The Walking Dead

[Reply #360 on:]

He read an interview yesterday with the person Frank Darabont left in charge of the Walking Dead.  That person told the interviewer that the first half of season two was rather slow paced, which sort of implies that it was/is trying to be worked out to be quicker paced for the second half.

The subject and object of your sentence there are rather vague, hence the confusion.  I didn't chalk much emphasis on that sentence myself, and understood that the showrunner was doing the interview and that he was discussing the first half season, as well as, the future of Walking Dead.  Frank Darabont is also somewhat extraneous in that sentence, although you were trying to convey that the current showrunner and Frank Darabont had worked on the first half together.  The confusion probably would have been mitigated if you had just used the current showrunner's name and not mentioned Frank Darabont, or expounded upon their relationship in developing the first half of the season and why AMC is crazy for getting rid of their creative talent.

[Reply #361 on:]

It's quite interesting to read up on the actor who plays Daryl.. he used to be a model for Prada and his rough looks are the result of a car accident where half his face got smashed in. He's also an artist.

That's interesting to know, I've always thought he was a good lookin' guy. I'm kinda glad it happened that way though, becoming an actor enabled him to do the Boondock Saints movies.

[Reply #362 on:]

No, I read an interview with the current show-runner where he explained that the second season's slow-pace wasn't due to budget constraints (as many of us had speculated) and that he agreed it was too slow.

My point was that if this is true, and he attempts to make the second half of the season a bit quicker, then it might pick up.

[Reply #363 on:]

Do you know when the interview happened or what their production schedule looks like? My only concern is that the second half of the season may continue to be too slow because they did not realize their mistake until after too much work on the second half of the season had happened. Even if Season 3 picks up, a slow second half to Season 2 could have a negative impact on the show's reputation.

[Reply #364 on:]

I can't see it having much more of an impact on the show's reputation than the first half of season 2 has done.

[Reply #365 on:]

they're airing a marathon of the previous season 2 episode today leading up to the new episode.  Great to catch up on what's happened thus far.

[Reply #366 on:]

Call me crazy, but I actually enjoyed the mid-season premiere despite it being guilty of all of the problems of the last 7 episodes (dull and soap-opera-esque whilst padding 10 minutes of material out into a TV-hour). Perhaps it's just because the show's been away for a while and by next week, the novelty will have worn off.

Spoilers, ho!

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But yeah, I enjoyed the brief introduction of those new characters and how they were dispatched straight away. The show needs more storylines that move as quickly as that instead of padding it out for several episodes. It was a good means of developing Rick after the events of the show up until then and it helped the last half of the episode zip along.

So yes... a reasonable start that showed a bit of promise after the first half of the season. Hopefully it'll improve or stay at least this good. Also, hopefully they'll get off this fucking farm next episode although, sadly, I think they're likely to stay there until episode 13.

[Reply #367 on:]

Second half of the season is off to a great start!

The ending of this ep was just as good as the previous one, really liked how they built up the tension.

It was also immensely satisfying to see Lori finally getting called out on being a complete and utter bitch.

[Reply #368 on:]

I keep watching but I don't know why

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It's car crash television

[Reply #369 on:]

I would just like to say that...

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Spoiler sections like this don't work if you guys are inconsistent and put non-spoiler text in here half the time. It defeats the

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purpose.

EDIT: I just watched this episode on amctv.com . I really enjoyed this episode. They are finally dealing with issues rather than just having a soap opera stretch out endlessly.

[Reply #370 on:]

I watched most of the marathon, then fell asleep, then watched the new episode, then I watched the Talking Dead presentation they had later that night.

I think they're off to a good start as well, and some of my characters have started to become fleshed out.  I'm not sure that I wasn't too hard on the first half for being slow; I mean it kind of was, but in a semi-realistic manner, and clearly they were heading toward multiple things:

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Shane going deeper toward the dark side, and the reveal where Sophia has been in the barn the whole time and that Hershel is keeping zombies in the barn.

I mean... I still think it was slow, and many of the characters do such mundane things that with such a large cast it's difficult to keep track of how many characters there have been.  Without attachment to the characters, it's easy to get bored.

I found this just now while looking for Carol's daughter's name:
http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/TV_Series_Characters

And there are a handful of people on that list which I never even got to know real well in the beginning.

That said, I did enjoy the new episode, and I look forward to and have faith in the remaining installments.

While watching the marathon I also noticed this which was quite interesting:

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There were several foreshadowing moments early on toward the barn and how the Greene farm individuals felt about the zombpocalypse.  There was a moment where Rick was talking about killing walkers, and Maggie was about to interject when her father shook his head no and she remained silent.  When the Atlanta group gets to the farm and starts to make camp, Rick also suggests that they make camp further from the house and suggests over by the barn, to which Hershel responds that being closer to the house would be just fine.

I totally agree with Zmithy on the new episode:

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Seeing Lori get torn into by Daryl was satisfying both because she needs to stop being a bitch and because it helps further establish Daryl as a strong character who doesn't deserve half the shit he's given.

On the Talking Dead presentation, they had an online poll with options as to who the audience thought should lead the group.

Rick came out ahead, and I generally agree with this.  He's a good, strong leader and he's willing to be emotional with the other members and temper that emotion with reason.  Daryl came in close second, and he seems like a perfect reluctant leader.  I love reluctant leaders, and Daryl has a great deal of skills that would help in this survival scenario.  Shane was third by a long shot, and although I don't completely disagree with the choices Shane has made (I believe him to be a mostly moral, if not arrogant individual), I also feel that his arrogance would be provoking at times and tear apart the cohesiveness of a group.  Hershel came in last, and although he's generally a good leader, he has trouble with equating his experience to the current dynamic that the world has been thrown into.  He's learning fast though, and he readily admitted as much in the new episode.

I'd also like to point out that in the new episode:

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Rick's kills were clean; morally, as it were.  I watched the scene multiple times, and the men Rick shot were pulling for their weapons if not already pointing them at him.  In the world we live in today, a group of police officers might try to not shoot their aggressors dead, but this brave new world is lacking in kevlar vests, hospitals, jails, and group entities like a police department to insure justice.  It's not worth the risk anymore to not kill people who present life threatening dangers to any members of one's group; it certainly wouldn't have been worth it to Rick's group if Rick were injured or worse, killed.

[Reply #371 on:]

hopie4ever is a bad poster.

[Reply #372 on:]

No, this is a bad poster.

[Reply #373 on:]

Holy shit, yes it is.

[Reply #374 on:]

hopie4ever is a bad poster.

You're a towel

[Reply #375 on:]

Winna: There was also foreshadowing I believe in the first episode of season two when Rick shot a little girl...of course leading up to mid season finale with Sophia.

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No, I am not spoilering that. If you don't know by now that Sophia was a zombie, get off my farm!(???)

Can I say, in general, I think having to spoiler something that already happened in this thread is pointless. If you see on the forum page there are new posts in The Walking Dead thread and it hasn't aired in your time zone, what do you think you should not do? It's so simple. DON'T CLICK IT. I always avoid these specialized threads for shows until I have seen the episode. Spoilers are made for other areas, like if you happen to bring this ep up as a reference elsewhere on the board in Offtopic or something, that I understand because the viewer can't control it. I just think there needs to be a system here because half the time people spoiler it and the other half they don't. Personally I don't think anything should have to be spoilered UNLESS it is about an episode that has YET TO AIR ANYWHERE. Like saying the episode in a couple weeks everyone dies, as an example. Spoiler that, not "This episode was great and I really love how Rick grew some balls at the end."

ANYWAYS WITH THAT SAID...

This episode was great and I really love how Rick grew some balls at the end. I kinda saw it coming though when I logged on fb hours earlier and in my FEED popped up a SPOILER I couldn't control Note to self, avoid fb before premieres...

Also...wow, Lori. No cars on the road and you STILL manage to crash a car.

[Reply #376 on:]

Winna: There was also foreshadowing I believe in the first episode of season two when Rick shot a little girl...of course leading up to mid season finale with Sophia.

I thought that was at the beginning of the first episode of season ONE. (Rick was still in his cop car and uniform.) That scene always confused me because it was shown before the zombie apocalypse had (apparently) begun.

[Reply #377 on:]

Plus, futurefreak, you didn't really spoil anything because nobody remembers the names to any of the characters in the first place.

Scrappylive, I don't believe he had a cop car when he did that; if I recall, he was riding the horse, and it was after he'd escaped the hospital, as well as, being after the zombocalypse started.  However, that scene may have been the first one in the episode, and afterward they explained the story up to that point.

[Reply #378 on:]

However, that scene may have been the first one in the episode, and afterward they explained the story up to that point.

It must have been a flash-forward. It was the opening scene to the first episode - prior to the opening credits. The did some flash-backs as opening scenes in Season 2, but I don't think they did many for Season 1.

[Reply #379 on:]

Yeah, I think flash-backs are definitely a good form of storytelling for a show like this with a rather large cast.  The problem in season 1 was that they didn't help me feel attached to any of the characters; most of the characters, other than Rick just didn't seem to be intriguing type people; which makes no sense given the show's premise.  These are people that have just survived a zombie apocalypse, surely the way in which they got to become survivors is interesting and worthy of being told.

[Reply #380 on:]

I agree. In my opinion:

Rick: Most interesting, also the lead character. Seems to have the most character and plot development.
Shane: A total creeper who does the most to push the story forward.
Carl: Annoying little twerp, just like Jack Marston from Red Dead Redemption.
Lori: Dumb, emotional, irrational.
Dale: Old sage in ten lines or less (except nobody listens to him).
Daryl: Hardcore... but it took them 11 episodes to show he is hardcore.
Carol: An accessory to the subplots going on around her. I know to feel sorry for her because of her husband and her daughter. I do not know to feel sorry for her through her own story, dialogue, etc.
Blonde girl: Dumb, over-emotional, stubborn. This show just isn't nice to its female characters, is it?
T-Dog: The only black character to survive a horror story. He is the token black guy with the token black name, which is the only reason I remember his name, anyways.
Glenn: I relate to him on the nerd level, that's about it. He tolerates way too much of Maggie. He tends to just stand there as the story evolves around him.

[Reply #381 on:]

Between Lori and Andrea (I don't remember her name getting mentioned much), I was getting pretty irritated by the "emotional" aspect of the show from season 1.5 to 2.5, which was overly dramatic in my opinion.  Did they do this shit in Lost?

You're right on the money about Daryl.  To a certain extent, I think Shane might be the most robust character on the show... he's still overly emotional like everyone on the show.  T-Dog (is that really what everyone calls him?) is practically a caricature and hasn't been fleshed out.  Dale hasn't been too fleshed out either, and in some respects he gets somewhat annoying (like the season 1 finale, and trying to control the guns, and half-ass confronting Shane).  Maggie seems to be the best female on the show so far, and Glenn is alright.  Hope to see more of them overall.  Andrea (the blonde girl who nobody remembers) is starting to get better, but honestly I'm pretty bummed out that they killed off her sister so quickly; she probably would've been better in the show overall.  Andrea just comes off as a grown woman who hasn't learned how to deal with reality... Lori to a large extent as well.  Seriously, it's zombie apocalypse time, quit fucking whining.

[Reply #382 on:]

Haha, my sister's name is Andrea. You'd think that name would have stuck the most with me.

Seriously, it's zombie apocalypse time, quit fucking whining.

I couldn't agree more. This is obviously the biggest complaint most people have about Season 2. Hopefully the writers are listening and will make some adjustments during Season 3.

As critical as I am about the show, I would be remiss if I failed to mention how much I enjoy it. The production value is extremely high and it's my favorite piece in the zombie genre. However, it is meant to show people's daily lives during a zombie apocalypse.

Personally, I don't like Maggie. She is just another Andrea or Lori, only she is somehow even more emotional and unstable.

[Reply #383 on:]

Anyone else worried that the events of the first episode of the run are a precursor to another "injured/bedridden character means we are going nowhere for a while"

[Reply #384 on:]

Intensely minor spoilers ahead:

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I was very pleased with last night's episode. Very pleased indeed. In fact, I might say that the first half was outstanding and back to the greatness of season 1. The imagery of the zombie pushing its face through the glass windshield was genuinely very scary and it's that sort of thing that I love this show for.
It's a shame, then, that the second half of the episode began to descend back into their boring Talking Dead territory... but even then, I was sort of interested in their conversations and what they all had to say. I felt that if they'd had a proper 'button' to end on instead of the implication that Rick is going to try to kill Shane, I'd see it as a completely great episode, but as it was, it was easily one of season 2's best and a very positive sign that things are headed back in the right direction and that the show is saving itself.

[Reply #385 on:]

Never caught this show, but it looks pretty neat! Might check it out soon.

[Reply #386 on:]

last night's episode was just excellent, can't wait for the final four episodes of the season.

[Reply #387 on:]

I have to say, the second half of this season is definitely looking better than the first half. Toward the mid season finale there wasn't really much of a scary/horror factor. Even the zombies in the barn were just going to get shot one by one.

I find it interesting how Lori was taking on a Lady Macbeth role at the end of the episode, reminded me so much too of that old Shakespeare book cover where she is looking over his shoulder...hinting that she is controlling him, telling him what to do.

[Reply #388 on:]

[Reply #389 on:]

Confirmation that the governor plays a part in season 3.

For those of you who don't follow the comics, the governor is a fan-favourite villain that is the backbone of one of the series' best story-arcs, if not the[/b] best. In all honesty, I was hoping they'd reach that point in season 2, but they've dragged things out far more than I expected. Still, this is great as it means season 3 won't have any excuse to not be awesome.

[Reply #390 on:]

Been a long time since I read the comics... but was he the one who

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lost an arm and has his zombified daughter (I think) in the basement?


Oh yeah, and he also raped Michonne several time. Wonder if they use that on the show...

[Reply #391 on:]

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And she scooped his eyeball out with a spoon.

Yup, that's the guy.

[Reply #392 on:]

Yeah, that was cool. I really hope they go that far in the series. AND include the prison with it. That would just be too perfect.
Especially IF they do with Lori what they did in the comics.

[Reply #393 on:]

They have to do the prison thing - that's the main reason I love that arc. Surely the governor and the prison are a package. I hope season 2 ends with them arriving there.

[Reply #394 on:]

Well that was a weird one. Focus on a character who no one cares about...lose about half of the other characters (remember T-Dog?) and pretty much accomplish nothing you set out to do at the outset of the episode. The only thing we did see was that Rick is either very merciful, or very weak, in regards to "dangerous" Shane. What do you guys think, did Rick show a sign of weakness in doing that? Or was he just showing loyalty to his crew as he tries to be the "good guy" in all this, showing a guy who just beat him up some mercy?

[Reply #395 on:]

Great episode (everything with Rick and Shane was great).. *but*..

I disliked the flashforward at the start of the episode. If they want to open the show with action, there's plenty of flashbacks that could be shown rather than throwing out a spoiler for the end of the episode to fill time.

Stuff like the napalming of Atlanta that got shown earlier this season was way cooler as an action opener than "erm, we'd like to save some money so lets just copy+paste a bit".

The whole suicide b-plot was garbage. We already spent ages going through the whole "why not just kill ourselves" thing during the first 4 eps of this season, really didn't need any more of that.

I think they would have used a main character as the person trying to kill themselves, but all the candidates amongst the main characters had already spent at least an hour whining and moping about killing themselves before not doing it so they had to find someone new to do it again with (and to also give all the whiny mopey suiciders some more time to whine and mope about suicide).

I'd rather have watched "T-Dog and Daryl go fishing" for 20 minutes than that.

I like the kid ever since the "I watched football and screwed around on the internet!" line, I hope he lives. He hasn't been given a name, though, so the odds aren't good.

[Reply #396 on:]

agreed on the flash forward, spoils everything up to the point you reach the beginning again

suicide girl will become a main character now? could of had a better intro and resetting the plot line of our new friend, not cool

also talking about episodes that has aired has occasionally been spoilered, no need but is friendly for those who are overseas

now people are revealing the plotlines of the next season but not spoilered, GFY!

[Reply #397 on:]

now people are revealing the plotlines of the next season but not spoilered, GFY!

This. Those of us who don't read the comics do not want to know about the comics. We do not want to know even minor spoilers. You might be excited about hearing stuff related to the comics, but the rest of us aren't because it's a spoiler to us.

Would rather have a major spoiler for the comics inside the spoiler tags where it belongs than a minor one outside of them that "doesn't spoil too much in my opinion".

[Reply #398 on:]

I agree...I am going into this never having read the comics, so I watch these episodes in a different perspective than my colleagues who have read the comics.

Yeah I felt it was a real mistake to focus on coma/suicide girl and Maggie, two characters who are only adjunct to the main group, and one who only got really introduced a couple episodes ago with a couple lines and then silence. Maggie barely makes the cut of characters we want to care about because of her involvement with Glenn...but the other chick, who cares? Except for Rick and Shane, all the men of the episode pretty much vanished. Never even saw Herschel's reaction and it's his clan.

[Reply #399 on:]

i resent the notion that the group is some kind of family that needs to be protected, it's a bit like lost in that respect, you cant tell me who i should care about!
 they are considering shooting the guy with the hole in his leg because he is "an outsider" but the leader of the group has been with the group maybe a few weeks at most? and how long have the group been together at all? they all hate each other anyway!
although its been a long time for the viewers what time has passed in the show? it was discussed in the show this week that it is less than a year since patient zero