AMC's The Walking Dead

This Thread Will Contain Spoilers.






So overall, I really enjoyed it.

The beginning did bug the crap out of me though. I'm not going to lie, it's me being totally nitpicky, but...

So he's in a hospital where all the clocks have stopped and the machinery's not running, yet it has running water and some of the lights still have power. O_o Furthermore, our shot of the Hospital from outside shows fire's at least partly gutted it. How in the heck is this man still alive?

I also found it odd that he found one person who'd been devoured, but not turned. It might have been recent, but the Hospital Scrubs suggested otherwise. I wonder why that person didn't turn into Leftovers like the other one.

Indeed, I found it strange that the original three let their guards down so quickly when in the showers. Given these Zombies are a little more intelligent then your average Zed-Heads (They pick things up and manipulate the environment), that just seemed incredibly stupid to me. Unless they locked the door behind them, nothing's stopping a Zombie from wandering in on them.


I definitely plan to tune in next week though. This is going to get interesting - even if I did see the whole bit with his wife and partner coming from the start.



Oh, also I found the Zombie Makeup fairly Hit and Miss. Some of it was fantastic (Indeed, the Leftovers Zombie was extremely well done), but others just looked well...like a random person who has had blood put on them. I'd kinda wish for more consistency in terms of Zombie look.

I absolutely loved it. VERY impressive for a television series. That first body barely had anything left of it, as if it was TOO devoured to be turned or something.

One thing I found confusing was why the man (forgot his name) started shooting all those walkers, calling attention to himself. Why was that exactly? Was it just because of getting his "wife" close enough to put her out of her misery?

I was expecting him to meet the others at the end, but I guess that will happen next week.

And I wouldn't say the make-up was hit or miss, but then again I haven't seen that many zombie movies. That torso zombie especially freaked me out.

Can't wait for next week. I loved the length. Wish every episode could have that length. It would sort of make sense to have 70-ish minute episodes since there is only, I believe, 6 episodes this season (which is good. less episodes=better quality to me)

kcooper76 wrote:

I absolutely loved it. VERY impressive for a television series. That first body barely had anything left of it, as if it was TOO devoured to be turned or something.

On another board, me and another guy have been hashing out the possibilities on that one. Given the Soldier didn't react immediately, we figure he just didn't enter her area of perception. Her arms, shoulders, and head were still relatively intact, so she'd have definitely been a dragger. Or there might have been a head wound away from the camera.

But still, yeah that was freaky. Not even Romero shows the aftermath of a feeding like that, but it makes sense.

Quote :

One thing I found confusing was why the man (forgot his name) started shooting all those walkers, calling attention to himself. Why was that exactly? Was it just because of getting his "wife" close enough to put her out of her misery?

Yup. That's what I got out of the "Come on baby. Come on out." that he uttered. He was doing it to intentionally draw her out.

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And I wouldn't say the make-up was hit or miss, but then again I haven't seen that many zombie movies. That torso zombie especially freaked me out.

The Leftovers (That's what I called that one) was probably the best looking Zombie of the bunch. I'm still trying to figure out how they did the dragging sequence, since it looked like a full practical effect and not CG (I'm real good at spotting CG). I wonder if they didn't rig a Dummy with a RC Car for the distance shots.

Regardless, very well executed special effects. And a Child Zombie in the opening three minutes! Those things are super rare in Zombie Fiction. Even more rare is actually putting one down!

I don't think we're meant to think too much about the first dead person. It just got us into that dread inducing mood. The entire hospital scene was especially creepy, the way he was not defended and dazed at the same time.

I honestly didn't see the twist with the wife coming, but I'm hoping that the blonde actress we saw also has a big role, I'd hate it if the only lead female (the wife) is someone I feel like I'm going to dislike.

Exactly what I thought, about the "leftover", I'd like to see how they did that. That's a great name for it. "leftovers"

And, while I see what that guy was going for, he put his son at risk! So not worth it.

That opening was excellent. It got me glued to the screen immediately. You're right: child zombie seen and shot within minutes, that's not something I expected to see. I was honestly surprised thy were able to show all the violence they got in there. Scenes like the close up of the head shot didn't shy away at all. Pretty gory throughout.

AMC really is the first network to really use the fact Cable Networks are not beholden to the FCC to crank out quality, original programming. I can already say for certain this show is totally bought when it comes out on DVD, and it's making me consider buying the Comic the show is based off of.


As for the Wife - I really can't blame her too much for that sequence. As far as either of them are concerned, the main character is dead. The only question remains is whether this romance started after things dropped in the pot...or before. My money's on the latter.

Also she did have a good idea about warning people away from Atlanta. Without knowing more about their camp situation, I can't say whether or not the caution is justified.


The Horse sequence actually made me squeamish. Though that was another gaff I caught (I wasn't intentionally looking for them - at least not consciously. Maybe I was doing it as a way to keep reminding myself what I was watching was all fake), during the feasting scene none of the Zombies take bites out of what they're grabbing. I'm not blaming them for that - I certainly wouldn't stick raw meat that's been out for who knows how long in my mouth. But I just found it funny one Zombie has a hold of an Intestine, brings it up to his open mouth, then pulls the intestine away from it.

Oh, AMC has really put itself up there with the competition of other "ground-breaking TV show" networks.

Agree completely on the horse scene. Made me pretty uneasy myself. And I noticed as well while watching that none of them were eating it. I think they should have made it look like they were eating what they tore off, it would have made it more effective.

The wife thing was definitely going on before the events, I feel like it was the purpose of the discussion at the beginning.

Random: I find it interesting that the lead actor is British.

Anyone take the 'What type of survivor are you' quiz on the AMC site?

Yup. I got "Tough Chick". Though I'm hardly a "Chick", I agree with the sentiments of the label.

I got Natural Leader (the deputy character). I played around with the answers afterward- I saw Tough Chick, Hillbilly Survivalist, and Father Figure (and who knows how many more depending on answer combos). Guess there are a lot more characters that will be popping up later on.

Personally, some of the questions just weren't what I'd categorize myself doing in that situation. At the same time, the quiz was aimed more at Group Oriented Survival rather then Individual (In case of a Zombie Apocalypse, I'd basically check sentimentality in at the door and become one cold hearted bastard in order to keep me and my family safe).

I got Father Figure. It did seem to be geared toward group survival, but I find group survival more interesting than individual survival, myself.

So who watched tonight's episode?

Intense, is all I can call it. I mean it really never let up in regards to everything happening. These Zombies just continue to be unnerving, given their limited environmental manipulation. Climbing ladders? Using Rocks? It's very minor things, but it's unnerving.

I like that the ended the episode on a slightly light hearted beat. This is a show that could easily turn into a stress fest if not for little "ease" moments like that.


Rick and Shawn really have different approaches to the same problem, don't they? Rick draws people together, working for the common good. Shawn (Shane? Still learning character names) is more in tune to how I'd handle the Zombie Apocalypse - Very Every Man for himself. At the same time, that's quickly painting him as the asshole of the group so we'll see. It'll be interesting to see what happens next week.

It left me wanting more! You're right, it never lets go of the viewer, it's a ride from beginning to end. It certainly was a stress fest to me!

I'm still working on remembering names too. I like the way they have connected the characters to each other...it's a nice transition into meeting the other survivors next week.

Is it just me, or was that scene with the hacking of the body shockingly disgusting? I mean, it went on and on, and kept getting worse!

plus...am I the only one surprised the used the n word several times?

An overall excellent episode...can't wait for next week

The Hacking Scene was very disgusting. I'd wandered away for a second for a bio break, and came back and couldn't understand what they were doing or why Rick felt the need to eulogize "Dark Meat" as he called it.


The N word make me go "Woah!" the the first time I heard it, but I wasn't exactly shocked by it. They were portraying that guy in a specific way and using words like that is what a character like that would do.

And while I didn't really like the character, given the previews for next week I feel sorry for him.


And I like that the Undead are the enemies of the piece, not set pieces. Romero has a real habit (especially lately) to use the Zombies as a backdrop for asshats screwing over other asshats (Seriously, in Romero's world people literally cannot work together to save their own lives). With The Walking Dead, the Zombies are the true enemies and the Human Drama arises from that enemy.

Yeah, the ending made me feel bad, wondering whether it is better for him to die waiting or to be killed instantly by zombies. but, after watching the 3 minute preview on amc's site, I see that next week should be interesting.

Glad I'm not the only one who found that disgusting. I don't watch many zombie movies, so I can't compare the violence to them. But this stuff did make me pretty uneasy. I was surprised they showed the hacking as much as they did. I didn't think it could get worse, but then came the 'taking out of the guts' and the 'rubbing the guts on themselves' part. Seriously, more and more violent every few minutes!

I do love the human interactions more than anything else. They're so fragile, and the drama in that department seriously adds to the entertainment.

Zombie films generally come in two flavors: Gore or Drama. The Walking Dead walks that fine line between the two.

That makes sense. I think it is best that they combine the two. Much more original this way. It actually is pretty hard to give the show a genre.

So after airing only two episodes, AMC's already green lit The Walking Dead's Second Season.

The premiere raked in 5.3 Million Viewers and last night's episode saw 4.7 million tune in, so not that huge a drop in viewership. I bet AMC's kicking itself for only producing six episodes this first season, though I understand the caution. Zombie fiction is a niche market, and the makeup budget alone has to be staggering.

The caution makes complete sense, this is the first of its kind, isn't it?

I hope next season is limited to 6 episodes as well, and they don't pick it up for 13 or anything. I was pleased to learn that there were only 6 this season, it means an overall better quality for the season.

It was way too gory for my liking, but the story was pretty good. Will check out the next episode.

Also, I noticed there was no explanation to the zombie apocalypse, or was it mentioned and I missed it?

Wow....the opening scene to this week's episode was tense. It is hard to imagine anything more horrifying. I mean, that was SCARY.

DoctorOlly wrote:

Also, I noticed there was no explanation to the zombie apocalypse, or was it mentioned and I missed it?

None given, mainly because it hasn't even been revealed in the comics what the cause was (Though going by summaries, they're building up to that). The Show's going to wrap its season with the group

Spoiler:

I opted to skip tonight's episode. Work was absolute heck, and I spent some time chilling with the fiance', got home and discover I'm really not in the mood to watch it tonight.

So I finally caught up with "The Walking Dead".

Intense thus far. I do wonder what happened at the camp, that the Zombies were able to essentially sneak up on everybody. I wonder if it wasn't Merle like they initially expected.

And does anyone else get a "Day of the Dead" vibe from the CDC? Judging by the trailer for next week, he's going to deliberately infect Andrea to collect new samples to replace the ones he lost.

Rust wrote:

So I finally caught up with "The Walking Dead".

Intense thus far. I do wonder what happened at the camp, that the Zombies were able to essentially sneak up on everybody. I wonder if it wasn't Merle like they initially expected.

And does anyone else get a "Day of the Dead" vibe from the CDC? Judging by the trailer for next week, he's going to deliberately infect Andrea to collect new samples to replace the ones he lost.

not familiar with "Day of the Dead". The 'zombies at camp' thing you're talking about made me a bit angry that the female characters on the show, up to now, have been portrayed as somewhat pathetic. If the females are attacked, they just stand there and scream and wait for the men to help them. The men, as I've complained about before, think everything can be resolved by fighting with each other. Yes, the show is intense, but at times the character development could really use some actual "developing".
As for Andrea, I have read elsewhere that, in the comics, she eventually evolves into a much stronger, major character. I hope they take that route in the series, and don't suddenly kill her off or something next week. It's not like it is a direct adaptation or anything, so you never know...

Yeah, the camp scene was a little hockey, a throw back to your traditional Zombie flick. Especially the one gal who runs screaming through the camp only to get clothes lined by a Zombie and set upon.

I'd still love to know how Zombies got that close to the camp without anyone noticing though. Dipsticks should have had somebody on watch.