use a defensive measure that's eerily reminiscent of a dinner bell.)

Overall I like the show, but that just makes the little stuff that bugs me bug me all the more.

I just watched the pilot again over on Hulu and realized there was stuff I missed the first time I saw it. Possibly because it was late, and we were drunk while watching it. Drunk watching the pilot 3 times in a row didn't help so much for recall.

Anyhoo...

the zeds are creepy in that they retain a little knowledge or mannerisms of their previous life. The girl picking up the doll for example, zombies knowing how to work doorknobs, etc, or how to peer into peepholes.

The zombie mom peeping back through the peephole also makes sense in later context, as we learn about smell being a factor, she probably smelled faint 'human meat' behind that door. In the later ep we see zombies having enough sense at times to use tools (rocks vs window).

Having read the wiki, I see they are going the route of 'body issues don't really matter as long as the nervous system is still sorta functional', which then does explain torso lady. I also noticed that all the dead bodies we see in the hospital backyard/dock had headshots, presumably to keep them down.

If not the string of cans, then what? It's something, and I imagine getting spooked every time a squirrel climbs across the can line is alot better than stepping outside your tent into a facefull of zombie.

Glenn shouldn't have driven the stolen car back to camp, but it was shown that he wanted to keep the car.

The survivors are louder than they should be sometimes, but they've survived by hiding in the woods, not by perfecting their stealth skills and survival strategies against the zombies in the city.

This made me laugh out-loud at work.

I believe the writers are very cognizant of the fact that the camp is basically a zombie buffet right now. The campers are counting on:

1.) Round-the-clock watches being scheduled
2.) The fact that they're on a mountain in the middle of no-where, where currently there are no other people, and thus, no other zombies

I'm guessing that the safety of the camp is going to become a significant plot-point soon.

Just about anywhere there would be a secure structure for that many people to live, (such as an abandoned apt. building) there's going to be plenty of walkers roaming around. That, and the isolated quarry DOES have easy access to water, which is a pretty major concern for survival, especially in the Atlanta summer.

Ding ding ding, we have a ... dinner bell.

That some haven't read the comics is pretty telling, I hope you enjoy the ride as the survivors realize they are living in a zombie apocalypse, every time they don't accept that has dire consequences and I am so glad someone who hasn't read the comics is figuring that out, especially with such fine quotable remarks.

(Here's an idea. If we're worried about getting eaten by the hordes of ravenous zombies, let's not use a defensive measure that's eerily reminiscent of a dinner bell.) - Mercer

Pure gold, pure gold.

The bigger issue was that he lied about Rick being dead. If I'm for-sure Zombie kibble -- pulled apart, gnawed to pieces, and gone -- my wife can do whatever she'd need to do in order to feel safe, to get protection for herself and our kid (if we had one by then), etc, etc. If turning to my best friend for comfort got her through the night and kept her sane during a Zombpocalypse, I'm all for it.

But not if I'm not actually dead, and my "best friend" is the one that told my wife I was right before he started to rub naughty bits with her.

I don't have a problem with Shane for his leadership style. He's playing it safer than your average Hollywood type would (plus), he's being kind of a dick about it (minus, but I can understand), and I, for one, loved it when he took out his frustration beating the shit out of Ed at the end of episode 3 (big plus, to me). What's more, he reflexively got Rick's back during the scuffle at the camp (plus). As a character, as a cop who's trying to keep a camp alive, all that stuff? I like him just fine.

But him telling Lori that Rick was dead when he wasn't, and then sleeping with her? Nnnnnnnope. That's his only big black mark, to me.

I'm not so sure that Shane's lie was really that bad.

The hospital Rick was at was clearly overrun with Zeds, and Shane was probably right to assume that Rick was a gonner. Lying to Lori, and telling her that Rick was dead forces her to focus on her own survival, and the survival of her son, Carl. Keep in mind, I'm deep into the land of speculation here, but that lie probably saved their lives.

So for the last month or so, Shane and Lori have been through hell, and there's a natural attraction between the two, and they wind-up doing the horizontal mambo. Again, by this point, some guy in a coma in a hospital swarming with flesh-hungry undead is f-ing dead and gone, so I don't really fault Shane for doing what comes naturally. Frankly, if my wife was rescued from zombies by my best friend, and I'm dead and gone, they can make the sexy-time all they want. Hopefully there will be enough condoms left in the world.

For me, it comes down to this: Did Shane lie to Lori with the intent of bedding her?

From Lori's little rant at him, and from Shane's attitude towards women (and knowledge of Lori and Rick's marital issues)...I'd guess "yes," myself.

I'm leaning that way too, but my usual compulsion to root for the underdog compels me to give Shane the benefit of the doubt.

It looks like things are going to come to a head quickly - Rick's going to find-out sooner or later about Shane and Lori.

I don't see him as an irredeemable villain (and I didn't in the comics, quite), for the record. I'm just saying that to me, personally, a line was crossed that I would not appreciate happening to me and my family.

If it had happened fairly innocently, with both of them genuinely believing I was dead for reasonable reasons, with neither deceiving the other into thinking so (or, of course, if I was verifiably and certainly deceased), I'd have no problem with Mrs. Crit and my best friend doing whatever they had to do. I like to think, in fact, I'd be happy for 'em both, y'know?

But the addition of deceit to it changes the whole nature of that game, on a personal level. He's not a mustachio twirling villain, and I hope they don't make him into one...but, rather, an understandable reaction then turned into an excusable mistake which has now become a purposeful sin, and that just adds a little different spin on the character.

I can't call it at lie (Shane saying Rick was dead) on the info provided so far. Given that Rick was in a coma and left in a hospital that was completely overwhelmed by zombies, saying he was dead would far and away be a the only reasonable assumption.

Now, this could not be the timeline. Shane could have said Rick was dead long before the hospital was overrun, the evac had failed, or things were even looking that bad (as far as a scenario in which the dead walk can look okay, anyway). If that's the case, then that's a much bigger issue than the former scenario. Given the miraculous nature of Rick's survival, I can't hold anyone assuming he was dead against them.

I'm guessing we'll have to wait a few episodes to find out how much of a bastard Shane may (or may not) be.

Exactly.

I'm struck by this thought: Darabont and Co. where probably trying to cause exactly what we are doing now: Taking on the internet about what a characters true motivations where.

I gotta say, all in all, the amount that they've deviated from the comics certainly keeps the show interesting for those that have read them 12 times.

Yup (on both those points). I'm still enjoying it because the characters look right, the setting feels right, the overall tension is just like I want from the comics, the casting and costuming folks have done a great job, special effects have done a terrific job (for a tv show budget)...but there have been enough divergences from the comic plot that I'm still wondering what will happen next, and to whom. I'm as big a fan of loyal on-screen adaptations of my beloved literature as the next guy, but this has been a real treat.

I can't fault the Shane of the tv show for telling Lori that Rick was a goner. Seeing the condition of that hospital, it was miraculous Rick didn't die there while in a coma, there were a plethora of potential sources of death there. And they would have known upon arriving near Atlanta and not being able to get in because everyone was getting out of dodge who could (the road) that what they had been told of a evac of people to Atlanta from the hospital was no longer going to happen.

Heck, I don't even fault the Rick of the comic book, he only steps over the line when he doesn't want the camp to move somewhere safer, then tries to kill Rick while hunting and Carl puts a bullet in him. That level betrayal shapes a lot of what Rick's character later becomes.

It will be interesting to see if the show goes in that direction or diverges heavily from the comic in regards to Shane. I am enjoying all the other differences they have put in so far.

On the other hand, even if Shane lied to Rick's wife, unplugged Rick's life support and personally led the horde of zombies to the hospital, that'd still make him only the third most reprehensible character on the show so far. With Merle and Ed in the group, it doesn't take much to make it into the middle of the pack in terms of decency.

That's what I meant when I said I was 50-50 on the characters. Ed and Merle are so reprehensible that I think it's a weak point in the show. If either of them had one redeeming feature shown, that would be something. As it stands, Merle is a drug addicted, violent white supremecist who was actively engaged in getting everyone on the rooftop killed before threatening to kill them himself. There was really no moral ambiguity to handcuffing him, and really none to leaving him.

I'm guessing as the show goes along the choices are going to get harder and the survivors are going to be less tolerant of assholes who endanger the group. For now, it seems like the characters are always a little behind the audience, which is one way of generating suspense but it's also kind of frustrating. Characters don't have to do dumb things to make situations more exciting, that seems a little lazy on the part of the writers.

Not to poop on the proverbial Cheerios though. I enjoy the show, but I do spend part of each episode groaning in frustration. Maybe it's just that as gamers, we've spent way more time thinking about zombie apocolypses than the average AMC viewer.

I agree with you on Merle- I'd prefer he be less of a clear bad guy (but it doesn't bother me, possibly because I find white supremacists interesting. The way I find ebola interesting). But Ed hasn't done anything that would tarnish his name besides support Merle. He seems like just hick who has a bad older brother who he supports and loves because he is his older brother.

Ed is the wife-beater. Daryl is Merle's brother.

In any case, Ed is more of a set-piece for Shane to beat-up so the audience can see his inner turmoil. He's such a stock-character it isn't worth the screen-time to flesh-out.

Robert Kirkman himself wrote the screenplay for this week's episode, it'll be interesting to see if the tone of the series takes any sharp turns.

Ah. Yeah, I hated Ed being on screen. Not worth being there. It would have been interesting if Shane had beaten someone who didn't deserve it.

So far Shane and Darryl are the two characters I find the most interesting. On one end of the spectrum you have the Ed and Merle guys who are so unsympathetic as to be reprhensible, and on the other you have Rick, who's acting like he's worried about losing his paladin abilities. Shane, Darryl and I'll add in Lori, they're flawed and they're conflicted, but there's enough there that I sympathize with them. Nobody else in the camp has really been fleshed out enough to catch my interest, but I like the old guy too.

well the 5th and i suppose season ending episode is next week. Wonder if they'll parcel it out like psych or eurokea.

good so far.

[Minor Quibble] 6th episode[/Minor Quibble], and yes, it is the season finale. Next season is slated to be 13 episodes, but I haven't heard exactly when that's going to officially start. Apparently, Frank Darabont is replacing most/all of the writers:

http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2010...s-for-season-2/

It was a good first season. Definitely left one intrigued by the possibities for the show. Hopefully they don't F it up.

finally watched the episode 6 lastnight. very good first season. high hopes for next.

I was a little sad that they had the building structure get demolished (I can believe FAE-based decontamination, but not that they'd kick the power up so high as to entirely demolish the building), and there are other similar little flaws here and there, but overall very solid.

~J

To kill every little bug in the atmosphere requires they saturate the entire complex with the aerosol fuel. That's gonna take down pretty much any building, even fortified structures.




-k

Season 2 begins this sunday at 8pm

Well, yes, but there are other factors determining the power of the blast, and they'd be most likely to optimize for temperature and blast duration.


Possibly. I'll grant that my previous objection was too strong, but IIRC the blast sends pieces of structure flying up and out; a simple collapse (with associated fireball) would have been more tasteful and believable IMO.

~J

Fuel-Air Explosives don't destroy near-every-damn-thing in their blast radius just because of the fire aspect, though that is a factor.

FAEs also have a massive overpressure effect. All that burning aerosol fuel creates a titanic amount of gaseous material in a real big hurry. Buildings tend to fall down in their wake because their walls and ceilings get blown out. The massive blast is part and parcel of an FAE.

Debris flying up and out is entirely realistic.

Accidental fuel-air explosion during a training exercise. Fortunately nobody was killed, but that explosion wasn't the gas soaked into the structure, it was the gas vapors in the air.

Also, on topic, The Walken Dead



-k

Canister rounds for cannons would be a good start. Everyone knows Shotguns are good against Zeds, and that turns the Cannons into really big Shotguns. The rest of the rounds, not so good. Maybe HE, but you'd end up with a lot of dangerous crawlers from the edges of the blast.

No, marksmen are a better idea.

But when you're talking microbes, I think it'd be the overwhelming factor. I may be wrong, though.


I'm still not convinced, but I'd have to do nontrivial research to pursue the point. Maybe sometime.

~J