Television The Walking Dead

[Yakuza]

In my opinion this show has failed at making the audience believe the survivors are in constant danger. They should be starving, dehydrated, dirty, tired, scared, paranoid, delusional, suffering from multiple forms of psychosis, struggling with their own morality. They barely even look uncomfortable. At the most they look like they are getting on each others nerves a bit. In the event of a zombie apocalypse wouldnt you want to keep better tabs of your children? How is Carl able to wonder around so freely? The character development is pretty shitty. I simply dont like any of them except maybe daryl, rick, and glen. T-Dog is the epitome of token black guy. On the plus side... the makeup on the zombies is pretty damn awesome.

 

[AmorRoark]

Dude, the zombies are better actors than half the cast. I was pretty blown away by Hershel's blonde daughter (forgot her name) the episode before last though.

"I want. to. go." (clenched teeth) was pretty epic.

 

[skillz~4~thrillz]

this thread is what got me cracked out on the comic!!! I read the story via TWD wiki pages while the last half season was running (well then it ended at issue 92)and i am so hoping to be walking myself soon( bad right leg in desperate need of surgery)so i can got to the new big ass 2nd hand bookstore which has a HUGE comic section,just to make sure i start collecting the weekly issues now (as well as any back issues AND the compendiums,of course)bc I must know what happens next.such a great story.

without owning a single issue of TWD i am far too spoiled on the tale told in print to ever REALLY love this show...and this is only being able to view 4 or 5 issues in full-but the storyline is so amazing and what i have seen of the comic is as beautiful as it is haunting...at times disturbing.

i do dig zombies,however,and it is interesting to think i know what will happen next and be totally surprised-like shane being alive,period. he dies in issue 1 of the comics-a totally insignificant character yet in the show i think the dynamic between himself and rick means he is in this version of the story for the long haul. i hate his character though. ugh...he and lori belong together. i don't know why but i hate both those characters.

it's enough to keep me watching for a while. i do think there could me MORE zombies,but that is just bc they really are excellent zombies. i live 2 hours outside of atlanta and i HATE that i can't walk. i would love to be there during filming maybe be chosen as one of the zombie "extras".

related article on those lucky enough to be chosen to play a zombie... from nytimes.com: Zombie Apocalypse? Atlanta Says Bring It On

 

[enigmaticfreak]

I really don't dig zombie shit aside from 28 days later, but that was about the extent of my love for them. Should I watch this show or realize it's a perfect show for it's genre but I just don't dig the genre? Please explain at will.

 

[MrGrunge]

If you're not into Zombies, this show is perfect for you.

 

[skillz~4~thrillz]

If you're not into Zombies, this show is perfect for you.

lmao...exactly! more walking dead would make this show GOOD!

 

[axl blaze]

T-Dog isn't in the comics, he seems to be their replacement for a hulking ex-nfl player, with them trying to appeal to the streets yo. Epic fail of a character

T-Dog wasn't in the comics, but it's funny you made this comparison to a hulking ex-NFL player

some say that T-Dog was inspired from the second leading male character, for only the first half of TWD comics (before he died) - Tyreese. and Tyreese was a former NFL player, for the Atlanta Falcons to be exact

however, much like in the overall discussion of the comics VS the show, the character in the comic is SO MORE fleshed out. Tyreese is a strong black man who doesn't take shit, but sounds smart and well put together, and had perhaps the best heart in the comics besides maybe Dale or Carl (little boy). Tyreese, in the comics, was a true yin to Rick's yang

if T-Dog is supposed to be the show's version of Tyreese, they are failing oh-so-miserably. also if T-Dog was supposed to be Tyreese's incarnation in the show, I would probably brain myself like a finished walker on the show. thankfully, I don't think this is the case

 

[freddy47]

^Indeed. If T-Dog is Tyreese than the writers of the show need to commit seppuku immediately.

That makes a lot of sense. I hadn't heard anything about this before, but I had long decided that this season had been dropped down from A-level to B-level budgeting.

What AMC did was basically decrease the budget while also increasing the amount of episodes from 6 one hour episodes to 13 one hour episodes. Thereby guaranteeing a drop in quality. Besides the obvious set restrictions the show is now under they are also paying their actors WAY less now. One of the reasons why I think they killed off a certain character recently.

"Squabbles over budget were one reported reason Darabont was booted, though AMC has assured viewers wouldn’t really notice a qualitative difference. After all, it’s not like season 2 has taken place entirely on a freakin’ farm or anything … right?"

That my friend is fucking hilarious because it's true. Seriously they need to get the fuck off that farm. Although when they do I'm betting they are just going to stay in the Prison for a whole season. Assuming they are following the comic at least a little and are ever going to make it to the prison that is.

 

[Engage]

Even taking a line from Lost and doing some interesting flashbacks, like where certain individuals were at when the outbreak happened would be better than what I've seen so far. Anything, really. Personally, I thought the ending for Season 1 sucked pretty badly. Just seemed slapped together and predictable and fake as shit to me. So, I've only seen one or two clips from Season 2.

After reading the consensus here, not sure it's really worth viewing it to be honest.

I read parts of the comic a while back and was frankly unimpressed. Every comic I read that is heralded as The Next Badass Thing (XY, or whatever) just reaffirms my belief that comics basically are for authors that can't break into the young adult fiction market just yet. ( Although, I liked Jimmy Corrigan, Testament was kinda 'cute', Leary's thing, Linda Barry, even) Whatever.


This thread is more interesting than the last episode of WD I saw,
....where the woman just drives off the GD road for no reason. lol.

 

[axl blaze]

I respect your opinion, but I find it a bit contradictory that in the same post you put down comics (as an entire medium!), and then laughably suggest that this show should utilize the "flashback" gimmick. one of the cheapest and most annoying writing gimmicks since "I-just-woke-up-and-it-was-all-a-dream!"

it doesn't sound like you have read enough comic books to make such a sweeping, blanket statement. I should be pulling up some examples of comics that are true literary/artistic masterpieces, but it doesn't seem to be worth it here...

 

[Engage]

Or, you could just take a breath and re-read my post.

 

[MrGrunge]

You basically ranked graphic novelists below Harry Potter and Twilight.

 

[Engage]

Well, I haven't read Harry Potter or Twilight, so I wouldn't know about those, though I hear good things about Harry Potter.

I have read Michael Ende, and J. D. Salinger, Bram Stoker, Ray Bradbury, Clive Barker, C.S. Lewis...and I can say, for myself,
that most of the graphic novels that pass under my nose do not compare. Even the much ballyhooed 'next-big-things'.

Walking Dead included.

Of course, I then went on to list the exceptions to this rule, indicating it was not a 'sweeping, blanket statement', but one side of the issue which I was examining. My apologies to any graphic novelists here. May you be the exception and not the rule. Lastly, even if 'flashbacks' were a mere 'gimmick' it'd be better than the tedious, linear narrative I've viewed so far in Season 2. Flashbacks have worked wonders in many, many, many movies, and will continue to do so long after all of us are dead and gone. Also, tropes are tools. And, this one can stand on it's own and don't need my help.


Anything else? Can we talk about the show now?
lol. you guys are funny. The Walking Dead! Reeeoor!

 

[23536]

The flashbacks on Lost were dull, but I liked the flashback WD plot described in that article a few posts up:

The season opener allegedly flashbacks to the early days of the zombie apocalypse. The entire episode would have tracked a squad of Army Rangers dropping into Atlanta. They get trapped in a zombie outbreak. “All they have to do is travel maybe a dozen blocks, a simple journey, but what starts as a no-brainer scenario goes from ‘the city is being secured’ to ‘holy shit, we’ve lost control, the world is ending,’” Darabont describes in a letter to AICN. So, yeah — Black Hawk Down with zombies.

Along the way, the soldiers encounter some familiar faces from the show. “Picture our squad arriving at a manned barricade where some civilians are being held back from leaving the city on shoot-to-kill orders to stop the spread of contagion, it’s a panicked high-intensity scene, and in this crowd of desperate people we find Andrea and Amy. The barricade gunners panic, the civilians start to get mowed down by machine-gun fire, and in this melee the girls get pulled to safety by some old guy they don’t even know. It’s Dale. He’s nobody to them, just some guy who saw the opportunity to do the right thing and reacted in the moment.”

The end of the episode concludes with the last surviving member of the squad, now infected and dying, hiding in a tank. A very familiar tank…
“After the soldier dies this squalid, lonely death … and after a quiet lapse of time … we do a shot-for-shot reprise from the first episode of the first season: Rick comes scrambling into the tank to escape the horde … blows that zombie soldier’s brains out … now Rick’s trapped … fade out … the end.

 The notion was to take the ‘throwaway’ tank zombie Rick encountered in the pilot, and tell that soldier’s story. Make him the star of his own movie, follow his journey, but don’t reveal who he is until the end. The idea being that every zombie has a story…”

 

[Engage]

I remember one flashback on Lost that wasn't dull, the one where Jack (?) confronts his father over the death of one of his patients due to his negligence. Didn't watch the whole series as it began to unravel for me ..oh...around Season 2, in fact. Lost was basically 50% flashbacks. But, that's not what sank it for me. For me, it was people getting kidnapped from camp by 'strangers on the island' and yet people in the next episode are walking around worrying about shaving and petty bs.

I clicked on that link you mention...and somehow missed that whole section. Crazy, huh? See though, that...is a good use of a flashback. For me, one of the best moments in any zombie movie is the transition from normalacy...to utter chaos and destruction.

This epic scene in Dawn of the Dead (2004):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeZ0SIG2eJY

Etc. Flashbacks, are just windows for ...actually TVTropes tells it better:

Specific types of flashbacks include:

Flashback Cut: A very brief flashback.

Flash Back Echo: In which the past events in the flashback parallel what's occurring in the present.

Happy Flashback: A flashback to a happy time, may segue into a Troubled Backstory Flashback.

How We Got Here: The episode opens In Medias Res, then the events leading up to the episode's beginning are explained via flashback.

Mid-Battle-Flashback: The character is losing in a fight and flashes back to their training to retrieve the knowledge to win.

Pensieve Flashback: The present-day version of the character shows up inside their own memories of the past, in order to provide snarky commentary or to inexplicably interact with the past.

Rashomon Style: Multiple flashbacks depicting one event from several different perspectives.

Self-Serving Memory: A character flashes back to an event, only for the flashback to be quite different from what actually happened, usually to make that character look better.

Separate Scene Storytelling: If the flashback is being recounted.

Troubled Backstory Flashback: A character with a Dark and Troubled Past flashes back to a happy memory that transforms into a bloodbath.

Whole Episode Flashback: A flashback that takes up the whole episode. (in literary works, this would be an example of a "frame story").

The possibilities are endless, if handled correctly.
So, maybe Season 2 is worth me trying to watch after all, or buy when it hits Amazon.

 

[MrGrunge]

I have read Michael Ende, and J. D. Salinger, Bram Stoker, Ray Bradbury, Clive Barker, C.S. Lewis...and I can say, for myself,
that most of the graphic novels that pass under my nose do not compare. Even the much ballyhooed 'next-big-things'.

There's your problem - trying to compare Catcher in the Rye to the Walking Dead comics is ridiculous. Robert Kirkman is no literary figure, he's just a guy that can write a halfway entertaining story about zombies. The Walking Dead is only so highly touted because it has such mass appeal, not because its a great literary achievement. Read something by Neil Gaiman (The Sandman series) or Alan Moore (Pretty much anything) if you're looking for something written by talented writers. Even then, graphic novels are not the same as novels, and trying to compare the two is unfair.

So, maybe Season 2 is worth me trying to watch after all

Absolutely not. There's no way in hell I would pay money to watch twelve hours of people sitting in a farm house, anyway.

 

[axl blaze]

Robert Kirkman does have a great literary mind. TWD has mass appeal because of its zombies, but the comic reiterates much about humanity (sometimes the lack of) through its use of a post-apocalyptic environment

McGrunge is right. if you want literary geniuses writing comics, then check out Alan Moore (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Promethea, Watchmen, V for Vendetta) and Neil Gaiman (Sandman). Gaiman is a guy that has also written many an entertaining novel. these comics have literally transcended the novel in my eyes

Engage, I respect your opinions, like I said. I didn't mean to jump out at you, but I mean, I'm the guy in this thread that hits up his local comic book shop EVERY Wednesday for new issues - you had to know I was going to say something

 

[freddy47]

I have read Michael Ende, and J. D. Salinger, Bram Stoker, Ray Bradbury, Clive Barker, C.S. Lewis...

I have read books from most of those authors and I can still appreciate The Walking Dead. It may not be a classic like Dracula or as great as Fahrenheit 451 but it isn't exactly Twilight either.

Well, I haven't read Harry Potter or Twilight, so I wouldn't know about those, though I hear good things about Harry Potter.

Twilight is utter garbage. Harry Potter (at least the movies haven't read the books) is all right. Here is a great quote from Stephen King comparing Twilight to Harry Potter.

"Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend."

I agree with Axl though there are a lot of very well written graphic novels out there besides the ones he listed. A History of Violence is one of my favorites that is also a great movie. The Alcoholic is a great one written by Jonathon Ames who is a novelist and a journalist and is illustrated by Dean Haspiel.

 

[Engage]

Alan Moore is a boring old twat. LOL. Not sure why he has so many fanbois. Neil Gaiman is the same.
1/2 rate drivel for the under 20 set. Even his bestseller is boring.

All the rest is just more internet drama. Seems to me.

Thanks for the suggestions though, I do appreciate those.
Any predictions for this Sunday?

 

[freddy47]

Alan Moore is a boring old twat. LOL. Not sure why he has so many fanbois. Neil Gaiman is the same.
1/2 rate drivel for the under 20 set. Even his bestseller is boring.

I didn't like Watchmen although V for Vendetta was pretty good IMO. But then again I like Shakespeare so that is probably why as V quotes him throughout the story. Plus the movie was good

Also nvm about my PM suggestion about From Hell as it is I just found out by Alan Moore so you probably won't like it lol.

I haven't read any Neil Gaiman though so I can't say anything on that.

Any predictions for this Sunday?

For TWD? I predict that they will not kill the boy and they will undoubtedly have more drama about pointless shit while barely any Zombies will be seen. All while they stay comfortably on the farm not doing much of anything while the redneck makes more arrows and T-Dog stands there and does nothing but remain black and bored.

Seriously the actor that plays T-Dog is probably pissed that his character has been so downplayed. Or overjoyed since he does very little work and gets payed to stand around and be black pretty much.