The Walking Dead -- TV Series Thread
 

Just a reminder that the zombie show, that we have all been waiting for, begins this Sunday on AMC. Set your DVRs accordingly. :)

can't find a frigging place where I'll be able to see this on Sunday... :(

Looks like it'll be torrent time for me...

FM

Also if you're into zombies I'd recommend watching the British miniseries "Dead Set" which is showing on IFC - it has been showing at midnight this week but they are doing a marathon on 10/31 so a good time to record it. Very nice zombie stuff.

For those that can't watch on AMC on Sunday night, the pilot episode will probably be a free download on iTunes next week. AMC usually puts pilot episodes and first episodes of seasons up for free on iTunes.

woo, awesome tip, will keep that in mind...

FM

I am super pumped for this. I set my DVR to record the series a few weeks ago.

Justb checked that one out, looks pretty intersting, and sort of contemporary to our time too. :)

It's showing on Space Channel in my area (maybe elsewhere in Canada too) and they start the night by showing the final of five episodes at 9, then start a marathon of all fives episodes from 9:30 to 12:30, ending by a reshowing of that final episode. I'll set my DVR to record starting with the first one...

FM

Here is a very positive review of the show from the New York Times:

http://tv.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/arts/television/29walking.html?_r=2&nl=&emc=a28&pagewanted=all

If that's the case, you could have already watched it.

meaning it's already available on torrent? yeah, I guess...

FM

Most excited I have been for a premiere since Joanie Loves Chiachi.

Yea, it was leaked already.

I've got it set to record on my DVR.

Thanks for the heads up on this. Also showing tonight, 4:45 pm.

+1 and thanks for the reminder.

Bumpity ... 45 minutes from now

Knew it was coming but that was one hell of an opening.

Great spot placement, for the zombie DLC for Red Dead Redemption

I can't help but feel this is a commentary on the atlanta sports fan, with the zombie apocalypse prominently featuring the atl. If the zombies start doing the chop, my suspicions will be confirmed.

a tense 90 minutes. A good job at setting the atmosphere, especially the stairwell scene.

Great 1st episode. I agree the stairwell scene was intense...and I knew he was going to make it okay!

Anyhow, I was a little surprised that they went through the 1st issue and more in the 1st episode. The Jones were a welcome sight. I liked the little backstory with his wife. I can't wait until we see Michonne! That'll be badass.

Anyhow, the amcdead.com site is getting hammered. I can't get my entry in for the walk on role.

Got it DVR'ed. Excited to watch it. I actually received my Walking Dead Compendium One in the mail yesterday.

Amazon.com: The Walking Dead: Compendium One (9781607060765): Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn, Tony Moore: Books: Reviews, Prices & more

Will be cool to read that and watch the show alongside.

Strong, maybe just a tiny bit below the OMG I had come to expect from the hype.

I've never read a page of the graphic novel series, so I could be spot on or miles off, but I'm a little bothered that I've got a strong expectation that the first season is going to be spent working to push the two groups toward one another & that tensions between our former partners are going to become a huge part of the story. If I'm right, that's just too predictable. If I'm wrong, so be it, I'll be happy to be wrong.

Very solid opening. It went by really quick.

I just re-read the first trade paperback. Based on a one-to-one comparison so far, the show is better than the comic. Better dialogue, better tension.

Really enjoyed it. My only complaint is that AMC is not in HD for me, and I had forgotten how much it sucks to watch something in non-HD.

Liked the show a lot.

Yeah, that was a strong opener. Highly recommended.

Thats not much of an endorsement, is it?

I enjoyed the opener and thought they did a good job setting things up. The 90 minutes just flew by.

I don't know if the production costs were exceptionally high or if they were just really efficient, but I thought that was one of the most impressive, visually shot/directed television shows that I have ever seen. I don't know much about filming, but I thought that the shots and coloring really set the tone perfectly.

Definitely lived up to expectations for me.

A little more on this...

I thought the show did a good job of setting up the tension between Rick and his wife and Shane's lovelife troubles right away to better explain why Lori shacked up with Shane pretty quickly.

Lam and Dwayne's back story, which wasn't present in the comic at all (at least in what I remember and re-read), was heart breaking and probably the most emotionally powerful part of that episode.

The final shot of the zombies crawling all over the tank and then slowly losing interest in it and going for the horse was awesome and eerie to see.

Top notch stuff all around.

In one of the hardcovers there is a bonus part expanding on the back story of Morgan and Dwayne.

Are some of the more memorable scenes taken from the comic book?

I'm thinking about three in particular: the light coming in after he opens the stairway door, the scene of him on the horse riding into Atlanta with no cars going in and tons heading out, and the end scene that H_B is talking about.

1. No. In the comic, he opens the cafeteria door in the hospital, it's full of zombies and he ends up falling down the stairs and outside while wrestling with a zombie.

2. Yes. That's straight from the comic.

3. No. There is no tank in the comic.

I too think that the 90 minutes went by really fast. Almost felt like a half hour show. I never read any of the novels or anything prior to seeing it and thought that his reason for being in a coma was not done well (unless I missed something). I loved the overhead shot at the end with him in the tank, the zombies reminded me of ants. Pretty impressed though with the show and am looking forward to next Sundays episode.

Cool. Thanks.

Those three scenes seemed to stand out to me as something I might see in a comic book, so I thought they may have been a shout out to the loyal fans who crossed over with the show.

This is a regular series and NOT a mini series, right?

Yes, it's a regular series, though this first season will only be six episodes long. Were it to be picked up (which after the buzz I would assume the case, AMC's other shows prove you don't have to be watched in order to be renewed) the other seasons would have the typical 13 episodes.

Just watched it via my DVR. Being a lifelong zombiehead, I'm extremely pleased with the traditional Romero zombie direction the series has gone. Few things bother me more than running, jumping, talking zombies.

*** For the benefit of those of us who haven't read the graphic novels, I would like to stress the importance of using the "spoiler" option when discussing anything not already shown in an episode. Thank you in advance :)

Monster smash: 'Walking Dead' ratings huge - Live Feed

It's already been picked up for 13 next year, that happened a few weeks back.

The speculation (and that's all there's been so far that I can find) is that the first 6 eps will be Summer, with the next 13 being Winter (apparently following the source material with that).

I was out most of the day, so I didn't have a chance to check this out until now.

For some sort of comparison, the HH rating of 3.7/5.3m viewers (which has been confirmed as the actual rating, not the "coverage rating" that looks only at cable homes) is almost 28% higher than the latest Mad Men season premiere.

Even bigger perhaps, the 3.6m viewers 18-49 was THREE TIMES the latest season premiere for Mad Men.

Last I'd heard renewal was just a rumor.

http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/111/1117231p1.html

Upon further review, I believe you're correct. I simply never saw the corrections that followed the original story.

I watched this again last night with Lady H_B. She liked it, though I think she will bail after the next episode or two. I don't think my infectious enthusiasm will be enough to maintain her interest over the long haul. She said "it was gross. It was really, really gross."

She also didn't pick up on the fact that Lori and Carl at the camp were Rick's wife and son. She saw the picture in the sun visor, but must have missed seeing Rick in the picture. She just thought Rick had taken Shane's car and saw the picture of Shane's family.

The episode was still as enjoyable the second time through.

Thinking about the great ratings for the show, they are even more impressive when you consider the fact that the show was up against both the Sunday night NFL game AND the World Series.

Well, at least she noticed there were zombies in the show.

I have a question about time in the show. Does it jump around in time, giving past events infused with present events? Or does it go linear at some point?

I'm wondering where the little girl (opening) scene fits into the time line of the first episode.

I found that curious, too. I watched this with a guy who is a big time devotee of the comic (I have never read a page), and he said that isn't in there, and he couldn't explain it as a story-telling device. He figured the director added it for flavor and tone-setting.

I had problems with that but my son had an easy explanation that sounded right to me. That scene occurs between him leaving the sheriff's office & finding the horse.

Remember, he takes the horse (apparently) because he's run completely out of gas for the patrol car. In the opening scene he's carrying a gas can & my son explained that this had to take place before he ran completely out, he was looking for gas because he knew he was getting low. Maybe that's not right, but I couldn't find any real flaw in his logic. And yes, I felt rather dumb to have my 12 y/o explain it to me. The purpose was strictly to set the tone for a brutal world and, perhaps, to show that our main character was equipped to deal with the new realities even if it was difficult to do.

Btw, the car he's driving is actually a GA state troopers car, only ones in the state with that color scheme. Sheriff's vehicles are uniformly brown, with the exception of unmarked & non-patrol vehicles (which are white).

Yeah. H_B, I'm looking at you. I will punch you in the face if you ruin this... IN THE FACE!