The Walking Dead (5 Viewers)

[jbutler]

this show is terrible, I have this guilt about all shows I invest so much time into though. I finished lost and hated the final season. I finished sons of anarchy and that was terrible after season 3. I basically hate watch many shows I have invested time into. I need the sense of accomplishment. This show could change the characters to a group of feces with a cartoon nose and eyes on it and I would still finish out the show, thats just how I am

yeah i do the same thing. lost had a couple hiccups, but i've rewatched it at least once and i give it a lot of slack on things that rubbed me the wrong way the first go around because i love the characters so much. i gave SoA up once, then jumped back in a couple seasons ago and now, in the last season, i found myself just tuning out and not even watching when the episodes were on, so i quit again. one of these days i'm sure i'll go back and finish the last ten episodes which i've skipped until now. just too much nonsense and filler in that show imo.

walking dead is a different kind of thing for me in that i find very little redeeming in the show. yet i still watch most episodes to see how the plot develops which is even more masochistic than it would normally be because the entire show is premised on the idea that the plot is secondary. ugh...

 

[manamongkids]

yeah i do the same thing. lost had a couple hiccups, but i've rewatched it at least once and i give it a lot of slack on things that rubbed me the wrong way the first go around because i love the characters so much. i gave SoA up once, then jumped back in a couple seasons ago and now, in the last season, i found myself just tuning out and not even watching when the episodes were on, so i quit again. one of these days i'm sure i'll go back and finish the last ten episodes which i've skipped until now. just too much nonsense and filler in that show imo.

walking dead is a different kind of thing for me in that i find very little redeeming in the show. yet i still watch most episodes to see how the plot develops which is even more masochistic than it would normally be because the entire show is premised on the idea that the plot is secondary. ugh...

Ive heard people discuss the show in detail who are in the tv business, the idea of zombies is obviously awesome but TWD execution is terrible.

Essentially each episode breaks down the same, character or group enters unknown area or village > somehow loses group or wanders off alone > group has to save them at the last second or they get bit by a zombie.

You would think in the 3-4 years of time that has passed within the show that they would have learned to not go off on their own and always work together as a group, but I guess that is asking too much to expect characters to use their brains. I want to see the whole group get killed and take the show in another direction with a new group.

 

[grandgnu]

You would think in the 3-4 years of time that has passed within the show that they would have learned to not go off on their own and always work together as a group, but I guess that is asking too much to expect characters to use their brains. I want to see the whole group get killed and take the show in another direction with a new group.

They've been doing idiotic things since Day 1 and should've died off long ago. Couple that in with the extreme plot holes (everyone shoots headshots, from three football fields away, with a pistol, or in the pitch black of the hospital basement, cause, you know, headshots are kewl!) or magically spawning zombie hordes of 50+ walkers that are suddenly 20 feet away from the survivors on the highway, etc. etc. and I just want to see these people torn apart.

My hope had been, with the popularity of this rubbish, that HBO would do a show like this right.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

I'm pretty sure this community is on the up and up, not another Woodbury or Terminus type situation.

I don't want to spoil anything so I'll keep my opinion to myself, but I believe this upcoming plot arc is taken from the comics.

 

[grandgnu]

I don't want to spoil anything so I'll keep my opinion to myself, but I believe this upcoming plot arc is taken from the comics.

Haven't read the comics, but my opinion is based on something I read about this plotline from the comics as well.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

They've been doing idiotic things since Day 1 and should've died off long ago. Couple that in with the extreme plot holes (everyone shoots headshots, from three football fields away, with a pistol, or in the pitch black of the hospital basement, cause, you know, headshots are kewl!) or magically spawning zombie hordes of 50+ walkers that are suddenly 20 feet away from the survivors on the highway, etc. etc. and I just want to see these people torn apart.

I think it's perfectly fair to complain about problems like unbelievable character development, poorly written dialogue, and plot holes, since IMO those detract from what this show is fundamentally about: how ordinary people react and change in the face of a zombie apocalypse.

But I can accept the God Mode headshots and zombies appearing from nowhere. After all, this is a show about the living dead. You really just have to turn off the part of your brain that knows anything about biology and physics to watch it.

My hope had been, with the popularity of this rubbish, that HBO would do a show like this right.

The Walking Dead is on AMC, not HBO. Did you mean that you want to see HBO do a zombie series?

 

[jbutler]

I think it's perfectly fair to complain about problems like unbelievable character development, poorly written dialog, and plot holes, since IMO those detract from what this show is fundamentally about: how ordinary people react and change in the face of a zombie apocalypse.

But I can accept the God Mode headshots and zombies appearing from nowhere. After all, this is a show about the living dead. You really just have to turn off the part of your brain that knows anything about biology and physics to watch it.

The Walking Dead is on AMC, not HBO. Did you mean that you want to see HBO do a zombie series?

i agree - the criticisms of believability or plot holes are just not relevant to what they're trying to do, which is what i was trying to say above. it's about the characters. i do think that there have been several instances where the writers have failed to be true to a developed character, but whether someone can pop a headshot at 300 yards one day and can't do it at 6 feet the next episode isn't the point of the show.

and i sure as hell hope HBO doesn't bother with zombies unless they put a much different spin on things. zombies as a cultural mirror are just really overdone at this point. zombies on poker chips on the other hand...

 

[manamongkids]

Supposedly they are working on a spinoff that shows the beginnings of the zombie apocalypse in hollywood/LA.

 

[grandgnu]

Yes I was saying I was hoping some network that would do this genre right would pick it up given the ridiculous amount of $$$ they're making off this trash.

I do think the plot holes ruin the immersion of the zombie apocalypse. Big traffic jam on the highway, cars are flipped upside down, why and how? Because it looks cool and adds to the atmosphere? Zombies sitting in cars in the traffic jams just waiting to "come to life" when you get close to the window. So these people just sat in their car until they expired and turned? They didn't have any survival instinct to flee their vehicle instead of starving to death?

Survivors have a lookout on top of the RV while they're stuck on the road due to a blockage of vehicles. Somehow not one of them notices a horde of 50 walkers until they're on top of them? Andrea trying to put the ammo clip into the side of the gun when she's in the RV and a zombie enters. The headshots are ridiculous (especially coupled with none of these guys being able to hit another human when they shoot, like when the Governor attacked the prison)

Hey guys, we've gotta pull this bloated, pus-filled and leaking zombie that's been in our well for the past two weeks out before it contaminates the drinking supply, we need to send someone down and pull the waterlogged corpse out alive!

Or the most recent episode, it was clear when they said they were going to take the highway that hadn't been cleared that they'd run into a massive horde of zombies for the atmosphere. Shane & Otis fleeing the school, they're tired and out of breath and decide to stop at a chain link fence to rest for a second. They approach the fence and are FACING IT. They turn and rest their backs on it and two seconds later ERMAHGERD ZERMBIE BUTT SEX! there's a horde suddenly behind them attacking them from the other side of the chain link fence (which are see-through last I knew)

Soldiers inside the tank. How did they die? Doesn't make any sense. It's just for the atmosphere of having one of them come to life to attack Rick.

Look, I can suspend my illusion of disbelief for a zombie show, I get it. But not with THIS many ridiculous concepts tossed in. EVERYTHING they do is for the atmosphere, but it takes away any believability. I'm on monkey tilt now, good day sirs, I SAID GOOD DAY!

 

[72o]

I haven't read through all the "analysis" here, but all I can say is I love this show. But then again, I'm a simpleton who watches TV to escape reality for the most part. I just want something entertaining where I can turn off the old noggin for a bit. I'm actually looking forward to where the next chapter takes this. I see what most are talking about but it really doesn't bother me at all. I love the fact that when zombies "approach" any of the main characters, the zombies try to grab and wrestle, but when they "attack" anyone else, they immediately bite. I can accept this premise because you need the conflict but you don't want the main characters dyeing off every 2 sec. either.

 

[jbutler]

gnu i'm honestly surprised you're able to enjoy watching anything. they could have explained each and every one of those things you mention, but they don't care to because it's not the point of the show and often, doing so would make the show less effective at achieving its chosen goals.

 

[grandgnu]

fwiw I frigging LOVED Telltale Games The Walking Dead seasons 1 & 2, and am eagerly awaiting season 3 to be made.

- - - - - - - - - Updated - - - - - - - - -

gnu i'm honestly surprised you're able to enjoy watching anything. they could have explained each and every one of those things you mention, but they don't care to because it's not the point of the show and often, doing so would make the show less effective at achieving its chosen goals.

The only explanation is that it was done for atmospheric effect. For me that's not good enough.

 

[jbutler]

The only explanation is that it was done for atmospheric effect. For me that's not good enough.

no, it isn't. they could have come up with a hundred possible circuitous explanations, but as noted, they are tedious and detract from the point of the show, so they rely on tropes that have been constantly used in horror and sci-fi since the genres' inceptions.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

Yes I was saying I was hoping some network that would do this genre right would pick it up given the ridiculous amount of $$$ they're making off this trash.

I do think the plot holes ruin the immersion of the zombie apocalypse. Big traffic jam on the highway, cars are flipped upside down, why and how? Because it looks cool and adds to the atmosphere? Zombies sitting in cars in the traffic jams just waiting to "come to life" when you get close to the window. So these people just sat in their car until they expired and turned? They didn't have any survival instinct to flee their vehicle instead of starving to death?

Survivors have a lookout on top of the RV while they're stuck on the road due to a blockage of vehicles. Somehow not one of them notices a horde of 50 walkers until they're on top of them? Andrea trying to put the ammo clip into the side of the gun when she's in the RV and a zombie enters. The headshots are ridiculous (especially coupled with none of these guys being able to hit another human when they shoot, like when the Governor attacked the prison)

Hey guys, we've gotta pull this bloated, pus-filled and leaking zombie that's been in our well for the past two weeks out before it contaminates the drinking supply, we need to send someone down and pull the waterlogged corpse out alive!

Or the most recent episode, it was clear when they said they were going to take the highway that hadn't been cleared that they'd run into a massive horde of zombies for the atmosphere. Shane & Otis fleeing the school, they're tired and out of breath and decide to stop at a chain link fence to rest for a second. They approach the fence and are FACING IT. They turn and rest their backs on it and two seconds later ERMAHGERD ZERMBIE BUTT SEX! there's a horde suddenly behind them attacking them from the other side of the chain link fence (which are see-through last I knew)

Soldiers inside the tank. How did they die? Doesn't make any sense. It's just for the atmosphere of having one of them come to life to attack Rick.

Look, I can suspend my illusion of disbelief for a zombie show, I get it. But not with THIS many ridiculous concepts tossed in. EVERYTHING they do is for the atmosphere, but it takes away any believability. I'm on monkey tilt now, good day sirs, I SAID GOOD DAY!

I agree with jb that too much explanation is outside the scope and goals of the show.

That said, there is plenty of additional information in related media: the comics, WD wiki, Talking Dead, Kirkman interviews, etc. And some of the items you list are simply plot devices to move the story forward, provide dramatic effect, or just give the viewers a scare. It is a zombie show, after all.

 

[Puggy]

I so much want to see Rick going bonkers inside the new walls.

I'm just TapaTalking

 

[jbutler]

I so much want to see Rick going bonkers inside the new walls.

pug there are a few different versions of rick going bonkers, so you'll have to specify which you wish for...

me i'm looking for mental breakdown, slump to the ground rick.

 

[Tommy]

Who thinks the sounds of kids playing at the entrance of the camp was a recording? No pics of people in those pics he was showing them in the car.

 

[Mr. Cheese]

I was kinda thinking it was a recording as well. I can't wait to see what happens inside the walls.

 

[Tommy]

I've been waiting to see when Morgan will re-appear.

 

[Toby]

Who thinks the sounds of kids playing at the entrance of the camp was a recording? No pics of people in those pics he was showing them in the car.

Thas what my immediate thought was. We already know they monkey with audio equipment...

 

[grandgnu]

Who thinks the sounds of kids playing at the entrance of the camp was a recording? No pics of people in those pics he was showing them in the car.

 

[Toby]

I'm changing my bet.

The kids are real and they're running a necrophilia/karaoke porn racket creating content for export markets.

 

[grandgnu]

I'm changing my bet.

The kids are real and they're running a necrophilia/karaoke porn racket creating content for export markets.

I knew I should've implemented that idea before someone else thought of it!

 

[Tommy]

From the spoliers, looks like the camp is safe. 10 mins to go!

 

[jbutler]

interesting episode tonight. i like the angle and i think either i or someone else mentioned above that it would be interesting to see the group try to exist within a "normal" community.

deanna was pretty irritating, but i couldn't figure out if that was intentional. and i really, really disliked the structural device of the recorded interviews. it reminded me of the episode that first featured lucy lawless on BSG, but fortunately TWD didn't rely as heavily on those segments.

i still think it could end up being a good development to see the group end up as the "bad" guys as alluded to by rick's final words. looking forward to seeing it play out.

 

[NiceShot]

Watched it since season one. Not a fan of of a couple seasons but most of them have been entertaining. A lot of what would you do in this situation and drama.

 

[xt!]

I came this thread purely to see if gnu is still bitching about the show he can't stop watching

 

[CO0LHand]

What do you guys think the purpose of the recorded interviews are? My wife and I were talking about it and we are kind of flummoxed about it. Our best guess is to either prove that people lied and can therefore be legitimately banished or to serve as some sort of introduction for the community. That's all we could come up with.

In other news I fully support Darryls choice to not shower.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

What do you guys think the purpose of the recorded interviews are? My wife and I were talking about it and we are kind of flummoxed about it. Our best guess is to either prove that people lied and can therefore be legitimately banished or to serve as some sort of introduction for the community. That's all we could come up with.

I can't recall where, but I heard/read that the interviews were recorded so that anyone in the community could view them on demand. Deanna did say they were for "transparency" in the episode - whether this is the real (or only) reason remains to be seen.

In other news I fully support Darryls choice to not shower.

If I were a part of that group, I'd take a machete to Rick if it got me in the shower 5 minutes faster.

 

[Puggy]

Apologies for threadjack, but has anyone watched another great AMC series "Hell on Wheels"? Cullen Bohannon ROCKS IMO!!!!
Just found the show and I'm glad I did.