Thoughts on The Walking Dead?

[Hellion]

Just wanted to gauge everyone's opinion on The Walking Dead, a show I have very mixed feelings about.

I'll admit I never read the comics so I can't claim to know how accurately or inaccurately the show adapts the source material. But for the first 3-4 seasons I thought the show was entertaining and excellent. I'm hard-pressed to find a zombie apocalypse show or film that's better, and I love all of Romero's work.

And then it seems like the show became more tedious and ridiculous the longer it ran. As the cast expanded and the writing structure of episodes morphed to accommodate that (and keep suspense regarding X's fate running for multiple episodes before returning to X again), it became unbearably aggravating to watch as it aired weekly and so I started taking a few years off and then bingeing seasons once they were up on Netflix. It's also frustrating that almost all the characters were constantly going through cycles of "I'm a stone-cold killer who gets **** done">>>>"Oh no, killing is wrong and I can't bring myself to do it anymore">>>>"I'm a stone-cold killer again."

What do you guys think about these things? Were they issues for you as well, or not? Do you love the show? Hate it? Have other criticisms beyond what I've addressed?

The best positive for me is that it gave us more minutes of a CGI tiger doing badass stuff than Game Of Thrones allocated for Direwolves in 10 years.

[babyblob]

I have only seen up to season 4 but I have enjoyed what I have seen so far. Other then Lori. Man I really hated her character. I didnt really care for Rick in the comics or the tv show.

The comics are much different, from how characters are introduced, how they die, etc.. so I am able to enjoy both on their own merits but I think the comics are much better. I think there are parts in the show where they do stupid things. Like Character A runs off so B goes to find them then C finds out B is gone so they go off to find B then D finds out C is gone and guess what, they freak and have to find them.

I think for the most part TWD does a great job of showing how people will handle what is going on. Some pure evil, some good, some a mix in the middle.

As for the show I have not found enough that bothers me enough to really bitch about. I have to say I really liked Shane on the show.

[ChrisIII]

The TV show basically adopts the basic storylines of the comics, but as noted there are many differences. Some storylines are pretty much TV exclusive such as Beth's arc in the hospital and whatever the Civil Republic military (Helicopter group) are up to.

As noted the characters are different. Daryl is a TV exclusive character for example.


Generally the show seemed to be a bit iffy around seasons 6-8 but once they got a new showrunner generally things were improved; although the last few "bonus" episodes were mostly filler apart from the Negan one.

[Malvolio]

. It's also frustrating that almost all the characters were constantly going through cycles of "I'm a stone-cold killer who gets **** done">>>>"Oh no, killing is wrong and I can't bring myself to do it anymore">>>>"I'm a stone-cold killer again."

I think that anyone with a conscience would, in a real zombie apocalypse would vacillate between "Oh no, I can't keep killing people, it's too much!" and "I have to kill, in order to survive."

The best positive for me is that it gave us more minutes of a CGI tiger doing badass stuff than Game Of Thrones allocated for Direwolves in 10 years.

SPOILER ALERT:











I actually cried when that CGI tiger died.

[Hellion]

I have only seen up to season 4 but I have enjoyed what I have seen so far. Other then Lori. Man I really hated her character. I didnt really care for Rick in the comics or the tv show.

The comics are much different, from how characters are introduced, how they die, etc.. so I am able to enjoy both on their own merits but I think the comics are much better. I think there are parts in the show where they do stupid things. Like Character A runs off so B goes to find them then C finds out B is gone so they go off to find B then D finds out C is gone and guess what, they freak and have to find them.

I think for the most part TWD does a great job of showing how people will handle what is going on. Some pure evil, some good, some a mix in the middle.

As for the show I have not found enough that bothers me enough to really bitch about. I have to say I really liked Shane on the show.

Yeah, I remember the character of Lori on the show got a lot of hate from critics. I remember I wasn't too fond of her as well, but like you, I was a fan of Shane. I thought his downfall was tragic but also very realistic given the circumstances.

[Hellion]

I think that anyone with a conscience would, in a real zombie apocalypse would vacillate between "Oh no, I can't keep killing people, it's too much!" and "I have to kill, in order to survive."

I don't disagree. I just think the show gets repetitive after a while with so many characters stuck on the same development loop and the narrative on a loop as well (Group is surviving, they bump into another group that's bad, they fight, protagonist group eventually wins, rinse and repeat). Maybe the comics are like this too? Or maybe the pitfall of dragging out a survivalist drama for 150+ episodes is that there's only so much you can do before you start getting repetitive and stale?

I'd have liked more exploration of the collapse of civilization brought on by the zombie apocalypse (not just the U.S., but the rest of the world too). But I guess the Walking Dead is realistic in that the core group doesn't manage to cover a whole lot of ground. They go from Georgia to Virginia and that's about it.

[CSTowle]

For me it fits in that Buffy/Supernatural/Doctor Who niche. If you like that story, buckle up because they're going to have plenty of them for you. Usually solid C to C+ stuff, nothing special. Occasional great episode, occasional solid F, but mostly right in the "good enough" range. Gets credit for having a great idea that should have been thought of sooner, a look at what happens long-term in a zombie apocalypse rather than an hour and a half.

Been stuck in a quarantine recently because of contact with an infected (not a Walker, of course) and started giving Fear the Walking Dead a chance. Was pretty good the first season, pretty boring the 2nd, but got really good in the 3rd. Don't want to give spoilers, but a couple of my favorite characters die in the fourth and that was tough. Still watching into season 5 though, so that's something.

[babyblob]

I don't disagree. I just think the show gets repetitive after a while with so many characters stuck on the same development loop and the narrative on a loop as well (Group is surviving, they bump into another group that's bad, they fight, protagonist group eventually wins, rinse and repeat). Maybe the comics are like this too? Or maybe the pitfall of dragging out a survivalist drama for 150+ episodes is that there's only so much you can do before you start getting repetitive and stale?

I'd have liked more exploration of the collapse of civilization brought on by the zombie apocalypse (not just the U.S., but the rest of the world too). But I guess the Walking Dead is realistic in that the core group doesn't manage to cover a whole lot of ground. They go from Georgia to Virginia and that's about it.

I would love something like this. The thing that bums me out is that Rick was in a coma and then woke up after things went to Hell. I would love to see a show where the first season or maybe two season dealt with the fallout and collapse of the world as the Zombies rise. There really hasnt been a show at least that I have seen that has really done this.

[ChrisIII]

^Fear The Walking Dead actually did do that a bit, as well as a few webisodes and a few flashback stories. Although that's mostly concerned with the West Coast at that point.

According to the showrunner, Nick's girlfriend is "Walker zero".

Funny thing is, the show started as a prequel, but then started taking place at the same time when Morgan joined the group, but then the original show had a 6-7 year time-skip so technically it's a prequel again.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I saw the first few seasons but got bored and dropped it. I did read the first omnibus but I just got bored. The zombies aren't really my thing longterm. I could watch a movie but not a whole show.

[Jekyll]

A prime example of a show that overstayed it's welcome. I watched longer than I was interested because it's shot around where my extended family lives and I've been to many of the towns/locations that it was shot in.

[ChrisIII]

It's also frustrating that almost all the characters were constantly going through cycles of "I'm a stone-cold killer who gets **** done">>>>"Oh no, killing is wrong and I can't bring myself to do it anymore">>>>"I'm a stone-cold killer again."

Seems to happen the most with Morgan in both shows. Stars out as Rick's guide to the new world, then goes nuts and sets traps everywhere, eventually becomes more 'zen' and refuses to kill the living, but then the war with the Wolves and then the Saviors breaks his resolve although in Fear he starts to try the less violent approach but then starts to flip flop again.

A lot of Rick's violence but also his eventual sparing and beginning rehabilitation of Negan seem to be partially motivated by protecting Carl (One of his most violent acts-biting the guy's neck-was to protect Carl, but he spared Negan in part because Carl wanted the survivors to make peace when he was dying from the zombie bite).

[Captain Craig]

I'm current through S10 and have felt like the show by and large has sustained itself through various characters coming/going, that includes Rick.
Very curious about how long they think they can keep TWDU going. There are now two more spinoffs announced? Really two more?

The show using the apocalypse as a why to tell stories about the human condition, interaction and other themes has been well handled. Looking forward to seeing how S11 wraps up the original main show.

[Hellion]

I'm current through S10 and have felt like the show by and large has sustained itself through various characters coming/going, that includes Rick.
Very curious about how long they think they can keep TWDU going. There are now two more spinoffs announced? Really two more?

The show using the apocalypse as a why to tell stories about the human condition, interaction and other themes has been well handled. Looking forward to seeing how S11 wraps up the original main show.

I believe it's been said that AMC wants to keep the franchise going for at least another decade. So more shows. Plus that trilogy of films starring Rick. Consumerism at its finest.