The Walking Dead: The Television Series

[KillerGremlin]

It would have been funny if the Zombies went to a volcano and tossed a ring into it....

I'm pretty sure there was a helicopter that passed by in this season, no? But it must just be a coincidental helicopter used to explain how the herd of zombies got from the city to the farm.

Lori is such a cuuuuuuunt. I can't wait til she dies.

Anyway....this episode! This is the Rick I want to see! Not some soap opera shit. The Rick that is like, "listen up you bitches! I'm in charge, and if you don't like it, you can suck my Australian nutsack."

Also, those zombies really love snacking on extras. Who knew the characters we didn't see at all in Season 2 would end up being delicious zombie snacks. Yum....zombie snacks.

[KillerGremlin]

Actually, I'll make a bold criticism, and you can all shit down my throat for being too judgmental or whatever:

This was the first episode since Season 1 Episode 1 that made me feel like I was watching a comic book show.

For some reason...this show had a comic book feel. Maybe it was the "blams" and all the headshots and exploding zombie heads. Maybe it was Michonne. Maybe it was the shot of the prison that made me think...."ahhhh, tv potential."

I don't know. But this episode struck a 'comic chord' for me.

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by KillerGremlin

Actually, I'll make a bold criticism, and you can all shit down my throat for being too judgmental or whatever:

This was the first episode since Season 1 Episode 1 that made me feel like I was watching a comic book show.

For some reason...this show had a comic book feel. Maybe it was the "blams" and all the headshots and exploding zombie heads. Maybe it was Michonne. Maybe it was the shot of the prison that made me think...."ahhhh, tv potential."

I don't know. But this episode struck a 'comic chord' for me.

Robert Kirkman was a writer on this episode, and I saw a definite difference in pace and tone. Also, he is writing a lot of season 3. Makes me happy.

[Angrist]

So who's he again?

[Dylflon]

Yeah, the basic idea behind zombie hordes (gets talked about in the comics) is that one zombie will notice something or hear a noise and start walking towards it. Other zombies see a zombie moving with purpose and will begin following it, under the assumption that the zombie knows where something devourable is. Then more zombies see a group of zombies and want in on whatever action that group involved in. By this point the original zombie has forgotten what had gotten it moving in the first place. There's just a whole bunch of zombies walking in one direction simply because that's what they're doing.

That's how you get a zombie herd.

I think the point of the helicopter was showing that something inconsequential and far away could totally screw a bunch of people over by inadvertently creating a zombie mob.

Also, Sean: that wasn't Hershel's daughter that got eaten, it was his neighbour Patricia.

[Typhoid]

Also, Sean: that wasn't Hershel's daughter that got eaten, it was his neighbour Patricia

Oh, well that just shows how few shits I truly gave for that uninteresting walking Hamburger.
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While I was pumped for Rick to defend himself, I think he missed the crucial part of his story which was "I killed Shane in self defense" rather than making it seem like he just murdered him in cold blood which is what it seems like Lori/Carl thought. I know he said "I gave him every choice, but he just kept coming", but he explained it so horribly that it just seemed like all the others thought he flat-out-killed Shane, because he said he "just wanted it over with". Maybe I'm looking too far into that, and everyone is totally cool with it and won't slowly grow to resent him because of the fact he defended his life.

[Vampyr]

I don't see how you can accuse some of us being negative for finding flaws with the show and then come out and admit you find one of the characters an "uninteresting hamburger."

That's exactly the flaws some of us have been pointing out!

[Angrist]

Originally Posted by Typhoid

Maybe I'm looking too far into that, and everyone is totally cool with it and won't slowly grow to resent him because of the fact he defended his life.

Yeah I also thought he didn't quite express himself well enough. But then I also remembered he was close to grabbing Shane's gun... If Shane really still wanted Rick dead, he wouldn't have let him come that close. So in a way Rick did "just want to get it over with", he didn't want to talk again and risk being killed later.


Curious: what was the effect on Rick's last speech on you? Because when I heard him rage, I thought "now the guy has lost it... is he going to be a dictator of these people???" I found the speech pretty stupid, making more enemies than friends.

But so far I've heard 2 people say they totally agreed with Rick. Your thoughts?

[Typhoid]

Originally Posted by Vampyr

I don't see how you can accuse some of us being negative for finding flaws with the show and then come out and admit you find one of the characters an "uninteresting hamburger."

That's exactly the flaws some of us have been pointing out!

I've never hid the fact I dislike a small handful of things related to specific characters, and when there's something I'm against, I voice my opinion. I just hate/dislike very few things with the show, which should be clear because I've hardly said any negative things that didn't involve me assuming plot-twists.

And I wasn't accusing anyone of "being negative." I just find/found little sense in watching a show (from your collective perspective) when all you guys (the people you are referring to) do is complain about it more than not. Nearly every post after every episode involved very little "I liked this weeks episode, I thought it was well-written, well-acted, and I was into it the whole time, I can't wait for next week's episode!" I'm not saying you guys dislike the show, or that there are not things you like about it - but the positives hardly get voiced; and I'm not the only person who has brought that up. I might be the only person you guys choose to focus on because I talk the most and reply to everything, but I'm not a one-man army, here.

While I dislike that chracter and didn't give a shit about her - did I rip it apart? Nah. I called her an " Uninteresting hamburger". Two negative words towards one character. That's all you've got on me to defend all of the hate spewed through 2 seasons? One part of one sentence from one post by me is equivalent to 5 pages of "This show sucks. I was hoping it would be so much better."?

And if you dig back through my posts I have said negative things towards other shitty characters. Just not in every post -and it's not the entire structure of my message. In 90% of my posts it's been about how I liked the episodes, thought they were well-written, and was me either defending it from the people who rip it apart, or me assuming what will happen in the future based on minor events.
(I'll save you the time: I also said negative things about Carl from day one, or two, or three. It does however appear that someone's sprung for acting lessons for the kid. It doesn't seem as if they paid much for those lessons, though.)

(None of that was said with hate, rage, nor anger. I come across badly without inflection.
-------

Curious: what was the effect on Rick's last speech on you? Because when I heard him rage, I thought "now the guy has lost it... is he going to be a dictator of these people???" I found the speech pretty stupid, making more enemies than friends.

But so far I've heard 2 people say they totally agreed with Rick. Your thoughts?

I'm not sure how I feel about his speech yet. As a human man I can see where he'd come from - with all the anxiety of having your best friend treat you as if you've stolen your own wife and son away from him - and then pulling a gun on you forcing you to have to not only talk for your life, but to kill your best friend. I imagine that might put just a little bit of stress on a guy, zombies or no zombies.

I do however think he was correct in not telling everyone that he knew they were all infected - he waited until he knew for sure - which is the responsible thing to do. After he knew for sure he relayed the information; he just didn't want to spread panic. So dictator or not, there's still a good dude in there somewhere. I sort of think at this point he'll do whatever possible to keep his 'pack' alive. Every pack needs an Alpha Male in times of crisis. I think the part of him that wants to talk things out died when he killed Shane. I sort of think he's done with "This shit is fucked up", and moving more towards "Let's fuck this shit up".

[KillerGremlin]

Originally Posted by Angrist

Curious: what was the effect on Rick's last speech on you? Because when I heard him rage, I thought "now the guy has lost it... is he going to be a dictator of these people???" I found the speech pretty stupid, making more enemies than friends.

But so far I've heard 2 people say they totally agreed with Rick. Your thoughts?

I think Rick's speech was a much needed reminder that all season Rick has been pulling for "keeping the group together," but dissenting voices have resulted in costly schisms. People who have disagreed with Rick - be it Hershel or Shane - have costed the lives of others.

The other side of said speech...well...let's just say that by killing Shane rick becomes a little bit more like Shane. I think it's pretty clear that sacrifices will be made. Now hopefully that is a theme they can continue to channel moving forward.


Anyway, I've said it before: I am critical of this show because I like it a lot, but I want to love it. This show has so much potential...and now we have a chance to see that potential with Season 3. Maybe. The show has had internal conflict with the writers, they've had to fire people, they had their budget slashed by AMC.

Let's talk about the budget and pacing. Clearly a large amount of the budget went to the first and last episode in Season 2. Also, the first and last episode were much more exciting than a number of the middling episodes. And IMO, the hiatus isn't helping.

I'm hoping the fact that this show has outpaced Breaking Bad and Mad Men in terms of viewer ratings that it will get some more money.

X-Factor: Apparently zombies are expensive. A lot of the prison stuff doesn't even do with zombies...I wonder if it will be cheaper to make TV episodes that pit humans against humans, instead of having to do all the fancy make up and stuff for the zombies.

[Professor S]

One thing to keep in mind with this series is that there are no perfect people... no heroes. Everyone is keeping together because doing so is the best chance they have of surviving, not to help someone else. If the series follows the book more closely going forward, and I believe it will after hearing Kirkman's interview on the Talking Dead, you'll find many more reasons to dislike Rick at times, and Rick admits to many... many mistakes along the way.

This story is just getting started...

[KillerGremlin]

Originally Posted by Professor S

One thing to keep in mind with this series is that there are no perfect people... no heroes. Everyone is keeping together because doing so is the best chance they have of surviving, not to help someone else. If the series follows the book more closely going forward, and I believe it will after hearing Kirkman's interview on the Talking Dead, you'll find many more reasons to dislike Rick at times, and Rick admits to many... many mistakes along the way.

This story is just getting started...

Yup, yup. Rick is a leader...but being a leader doesn't default you to "good guy." The prison is still my favorite part of the comics, by far. It's a brilliant story, from start to finish, and the set-ups are killer. I have nothing but high hopes and high expectations for what lies ahead.

Unlike the farm, I look forward to seeing 13 episodes dedicated to the prison. I could even see it extended beyond that, depending on how good the stories go.

[Angrist]

So does that mean there won't be many zombies in season 3?

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by Angrist

So does that mean there won't be many zombies in season 3?

There is something coming that is far worse than zombies...

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Professor S

There is something coming that is far worse than zombies...

Zombies with lasers?